Livingston Current

Donate Now to Annual Livingston Current Pledge Drive!

For the first time ever, we are asking our readership to consider making an annual donation to the Livingston Current to help support the weekly news delivered free each issue.  With the support of our readers we will be able to hire more writers, photographers and artists to cover interesting and important issues across the community, stay in good standing with our many vendors and also continue to offer local advertisers credit for 90 days for ads placed in the paper.

For those participating in this first-annual funds drive, we will be offering an added incentive: each contributor of $25 or more will be automatically entered to win an original oil painting donated by Edd Enders valued at over $700.  We encourage pledges/donations of $25, $50, $75, $100 or $250, or more, of course.  Participants should know that each dollar will go towards not only supporting the Current but also supporting the local writers, artists, photographers, businesses and more we work with each week.  As a company devoted to "buying local" know that donations will be returned directly to the community in the creation of the newspaper over the next year. 

Our goal is to raise $5,000 for our capital funds account by April 7, 2012.  Check the Current each week to view the progress of the fund raising and feel free to donate often and generously! Each $25 minimum donation will garner the contributor another chance at winning the Edd Enders painting. For any questions about the first annual Pledge Drive, please call 222-3633.  Donations may be sent to: Livingston Current, POB 1632, Livingston, MT, 59047, or donate online below.  Thank you for your support!

 

The World of Fort Parker: The First Crow Indian Agency

On a bright May morning in 1863 Bill Fairweather and his party found gold near Virginia City, Montana. They must have interpreted the find as a just reward after being spared by a group of Crow Indians a few days prior.  The Crows let them go in order to keep other white folks out of their treaty-defined and legally-protected territory.  

The release of the Fairweather party would prove prophetic for the Crows. With the gold strike came settlers, miners, and eventually John Bozeman, whose trail would become the catalyst for a series of events that would formulate national Indian policy and create the first Crow agency: Fort Parker.

John Bozeman began guiding folks along an old Indian passage which bypassed the Oregon Trail in Northern Wyoming and led to the Montana gold fields: The Bozeman Trail.  White men traveling the trail lit the flame of Lakota ire. The Lakota Sioux were displaced from their hunting grounds in the Dakota Territory and to the west around the Powder River.

In an 1851 treaty signed at Fort Laramie, the Lakota were given the eastern side of the Powder River and the Crow were given the western side. The region was associated with the Crow Indians and known as Apsaàlooke, which was also the name the Crow called themselves.

The Crow Indians wanted the Powder River Territory back and the U.S. Government representatives who came to negotiate with the Crow made many promises along that line.The Lakota threat stopped traffic along the Bozeman Trail.  Three forts were built to secure the road: Fort C. F. Smith, Fort Phil Kearney and Fort Reno.  The forts created even more anger and animosity.  The Lakota tried to recruit the Crows into their ranks against non-Indian encroachment but the Crows played it neutral while they determined which side would best serve their interest.

After many promises offering a return of the Powder River, many Crows decided to support the U. S. Government against their old rivals and enemies, the Lakota.Back in Washington, the Indian Bureau could no longer tolerate the violence in the west which culminated in 1867 with the murder of John Bozeman.

Bozeman was killed in a skirmish near the eventual Fort Parker site at present-day Mission Creek along his famous trail.  Whether or not the skirmish was with Indians or his white traveling companion is still a mystery.The Indian Bureau formed the Peace Commission in order to placate the Indians who offered the greatest threat. Their mission was peace at almost any cost.

After a failed initial attempt at treaty-making with both the Lakota and the Crows in the fall of 1867, the Crows were brought to the table again in the spring of 1868.  For an undetermined reason, the Crows arrived late to find that the Lakota had been given the Powder River with the Government promise to abandon the Bozeman Trail.  The peaceful Crows, who had allied themselves with the U. S. Government, lost 70 million acres of their territory including the Powder River in a treaty in which they had little say.

In exchange, the Crow received from the Federal government an annual receipt of goods and an agency staffed to facilitate the Crow’s assimilation to a farming and harvesting rather than hunter and gathering civilization.The agency would be located 11 miles east of present-day Livingston along Mission Creek and the Yellowstone River, and come to be named Fort Parker after Eli S. Parker, the first Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Newly-elected President Ulysses S. Grant took office in 1869, the same year Fort Parker was built.  As the atrocities of the west were becoming known in the east through pamphlets like the “Report of the Condition of the Indian Tribes” and Lydia Maria Child’s pamphlet “An Appeal for the Indians” which detailed the greed of Indian agents and the horrors of the Sand Creek Massacre, among others, Grant’s eastern constituents were demanding change in Indian policy.  Grant reluctantly agreed and looked to religious organizations to deal with the Indian issue.  The resulting “Peace Policy” evolved and played itself out at Fort Parker during the years 1869 through 1875.

“The Mission”

Fort Parker was constructed under the authority of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the hand of Leander M. Black, a Bozeman businessman who gained the contract for construction.  In May of 1869, Capt. E. M. Camp was assigned as Indian Agent for the Crows and in June left Washington D. C. to collect supplies on his way to the new Fort Parker.  His journey was lengthened due to low water on the Missouri which caused his steamboat, the Fanny Baker, to lay aground for two weeks.

In September, Alfred Sully, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Montana Territory, chose the site for the agency with a group of Crow Indians who had remained behind for the fall buffalo hunt.  The treaty located the agency near Otter Creek, but Sully felt the ever-attacking Lakota were too close to this location and the Crow were not happy with the area.  Ultimately a site was chosen about 40 miles from the military base at Fort Ellis putting it near enough to be under its protection.  The location along Rock Creek would come to be known as Mission Creek and the agency would come to be known to the Crows as “The Mission.”

By November the fort was under construction and a ferry was established by William “Billy” Lee to bring provisions across the Yellowstone River.  The ferry crossed about seven miles from the fort on a creek that would come to be known as Ferry Creek.

The first crops at the fort were planted in the spring of 1870.  Seven acres were plowed and planted with cereal, grains and vegetables.  Reports from around the region tell of the scarcity of buffalo and the starvation of tribes.  As treaties were trading goods for land, the Indians became dependent on the government goods for survival. In August, Camp wrote his first report noting: “The wheat, barley, and oats turned out moderately well.  Late frosts in the spring and a heavy frost the beginning of this month killed the corn and such vegetables as beans, tomatoes, melons, and squashes, all of which were thriving well until the extraordinary visit of a frost in early August killed them.”

He also recounted several violent encounters with the Lakota: “While the Sioux Indians act beyond the control of the Government, and make raids with impunity on Indians...peaceably disposed toward the whites, and are permitted to invade their reservation in such numbers as threaten to drive the Crows out of it, I think it but proper in this case that the Crow Indians should be armed to defend their own homes, not for the purpose of fostering war between the Sioux and the Crows, but for a reason of policy.”  

Finally, he offered a clear description of Fort Parker: “This agency consists of the following buildings, all in good order and repair, viz: Warehouse, agency building, houses for physician, engineer, blacksmith, carpenter, farmer, and miller, and a building to be used as a school-room.  The agency building or ‘mission-house’ is at present used as quarters for a sergeant and twelve men of Company A, Seventh United States Infantry, detailed as guard for protection of this post.  There are two bastions on diagonal corners, in each of which is mounted a 12 pound howitzer.”  

Camp’s first year as agent found a crop failure and continued Lakota violence.  Both events continued to plague Fort Parker throughout its existence. Due to a change in Indian policy which disallowed military employees to be Indian agents, Camp was replaced by Fellowes D. Pease, former trader with the Crows at Fort Union.  Pease arrived at Fort Parker in January of 1870, a year that would see Grant’s Indian policy end treaty-making with Indians.  The beginning of this year also saw the death of Isaac Newton Parker, brother of Indian Commissioner Eli S. Parker, who had been appointed as the first teacher at Fort Parker.  In the spring Pease contracted with Bozeman business man, Charles Hoffman, an old friend from his Fort Union trading days, to build 20 adobe houses for the Crow Indians who indicated a desire to farm.

Construction and inspection of the houses was concluded at the end of February.  In August of 1870, Pease offered his first report.  He detailed concerns about the annuity goods, requesting more blankets and less flannel and extended the Crow’s concerns for the lack of treaty-promised cows and oxen.  He also expressed great concern over the amount of white miners coming into Crow territory, which was expressly forbidden in the treaty.  Because of this, he requested a survey of the territory to establish clear boundaries.

Pease reported continued hostilities by the Lakota and complained of the poor state of the agency buildings: “None of these buildings are properly suited for the purposes for which they are used; all need repairing, all of them should be raised, and have a pine roof and pine shingles.”The new teacher, J. H. Aylesworth offered information concerning the school in his letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in August of 1871.  He noted attendance grew to 34 students, though their seasonal lifestyle interfered greatly with the children’s education.  He suggested boarding the children away from their parents under the care of a school mistress would render better results.  He also requested an interpreter for the lessons.

The 1872 annuity distribution for the Crows took place in March. A fellow named “Slim Jim” gave a thorough description to the Bozeman Avant-Courier.  He noted that Iron Bull, wearing a military uniform with epaulets, gave the opening oratory in Crow expounding the Indians to think of things spiritual and not temporal.

When the warehouse doors swung open, the writer described the large amount of goods offered to the Crows: “Bolts of calico, sheeting and ticking, piles of tobacco, sacks of sugar, coffee and four kegs of powder, and other things.”  The Indians presented Major Bowen, who was acting agent while Pease was away, Charlie Hoffman (Sutler) and a Mr. Ferris with a “shower” of robes, followed by music and dancing by the Indians.  A group of Crow warriors on stolen Sioux horses rode in a circle singing of their exploits among the Lakota.  At the close of this event, the crowd piled out of the Fort for an Indian horse race. “Slim Jim’s” description of the distribution indicates a great appreciation of the Crow goods.

Thomas Laforge, a white Fort Parker employee adopted by the tribe, offered a different view.  Laforge noted, “The ‘annuity’ clothing which a benevolent Indian bureau at Washington sent out to the supposed naked and freezing savages on the Yellowstone was equivalent to seed sown upon bare ground.

“During the summer seasons, neither the Indian men nor their white-men companions in the hunting camps wore any clothing but the ever-present breech-cloth.  When winter came they preferred the skin clothing, or merely wrapped themselves in buffalo-robes or blankets. As the wild animals began distinctly to decrease in numbers, the government apparel came gradually into use, with its ludicrous misfits.  But in the earlier days, when Nature was bountiful, a pair of trousers or a pair of shoes could be bought from an Indian for twenty-five cents.”

In June 1872, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Montana Territory Viall requests Pease talked with the Crows about moving the agency to a better location.  Indications had been that the poor farming and high winds at Fort Parker made it difficult for the Crows to farm.  With another year’s crops destroyed by flooding and grasshoppers, clearly the site at Mission Creek was not going to obtain the intended results. In August, a Northern Pacific Railroad survey team with 400 troops from Fort Ellis was attacked on the Yellowstone River by a group of 400 to 500 Indians.  

The survey party retreated to Fort Parker to regroup.  There they met another military escort from Fort Ellis which enabled them to continue their work surveying a route for the coming Northern Pacific Railroad.  The planned route would take the railroad directly through Fort Parker and the Crow Reservation and was another motivation to move the agency. In his second report in September of 1872, Pease noted that the coming railroad and the continued encroachment by whites on their reservation had unsettled the Indians. Furthermore, he found that several key requisites of the treaty had yet to be fulfilled including the promised oxen and cattle as well as farming supplies and equipment.  He indicated that the Head Men of the Crows were willing and anxious to relocate the agency and wished to meet the President in Washington, D. C., a trip which had been frequently promised in the past but had failed to materialize.

Pease also indicated though the annuity distribution took place in February, the tobacco didn’t arrive until June and as the annuities were to be distributed in September, these goods were considerably late.  With requests for needed supplies ignored as well as escalating threats by the Lakota, Arapahoe, and Cheyenne, Pease revealed his frustrations in the final statement of his report: “I have abstained from making many suggestions in regard to changes or future operations at this place, for the reason that my suggestions in last year’s report have received little or no attention.”

Federal Indian Policy

In Washington, President Grant’s new Indian policy evolved as he asked religious leaders to appoint a Board of Indian Commissioners whose uncompensated task would be to oversee the Indian agents and the distribution of annuities.  Endorsed by Congress as part of the Indian Appropriation Act of 1870,  the Board of Commissioners would hold authority over all expenditures for the Indians and advise and consult with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs as to all Indian-related concerns.  The President of the Commission was Felix R. Brunot, a lay Episcopalian, whose perspective on Indian affairs appeared to be more of “civilization” than warfare.

Brunot made a trip to Fort Parker in July of 1872 to meet and talk with the Crows about moving the agency to a new location.  However, the Crows were unable to return to the agency for the meeting with Brunot due to a skirmish with another group of Indians.  Brunot would return a year later to negotiate the final details of the agency re-location.

Details of Brunot’s visit with the Crow and escalating Lakota hostilities resulting in the deaths of several Fort Parker employees will continue in the next installment of “The World of Fort Parker” to be published March 2012 in the Livingston Current. 

—Marsha Fulton 

For more information about Fort Parker and the Extreme History Project, visit extremehistory.wordpress.com or 222-2991.

 

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Park County

Facing the slowed economy and the tightening of budgets at businesses and in individual families is causing many local non-profit organizations to struggle with meeting budgetary requirements to keep their programs operational.

According to local Program Director Leigh Dicks, Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Park County is struggling with budget cuts from state funding all the way through to individual donations.  State funding of BBBS has faced a 75 percent decrease totaling $15,000 and the Holiday Mail Appeal came in $1,500 under budget.Individual donations are down in the first six months of fiscal year, noted Dicks.

Generally lower dollar value in sponsorships and donations  indicates individuals who have given for many years continue to contribute but have had to reduce the amount donated, she said.

Dicks said BBBS is trying to adapt by trimming administrative costs.  The organization recently moved to a reduced office space, reduced insurance and communications costs by switching providers, and continues to repurpose old materials such as updating banners from past years rather than buying new ones.

BBBS program priorities have also shifted to accommodate budgetary restraints, Dicks said, and the organization is focusing on Match Support rather than planning extra activities, buying local to support the businesses that support BBBS and strengthening school programs already in existence.

Traditional Big Brothers Big Sisters programs involve an adult, or “Big” working one-on-one with a youth each week.  The match generally spends two to three hours per week together doing activities.  Bigs typically make a one year commitment to the child, or “Little” and the program.

BBBS also supports programs through the schools including opportunities for Park High School students to mentor younger children through the after school LINKS program, and in a pilot program where students can earn school credit for mentoring work.

Culture of Volunteering

In September the local BBBS received a call from BBBS in New York City requesting a reference for a former “Big” or adult mentor in the Park county program.  Dicks says the young lady in question had been a “Little,” or mentored child, in the school program during elementary school.  When she entered high school she became a big to an elementary student and was now starting a career in New York and continuing on as a “Big” as an adult in the big city.  The effect of the program touched her life, says Dicks, and now almost 20 years later the child who started in the Park county program continues to be a part of ongoing BBBS program across the country.

Dicks says they are seeing the same pattern today as many Park High School Bigs want to pay back what was given to them as Littles and be able to give younger kids the same great experiences.“It’s exciting to see the kids wanting to pass on this experience to younger students and continue the cycle of mentoring,” adds Park county BBBS Executive Director Jennifer Foy.

BBBS has served Park County for 35 Years, since March 1977, providing professionally-supported mentoring relationships to youth in both Park and Sweetgrass counties.Director Foy said in addition to the traditional BBBS mentors, they have sponsored and participated in programs in the school system including LINKS mentoring, America Reads, and now a class for High School Students to receive credit for mentoring.  In the new class, students use their study halls and/or lunch periods to spend one hour per week working with younger students at Eastside Elementary helping them with their academics. 

High School Programs

In the new BBBS pilot program, Park High School students will mentor for class credit.

Beginning January 24, 2012 the first class of mentors began receiving educational credit for mentoring while enrolled in an independent study course. During this course they mentor younger students four days each week and on the fifth day attend a class to learn more skills to help them in their mentoring and about the challenges facing young children today.

Some of the topics for the skill classes include child abuse, grief, addictions, building relationships, and communication.  The high school students work in the classroom with the elementary students helping them with subjects such as reading and math at the direction of the teachers.

