Archives West Finding Aid

Arthur Trenerry was born in Wales in 1881 and emigrated to Butte, Montana, with his parents in the late nineteenth century. He worked as a bookkeeper, then became manager of the Billings Brewing Company plant in Butte. He held the same position at the Billings plant from 1908 to 1915, when he became president of the Billings Brewing Company.

The Billings Brewing Company was founded in 1900 in Butte by Henry Mueller, Louis Best, and Philip Grein, and constructed a state-of-the-art brewery in Billings. The brewery marketed beer from the Wyoming border north to Lewistown, Montana, and from Livingston, Montana, east to the North Dakota border. It owned and operated several bars in Billings, as well as the Gage Hotel.

Trenerry enjoyed success as president until the Prohibition movement strengthened in the late 1910s, with strong anti-German sentiment fueling the movement in Montana. Prohibition went into effect in Montana in 1918. The brewery had to dispose of hundreds of gallons of beer and closed several bars that it owned in 1919.

The company changed its name to the Advance Manufacturing Company and produced Tip Top soda in the bottling house. Trenerry operated an insurance business and managed the brewery's properties. 1920s prosperity helped erase the considerable debts, and former bars were used as hardware stores, cafes, and other businesses including a brothel. He served two terms as mayor of Billings, in 1927 and 1929.

After repeal of Prohibition in 1933, Trenerry was determined to resume the brewing business. The brewery and its equipment needed many costly repairs. But in the meantime, legal and economic forces had given large East Coast-based corporations a distinct advantage, and small breweries could no longer compete. Sales of Old Fashion Beer, the brewery's signature product, were disappointing. Trenerry continued to sell beer to dealers who were seriously delinquent in their payments. World War II brought restrictions on necessary materials--metals, paper, and grain--and business declined further, only to take a leap after 1942. Throughout this period, Trenerry assured stockholders that business was fine, and continued to pay dividends. In 1948, sales fell again as corporate breweries built new plants throughout the nation, and by 1950, the loss for the year was more than $59,000. In the 1951 stockholder's meeting, Trenerry was demoted and replaced as president. The brewery introduced a new beer, Tap Beer, and no longer produced Old Fashion Beer. Still, it was unable to survive, and closed as a brewery later that year. The company continued its real estate business. Trenerry was bitter about the closure, and fought the new board of directors. He retained considerable stock in the company, which became profitable by returning to real estate.

Trenerry served as secretary-treasurer of the Montana state Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, served on the Billings Athletic Commission, and was secretary of the Billings Rod and Gun Club. He died in Billings in 1962 at the age of eighty-one.