Paddy Hasson was a contemporary and friend of George
Houk. Both were old frontiersmen, both married Blood
Indian women, both spoke Blackfoot, and both settled
in the Pot Hole district - Hasson at the mouth of Pot
Hole Creek, Houk a mile or two north. Both registered
brands at an early date Hasson an EH and Houk a half H.
Hasson was American-Irish, Houk was Pennsylvania
Dutch.

About 1880, Hasson constructed the first concrete buildings
in the region. He did this by gathering limestone rocks from
the surrounding glaciate prairie. Then he dug six foot pits
near a cutbank above Pot Hole Creek and filled the bottom
with coal, the top of the pit with limestone rocks. The coal
was ignited with air provided by a flue connecting the bottom
of the pit and the nearby cliff face. The heat drove water from
the limestone, resulting in cement. The procedure was well-
known at the time as "burning limestone". The cement was
then used with sand, gravel, and rocks to build a concrete
barn and a couple of houses, all of which are still standing
(in 1987). The Hasson place was acquired by George F.
Russell and is now in the hands of Frank A Russell.

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