Executive Director Jennifer Foy said it is the BBBS goal to continue the class in the fall and offer the opportunity to 20-25 students each semester. High School students can also volunteer to go to LINKS after school and mentor a younger student for an hour helping with homework and recreational activities.

Although not offered for school credit, the program does require a one school-year commitment.Effects of the LINKS school program for the first semester of 2011-2012 were gauged by mid-year surveys done by mentors and BBBS staff for the LINKS and High School Mentors Program.

Program Director Leigh Dicks said the surveys reflected 90 percent of the respondents indicated improved self confidence and ability to express feelings better.  Respondents also noted a better ability to make decisions, more interest in hobbies, visualization of a better sense of the future.

Surveys also reflected students showed better ability to use community and school resources after participating in the program.Improved academic performance and improved attitude toward school were also noted in the surveys, and 89 percent of “Littles” showed that they trusted their “Big” and near 70 percent showed improved relationships with peers overall.

Dicks said the results of the survey showed BBBS the program was working to help develop and improve many of the skill sets often undervalued in some of the mentored children.

How to Help

BBBS Executive Director Jennifer Voy said there are many ways local citizens can help continue to sup[port the local BBBS programs.Volunteering to work as a mentor, or Big, or joining the Board of Directors are two ways adults can contribute time to help the organization.

Foy said the organization is also celebrating their thirty-fifth  anniversary by encouraging one-time monetary gifts of $35, $350, or $3,500, which can also be in memory/honor of individuals or pledged at $35 per month.The organization’s largest annual fund raiser Bowl for Kids’ Sake will be held at Treasure Lanes.  

The event consists of a six-week pledge drive followed by a bowling party on March 24, 2012.  Bowling teams consist of five people, including one team captain. People interested in forming a team may sign up by calling BBBS at 222-1930 or visiting the BBBS website at bbbsparkcounty.org to sign-up with a new online registration form.Local businesses can also sponsor the event or donate prizes, and individuals are encouraged to sign up to be a bowler or team captain, or volunteer at the event.

BBBS Ongoing Mission

Big Brothers Big Sisters is the oldest, largest, and one of the most effective youth mentoring organizations in America.  The organization came into existence in 1904 when New York City court clerk, Ernest Coulter, noticed the large amount of young boys coming into his court room. He recognized that children could benefit from having adults to spend time with and learn from them.

The program began with 39 volunteers and now serves more than 225,000 children nationwide.BBBS of Park County now serves 40 matches in Park County in the Community Based Program and 16 summer matches in a Summer Buddy Program.

Along with the in-school and after-school programs in Livingston, BBBS served over 100 youth last year.Executive Director Foy says BBBS partners with parents/guardians, volunteers and others in the community and holds the organization accountable for each child in our program to achieve higher aspirations, greater confidence and better relationships through avoidance of risky behaviors and by encouraging educational success.

“Our Vision is that all children achieve success in life,” says Foy, “And our mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change lives for the better, forever.”For more information about BBBS of Park County, visit the website at bbbsparkcounty.org, call 222-1930 or stop in and visit with the staff at 105 1/2 South Second Street. 

—LC Staff

 

Best of Livingston Reader Poll Results 2011 - Livingston, Montana

Now in its seventh year, the Livingston Current Best of Livingston Reader Poll has been celebrated in many forms.  

The Best of Livingston Halloween Bash, a tradition at the Livingston Depot Center for the first six years and a successful benefit for the Livingston Food Pantry of Park County, has been the most notable celebration of the results of the balloting.

In 2011, the Current teamed up with the folks at the Second Street Bistro and The Murray Bar to host the annual Halloween event and even utilized the Gil’s Goods space now being renovated by the Second Street Bistro.Local businesses like Chadz, Conley’s, the Current and the Bistro all contributed funds to host entertainment Saturday, October 29 which included a live fire dancing performance from the FireFlyz of Bozeman, and music with Speakeasy and The Fossils.  

Local restaurants Montana Cup, Pinky’s, Bittersweet, Mustang Catering and the Second Street Bistro all contributed edible goodies while costumed party-goers provided the atmosphere.

 

The true celebration of the reader poll is in the results.  Over 200 readers filled out 100-question ballots and in the answers are clues to the fabric of the Livingston community and the hopes, goals, and considerations of the citizens. The staff of the Current wishes to thank all who participated in the poll and attended the 2011 Halloween Bash event, and we hope all of our readers enjoy perusing the results of the Best of Livingston 2011.

 

READER POLL RESULTS 2012 • Thanks for voting!

 

Best Local Character

1. Chad Petrulis

2. William “Sky Watcher”

3. John Fryer

Livingston is a town of characters, and one never knows if the wild-eyed person racing down the street on their bicycle screaming after an escaped dog is a famous movie star, noted physicist, best-selling author or simply the dishwasher from the tavern down the street (who has a Masters in Fine Art).The winner of this year’s poll is obviously considered a local treasure and is none other than the master of his own hobby house: Chad Petrulis of Chadz Coffeehouse.  Bullhorn-toting DJ and coffee shop Chef de Cuisine,  Petrulis has held the honor of Best Local Character for a few years running now, especially as former king of the Best of Livingston Halloween Party costume contest.  His Main Street coffee shop boasts an elaborate set of ornate glasswares, tanks full of multi-colored and fiesty fish, cozy couches, artists-in-residence and laptop-toting, chatty or silent customers ranging from philosophers to ski bunnies all basking in the atmosphere of Petrulis’ buzzed world.Second place goes to a fixture, “Skywatcher,” who wanders the Livingston streets with a smile and a salute for all; and the steadfast John Fryer of the 127-year-old Sax and Fryer’s stationers and book shop is recognized for third place.
Also noted: Margot Kidder, Rob Bankston, Blackfoot, The Wiz, Pinky, Parks Reece, Ed Turner, Margie Nelson, Kelvin Hoover, Jim Harrison, “Dink,” Mike Devine, Scott Black, Ned Shapiro, Gary Fish, “The Elderly” and “Sleeping Giant.”

 

Best New Business

(tie) 1. Thai I’san

1. Curated Closet

2. The Other Café

Although the global and national economy may be suffering, here in Livingston there are signs of hope always in community-building and in the individuals who start new ventures in the face of adversity and succeed.The tie for first place this year is split between a new and unique restaurant featuring southeast Asian cuisine and a vintage resale shop operated by the local non-profit Community Closet.  Many other votes were counted for the number of local businesses either starting up, evolving and changing, or taking over with new owners. 
Also noted: Elk River Books, Hot Diggity Dirty Water Dogs, Montana Cup Coffee House, Golden Glow, The Spur Line, Flying Squirrel Gallery, Livingston Kite Company, The Mint Bar and Theater and Afterglow.

 

Best Educator

1. Debbie Certier

2. Dan McGrath

3. Tondi Peterson

Also noted: Nancy Curtis, Tawyna Hawkins, Todd Wester, Jo Young, Laura McCarthy, Carol Powalisz, Will Dickerson, Jim Walker, Kelly Dick, Jo Newhall, “Mother Nature,” Jamie Isaly, Marla Bray Sparks, and “All the Moms and Dads.”

 

Best Elected Official

1. Steve Caldwell, City Commissioner

2. Brian Schweitzer, Governor

3. James Bennett, City Commissioner

On Tuesday, November 8, Livingston residents will take to the polls for a municipal election to replace Julianne Jones and Rick VanAken on the Livingston City Commission.  Best elected officials this year include two sitting City Commissioners who will continue at their posts through 2012.Many noted the write-in choice of “None of the above,” or “None,” indicating the apathy for the democratic process evident by low turnout numbers at  local polls.  Some even noted individuals not actually elected by the citizens or currently in the running for the commissioners’ race but yet to be elected, perhaps with hope for government-to-come or appreciation for appointments by elected or serving officials.
Also noted: Julianne Jones, Obama, Kevin Larkin, June Little, Denny Rehberg, Judge Swandal, Rick Van Aken, Adam Stern, Alan Lutes, Kara Bailey, Nancy Adkins and Jim Durgan.

 

Best Thing About Livingston

1. People

2. Scenery

3. Yellowstone River

The first two winning responses in this category were collected from a variety of votes.  First place vote of “People” being the best thing in Livingston includes votes for the variety of friendly, helpful, nice people in Livingston.  The second place winning response for scenery includes mountains, natural environment, nature and anything indicating the natural beauty of the area.  
Also noted: The wind, hometown feeling, good community, Moja Dog Park, local/independent businesses, “everything,” small town atmosphere, downtown, Curated Closet, opportunities for outdoor activities, “dining al fresco,” “Small, but all you need,” “The pace of life is slow,” “friendly and active community,” “small, eclectic, on a river,” and “We can smell bullshit 25 miles away.”

 

Best Community Project

1. Northside Park and Soccer Fields

2. Livingston Community Garden

3. Park High Renovations

By offering a number of questions relating to community projects and organizations, the Current is able to solicit a wide range of responses about the ideas evolving and solidifying in Livingston for bettering the town.  In this particular category, Northside Park and Soccer Fields, which has now completed Phase I of a multi-phase project, was voted Best Community Project.  Eventually, the park will feature 19 acres of green space, four soccer fields, pathways that connect with city trails, picnic areas, a support building and mountain views on the north side of Livingston at Summit and 14th Street.  At the August grand opening of the project, 400 young players utilized the two completed fields in games throughout the day.  The new park and fields are expected to host tournaments which will bring hundreds of people to Livingston and encourage the over 600 young players in the area from Gardiner to Clyde Park by providing a first-class sporting facility.
Also noted: Downtown Street Art Project, Livingston Farmer’s Market, Stafford Animal Shelter, McNair Skate Park, Livingston Ice Skating Association, East Side School Renovation (The Shane Center). B Street Farmer’s Market, Bark in the Park, Urban Renewal Agency tree planting, and the Farm to School program.

 

Best Local Idea

1. New Hospital Construction

2. Northside Park and Soccer Fields

3. Funding High School Renovations

The Livingston community does like to put their two cents in and, like other categories, citizens are creative about both recognizing the good already being done, and throwing in their “best ideas” as well.
Also noted: Curated Closet, Yellowstone Bus Tours/Rides, “going green,” recycling, “no Wal-mart,” passenger rail, Livingston Art and Culture Center, the sustainable food movement, Downtown Street Art Project, more parks, buy local, “do something with the Guest House,” improving downtown, annual Best of Livingston Ballots, “free beer,” and fishing.

 

Best Non Profit

1. Community Closet

2. Stafford Animal Shelter

3. Livingston Food Pantry of Park County

By providing the community with low-cost, pre-owned clothing and household items local thrift store and non-profit Community Closet is able to turn sales into profits and support a healthy business and a wide variety of charitable activities in Park County.  Over $170,000 has been distributed since the organization’s opening in 2006 and so many organizations and individuals have benefitted from both the shop and the re-distribution program it’s little wonder readers selected it Best Local Non Profit in 2011.Livingston certainly has no shortage of organizations working to provide assistance to the needy and encourage healthy growth in the community.  Readers remarked on no less than 20 organizations, many of which made it to the runner up lists below.
Also noted: Tri-County Network, Loaves and Fishes, Yellowstone Gateway Museum, Mainstreeter Thrift Store, Park County Senior Center, Landon’s Lookout, Livingston Junior Women’s Club, Northside Park and Soccer Fields, Big Brithers and Big Sisters, FFA, Curated Closet, Montana Women For, Livingston Library, Manaia, Community Health Partners, 4-H, Payden Memorial Foundation, and Western Sustainability Exchange.

 

Best Effort to Improve Livingston

1. Northside Park and Soccer Fields

2. Downtown Street Art Project

3. High School Renovations

The Northside Park and Soccer Fields were voted first in both Best Community Project and as Best Effort to Improve Livingston indicating the great benefit the Livingston community expects to see from supporting the project.  For more information on the project and ongoing games and registration, visit the website of the Livingston Youth Soccer Association at livingstonyouthsoccer.org.  Although the project does receive grant funds, local funding has been and will be essential to the completion of all phases of the new park and soccer fields.
Also noted: New hospital construction, Urban Renewal Agency, Livingston Farmer’s Market, Park Street improvements, city bike paths, Livingston Gallery Association Art Walks, new street lights, “multiple coffee shops,” and new sewer and gas lines.

 

Best Street

1. Main Street

2. South Yellowstone

(tie) 3. Second Street

3. Park Street

 

Best Local Conspiracy Theory

1. Unsolved Murders in Livingston

2. Park Place Tavern Owners are Wiseguys in Witness Protection Program

3. Bicycle Thief Trade

Also noted: “Wal-Mart is Coming,” “City Commission is working against Livingston,’ growth potential, “’outsiders’ will take over,” J Street is underground, brothels still exist, Chinese tunnels under the city, and railroad containment dispute.

 

Best Place to Commune with Nature

1. Yellowstone River

2. Yellowstone National Park

3. Pine Creek 

Livingston is surrounded by natural splendor.  The city’s largest park is settled alongside a rocky bank of the Yellowstone River and summertime inner tube floats are possible even right through town in lower water years.  The city lies only 45 minutes north of the only year-round entrance to Yellowstone National Park, making the wilderness area and biosphere reserve a feature of the community’s backyard.  Pine Creek Falls and Campground in Paradise Valley are a short jaunt away for avid bikers or a quick drive.  Within minutes in any direction, Livingston residents can find themselves surrounded by a natural scene.
Also noted: Sacajawea Park, Suce Creek, Mill Creek, Livingston Peak, Nature, Yellowstone Park in September, “anywhere within 100 miles,” “my garden,’ Gallatin National Forest, Deep Creek, “floating on the river,” Deer Creek, the Beartooth Wilderness and “everywhere you are.”

 

Best Swimming Hole

1. Chico Hot Springs Saloon

2. Yellowstone River

3. Livingston City Pool

Also noted: Carter’s Bridge, Ninth Street Island bridge, Boiling River, Sheep mountain, Free River, “a sandy beach,” Sacajawea Park Lagoon, “not tellin’,” Pine Creek Lake and “no swimming this year.”

 

Best Camping

1. Pine Creek

2. Yellowstone National Park

(tie) 3. Mill Creek/Luccock Park

Also noted: Fairy Lake, Newlan Reservoir, “any island on the yellowstone,” Whiskey Creek, Paradise Access, Pine Creek Lake, Gallatin National Forest, Crazy Mountains, Loch Leven, Dailey Lake, Mallard’s rest, Osen’s, and “drunk camping.”

 

Best Place to Watch the Sunset

1. The Northside Hill

2. Livingston Peak

3. Up the Wineglass

Also noted: Anywhere, Deep Creek bench, Pine Creek, Moja Dog Park, Shield’s Valley, “in the west,” Bozeman Pass, “on a boat,” “on a float,’ Paradise Valley Grill, “Electric Peak on a good day,” Paradise Valley, dreams, Armstrong’s Deck, and “roof of the Truex building.”

 

Best Bike Ride

1. City Bike Path

2. Sacajawea Park

3. Old Clyde Park Road

For a few months out of the year, Livingston’s biking community swarms the streets and bike jams are common.  For the other nine months, the wind and cold force cruisers, 10-speeds and training wheels inside on most days.  On any day in Livingston, however, it is certain one will see a biker regardless of the weather.  The town is too small and convenient not to take advantage of the quick and inexpensive travel two wheels afford.Rides outside of town offer spectacular scenery and opportunity for varied courses and terrain and are popular with both locals and tourists, including special days in the spring and fall when Yellowstone Park is open only to cyclists.
Also noted: Yellowstone National Park bike days, around town, Bozeman Pass, Pine Creek (and back), Suce Creek, anywhere downtown, Mayor’s Landing loop, East River Road and “home.”

 

Best Bumper Sticker 

1. “LIV”

2. Invest in Kindness

3. Obama

Also noted: “Don’t Elect Anyone,” “Live Free or Die,” “NATIVE,” “Are You Driving a Car or Are You Driving a Phone Booth?” “I Like Big Books,” “If you’re riding my ass, you better be pulling my hair,” “Nobama,” “Honk if You Like Horns,” “I’d Rather Be at a Loretta Lynn Concert,” “Get Lost in Montana,” “Leave Go of My Ears I Know What I’m Doing!” “In 1969 the only wood stock I saw was on my rifle,” “I Brake for Amish Rake Fights,” and “Livingston Blows.”

