Obituary Sunday - Peter Peroe "Champ Knitter Passes"

Peter Peroe was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1860 and learned the trade of baker.  In 1884 he and two friends came west. Mr. Peroe left his friends in St. Paul, MN and he went on to Billings, MT to work for the Yegen Brothers Bakery.  He later established his own bakery on Montana Avenue between 25th and 26th Streets.  After a fire destroyed the block, Mr. Peroe opened a confectionery at 2603 Montana Avenue.

He was acquainted with such characters as Calamity Jane, Crow Davis, Livercating Johnson, and J. I. Allen, a well known trader in the Columbus region at the time, who purchased his tobacco from Mr. Peroe.

In 1893, he married Emilie Elizabeth Steingruber at Hebron, ND. (Emilie's sister Anna Sybilla is my great grandmother). The couple had a son, Robert George (1894) and a daughter, Jennie (1902).

He retired from business in 1914 and leaned to knit was acclaimed the champion knitter in the area during the first world war.

Mr. Peroe was President of the Billings Opera House prior to its incorporation  with the Babcock Opera House and  also a member of the old Maverick Hose Company. He also served as a juror on many juries.

 He died at home on May 17, 1944 of a kidney ailment. He had been ill for three years.