 

Best Teen Hangout

1. McNair Skate Park

2. Landon’s Lookout

3. Coffee Crossing

The wilderness surrounding Livingston is a tremendous playground for children and teens offering fishing, hiking, snowboarding and skiing, climbing and even hang gliding but options for entertainment for the younger set outside high school sports have typically been slim over the past six years.Renovations and revitalization of the McNair Skate Park has paid off, and plans are continually underway to improve and expand the facility.  After three years, Landon’s Lookout has become a popular hangout as well.  While Livingston may not have a sprawling downtown, all-ages clubs, malls and inexpensive restaurants, the town does have three centrally-located coffee shops and a population of kids who know not just one another but each other’s parents and families.Creating opportunities for every age has been at the forefront of the citizen’s perspective for a long time, now, and the efforts continue to pay off.
Also noted: Pickle Barrel, Chadz, Empire Theater, The Shane Center, Sacajawea Park, Mark’s In and Out, Treasure Lanes, Park High sports, Pamida, Main Street, and Bozeman.

 

Best Bathrooms

1. Community Closet

2. Whiskey Creek

3. The Office Lounge

With an elaborate Lawrence Welk-themed and decorated restroom, the Community Closet brings a dance party to their public potty.  One of the Park Street thrift store’s many treasures, the restroom undergoes regular renovations—each resulting in a Best of Livingston Best Bathroom category win—and brings constant entertainment to thrift store shoppers.
Also noted: Second Street Bistro, Albertson’s, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Livingston Ball Fields, Town and Country, Pinky’s Café, Depot Center, Gateway Office and Livingston Bar and Grill.

 

Best Place to Send Tourists

1. Yellowstone National Park

2. (back) Home

3. Chadz

With Yellowstone National Park breaking visitation records each season, Livingston continues to function as a tourist town for the destination.  As the original gateway to the national park, the city’s history is steeped in stories of the famous visitors to the area such as Calamity Jane and Teddy Roosevelt.  Certainly throughout Livingston’s history, there have been many who have wanted to send these same tourists “home,” but most residents have a variety of suggestions for those just passing through to appreciate the area.
Also noted: Community Closet, Livingston Gallery Association Art Walk, Mark’s In and Out, “snipe hunting,” The Office Lounge, downtown, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, “up Swingley Road,” Glacier Park, Bozeman, Butte, Sacajawea Park Lagoon, Chico Hot Springs resort, Yellowstone Bus Tour, on a Yellowstone float, Yellowstone Gateway Museum and the Depot Center.

 

Best Prediction for the Future

1. Slow Economic Growth

2. Volcanic Eruption at Yellowstone Park

3. Wind Will Blow

Each year in this annual poll, this is the category most interesting in retrospect.  While five years ago unbridled and unchecked growth were predictions and concerns, now the responses reflect a prediction of economic patience with the slow growth of the economy in the community, and some wild card responses, of course.
Also noted: Population of 50,000 by 2020, it will get cold, oceanfront property, affordable housing, 0% unemployment, “way cooler than Bozeman,’ “hopefully stay small and beautiful,’ more good jobs, “windy with unsettled weather,” “Half the fishing guide services are cut,” “much of the same,”  “2012-word ends,” “windy with unsettled weather,” and “Money! Money! Money! (You said ‘Best’ not realistic).”


Food & Spirits


Best Local Chef:

1. Brian Menges, Second Street Bistro

2. Josh Pastrama, Paradise Valley Grill

(tie)3. Zac Kellerman, Zac’s Montana Kitchen

3. Dan Shapiro, Pine Creek Café

With a commitment to growing, purchasing and serving local produce and meats, Brian Menges and his staff at the Second Street Bistro continue a tradition in 2011 of sweeping many categories in the Best of Livingston Poll.  Close on their heels in many categories are Paradise Valley Grill and Chico Hot Springs Resort’s Dining Room, two additional farm-to-restaurant participants.  As the local and sustainable food movement grows each year, and producers and supply lines increase and become more streamlined more local restaurants will be able to take advantage of locally-produced goods.  For Menges at the Bistro, the future will also include a new culinary venture in Gil’s Goods adjacent to The Murray Bar to be open within the next year.
Also noted: Carol Sullivan, Josh Cantrell, Morgan Milton, Rick Sadlier, Jim Liska, Chad Petrulis, Joe Colvin, and “Bagel Maker at MT Cup.”

 

Best Fine Dining

1. Second Street Bistro

2. Paradise Valley Grill

3. Montana’s Rib and Chop House

Best of Livingston 2011 poll results represent a seven-time win for Second Street Bistro in the Best Fine Dining category.  Through changes in kitchen staff and appearance (this year marked a revelation of an original mosiac stone floor underneath carpet in the dining room), the Second Street Bistro has become a cherished local treasure: consistently tasty and focused on supporting local farmers and ranchers.  Popular specials such as Sunday pizza nights and a Bistro Power Hour during the winter season as a discount for the local folks who stick around all year, along with great food, make the restaurant irresistible to diners with cabin fever during the colder months.  During the summers, outdoor seating may land one at a table next to Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange, just two of many celebrities who find the Bistro as charming as the locals do.Livingston’s selection of restaurants is surprising considering the size of the town, but the wide variety—and selections south of town in Paradise Valley—serve a community of retired tourists and second-home owners who still hanker for the trappings of city life even on short visits to rural Montana country.  Now in its second year, Paradise Valley Grill at the Yellowstone Lodge has now established a successful enterprise in the valley utilizing fresh local produce and meats and is singled out by readers in this year’s poll for second place.Montana’s Rib and Chop House, by far Livingston’s busiest restaurant, took third place honors in this year’s poll.  The steakhouse/railroad yard atmosphere, cozy fireside bar, jumbo cocktails and sizzling steaks at the Chop House are all Livingston institutions.
Also noted: The Sport, Chico Hot Springs Dining Room, Pine Creek Café, Thai I’san, Park Place Tavern, Adagio and The Stockman.

 

Best Service

1. Second Street Bistro

2. Montana Rib and Chop

3. The Office Lounge

Also noted: Paradise Valley Grill, Chico Hot Springs Dining Room, Pinky’s, Whiskey Creek, Pine Creek Café, Chad Petrulis, Fiesta en Jalisco, Coffee Crossing, Pickle Barrel, Mark’s In and Out, Homemade Kitchen, Post Office, Empire Theater, Montana Cup, Northern Pacific Beanery, Buffalo jump, Paradise Valley Pop Stand, Dairy Queen and Ace Hardware.

 

Best Breakfast

1. Pinky’s

2. Montana Cup

3. Yellowstone Truck Stop

Pinky’s Café on Main Street downtown may only be open weekdays for breakfast and lunch, but the restaurant has a devoted following, including Anthony Bourdain of the Discovery Channel show “No Reservations.”  Bourdain sampled Terri Ruggles’ authentic Butte pasties and featured the dish and the proprietor on his program.  Locals love Pinky’s for the front of the house action, notably Pinky, or Rich Ruggles who has a perpetual smile, plays keyboards in the local jam band The Fossils and actually coined the phrase “You Betcha!”Pinky’s numbered menu includes three-egg omelettes, dinosaur-shaped pancakes, breakfast sandwiches on homemade bread and home fries mixed with any number of ingredients.  Ample hot sauce is provided on each table.  For the sweet tooth, Terri often whips up a batch of doughnuts on Monday mornings.Coming in second place is Montana Cup coffee shop, sure to have made the list for the freshly-made bagels crafted each morning and available until sold out.Yellowstone Truck Stop came in at third place, and the 24-hour restaurant is obviously a favorite diner among readers.
Also noted: Chadz, The Other Café, 49’r, Pine Creek Café, Clark’s Crossing, Homemade Kitchen, Northern Pacific Beanery, Paradise Valley Pop Stand, The Pickle Barrel and Whiskey Creek.

 

Best Lunch

1. Pinky’s

2. Bittersweet

3. Mustang Catering

Also Noted: Matt’s Butcher Shop and Deli, Chadz, Mustang Catering, The Sport, Hot Diggity Dog, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Mark’s In ans Out, Pickle Barrel, The Fry House, The Stockman, Hearthstone, 49’r, Allegro, The Office, Fiesta en Jalisco, Thai I’san and Yellowstone Pizza.

 

Best Sandwich

1. Matt’s Butcher Shop and Deli

(tie) 2. Pinky’s

2. Chadz

2. Pickle Barrel

The race was heated with three restaurants making a tie for second place in the best sandwich category.  First place went unanimously to Matt’s Butcher Shop and Deli who continue to make made-to-order deli sandwiches  and salads with in-house roasted and smoked meats.  With the runners-up, readers noted their favorites while voting: “Liberace” and “The New One” along with votes for Pinky’s.  Chadz fans noted “Novemba,” “Cajun” and “Rueben” while a Pickle Barrel vote specifically indicated “veggie sammy.”
Also noted: Mustang Catering, Hearthstone, The Fry House, The Office (“Pork Chop John”), Park Place, Western Drug, Homemade Kitchen, Allegro, The Stockman, and the “breakfast sammy” at Coffee Crossing.

 

Best Ethnic Food

1. Fiesta en Jalisco

2. Thai I’san

3. The Wok

Also noted: Rosa’s, Taco John’s, Neptune’s, Twin Dragon, and “Nothing beat Crazy Coyote.”

 

Best Burger

1. The Stockman

2. Mark’s In and Out

3. Montana’s Rib and Chop House

Also noted: The Sport, Paradise Valley Pop Stand, Park Place Tavern, Second Street Bistro, Old Saloon in Emigrant, The Fry House, Paradise Valley Grill, Yellowstone Truck Stop, The Office Lounge and Dairy Queen.

 

Best Steak

1. Montana’s Rib and Chop House

2. The Stockman

3. Paradise Valley Grill

For the fifth year, Montana’s Rib and Chop House took top honor in the steak department.  It’s no wonder with the attention to cuts and temperatures consistently shown at this Livingston institution.The Stockman came in at a close second place, once again solidifying its place as Livingston’s most traditional steak house.  The gourmet local Milton Ranch grass-fed burgers at Paradise Valley Grill took third place honors.
Also noted: Chico Hot Springs Dining Room, The Sport, Second Street Bistro, Park Place Tavern, Matt’s Butcher Shop and Deli and “on my grill at home.”

 

Best Pizza

1. Rosa’s Pizza

2. Second Street Bistro

3. Yellowstone Pizza

Also noted: Adagio, The Murray Bar, Hiatt House, The Office Lounge, Pizza Hut, and “my kitchen.”

 

Best Desserts

1. Bittersweet

2. Second Street Bistro

3. Montana’s Rib and Chop House

Also noted: Paradise Valley Grill, Chico Hot Springs Dining Room, Chadz, Wilcoxins, Mustang Catering, Hearthstone, The Sport, Park County Fair, Dairy Queen, Pinky’s and Pine Creek.

 

Best Place for a First Date

1. Chico Hot Springs Resort

(tie) 2. Second Street Bistro

2. Montana’s Rib and Chop House

Also Noted: Empire Theater, Adagio, Yellowstone River, Adagio, The Murray Bar, Mark’s In and Out, Pine Creek, Park Place Tavern, Pine Creek Lake, downtown, Chadz, Neptune’s, The Office Lounge, Livingston Library, and “a pickup in Paradise.”

 

Best Place to Eat when Someone Else Pays

1. Chico Hot Springs Dining Room

2. Second Street Bistro

3. Montana’s Rib and Chop House

 Also noted: Paradise Valley Grill, The Grand in Big Timber, The Sport, Rosa’s Pizza, The Stockman, “Fiesta en Jalisco,” and “any place!”

 

Best Wine List

1. Second Street Bistro

2. Chico Hot Springs Dining Room

3. Adagio

Also noted: Paradise Valley Grill, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Gourmet Cellar, The Office Lounge and Livingston Bar and Grill.

 

Best Server

1. Nathaniel Browning at Second Street Bistro

2. Phalle Colvin at Montana’s Rib and Chop House

3. Chad Petrulis at Chadz

Also noted: Pinky, Steph Downey, Rachel Pastrama, Angie Gill, Jess Auger, Paula Flatt and Topher Reimers.

 

Best Catering

1. Mustang Catering

(tie) 2. Zac’s Montana Kitchen

2. Second Street Bistro

Also noted: Matt’s Butcher Shop and Deli, Paradise Valley Grill, East-West, Homemade Kitchen, Sarah Kenecht and The Sport.

 

Best Expression of Dinner as Art

1. Second Street Bistro

2. Paradise Valley Grill

3. Chico Hot Springs Dining Room

Also noted: Pine Creek Café, The Sport, Mark’s In and Out, Chadz, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, and “Rosa’s Pepperoni Pizza.”

 

Best Place to Dine Alone

1. Mark’s In and Out

2. Home

3. McDonald’s

Also noted: Adagio/Allegro, The Sport, The Murray Bar, Pinky’s, Chadz, Park Place Tavern, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, The Wok, The Stockman, Homemade Kitchen, Second Street Bistro Bar, Chico Saloon, The Office Lounge, Thai I’san, Yellowstone Truck Stop, and “St. Mary’s parking lot.”

 

Best Coffee

1. Coffee Crossing

2. Chadz

3. Montana Cup

No corporate coffee chains feed Livingston’s caffeine addiction.  Instead, a trio of downtown coffee shops create a the city’s java culture.  Each year the competition for the designation of Best Coffee is steep.  Last year, Chadz won for Best Coffee, and this year the honor has traveled back around the block to Coffee Crossing on Second Street.  Coffee Crossing coffee is roasted locally, and each cup is a fortune cookie with Rawlings’ clever verbal tidbits affixed to the side as an extra treat with each latté, Americano or cup of joe served.  
Also noted: Café d’Arte, McDonald’s, Jumping Trout Java, Coffee Creek, The Other Café, Senior Citizen’s Center, and Yellowstone Truck Stop.

 

Best Barista

1. Chad Petrulis at Chadz

2. Dan Emter at Montana Cup

3. Cherie at Coffee Crossing

Also noted: Jen Eames, Kitty Krone, Topher Reimers, Sara Foster, Calvin Anderson, and “Café D’Arte Ladies.”

 

Best Bar/Tavern

1. The Murray Bar

2. The Office Lounge

3. Park Place Tavern

Livingston was historically known as a end-of the line railroad stop and tavern town.  The bygone days recorded in local newspapers indicate a rowdy life among saloon crowd, with shootouts and bar brawls a common cause of injury and even death.  At the height of the railroad era, Livingston boasted over a dozen bars downtown where live music would play every weekend at each spot.  The tradition continues, albeit a bit more subdued, and this year voters recognized one of Livingston’s old standards as a favorite: The Murray Bar.  From the collection of “Bar Flys,” or framed portraits of fishermen alongside one of their favorite or signature feathered hooks, to the live music still thumping every weekend and inspiring a dance floor of the uninhibited, the Murray continues the Livingston party tradition for those needing to take a load off, unwind and watch (or participate in) the entertainment.The Office Lounge at second place is also a favorite among readers for its many wide-screen TVs and tavern fare served late into the evening.
Also noted: The Mint Bar and Theater, Whiskey Creek, The Hiatt House, The Elk’s Lodge, Second Street Bistro Bar, The Stockman, River’s Edge, Chico Saloon, Livingston Bar and Grill and The Sport.

 

Best Happy Hour

1. The Office Lounge

2. The Murray Bar

3. Second Street Bistro Bar

Also noted: Whiskey Creek, The Mint Bar and Theater, Park Place Tavern, The Hiatt House, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Pine Creek Café, and Chico Saloon.

 

Nicest Bar Staff

1. Whiskey Creek

2. The Office Lounge

3. The Murray Bar

Also noted: Park Place Tavern, Livingston Bar and Grill, Second Street Bistro, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, The Mint Bar and Theater, The Hiatt House, The Stockman, The Sport, Chico Saloon, River’s Edge, and The Elk’s Lodge.

 

Best Bartender

1. Glenn Godward at Park Place Tavern

(tie) 2. Perry Cota at Whiskey Creek

2. Lori Munro at Whiskey Creek

Also noted: Nathaniel Browning at Second Street Bistro, Tasha Iglinski at The Mint Bar and Theater, Paula Flatt, Kim Lentz at Livingston Bar and Grill, Chuck at The Office Lounge, Cole Murphy at The Murray Bar, Justin Perryman, Heidi at the Sport, Bo at Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Dana Latch and Michelle Lutes.

 

Best Draft Beer

1. The Murray Bar

2. Whiskey Creek

3. Neptunes’ Brewery

Also noted: Park Place Tavern, The Mint Bar and Theater, The Office Lounge, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Fiesta en Jalisco and Livingston Bar and Grill.

 

Best Martini

1. Second Street Bistro

2. Park Place Tavern

3. The Murray Bar

Also noted: The Office Lounge, Whiskey Creek, Livingston Bar and Gill, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Chico Hot Springs Resort, The Mint Bar and Theatre, The Sport, The Hiatt house and “Chadz Basement Lounge.”

 

Best Place to Watch Sports

1. The Office Lounge

2. 49’r

3. The Murray Bar

Also noted: Whiskey Creek, z-Barn, The Sport, The Mint Bar and Theater, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, soccer fields, tennis courts, baseball fields, Park High.

 

Best Place to Drink Alone

1. Whiskey Creek

2. The Murray Bar

3. The Office Lounge

No one wants to drink alone, but when the need arises a few local watering holes should be celebrated for the hospitality (or anonymity) shown to lone patrons.  
Also noted: Park Place Tavern, The Hiatt House, Livingston Bar and Grill, 49’r, Capone’s, Neptune’s, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, and Second Street Bistro Bar.

 

Best Live Music Venue

1. The Murray Bar

2. Pine Creek Lodge and Café

3. The Mint Bar and Theater

Also noted: Miles Park Band Shell, Chico Saloon, Summerfest, Music Ranch montana, Z-Barn and The Hiatt House.

 

Best Place to Play Pool

1. The Murray Bar

2. Whiskey Creek

3. The Office Lounge

Also noted: 49’r, The Mint Bar and Theater, Treasure Lanes, Buffalo Jump, The Hiatt House, and Best Western.

 

Best Jukebox

1. Whiskey Creek

2. The Murray Bar

3. The Mint Bar and Theater

 

Goods and Services

 

Best Fly Fishing Shop

1. Dan Bailey’s

2. George Anderson’s Yellowstone Angler

3. Hatchfinder’s

Also noted: Sweetwater and Angler’s West

 

Best Fly Fishing Guide

1. Chester Marion 

(tie) 2. Rich Stevenson

2. George Anderson

2. Bob Auger

Also noted: Jamie Anderson, Peter Howell, Danny Lahren, Matt Wilhelm, Brian O’Connor, Roy Senter, Dan Vermillion, John Boyd, Timm Rosenbach, Eric Adams, Dan Bailey’s, Kirk Gammill and Dean Reiner.

 

Best Women’s Clothing

1. Livingston Mercantile

2. Wild West

3. Bob’s Outdoor

Also noted: Vogue Shop, Community Closet, Timber Trails, Pamida, and the Curated Closet.

 

Best Men’s Clothing

1. Bob’s Outdoor

2. Livingston Mercantile

3. Community Closet

Also noted: Curated Closet, Timber Trails, Pamida, and Bozeman.

 

Best Window Display

1. Wild West Clothing

2. Curated Closet

3. Home on the Range

Also noted: The Office Lounge and Liquor Store, Chadz, Livingston Mercantile, Conley’s Books and Music, The Obsidian Collection, Nancy’s Hallmark, B. Civilized, Timber Trails, Garre Fine Art, Sax and Fryer, Catherine Lane and Cowboy Connection.

 

Best Hardware Store

1. Ace Hardware

2. True Value

3. Kenyon Noble

 

Best Car Dealer

1. Montana Auto Trader

2. Billion Auto

3. Yellowstone Country Motors

Also noted: Good Time Sports and craigslist.org.

 

Best Auto Repair

1. Larry’s Foreign Auto Repair

2. A-1 Muffler

3. American Automotive

Also noted: Yellowstone Country Motors, Special Lube, Crash repair, Parker Automotive, Yellowstone Motors and Pony Express.

 

Best Realtor

1. Gillian Swanson

(Tie) 2. Hebbard Blesius

2. Century 21 Payne Realty

Also noted: Amanda Knuchel, Bruce Lay, Julie Kennedy, Jon Ellen Snyder, Michelle Goodwine, Earnie Meador, Jeff Welke, Tina Pollack, Stacey Raney, Amanda Gentry, Pam McCutcheon, Sam Noah, Tracy Raich, Lisa Schwartz and David Viers.

 

Best Financial Institution

1. American Bank

(tie) 2. First Interstate

2. Sky Federal Credit Union

Also noted: Bank of the Rockies, Sterling Savings Bank, Wells Fargo and “dresser drawer.”

 

Best Home Decor

1. Catherine Lane

2. Community Closet

(tie) 3. Rocky Mountain Design

3. Truex

Also noted: Pamida, and True Value.

 

Best Convenience Store

1. TJ’s Gas and Convenience

2. Town Pump

3. Western Drug

 

Best Boss

1. Janet Prescott

2. Annette Burns

3. Caron Cooper

Also noted: Frank O’Connor, Josh Pastrama, Rich Ruggles, Merlin Moss, Pinky at The Empire Theater, Jim McNamara, Lynda Gravage, Jim Huntzinger, Bob Storey, Dave Eaton, Tim Selso, Mary Weimer, Patsy Brandon, Toby McAdam, Vicki Blakeman, Annie Craig, Dan Kaul, John Fryer and Chad Petrulis.

 

Best Fresh Produce

1. Livingston Farmer’s Market

2. Albertsons 

3. Town and Country

Also noted: Foodworks, The Hutterites, The Community Garden and “fruit and vegetable stands across from Town and Country.

 

Best Grocery Store

1. Town and Country

2. Albertsons

3. Foodworks

Also noted: Livingston Farmer’s Market and Matt’s Butcher Shop and Deli.

 

Best Retail Wine Selection

1. Gourmet Cellar

2. Town and Country

3. Spirits Liquor Store

Also noted: The Office Lounge and Liquor Store and Albertsons.

 

Best Retail Beer Selection

1. Town and Country

2. Albertsons

3. Spirits Liquor Store

Also noted: Gourmet Cellar, The Office Lounge and Liquor Store, Tj’s Gas ‘n Convenience, Town Pump, My garage, Whiskey Creek and “my garage.”

 

Best Salesperson

1. Gillian Swanson

2. Nan Conley

(tie) 3. John Hykes

3. Robin Zank

 

Best Cowboy Boots

1. Bowman’s Wilson Boots

2. Livingston Mercantile

3. Community Closet

Also noted: Curated Closet, Wild West Clothing, Pamida, The Spur Line and Curated Closet.

 

Best Thrift Store

1. Community Closet

2. Mainstreeter Thrift Store

3. Curated Closet

Also noted: Bob and Lu’s and Pamida.

 

Best Masseuse

1. Amory Anderson

2. Kristen Kovash

3. Nicole Chowen

Also noted: Liane Memmer, Jyleah Ricci, Stacey Blackwell, Cleste Mazzoulli, Nancy Milligan, Mell Cumming, Alison Meredith and Rob Bankston.

 

Best Hairdresser

1. Tracy Flanigan at the Edge Salon

2. Laura Bolduc at The Salon

3. Tammy Hofland at Root 66

Also noted: Stacie Rath, Lisa Patrick, Ismael Duenas, Karen O’Connor, Cheryl Pompper, Kris Hansen, Tina Pollack, Kitty DOnahue, Paula Flatt, Sandra Bourque, Desiree Devres, Amy Schad, Tara Dilmore, Lynda Floyd, and Paula Bergstein.

 

Best Salon

1. The Edge Salon

2. Root 66

3. Lady Ann’s

Also noted: Tangles, Pura Vida, Paradise Impressions, Halo, The Salon, Legends, and Hair, Nails, Etc.

 

Best Doctor

1. Dr. Scott Coleman

2. Dr. Denise Helin

(tie) 3. Dr. Doug Wadle

3. Dr. Stephanie Lang

Also noted: Dr. Genevieve Reid, Dr. Ben Bullington, Dr. Dennis Noteboom, Dr. Ted Scofield and Dr. Michelle Donaldson.

 

Best Nurse

1. Terry Ward

2. Peggy Scanson

3. Carol Lutes

Also noted: Peggy O’Neill, Mary Agnes Anderson Morrow, Paual Coleman, Jenni Goosey, Gerri Lyman, Shanya Nova, Heather Jurvakainen, and Gloria Guides.

 

Best Dentist

1. Gary Jagodinski, DDS

2. Elizabeth Blavatsky, DDS

3. Community Health Partners Clinic

Also noted: Ted Kulaga, Joanna Wales, Tony Frederickson and Richard Nichols.

 

Best Chiropractor

1. Merle Bouma

2. Jim Brandeau

3. Louis Buffalino

 

Best Veterinarian

1. Dr. Duane Colmey

2. Dr. Trevor McCormack

3. Dr. James Murray

 

Best Fitness Instructor

1. Sara Rossi

2. DeeDee Morford

3. Amy Titgemeier Stevens

 

Arts & Entertainment

 

Best Lodging

1. The Murray Hotel

2. Livingston Inn

3. Chico Saloon

Also noted: Best Western Yellowstone Inn, Pine Creek Lodge, The Main Hotel, Country Motor Inn and Super 8 Motel.

 

Best Artist

1. Parks Reece

(tie) 2. Edd Enders

2. David Swanson

Also noted: Russell Chatham, Brad Bunkers, Carol Newbury Howe, Hannah Gracey, Aaron Schuerr, Brian White, Sarah Homans, Nikki Romero, Todd Frederickson, Al Feldstein and and Jay Wesler.

 

Best Gallery

1. The Danforth Gallery

2. Avery’s Paradise Artworks

3. Parks Reece

Also noted: Chatham’s Fine Art, b. civilized, Vision’s West, Livingston Center for Art and Culture, Garre Fine Art, Chadz, Flying Squirrel, and Mordam Art.

 

Best Book Selection

1. Elk River Books

2. Sax and Fryer

3. Conleys Books and Music

Also noted: Livingstonston Library and Sacred Mysteries.

 

Best Local Author

1. Jim Harrison

(tie) 2. Mary Ann Campbell

2. Peter Bowen

Also noted: Doris Whithorn, Scott McMillion, Max Hjortsberg, Doug Peacock, Jamie Harrison, Tom McGuane, Christopher Paolini, Alston Chase, Jay Wesley, Richard Wheeler, John Kolstoe, Tim Cahill, Marc Beaudin and Seabring Davis.

 

Best Journalist

1. Dwight Harriman

2. Camden Easterling

(tie) 3. Scott McMillion

3. Reilly Neill

Also noted: Steve Matlow, Wes Venteicher, David Lewis, Liz Kearney, Tom Gersack, Karen Ronnow, Andrea Peacock and Tom Brokaw.

 

Best Photographer

1. Melanie Nashan

(tie) 2. Tom Murphy

3. Jay Wesler

Also noted: Audrey Hall, Aaric Bryan, Lindsay Wells, Lynn Donaldson, Doris Whithorn, Rhonda Peterson, Jim Bechtel, Paul Dix, John Zumpano, and Meggan Davidson.

 

Best Local Musician

1. Frank O’Connor

2. Ashley Holland

3. Rich Ruggles

Also noted: Justin Brown, Mike Devine, Kyle Brenner, Tyson Hirsch, Cindy Hicks, Ben Bullington, Paul Gates, Sean Devine, Kevin Toll, Russell Smith, Joanne Gardner, Scott Boehler, Jamie Warren and Hilary O’Hara.

 

Best Local Live Band

1. The Max

2. The Fossils

3. Little Jane and the Pistol Whips

Also noted: Two Story Ranch, 10 Foot Tall, Ringling 5, Speakeasy, Kostas, Montana Rose, The Foulhooks, Red Elvises, Denny and Resonators, Prairie Wind Jammers, Highway 89 and Professional Secrecy LTD.

 

Best Actor/Actress

(tie) 1. Jeff Bridges

1. Margot Kidder

2. Gary Fish

Also noted: Michael Keaton, Dennis Quaid, Nate Robinson, Aaron Schuerr, Rich Hall, Gillian Swanson, Jason Stathom, Austin Reed, Timothy V. Lee, Dewey Kemp, and Kara Wilder.

 

Best Local Museum/Exhibit

1. The Depot Center Museum

2. Yellowstone Gateway Museum

3. Museum of the Rockies

Also noted: Livingston Model Train Club exhibit, The Mint Bar Whithorn Collection photos, Downtown Street Art Project, Lewis and Clark Interpretive Panels and Livingston Art and Culture.

 

Best Local Festival/Event

1. Summerfest

(tie) 2. Fourth of July Parade and Rodeo

2. Livingston Farmer’s Market

Also noted: Bark in the Park, Red Ants Pants, PBR Bullriding, Songwriters in the Round, Stafford Shelter Fur Ball and “art walks/stumbles.”

 

Best Local Celebrity 

(tie) 1. Margot Kidder

1. Jeff Bridges

2. Tom Brokaw

Also noted: Dennis Quaid, Michael Keaton, Chad Petrulis, Ned Shapiro, Jim Harrison, Rich Hall, Missi Pyle, and Dewey Kemp.

 

Best Place to Party

1. The Murray Bar

2. My House

3. The Office Lounge

Also noted: Whiskey Creek, The Mint Bar and Theater, The Hiatt, Chico Hot Springs, The Madison River, Z-Barn, Miles Park Band Shell and “naked in the streets.”

 

Best Place to People Watch

1. Main Street

2. The Murray Bar

3. Chadz

Also noted: Summerfest, Livingston Farmer’s Market, Sacajawea park, The Mint Bar and Theater, Yellowstone National Park, Fourth of July Parade, and outside Coffee Crossing. 

 

Thanks for voting Livingston! We look forward to counting your votes in 2012.

Northside Park & Soccer Fields

Phase I of Livingston’s newest city park: Northside Park and Soccer Fields located on the north hill, is complete. This collaborative effort between the City of Livingston and the Livingston Youth Soccer Association (LYSA) will eventually transform 18-acres of unused city land into a premier area for public recreation with views of the surrounding mountains. 

President of the Livingston Youth Soccer Association and Chairman of the capital campiagn for the park project, Jeff Dickerson, says the new park is designed for maximum community use and will be the “Sacajawea Park” of the city’s north side. 

This is a “People Park,” Dickerson says, a park designed to be used and enjoyed for a wide variety of recreational activities. Because soccer fields do not require permanent structures, the open interior areas of the park will provide green space for activities when the soccer fields are not in use.

Dickerson says having the space for four regulation soccer fields will enable Livingston to host soccer camps, referee and coaching clinics and tournaments.  “Once the project is completely developed, we can host larger tournaments and pay back businesses for 25 years of supporting the youth soccer club,” says Dickerson.  He adds the park will be able to host state high school tournaments which bring hundereds of visitors through a community and can generate upwards of $250,000 in revenue for the city injust a few days.  

According to Project Coordinator Tina Poncin, soccer programs in Park County have had rapid growth over the past 25 years cimilar to soccer programs across the country and the state.  Currently, Livingston has only one full-sized soccer field in Sacajawea Park, and over 600 youth in the area engage in LYSA soccer activities every year. A single field does not provide adequate and safe space for practice and games, says Poncin.

Limited space at the high school level is also problematic.  Both girls and boys varsity and JV teams practice on baseball fields and play games on the school’s football field, both of which are poorly designed surfaces and inadequate in size for soccer. Every year, about 450 youth, ages 5-15, from Livingston and the surrounding communities play recreational soccer in the fall.  Over 160 games are played during the 8-week season.  In addition, the spring Competitive and Academy Leagues, ages 9-18 usually field four to six teams and 75-110 players.  Also in the fall, over 60 high school girls and boys participate in the Park High School soccer program annually. In addition, over 100 kids attend summer soccer camps hosted by LYSA.

Building the Park

Livingston Youth Soccer Association (LYSA) is a non-profit community organization that has provided soccer opportunities for youth in Livingston and Park County since 1985.  In May 2004 the Livingston City Commission approached LYSA regarding the need for public green space on the city’s north side.  The city wanted LYSA to collaborate with them in designing, building and maintaining a new city park in the area of towns’ major growth, having over 500 new residential lots.  Several years of collaboration resulted in the completion of Phase 1 construction in 2010.  This phase opened to the public at a gala August 26, 2011.

The park was designed by Carl Thuesen ASLA, a landscape architectural firm in Billings with experience developing park and recreation complexes.  The project has been planned in phases to provide the public with the opportunity to use the park and engage in various recreational activities as facilities become available. The project construction will be undertaken in tfour phases.

Phase 1 was completed in fall 2010, and developed half of the city property set aside for the park, including park space with enough open space for two full-sized soccer fields, a tree-lined concrete walkway, one parking lot, and amenities such as picnic tables and benches. This park area will be soon open to the public next weekend, as the turf grow-in period has been completed.

Phase 2 will include more park space, a third soccer field, the west parking lot, a walkway that traverses the park, as well as more trees, benches, and picnic tables. In addition, it will complete the earthwork for the areas where the building and main parking area will be located.

Phase 3 and 4 will complete the project by building a support building with adjacent open park space, a fourth soccer field in collaboration with the Livingston School District and a large parking area off North 13th and Bitteroot Streets.

Capital Campaign

The cost to develop this entire park is projected to be $2.6 million. An extensive fundraising campaign was launched in early 2008 to secure donations from individuals, businesses, corporations, and foundations for the funds needed to complete the different phases of the project.

The Public Works Department of the City of Livingston has and will continue to assist with various aspects of the project to the extent that resources and time are available.  Funds for Phase 2, which is expected to cost between $400,000 and $450,000, are now being raised.LYSA, in collaboration with the City of Livingston, is committed to the future maintenance of the park. Responsibilities for park maintenance have been outlined in the Use Agreement signed by LYSA and the City in 2006. 

Grand Opening 

The Grand Opening of Phase I was held Saturday, August 27 from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.   Organizers at LYSA encouraged the community to bring a blanket and some lawn chairs and spend a fun-filled day in the park with friends and family, and celebrate how a small town with a big vision can pull together as a community and make things happen. 

Some of the activities included a ribbon-cutting ceremony with a biodegradable balloon release, a soccer ball speed contest, a dunking booth, magic tricks, kite demonstrations, and live music from Cool McCool and the Spies.  Kids ages 1-10 years brought baskets and hunted for winning soccer balls. Prizes and give-a-ways weree awarded throughout the day and local food and beverage vendors were available in the park from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. 

The Grand Opening celebration kicked off with awards for the winners of the Commemorative T-shirt Art Contest.  Voted on by the YSA Board of Directors, Stella Edwards and Shannon Wilson’s T-shirt designs were chosen to be on Northside Park’s Commemorative youth and adult T-shirts. T-shirts are on sale at www.livingstonyouthsoccer.org.

For more information about the Grand Opening event or about the project visit www.livingstonyouthsoccer.org or follow the Park progress on Facebeook at www.facebook.com/northsideparkandsoccerfields.  Contact Jeff Dickerson at 220-3011 or jeffdickersondvm@mcn.net  

—LC Staff

Tina Poncin and Jeff Dickerson

Protesting the Pipeline: Livingston Group Goes to Washington to Protest the Keystone XL Expansion

Livingston residents Joanie Kresich, Margot Kidder, Linda Kenoyer and Margarita McLarty will traveled to Washington, DC last fall to protest the pending federal approval for a Canadian company to build a 1,600-mile pipeline to carry unrefined oil products from tar sands extraction in the Athabasca Oil Sands in northeastern Alberta, Canada to refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma, and further to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The primary output of the tar sands in Alberta is bitumin, is a mixture of organic liquids so highly viscous and heavy they must be heated or diluted before flowing. At room temperature, bitumen has a consistency much like cold molasses. 
Bitumen can now be made from non-petroleum based renewable resources such as sugar, molasses and rice, corn and potato starches. Bitumen can also be made from waste material by fractional distillation of used motor oils.

Tar sand deposits are mined, usually using strip mining or open pit techniques.  The oil sands in Alberta constitute the largest known accessible reserves of bitumen.Canada is the largest supplier of petroleum products to the U.S.  The Canadian oil company TransCanada Corp. completed construction in 2010 on one pipeline, the Keystone, carrying 590,000 barrels a day of Canadian oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to Patoka and Wood River, Illinois, and to a storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma.

The expanded trans-continent Keystone XL project is scheduled to be completed by 2013. However, it has yet to receive final approvals from the U.S. government and faces opposition from some federal and state lawmakers as well as environmentalists who worry about the impact of increased Canadian oil sands development on air, land, water and local communities.

The Livingston Current sat down with three of the Livingston women who went to Washington to protest federal approval for the Keystone XL project: artist and activist Margot Kidder; educator, poet and author Joanie Kresich and retired physicist Linda Kenoyer, to discuss their impetus for attending the action in Washington.

Livingston Current: Who and what are the forces behind the upcoming event in Washington?

Joanie Kresich:  It’s an event called by a coalition of people and it’s meant to be an act of civil disobedience.  The implication is that most people who are coming are willing to be arrested.

Linda Kenoyer: It’s a sit-in three weeks long and each day there will be a group of people who come and sit at the White House fence.   The National Park Service has control of the area and they arrest people who won’t leave.  

Margot Kidder:  Writers Bill McKibbon and Wendell Berry are among the organizers for the event.  McKibbon is a science writer and Barry is an essayist and novelist and both have been enviornmental writers for many years.  In the coalition is pretty much every big environmental group in the United States.  Naomi Klein will hpefully be coming from Canada.  I’m praying Tantoo Cardinal will also be coming from Canada whose people have been directly affected by the tar stands exploration in their country and are dying from horrible diseases that no one is paying any attention to.

Kresich:  Another organizer is Jim Hansen who is a NASA climate scientist.  These are just some of the people who are encouraging regular citizens to join them.

LC:  What is the scope of the expanded Keystone XL Pipeline?

Kresich:  It’s a planned oil pipeline, 3-feet wide in diameter, to go from Alberta all the way through parts of Montana, and South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, crossing many rivers and digging a deep furrow though quite a lot of private land they have access to through eminent domain.  Also through wilderness areas, parks, without any regard for the possible environmental destruction of those areas.

Kenoyer:  And it will go through a large part of the Ogallala Aquifer which is the biggest freshwater aquifer in the United States.

LC:  What are possible implications of the Keystone XL pipeline construction?

Kidder:  I think it’s important to point out two things: there’s a protest about this pipeline coming through Montana and there’s a local aspect to it.  But one of the real horrific results of letting this happen is that we’re going to quadruple and quadruple again the output of the tar sands in Alberta because there is basically no governmental control, environmentally, in Canada over the oil and gas industry, far less than there is here.  The tar sands is the biggest carbon emitter on the planet.  If you quadruple that, it’s using up something like 20 percent of Canada’s allowed emissions alone.  It’s really shocking

Kenoyer:  The actual extraction of the oil from the tar sands uses huge quantities of water, and emits huge quantities of carbon, just in the extraction.  The oil that they get out is not the crude oil that comes in liquid from the ground, it has natural gas mixed in it and is highly corrosive.  Refining it is a different process which uses even more carbon in the act of refining.  Saying it will increase the carbon output is not that we’re making all this oil available and we’re going to burn it—that’s just like any other oil, it’s a carbon emitter.  But the actual production of the oil produces more carbon than any of the other ways you could produce.  They’ve known the tar sands were full of oil for a long time, but it was never economically worth it because of the environmental cost, the amount of water that was needed, or the amount of energy that was needed to extract and refine it.  Recently, the cost of oil has gone up enough they are willing to sacrifice all those things.

Kresich:  As well as sacrificing the future of the climate for future generations.

LC:  Why petition the federal government, rather than local or legislative branches?

Kenoyer:  This is a Canadian company that wants to build on American land, this is not an American company.  So in order for a foreign company to get eminent domain, to get the permits to do this, they have to go through the State Department.  This is a foreign diplomacy issue.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the person who gave the recommendation to approve it and the House of Representatives passed a resolution encouraging her to recommend the approval, but President Obama has the final say.  He either approves it or not.  Congress doesn’t get to decide this.  It’s an international diplomacy issue.

Kidder:  The oil and gas companies are our government now.  Obama in the fall will either sign or not sign to allow approval for the pipeline, but of course it looks like he will sign something allowing this to happen.  He’s under great pressure from both Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada who is from a hard-core conservative party, and Hillary Clinton.

Kresich:  The Environmental Protection agency (EPA) has not been fully heard on this issue, either.  

Kidder:  Obama is basically waiting for the EPA to say ‘This is fine, this is all going to be fine.  This is the latest technology,” which it always is until it becomes obsolete.  

LC:  What are some of the regional implications of building the pipeline?

Kidder:  The tar sands oil is corrosive and all the wonderful promises the industry gives about these pipelines that are never going to burst (just like they didn’t burst up there in Laurel) are ludicrous and moot points.  If you’ve been watching television there’s been an enormous number of ads for the ‘wonderful-ness’ of tar sands extraction and how many jobs will be created and bring in and it’s all just hogwash.

Kenoyer:  In terms of Montana there are a number of points that no matter where you stand on oil and the climate, there are a couple of things for Montanans to consider.  One is this is a Canadian company building with Canadian labor and Asian parts so it’s not like it’s bringing money into our economy other than taxes to the state.  So as far as the state of Montana goes, there’s not a whole lot for us to benefit from.  The main benefit to Americans for bringing this is so-called energy security that we would be getting oil from Canada instead of from the Middle East. TransCanada has already built one pipeline in the United States and it leaked something like 11 or 12 times in the first twelve months of operation.  Most of them were small leaks, but one of them set off a little oil geyser in somebody’s farm field.  Even their own risk assessments say it should leak about once every seven years, and they are talking about small leaks so that’s not the experience they have actually had already with the first Keystone pipeline.

Kidder:  Along with the risk of leaks and spills they are talking about building roads to bring machinery to Canada to extract the oil from the sands.  It’s illegal to directly import this machinery to Canada for all sorts of trade laws but it can be brought into the United States and up into Canada.  

Kenoyer: They bring this machinery by ship to Lewiston, Idaho up the Columbia and the Snake rivers and they offload it on to trucks.  These trucks are too big to go on the two-lane highway from there (Highway 12) so they are going to have to widen the highway which is the highway up the Lochsa river and through Missoula and past the Rocky Mountain front.  It was approved to do that, but they recently had a judge put a hold on it.  It’s still an ongoing issue.

LC:  What are the proposed benefits of building the pipeline?

Kenoyer:  Their big push is it’s going to bring energy security, and there are going to be some American oil companies involved in getting the oil and getting it to the refineries and selling it to Americans at a huge profit.  The bigger issue here is whether or not buying oil and extracting oil at any price is really what we want to do.  In the long run, the way to stop what’s happening in Alberta that’s so destructive is to move away from our dependance and our extravagant use of oil.  Things like the recent compromise decision to require the production of American vehicles to average about 54 mpg as of 2025 or so.  The administration just announced this new policy and it’s a good step.  But in the long run what we need to do is get us off of oil: transporation, production of plastics and all sorts of things.  We need to start looking for other solutions rather than just guzzling oil.  Our entire culture, our entire economy, everything is based on the continued and accelerating use of an unsustainable resource.

Kidder:  And we are in complete denial about the realities of climate change, which is a huge component of this.  

LC:  How is the construction of the pipeline relevant to climate changes?

Kresich:  NASA scientist Jim Hansen has been quoted as saying that if this tar sands extraction and pipeline goes through, it’s game over for the climate.  That’s a pretty strong statement coming from a scientist.

Kenoyer:  Hansen says if the tar sands are developed, it will increase the atmospheric concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere by nearly 50 percent and that’s what he means when he says ‘game over.’

Kidder:  It goes back to the fact that they will then triple and quadruple production because they have no restraints in Canada.  We have no control over the politicians in Canada and Steven Harper—who doesn’t bring much to Parliment, he just decrees—he is an oil man from Alberta and he’s all for this.  It’s about short-term greed over any kind of common sense.

Kresich:  It’s also about not doing what needs to be done which is turning away from oil and moving toward sustainable sources of energy.  It’s doing the opposite.  This is not like one more small oil field.  Because of the way the oil is constituted, the kind of energy it takes to get it out, the way it endangers all kinds of things in the transport, the actual burning of it releases more carbon, it’s a disaster.

Kidder: It would be global disaster, not just for Canada and the states.

Kresich:  It’s the exact opposite of what we should be doing.

LC:  What has the local response been to your group’s proposed actions in Washington?

Kidder:  Locally, the response has been extraordinary.  People say, ‘I’m so glad you’re doing this.’  There’s more awareness about this since the oil spill in Laurel than before but there is I think a great awareness of this pipeline and what it will do.

Kresich:  People watched what happened with the oil spill in Laurel.  That was a 12-inch pipe.  This pipe is going to be three feet in diameter.  So just imagine the difference.  And, of course, it’s going almost 2,000 miles.  There’s no way to monitor it night and day every foot of those 2,000 miles.  When the spills happen, they will really, really, really do damage and there is no way they will not.

Kidder:  The spills will happen.  It’s an inevitable they will happen.  It’s not an ‘if,’ it’s how many and how soon.

Kenoyer:  Oil spills are only one aspect of this but it’s an important one for people here to think about.  The people who have to live with those spills don’t forget about it.  The toxic exposure that families and farmers and fisherman have is going to be lasting for a very long time.  I think we need to learn a lesson from this.  There is no reason for us to take that risk and pay that price for someone else’s profit.

Kidder:  There are so many fronts on which this is important: on the simple health front and on the environmental front.  Look at what Exxon’s backup plan was for the Silvertip spill in Laurel: paper diapers and paper towels.  If that is their backup plan, can you imagine what they are going to do with paper towels in a catastrophic spill?

LC:  What do you consider the global significance of building the Keystone XL pipeline?

Kresich:  We have an obligation to the people of the future, an obligation to our children, our grandchildren, to the future generations and we have to stop this and it’s all there is to it.

Kidder:  It’s time for all of us in the United States to stop sitting here with inertia and watching our government and other governments destroy the planet in the name of greed.  We’re just sitting back and saying, ‘It’s too depressing, I won’t watch the news.’  It’s time to move on from writing letters to the editor to getting arrested.  There’s got to be a huge uprising across the country.

LC:  Why make the journey to Washington?
Kenoyer:  President Obama in his campaign and in his inauguration speech, he asked supporters to keep pressuring him once he was in office to do the right thing, and he needs the pressure.

Kidder:  Yes, it’s time for anger and action.  We’d love to encourage people to join us in Washington or contribute to help with our trip in any way.

Kresich: There’s always something we can do.  Do something.

For more information about the tar sands issue, please contact Joanie Kresich at 222-5279

Oil sands consist of sand coated in water and a sticky film of bitumen, a heavy oil. The bitumen can be rinsed from the sand and refined into fuels. In some cases, the bitumen-encased sand can be pumped from wells like standard oil, but in Athabasca, the sands are at or near the surface. Here, oil companies scoop the sand from the surface after stripping off overlying vegetation and top soil. The result is illustrated in this true-color image. Earthy open-pit mines and muddy tailing ponds replaced the dark green boreal forest. The Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s EO-1 satellite acquired the image on July 29, 2009

Livingston Current First Annual Pledge Drive Now Underway

Since June of 2005 the Livingston Current has printed weekly issues available for free to the LIvingston community.  Local businesses and organizations purchase advertising to pay for the print and overhead costs and the Current staff distributes the paper each week at no cost to the community.

In seven years, the Current has operated on a shoestring budget while continuing to offer advertisers 90 day terms for ads placed.  At no time have we ever considered charging a subscription rate for the paper, yet have maintained credit accounts for our many valuable advertisers.  At times it has been a struggle as many vendors we do business with are not able to offer the Current the same 90 day terms, therefore putting us between a bit of a rock and a hard place as far as continuing the publication of the paper with no operating funds for sometimes months at a time.

As with public television and radio, many readers of the Current enjoy the free entertainment and information each week without having to purchase a thing, and we intend to keep it that way.  We value our readers as much as the advertisers who not only support the newspaper but also reap great dividends in profits and visibility with their advertisements.  

For the first time ever, we are asking our readership to consider making an annual donation to the Livingston Current to help support the weekly news delivered free each issue.  With the support of our readers we will be able to hire more writers, photographers and artists to cover interesting and important issues across the community, stay in good standing with our many vendors and also continue to offer local advertisers credit for 90 days for ads placed in the paper.

For those participating in this first-annual funds drive, we will be offering an added incentive: each contributor of $25 or more will be automatically entered to win an original oil painting donated by Edd Enders valued at over $700.  We encourage pledges/donations of $25, $50, $75, $100 or $250, or more, of course.  Participants should know that each dollar will go towards not only supporting the Current but also supporting the local writers, artists, photographers, businesses and more we work with each week.  As a company devoted to "buying local" know that donations will be returned directly to the community in the creation of the newspaper over the next year. 

Our goal is to raise $5,000 for our capital funds account by April 7, 2012.  Check the Current each week to view the progress of the fund raising and feel free to donate often and generously! Each $25 minimum donation will garner the contributor another chance at winning the Edd Enders painting. For any questions about the first annual Pledge Drive, please call 222-3633.  Donations may be sent to: Livingston Current, POB 1632, Livingston, MT, 59047, or donate online below.  Thank you for your support!

 

Travelogue: Occupy Philadelphia with Tandy Riddle

The definition of “occupy” has been nuanced in the last few months. Previously we have thought about “occupy” as meaning taking residence or being taken over by an army, but the idea of using occupation as a citizen’s movement to peacefully register protest by making encampments is here and it is large scale, important, necessary and brilliant. It is also the America I love, or maybe it’s the bit about people empowered and courageously overcoming obstacles that has always been associated in my mind as the true soul of America.

In the beginning of November I traveled from Livingston and visited “Occupy Philly.”  Actually I had gone to see my son, Walker Stole, who attends Swarthmore College nearby. Swarthmore is a bastion of the principles that originated the Occupy movement, and many of the students there are committed to these principles and are active participants. Visiting my son at this particular college was a great segue for my plan to paint the Occupy movement. I packed my easel and brushes and obtained paints once I was in the area.

The day I chose to be at Occupy Philly was brisk and cold along with the hush of a quiet public demonstration and all the smells of human encampment, I felt an air of incredulity.  Just to be there was problematic. It’s one thing to camp outside in summer or spring or with a wall tent and wood stove, but there was no visible source of heat here.  Yet some 300 people wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags persevered like a war-weary army. I had arrived early in the morning and it was easy to pick my way through the tents.  Most people were still sleeping, waiting for the warmth of sunlight.

I had arrived by subway and the exit I took led me through some of the wealthiest real estate in the world. One block away from Occupy Philly clientele were arriving at the Ritz Carlton Hotel with doormen carrying their opulent luggage through shiny glass doors.  There were tourists as always visiting these monumental buildings: a father showing his children a frieze by Alexander Milne Calder for example.  Juxtaposed amidst this wealth and the status quo, growing organically was a tent settlement: expedition tents and blankets and cardboard slung over rope structures.

Scenes from the Encampment

Looking up from the encampment next to the West Portal of City Hall one sees sculpture anointing a tower.  The West portal was originally the prisoner’s entrance at the end of the eighteenth century, and what the accused would see on their way to trial. The allegorical theme here was the “Administration of Justice.” Over the top of the entrance is a figure representing Sympathy. Flanking Sympathy are figures representing Hope and Justice. What better place to make these points?

Hope and Justice are not just reserved for those who can pay or the ideas ultimately lose their meaning altogether.

Some people were up early taking stock of the situation and some were working on banners.  In the encampment there was everything going on from love affairs to nursing babies to people madly scribing documents for the next day’s meetings and planning, planning, planning. This was a 24/7 protest and involved medical tents, libraries, study areas and free books (I picked out one by Gabriel Garcia Marquez—which I will always treasure).

An “Art Tent” was marked as such and was sponsoring events. That morning flyers were circulating declaring a “Flash Dance” would be choreographed and then the dancers would gig their way to Wells Fargo Bank across the street and down a half a block. The flyers were small woodcuts with a dancing figure and they were a way to communicate to campers and participants when and where this event was scheduled. The prints were beautiful. The entire scene was beautiful. The downside was that I was freezing.

I am from Montana and I used to guide dog sledding in subzero temperatures but the 20 degrees with high humidity and no sunlight surrounded by cold stone and brick was getting to me.
Dilworth Plaza, where the movement occupied adjoins the foundation of Philadelphia’s City Hall.  This building has walls 22-feet thick made of granite and mortar and effectively held in the cold. I was gaining respect for the toughness of these people.

I went to Starbucks to get warm, two blocks away. There were no Occupy people there.

An hour and a half later when I returned somewhat fortified, things had livened up. The workers, supporters, and participants are not all people who have no jobs or families. Many come down whenever they can so at any given moment there may be 300 living there and another one or two hundred who have come to participate on their day off or their lunch hour or because they came to check it out from, say, Montana.

I felt accepted and at home there. For me it was a life changing experience. In my own life I cannot seem to get ahead no matter how hard I try, how many extra jobs I take on, how little I spend.  In the words of John Lennon, “I am not the only one.” The thing that makes this movement great in my mind is that it is accepting of everyone which also meant me.

I felt and still feel empowered by the fact that these brave souls camp out in the cold to get this message out loud and clear.

The disparity of wealth in our country is not fair or right or okay.  It breeds something that causes depression and “Depressions” and horrible feelings of inadequacy. We are taught if you work hard enough, this is the land of opportunity and you can succeed. Well, I still believe in the dream but America does not foster an environment that generates it.

The encampment was festooned with hand-painted banners. They were colorful and resourcefully using bedsheets and tied to the trees. There was one older lady (well, she was probably my age) who was opening her tent and bringing a potted plant outside to see the sun. The temperature had warmed to 40 degrees. She seemed to have all her belongings in the tent and she had a good spot facing east. She was smiling, excited to begin this adventure anew.

The main stage had a DJ rap artist and the speakers were competing well with the general traffic and city life going on all around.  There were two different TV news vans and reporters doing live interviews.

Someone had written in ballpoint ink on a large sheet of butcher paper the sonnet, “The New Colossus,” by Emma Lazarus which is emblazoned at the foot of The Statue of Liberty. In this city of brotherly love, on that day it rang in my heart. The Liberty Bell was cracked but still chiming.  There were pieces of computer paper scattered around  with hand scrawled lettering. They stated two words, “ hallowed ground ”

A Melting Pot

In Ray Bradbury’s ‘Fahrenheit 451’ there is a scene where people in an encampment such as this had memorized whole books to save them for future generations because all the books had been burned. Certain special people had certain books that they recited continuously so that they would not forget. It feels somehow that these brave souls are reciting what freedom feels like so that we will not forget. I can tell you that anyone who visited Occupy Philly will not forget.

In this mix of babies and septuagenarians the predominant age and income group could not be determined. Even gender and sexual orientation was not prevailing or dominant. When I spoke with someone for whatever reason, the dominant perception was: “This is marvelous regardless of your socio-economic situation, and it is great to see a manifestation of democracy at work.”
Socrates would have loved it. Everyone there loved it. There is no getting around being part of a social movement dedicated to changing things for the better for the majority of people is fun. It was like a carnival that raises consciousness.

One of the attractions of this carnival is the human microphone, where someone speaks and everyone repeats what was said so the words can be heard by all. It’s sort of a variation of rap because its spontaneous, but it has the hymn-like effect of Gregorian chant. When one is part of it they are speaking and hearing at the same time and cognitive ability is engaged at the same time as expression.  It’s very cool and addictive while repetitive in an artistic and expressive way.

It is great to be part of an effective group working together and the moments when I participated in the microphone were exhilarating.

Capturing the Moment

Notices of eviction were posted because of a 50 million dollar construction project and much talk was about that.  The mayor made a point of calling it a “99% project” employing the 99%.  I had the sense Occupy Philly would move to a new spot, although it was sad because there could not be a better place.

The construction project was worthy. Somehow the city had built the levels of the park without meeting the requirements of handicap access legislation. No one really wanted to obstruct handicapped access to the building.  The project was initiated to rectify the accessibility and it was a salient point when the occupiers were discussing how to handle the eviction.

That afternoon I realized the flash dance instruction would take place in front of the art tent so I set up to paint there.  I had time because it took a while to assemble as many dancers as the choreographer wanted.  He demonstrated the dance, explained how the moves illustrated giving back the money from the bail out, and taught the people to dance.

Some were talented dancers, some not so much, but all were thrilled to be part of this guerilla theater production. One lady was in a wheelchair. She was encouraged and gladly participated. I painted and I was thrilled to be part of it also. It got colder. Dancing makes you warm, painting not so much.

Finding Continuing Balance

That night riding back on the subway to Swarthmore, I talked with students who had been there also. We compared notes. We all loved it. I heard about a problem with a homeless man who was schizophrenic and off his medications and tried to stab someone. I had seen him earlier, he was obviously angry and speaking to non existent entities. To the credit of the occupiers such incidents were handled effectively and non-violently. This man was subdued until authorities came and then peacefully returned to the mental health facility where he normally lived. Many homeless and/or street-bound mentally ill patients have moved into the occupy areas. The food is good and the rules are easy. The problem is some of the mental patients who have come to this welcoming place are not getting their medications.

Understandably the occupy people have approached the shelters to collaborate about this problem, which is why when the man got violent there was already a plan in place to help him, rather than prosecute and punish him, yet still essentially preserving public safety. This is something that would be impossible to effectively blame on the Occupy Movement.

Mentally ill people exist and are part of society’s obligation to care for. Again, I was impressed. As this issue arose, the encampment rose to the challenge.

At Swarthmore the next day I heard three amazing speakers, each with stories of peaceful resistance. Each had great respect for the Occupy Movement and talked glowingly about what they might achieve.

The first was a journalist from Bahrain, Nada Alwadi, who reported about the persecution of peaceful demonstrators in her country and the worldwide blackout on reporting this news. Second was Mubarek Awad, founder of the Palestinian Center for Nonviolence who cautioned that all governments lie and admonished us that it is our job to find the lies and expose them.

Third was an American, Larry Gibson, who was going to bat against mountaintop removal, a practice that frankly I can hardly believe we are still practicing. The pictures were like something before there were environmental safeguards in place at all.

Gibson was eloquent in his argument explaining if it were not for the fact of the poverty in Appalachia there would be no way this would be taking place.

George Lakey, an amazing man who is a visiting professor and research fellow at the Lang Center Center for Civic and Social Responsibility at Swarthmore brought these speakers together.  Lakey has envisioned and enacted students of his Peace and Conflict Studies classes to create a Global Nonviolent Action Database.  My son Walker did some of these case studies which can be accessed online at nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/

In the hallway at Swarthmore there was talk about including the Occupy movement as a case study, the problem is no one knows the resolution yet. I know from the time that I spent there that this will be an ongoing project. Until there is major reform of our government, occupations will continue.

Evolution of the Movement

The experience certainly inspired hope in me to be politically effective enough to spread the word.  As the old joke says, when the chicken farmer thought he heard someone in his coop stealing his chickens and called out to ask who was there a voice came back saying, “ain’t nobody here but us chickens.”

Two weeks ago now the Occupy Philly camp was dispersed some days past the eviction date.  It was relatively incident-free with only fifty peaceable arrests and three minor police injuries.

The ghost of the camp still hovers in my mind and in images: the paintings of Swarthmore and one of the Flash Dance at the movement.

I am surprised the encampment did not just move en masse to another location, but actually moving is a pretty big job.

There was talk about getting a permit, and I think one was granted but it did not include overnight camping.  The movement is not looking for a containment camp or a refugee camp so wherever it springs up next has got to be a politically effective spot.

In Philadelphia on December 3 there was a solidarity march from City Hall to the Liberty Bell. The posters of protesters read, “You Can’t Evict An Idea!”

December 6 was declared an action day by the Occupy Movement at large: “D6 Day of Action.”  There is an aligned movement called “Take Back The Land” and across the nation there were peaceful demonstrations at foreclosed or soon to be foreclosed properties.

In some instances Occupiers found homeless families and moved them to long empty and un-cared for foreclosed houses. The Occupiers worked together to make these properties livable, performing repairs and generally cleaning up the area. In instances of foreclosures scheduled for the day the Occupiers rallied, the attention given to the particular family’s plight at least stalled the foreclosure for a time.

In some places the Occupiers are taking round-the-clock shifts in an effort to keep the families in their homes.  In broadly-reported and emotional testimonials the people who have been given more time in their homes have thanked the citizens who are helping them.

There are empty houses that are in need of occupancy and care and there are the homeless who need a place to live and greatly desire a place to take care of and call home. Why can’t that be put together for everyone’s betterment?  Because the banks need to make a greater profit?

There are 99% of us here who want more of the pie, at least more of a chance at it. The pie is not necessarily wealth but opportunity and perhaps more importantly respect. We don’t have to be chicken about asking for it. If the Occupy idea perseveres across the nation perhaps those who need to learn the lesson will learn how to share.

—Tandy Riddle

“Annie” at The Shane Center

The winter 2011 Crazy Mountain Productions presentation of “Annie” at The Shane Center in Livingston features a cast of orphans with personality.  In total over 65 performers put on three shows a week through mid-December, shows which celebrate the spirit of youth and the belief that love, goodness, a smile and a sense of humor just might solve the problems of the world.

Local actress Zoe Bishop, 11 plays the lead role of the good-natured orphan Annie.  Bishop and three of her cast mates took a few moments to chat with The Current after a Sunday afternoon matinee of the performance which garnered a ten-minute standing ovation from a packed house. 

Fans in the audience (such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, parents and friends) rushed the stage as the entire cast of performers posed for a quick photo shoot after the show. 
After a shot of the whole troupe, the bed-raggled orphans remained for a few more snaps.  Most then rushed off to get changed and back to the life outside the theatre for another week of school and family obligations. 

Zoe Bishop, Maggie Burkhardt, Amber Fowlie and Beth Hewey remained to share a bit of their experience as young thespians and Broadway hopefuls.  The Current asked just a few questions of the girls but the answers give a good glimpse of what life onstage in Mrs. Hanigan’s orphanage is really like for the young actresses.

Zoe Bishop, 11
“Annie”

1. What inspired you to become involved in the theatre?
Bishop:  I’ve done like 16 shows.  My grandma is in the theatre, my dad is head of the board of Crazy Mountain Productions and my older brother was also in theatre.

2. What do you feel is your greatest talent?
Bishop: I’d have to say singing.  I’ve been singing all my life, and playing piano for half of it.

3. What is your favorite thing about the production?
Bishop:  Definitely the dog, “Sandy,” and playing with him onstage.  He’s walked off the stage and I’ve had to finish the scene alone, and opening night he almost jumped off the stage. 

4. What do you find the most challenging thing about the production?
Bishop:  The off stage costume changes.  It’s a challenge too taking care of my voice, avoiding dairy and stuff and having to be disciplined. The very best thing is the applause at the end of the show.

5. Who is your favorite character in the production?  Of all time?
Bishop:  “Sandy,” the dog.  Of all time?  I was “Queen of Hearts” in a school play and I got to wear a big jacket and skirt and a feather boa.  I left feathers all over the stage.

Maggie Burkhardt, 13
“Duffy”

1. What inspired you to become involved in the theatre?
Burkhardt: I’ve always just loved being loud and acting.  When I was six my mom put me in the show “2005: A Space Musical.”  It was a Crazy Mountain Productions workshop.

2. What do you feel is your greatest talent?
Burkhardt: I’m pretty sure it’s singing.

3. What is your favorite thing about the production?
Burkhardt: I love when we do the number “Smile” and we get to dance.  In the first two productions the audience got up and cheered.

4. What do you find the most challenging thing about the production?
Burkhardt: We have to work with the buckets and rags.  Props are confusing.  It’s a little hard to control yourself and the prop at the same time.  Also, working around the bunkbeds is rough.  We get a lot of bruises and scrapes.

5. Who is your favorite character in the production?  Of all time?
Burkhardt: “Pepper” (Amber Fowlie).  She’s so tough and mean and it’s hilarious!
Of all time? When I was in “Willie Wonka” I was Violet and it was fun to be bratty, but it hurt my jaws to chew so much gum.

Amber Fowlie, 14
“Pepper”

1. What inspired you to become involved in the theatre?
Fowlie: When I was little I was the little hen in a production of “Little Red Hen” and I really liked all the attention.

2. What do you feel is your greatest talent?
Fowlie: My facial expressions.  They vary a lot.  And I can keep a straight face.

3. What is your favorite thing about the production?
Fowlie: All the outfits and the things we get to wear.  I’d never wear my costume in public!  It’s awful, but it’s really fun to dress up in the rags and ripped things and not have to wear any make-up.  We do all like the bloomers, too.  They’re comfortable.

4. What do you find the most challenging thing about the production?
Fowlie: My character gets to be a bully all the time and it’s fun to pretend because I’m not a really mean person.

5. Who is your favorite character in the production?  Of all time?
Fowlie: “Mrs. Hanigan,” she’s just hilarious and a really good actress.  Of all time?  I loved all the characters in “The King and I.”  I loved the play within the play in that production, and although I wasn’t in the show I went to all the rehearsals.  I was in the Sister City program and there would have been a time conflict.  I would have loved to be in the show.

Beth Hewey, 10
“Molly”

1. What inspired you to become involved  in the theatre?
Hewey: On my dad’s side there are a lot of people in theatre.  I have an uncle who was almost on Broadway.  I love being on stage and the feeling of performing.  I also had a kindergarden teacher, Mrs. Bright, who put on scenes and plays with us and it was really inspiring

2. What do you feel is your greatest talent?
Hewey: Just acting, period.  I’m not the best singer.  I have to work hard at it.

3. What is your favorite thing about the production?
Hewey: I like watching from backstage when the older actors do the “NYC” number.  I just love watching the whole performance from backstage.

4. What do you find the most challenging thing about the production?
Hewey: Singing, definitely.  But I’m learning more the more I work at it.  Some numbers I’m just now getting.

5. Who is your favorite character in the production?  Of all time?
Hewey: I love all the characters, “Mrs. Hannigan,” “Daddy Warbucks,” they are all such great actors.  Zoe who is “Annie” writes plays and songs of her own.  I’m glad she got the part because she really deserves it.  Of all time?  I think my favorite part was as a Munchin in the “Wizard of Oz.” 

Notes from the Upper Yellowstone: Legends of Livingston's Nefarious Past

Livingston has never been known as a very temperate town.  It’s a point of pride for some that there are roughly as many watering holes as churches.

Since Livingston was built around and centered on the railroad it catered to the industry.  Not only were many railroaders living and working in town, but there were also a good many men who came through with the trains, the linemen and brakemen for example.

Often pay was picked up and quickly spent here in town.  The Mint Bar was known to cash half a million dollars of railroad checks in a week.  If the check was from the Northern Pacific and later Burlington Northern, the bar knew it was good.  If pleasure was to be had, it was here.

Next to the many saloons one cannot forget to mention—with a wink and a nudge—that Livingston had a thriving red light district on B Street, which is quaintly remembered now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Imagine the laugh the ladies who worked there would have had back in the day if they had been told their brothels would merit some wholesome attention in the future.  But none of this has to do with what’s underneath downtown Livingston.

Tall Tales

It all started with a story heard long ago.  The teller of the tale is lost to memory, but the strange tidbit remained with me and actually grew in imagination of the years.  The tale involved a tunnel stretching underneath downtown.

100 years ago on the west side of North Main Street next to the former Hefferlin Opera House, a Chinese restaurant stood where the American Bank drive-through is presently located.  Supposedly, the owner of the building feared the Chinese would burn the place to the ground if the cooking were done on the premises.

So, the rumors had it, the cooking was done in Livingston’s China Town, located in the area next to Sky Federal Credit Union’s drive through where a little park has been built.  The food, once prepared, was run through a tunnel in the basement.

The only problem is that the tunnel has never been found and the story is nothing more than a tall tale.  This was confirmed by John Fryer, the owner of Sax and Fryer, who offered a matter-of-fact reply when asked about the network beneath the streets: “What tunnel?”

He, too, had heard the story but said he had found no credibility in it.

The story still planted a seed in a curious mind.  The one rumored tunnel grew into a network of underground causeways creating a virtual Livingston beneath the streets.

Both Fryer and local historian Jerry Brekke suggested the tunnel rumor could have arisen from tales of the old steam tunnels underneath town.

On Second Street near the present-day Dan Bailey’s warehouse was the A.W. Miles Coal Plant.  The plant generated steam heat and piped it through downtown to heat many of the establishments.  The heat in many of the tunnels would have been too much to bear, let alone make the underground channels of any other use than what they were intended for most of the year.  It’s doubtful anyone other than the utility department had any interest in them.

Livingston’s Vaults

It turns out that the Chinese tunnel story may have merged in the imagination with another piece of subterranean infrastructure downtown.  There are actually a series of vaults underneath the sidewalks that are directly attached to the cellars and basements of businesses on Second, Callender and Main Streets.

Built for purely functional reasons of extra storage space, it turns out the vaults have quite a history of their own.

In front of Sax and Fryer one can see a few square mosaics of cobalt glass which allow for some light to pass through to the vaults under the building.  Across the street in front of Allegro restaurant and also down the street in front of The Mint Bar and Theater are iron trap doors allowing for convenient access for moving goods in and out of the vaults.

Aside from old stories of opium dens, the vault spaces under the streets have been used pretty much for what they were designed for: storage.  For a short time, however, Livingston had a thriving underground scene. 

During Prohibition in the 1920s and 30s, Livingston had tailor-made bootlegging spots all over downtown.  Much of the history from this period has been handed down by word-of-mouth and due to its illegal nature could be called hearsay.

Some of the available vault spaces, which were not needed for legal or illegal storage, were turned into speakeasies.  One known spot was underneath The Wok restaurant at Callender and Second Streets where the sidewalk has seen some repair due to its hollow nature. 

One can still read the advertisements embossed into the sidewalk for “Montana Sport Cigars” which were manufactured around the corner from where American Bank stands now.

One local amateur historian was nosing around down in these vaults some many years ago (before several walls went up underground, keeping a person from walking the entire length of the block) and came across a row of urinals attached to a wall off to the side near the Second Street end.  He was surprised by their presence, but it only made sense they were put in to serve a speakeasy, he said.  Nothing could be proven and they could just have easily served a legal establishment.

Another spot rumored to be a speakeasy was the old Pastime Bar underneath Livingston Floral and Gifts on the Corner of Callender and Main Streets.  For a short time a legitimate bar, The Pastime Down Under operated in the basement vault space until around the year 2000.  Going into the establishment was like entering a speakeasy through a side door and down some concrete stairs.

Like a bunker down in the vault under the sidewalks, if someone did not know it was there, there was no telling.  There was a mural on one of the pillars that was especially striking, a folk painting of a lovely dark-haired woman with tremendous curves, a Venus of the gin joint.  The date of the painting was uncertain, but she may very well have been a holdover from the Prohibition days.

Justin Brown, who was a bartender there, had heard much the same from the old timers who would come in for a drink in the afternoons: the Pastime had been a speakeasy during prohibition.  The upstairs had been a drinking establishment before 1919 and during Prohibition it was converted to a grocery and the drinking moved downstairs.

Brown said he had heard there was a warning system in place to signal the arrival of the authorities.  While he and the owner Todd Brekke were fixing the place up, he said they found buzzer buttons underneath the bar on the main level but the wires led nowhere.

In addition to moonshine, the Pastime basement was known to hold a collection of one-armed bandits well into the 1960s.  Even until  its last run as a bar a decade ago, it possessed a feeling of the past that gave credence to its legend.

Bootlegging Legends

The Livingston Vaults were an important center for the area moonshining and bootlegging circuit, especially the ones located beneath the old Albermarle Hotel where the Guest House sits now at the corner of Main and Park Streets.

There were sills up nearly every creek bottom making moonshine in the area to supply the underground trade, but it was up Fleshman Creek where the finest moonshine whiskey was made.  The bootleg liquor was stashed in the vaults under the Albermarle, whereupon it was transferred across Park Street into “safe cars” on a waiting train at a designated time.

The most well-known figure in Livingston’s bootlegging history was Dominick “Old Dom” Johnson.  He was in charge of the Albermarle end of the trade and oversaw the sills up Fleshman Creek.  Prior to Prohibition he and his brother Mike Johnson ran the Club Saloon in the Albermarle.  Naturally, when the saloon was closed they continued on underground.  When Mike passed away in 1925, Old Dom continued to run the bootlegging business quite successfully.

His story is fondly recalled by Mike’s grandson Everett Johnson in the “History of Park County: 1984,” a collection of written histories of area families.  The story was also recorded by his nephew Chester Johnson and can be found at the Yellowstone Gateway Museum.

As a young boy being led to Sunday School in the hotel by his mother, Chester remembers seeing Old Dom sitting in the lobby of the hotel in his leather rocking chair keeping an eye on things.  He had a private room off the lobby next to the stairs.  Everett’s mother told the young boy that Old Dom’s room “led to something evil” and was off-limits.

Maime Herrlin, who ran the hotel at the time, used the skylight in the lobby as a solarium and tended to a variety of flowers.  The sweet smell of the flowers mixed with the more pungent aroma of moonshine as young Everett passed Old Dom’s room and caused him to joke that, “I later learned it was not as I thought then, the way it would smell in heaven.”

“This booze was shipped to every state in the Union and seven foreign countries...I can remember seeing lines of wagons piled with 2’ x 2’ x 2 1/2’ wooden boxes packed with sawdust and moonshine,” remembers Everett. 

Chester’s account also regards the operation as a rather open endeavor as well.  In fact, he remembers that the 30-gallon drums the moonshine whiskey was shipped in were slyly labeled “Johnson’s Fruit Punch.”

Historian Jerry Brekke remembered a story told to him about Livingston moonshine and a local serviceman Carl Knoke who served in WWI.  Knoke didn’t return immediately following the armistice but later on, way after prohibition began in 1919.

Knoke arrived in New York City and was wandering the streets looking for some goodwill.  He was broke and waiting for a train to take him back to Montana.  It was winter and Knoke was was not dressed warmly and said he looked as cold as he felt.  As he walked the streets he ran into a policeman walking his beat.  The officer noticed him and his destitute look and stopped to question him.  When he found out the young kid was from Livingston, he let out a hearty laugh and reached in his overcoat pocket and pulled out a flask.  He handed it to Knoke and insisted that he try some of Old Dom’s finest.

An Inevitable Epilogue

As these stories usually end, Old Dom and his partners Andy Botterud, Gene Rolleta and a Mr. Alkire (on whose ranch up Fleshman Creek was said to be the location of the major moonshine still supplying Old Dom) were all sent to prison in conjunction with a raid on the Albermarle.

Everett Johnson recalled riding his bicycle home from the Lincoln School when he ran into Mrs. “Billy” Frank in front of her store, Frank’s Clothing on Main Street, looking up the street toward the Albermarle.

She was quite worked up and told young Everett that the Feds were busting Old Dom.  She was curious so she grabbed the boy and they snuck up the alley to the back of the hotel where, “A large open door in back was the biggest, blackest doorway of my life.  Billy coaxed me into going in with her and it was piled high with 15 to 25 gallon barrels.  It didn’t take me long to escape home.”

Everett notes that Gene Rotella, who was illiterate and who made the excellent moonshine known around the nation, said to Dom once they were imprisoned, “If it hadn’t been for you, Dom, I’d have been in the poor house.”

Livingston actually had a Poor Farm located out by where the 1-90 East interchange is now, and Rotella was not joking.  Dom took good care of him.  In fact, Rotella never left the sills in production and had been provided with a luxury camp full of the finest supplies Livingston had to offer.

As it goes with old smugglers, the Feds busted Old Dom not on his connection to the barrels of moonshine under the hotel, which certainly didn’t help, but on income tax evasion, or so said Everett Johnson.
Rum running made Dom quite rich and it appears he extended his trappings on to others.  Aside from keeping Gene Rotella out of the poor house he “helped out” plenty of others around Livingston.
Stories of Dom buying a street urchin a new set of clothes, or lending money freely and generously have still stayed with his reputation.  It would also follow logically that many of his “loans” were payoffs and hush money.  After his arrest, a stranger was overheard as saying: “The best bank in Montana just went broke!”

For the most part the good folks of Livingston turned a blind eye to all the nefarious activity going on around town during Prohibition.  Sure, some were well paid for this trait , while others simply benefitted by their favorite cocktail being readily available and of good quality.  Certainly there were some folks who abhorred the whole lot and goings-on, but knew it was none of their business.  Life in a small town is like that.

Now that the years have passed and Old Dom has faded into legend, those who do remember hearing of that time can think of those days with a wink and a smile while raising a drink of whiskey to their lips.

—Max Hjortsberg

Max Hjortsberg grew up in Paradise Valley and now lives in Livingston with his wife and son.  He is the author of  a new book of poetry “Bonnie & Clyde (An American Daydream)” now available from Finishing Line Press and local bookstores.

Just Say No to Dirty Energy

Man, what have you done? 

In Fukushima prefecture in Japan where an  ongoing nuclear meltdown continues, 100 percent of school kids now test positive for  internal radiation exposure.  Over 34,000  children have now been outfitted with radiation detectors to monitor the cumulative build-up of radioactive particles in their bodies.  I have a school kid here in America and the thought of the entire young population of Livingston facing such a similar crisis is heart-wrenching. 

What does internal radiation exposure mean? It means many, many of these children will contract cancers within the next decade.  Most will still be children, ready to face a future and a world man has already poisoned.

Are Montanans seriously considering anything other than completely sustainable energy and economic systems for our future?  Systems which will not spill 42,000 gallons of oil in the Yellowstone river, or industries which  will not leave our towns and wild lands as Superfund sites and our citizens poisoned when the profit disappears?

We need to build safe and reliable forms of energy for our communities and encourage local economies to thrive so they will not be desperate for the wage money and cheap energy offered by companies with no aim other than base profit.

We sit poised in a place where real change can be made before our state is excavated in the coming century of resource scarcity. Montana is a small town.  We all care enough about our neighbors to leave them alone, work with them in peace or show up to help them in time of need.  We are all pioneers.  We are all ingenious western spirits.  We share enough in common to work together to find solutions to the problems we face.

Whether the push for eminent domain, the acquisition by the state to private land for whatever means/ends determined by the state, the push to lure industry to the Bakken Shale formation in northeastern Montana or fracking in the Shields Valley with poison to extract natural gas from beneath ranch lands, none of these options offer solutions to Montana’s long-term economic or energy issues. 

Natural resource recreation and tourism are proven economic winners in the state of Montana, providing a diverse economy of many varieties of businesses.  We no longer need exploitative heavy industry in this state, especially industry which provides little else than financial incentives for politicians and corporations.  The wages these industries provide only support a worker with money for a time, not a lifetime, and the industry certainly does little to instill generations of jobs or community health.

Fossil fuels are a finite resource, and while large multi-national corporations struggle over the next century to get every last drop, the worker who labored extracting it will be easily expendable.

The three biggest publicly-held U.S. Oil Companies pocketed $58 billion in profits in 2010.  How much of this money was re-invested in communities to diversify their economies should the industry need to move on?  How much was invested in the well-being and education of the children who may face health dangers and a variety of risks associated with industrial pollution?  In Montana we do not need to face any kind of further tragedy from the breakdown of man’s fallible machines and systems in gathering and supplying human’s boundless needs for energy and profit. 

If we need more jobs, we need to first make a concerted effort as a citizenry to make sure we are purchasing as much locally and state- produced goods as possible. We need to encourage sustainability in all businesses by offering our support by choice of purchase, and making the shift to a sustainable economy as accessible as possible to everyone across the state.  Sustainability networks are already in place in Montana, from food and energy to conservation of water and preservation of wildlife and wild lands.  Everyone should be encouraged to work diligently to create a self- sustaining economy in the state, creating a network which is as inclusive as possible.

Montanans should be able to stand up to the oil and gas industries and say we do not need this exploitation.  We choose instead a healthy future based on a community-driven economy, alternative energy production, light industry such as sustainable timber farming and processing, farming, ranching, and tourism to thrive.  We do not need any more poison in exchange for our survival.

At the very least, citizens of Montana should demand Superfund and other polluted sites be completely cleaned up before any new industry is allowed to continue extraction or operations.  This should extend to the timber companies who left the state for richer ecosystems, leaving behind a wake of devastated and fire-prone forests and ruined watersheds.

In the meantime, what do we do about getting around, heating our homes, making sure our child’s milk is refrigerated?  This is where energy solutions will have to be built every day.  It only takes one step for another to follow.  Whether the first step is growing one’s own food or committing to riding a bike everywhere, greater and greater solutions will appear further down the line. Our children will learn from our effort and will build sustainable communities of their own, if they are not among a generation corporate greed will poison. 

The Fukushimia plant is still emitting over 1 billion becquerels (bq) of radiation every day.  How much is a bq? It’s approximately equal to 1 kg of low level radioactive waste.  As far as the molten cores and the radiated seawater used to cool the burning reactors, there is no comprehensive modern solution for containment.  Imagine the recently-burst Silvertip pipeline in the Yellowstone river still open and flowing every day like the Deepwater Horizon gusher in the Gulf of Mexico.  Imagine what the river would look like soon enough coated in crude oil sludge.

Who would be able to make a living along such a site?  Who would be able to raise children and generations there?  Sometimes industrial messes cannot be cleaned up quickly, or efficiently.  Some are estimating the clean-up of Fukushima to take 20 years while toxic radiation will continue to emanate from the site.  Who would want such a trade-off of jobs in exchange  for the possibility a company could destroy the community and the resources it depends on to exist?

Nuclear power can be safe and clean power, but not when operated by a corporate industry needing to show healthy profits.  Oil and gas industries are the same, but there is no safe, clean way to obtain and process these fossil fuel resources.  The large multi-national resource extraction giants such as Exxon-Mobil and Chevron are interested only in base profits and even if they are not doing it here in America, they are dumping enough toxic sludge in third world countries to contaminate entire villages.  In some areas of Ecuador, the contamination is so comprehensive nearly every teenage girl faces a fight with breast cancer.

Is this the kind of industry we want to create our jobs in Montana?  Where is the positive outcome?  Money?  Even the wages earned are too low considering the continuing record-breaking annual profits of the oil and gas companies and the history of pollution and degradation of the environment once extraction is complete.  We can do better for our communities and our future.

It is a great tragedy what continues to unfold in Japan in the wave of natural and man-made disaster.  The response of the Japanese energy company TEPCO to the citizens is eerily similar to what we see here when industrial disasters unfold.  The company may have put on a smile (and maybe shed a tear) with an apology and said they would clean it all up but has cared only about profits, all along.  Human life, even that of the many Japanese  children who have now been poisoned with death sentences, is an expendable risk to secure profits in long-term budgetary planning in energy production.  It is shameful for humanity.

Thinking forward to the 2011 local elections, and the national elections of 2012, citizens should consider representatives who will take the message to their fellow legislators: Montana is moving forward in a sustainable future, not one where economic stability can be bought for a short time with a high price to be repaid in human health and the state’s pristine wilderness resources.  We can create an economy based in sterner stuff, integrity, and refuse to be exploited by the oil and gas industry regardless of how desperate we may be for jobs or an improved economy.

These massive tragedies of industrial pollution spread across the world and we will not be immune here in Montana in years to come.  We cannot ignore the stories of reality any longer.  We must change our ways. We need energy. 

We need solutions.  Instead of relying on the same pathways of the past where the energy industry giants extract from our land whatever they choose, take their profits and jobs elsewhere and leave a stripped land and community behind, we should look to build a road to a healthy community with secure jobs and economies right here at home, for the sake  of the generations to come.

—Reilly Neill

Laurel Oil Spill: Yellowstone River Ecology at Stake

I live in an oil-state, Louisiana.  Our beaches are brown with the stuff these days.  This is an emotional place, the trees hang low, the crickets say good-bye to the dusk-lit hour with a vibrato that would make most grown men cry.  

Hurricane Katrina ravaged everything.  It was consummate destruction. We watched as the fine and elegant story of our city, with so much pain and passion, love and struggle, came to a screeching, sinking halt. 

Covered in the worst kind of mud-tar, ash and death, we withstood the event that swallowed and inundated our lives, but we survived.  We waded in, rebuilt, celebrated, and wept.  On April 20, 2010, we wept again.  This time our entire coast, flat and outstretched from Louisiana to Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida became the victim of the worst Oil Spill in history. 

Montana has lured me in through a golden light of summer, to survive a winter and let me out to see real spring.  There’s never been a place in my life more majestic, natural and beautiful than this land.  It is place with heart.  It defies the limits of the mind with an openness of sky that lifts the spirit to dream and wonder and to love.  

Although I now live again in New Orleans, not a week goes by that I do not dream of traversing Montana’s valleys, watching as the shadows engulf the forests.  It’s a place that understands survival and community.  There is a simple cultural precept:  work hard, enjoy life. The people of Montana are not “forgotten America,” they strive to build, cultivating their land, and using their resources adequately.  

On the night of July 1 the people of Laurel,  Montana were gearing up to prepare their 58th annual July Fourth Celebration, a weekend of fun culminating with a grand Fireworks Display.  The Red Cross was also setup in theregion along the river for record flood levels.  Many residents were evacuating to shelters and leaving behind their homes for the rising waters raging forth.  The Laurel City Fire Chief was working double-time to ensure public safety, monitor the river, and even convince people to leave their homes—some escaping in the middle of the night.  It was on this night at 10:41 p.m. that the Silvertip Pipeline, owned by Exxon Mobil Pipeline Co. ruptured, causing anywhere from 750 to 1,000 barrels of crude oil to flow into the Yellowstone River.

It took Exxon Mobil from the time of the pressure drop at 10:41 p.m., until the last valve was closed at 11:36 p.m. to stop the flow of oil flowing into the Yellowstone.  During that time, people were evacuated to a temporary shelter managed by the Red Cross as a precautionary measure. Exxon Mobil has identified the general location of the rupture, but river levels remain too high to pinpoint the cause. This Silvertip Crude Oil Pipeline originates in the Wyoming-Montana border and delivers 60,000 barrels of oil per day to Exxon’s Billings refinery, adjacent to Yellowstone 

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has cited ExxonMobil with warning letters of “possible” problems with their pipeline operation in 2006 and 2009, which they addressed, resuming operations.  In May of this year they were asked to cease operations for fear of the Yellowstone River reaching flood levels.  

Deciding it was of low-risk, ExxonMobil resumed operations.  There are currently three pipelines in this area including the Silvertip.  Cenex also operates a pipeline for their Laurel refinery, as well as a now-defunct Conoco Phillips pipeline no longer in use.  

According to wildlife agencies, including Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks there are areas to observe the spill that cannot be accessed because of the critical stage of flooding, making the observation of plumes in back waters and ditches difficult throughout the back-fed areas as well as beneath the water’s surface. 

There is the question of impact crude oil will have on the sensitive bed of the river that contains insects and micro-organisms, as well as back water tributaries containing delicate fish and insect cultures and aquatic birds.  

There is an immense cleanup effort underway, guided by the State of Montana, DEQ, EPA, and 

ExxonMobil.  For hundreds of miles downriver there is Municipal Water testing and evaluation underway to determine water safety for treatment facilities along the river.  Montanans now  sit back and wait for  guidance from Federal, State, and Local Authorities as they wonder about the impact that this will have on the future of the Yellowstone River ecology.  

These are their farmlands, tribal lands, river estates, swimming holes, irrigation canals, and fishing tributaries. 

Having seen the way these things go, I watch again in terror as one of this country’s most beautiful natural resources comes under assault by the adequacies of man’s invention.  

I know that many people must be asking, was this avoidable, why?  How could this happen? 

I’ve been asking myself these questions as I struggle to rebuild my life from a decade of 

disaster in Louisiana.  We have to sit back and watch what we’ve created as it spoils the indescribable beauty of what has always been here for us:  the river feeding and supporting our families, nourishing our crops and our lands, refreshing us on hot summer days, inspiring us to work hard, living honestly and proud. 

It may have never been expressed better : “A River Runs Through It,” and it will continue to run clear and strong with our support. I implore you: protect the Yellowstone River, hold oil and gas companies responsible for their actions, communicate your concerns and demands for this region, educate yourself on policies and protocol that affect these industries, as well as the health and safety of your communities. 

There is so much at stake that will be lost without your input.  I pray for the people of Montana, the wildlife, and this river of my heart.

—Daniel Eames

 

Good News: Livingston Sticks Together!

With front page news of a sinking economy, many Livingston businesses are feeling the effects of a slowdown in consumer spending.  Across the country, business owners are having to tweak business plans, realign marketing strategies and come up with innovative ideas to keep doors open during what appears to be a fairly severe global economic downturn.

As the original gateway to Yellowstone National Park, Livingston has historically hosted tourists to America’s western wonderland, and in recent years the Park has seen record visitation numbers.  Many local business owners have expressed frustration over the years at their ability to draw tourists in from the highway before the turn-off to the Park, but the tourism industry in the small town remains strong.

Many entrepreneurs and shops in town have also realized a trend of buying, selling and providing services to the Park county population in a symbiotic circle.  “Buy Local” campaigns are nothing new to the area, but now much of the business atmosphere revolves around businesses working together to find economic security, rather than the traditional competitive business model.

Whether creating new strategies for customer service in the tourism industry, turning novel ideas or talents into successful enterprises, or fostering the culture of the community, many businesses, organizations and individuals are reporting plenty of good news for the local economy as new businesses continue to sprout and grow in Livingston.

Light Industry: Guthrie Lane

Angela Devine started her unassuming business in an outbuilding on her Park county property. 
Devine had been sewing custom-made clothing and accessories for children as a hobby when she sent one of her pieces as a gift to the eastern seaboard.  Word-of-mouth spread and soon she was supplying Sweet William children’s clothing store in Brooklyn with one-of-kind garments for infants and young children. 

“It’s now built up from one-of-a-kind pieces to making an exclusive collection for the store,” says Devine.  Sweet William recently expanded and opened an additional shop in Manhattan in New York City. 
Devine named the clothing line “Guthrie Lane” for her daughter and now supplies the two New York City clothing shops with full seasonal collections.

Devine grew up on the Double Arrow Ranch in Bone, Idaho and is now raising a family of three children in the Livingston area.  She says she wanted to make clothes here in Livingston and in America.

“I was taught to sew through family and friends.  My business is really home-spun so to send garments to be made by slave labor seems really weird to me,” says Devine.

Devine recently moved the operations from her property to a downtown storefront location at 109 East Lewis Street.  She says although it can be a challenge, she maintains her business solely on cash flow, making money and products as she continues to operate and grow. 

Guthrie Lane currently employs two full-time seamstresses and a sales associate to help promote the line to new shops.

The clothing itself is a study in re-use and thrift.  Devine displays a skirt with a design known as “scrap garden,” a garment that has lasted through two or three children.  “We strive for minimum waste,” she says, while stressing the durability of the hand-made item.

Devine says she initially started making clothing by using vintage fabrics but since larger-scale operations have been established, she has to find continuous yardage

“I’m a fabric hoarder,” says Devine, adding that she also utilizes every fabric store locally including Thumbelina and Back Porch Quilts.

“We’re all trying to keep each other in business,” says Devine.  She says she also tries to get American-based fabrics whenever possible.

“When I’m a millionaire, I’m going to have a textile plant,” she jokes.  Devine says Guthrie Lane will continue to produce some vintage items but indicates she would love to also remake older designs or re-use fabrics and patterns from the past.

People are willing to spend a little more for clothing that can last through two or three children, she says, and the clothing line is extraordinarily hand-crafted and unique, with each piece designed to endure through potential generations of active bodies.

Although the Lewis Street sewing shop and Guthrie Lane headquarters are primarily staffed by production sewers, Devine says she looks forward to having their doors open in the future to passerby.

“I always wanted to participate in the downtown small town shopping experience,” Devine adds, noting she would like to keep up a storefront throughout the summer season.

Currently in downtown Livingston, The Drawing Room at 117 East Callender Street carries selections from the Guthrie Lane line.  Devine also plans to bring Guthrie Lane seamstresses to the Farmer’s Market and offer patchwork services for jeans and jackets every Wednesday afternoon through September.  She will be donating the Farmer’s Market proceeds to help local arts programs.

Devine says the business will be launching a website in June, but right now they are focusing on making the product, sending it to market and getting paid.  If the one-of-a-kind pieces could be made cheaper, says Devine, they could sell the line in more stores.  But she is insistent on maintaining the quality and integrity of the pieces.

“No one sews anymore,” she explains, “So they have no idea how much time it takes to make something.”

The “small shop factory line” on East Lewis is one example of many cottage industries that have expanded during the economic downturn as integrity in products becomes more highly valued by a shoppers with less expendable income and a desire for high quality.

Devine says she sees no limit to the opportunities for promoting her business: “To continue and expand I’m going to have to hire more help.  I would love to have more people in here making clothes and incomes.”

New Media Marketing: H and H Web

H and H Web founders Chieko Horn and Angela Hiatt have a hard sell in the small town of Livingston convincing local clients to step up their presence on the internet.

As self-described social media marketing experts, the pair note challenges in imparting the importance of new media to clients used to traditional advertising and marketing methods.  Over the last year and a half, however, they say continued success for their clients is driving their business.

“When we first started, we saw that many local businesses were missing the boat for the social media thing.  We both have so many ideas about the industry, so instead of criticizing, we decided to start a business to educate, change the perspective and capitalize off of it,” says Horn.

Hiatt notes the business got its initial break when web and graphic designer Lynn Weaver referred Livingston businessman Dan Caul and two established Livingston businesses, The Murray Hotel and Truex and to H and H Web for a social media marketing consultation.  Soon, the pair were designing content for blogs and Facebook networking accounts and posting regular updates.

“Dan Caul is all about staying in the game,” says Horn.  He also brought in the H and H Web duo to work on a new “Livingston Buy Local” campaign.  Caul was open to all recommendations, Horn says, which initially helped promote The Murray and Truex with social media and marketing online locally and to connect the businesses with the rest of the world with ease.

Horn said H and H Web looked at the business and what the hotel was doing marketing-wise to create and provide a comprehensive online new media marketing plan.  H and H Web incorporated blogs and Facebook sites and The Murray Hotel soon went from a handful of fans on Facebook to over 1,000 fans from across the world in less than a year,.  Hiatt explains many customers are eager to check in on Facebook before a visit to get the latest on Livingston or Murray Hotel news.

“Tourism-based businesses have to have a presence on these sites [like Facebook] or a competitor will,” says Horn.  Being connected to customers constantly also increases customer service abilities for businesses, adds Hiatt, who indicates H and H Web helps to guide clients to utilize both the marketing and service aspects of social media.

“Facebook has wonderful insights to track website visits,” says Hiatt, indicating the some of the extensive instant market analysis now available online allowing clients to see who is looking at their business, where they are, and what their other interests are.

Both Hiatt and Horn agree that “Livingston loves Facebook.”  In the small town the social media networking site has about 1,500 active users, they estimate, and all of the users are interested in talking about what’s going on around the city.  The number of users has most likely tripled from a year ago as the site continues grow and become a successful communication tool for individuals and businesses alike.

“Facebook is unbelievably innovative,” says Hiatt.  Horn adds she sees only a rise in popularity for the site and its many applications, “It has connected the world and made the world such a smaller space and people have grown attached to that.”

Both partners credit backgrounds in media arts for their success.  Horn is a photographer and graphic designer and Hiatt has a journalism degree along with years of technical training in social media.

The talents of their team enable them to provide all graphic and content services in-house and avoid farming out work for websites, social media sites or blogs.  H and H Web provides full maintenance services for implementation of social media and also training and initial setup of services for businesses.

Among the dozen or so current clients are also non-localized businesses, such as Wholesale Girls and Little Girl Mart, a girls’ accessory supplier based out of a local warehouse on Highway 89.  The client employs approximately six people locally yet has no storefront in the area, instead they are doing all business through e-commerce.

“Before the advent of social media, non-localized business was not as possible,” says Horn.  Now businesses like Wholesale Girls can operate outside of the local economy but provide—through sites such as Facebook and Twitter—the same instant service one would expect from a traditional shop and sales staff.

Horn and Hiatt have hosted a number of free seminars on social media and marketing and are currently preparing for a presentation at the 2011 Women to Women Conference in Bozeman on May 19.  They will also be partnering with Prospera Business Network to present a free seminar on advanced social media marketing in the next year covering topics “beyond Social Media 101,” says Horn.

Every Friday, the business also holds a “Scoial Media Socializing Group” at 8:30 a.m. at Montana Cup on Park Street, a meeting which is free to the public.

In the past year of operations, the partners agree the business has grown at a healthy pace.  “We’re very excited about where it’s headed,” says Hiatt.

H and H Web also maintains the Livingston Buy Local campaign online with a community blog and Facebook presence.  Even in small communities like Livingston, “Social media can be community-driven,” says Horn.  The campaign not only encourages making purchases locally, but encourages conversations between business owners as well.

Although many “buy local” campaigns have kicked off in the past decades in the Park county area, the current campaign should be self-perpetuating through community efforts on the livingstonbuylocal.com website, blog and Facebook site, says Hiatt.  All local businesses are welcome to a free listing in the Livingston Buy Local directory, and may submit information via a link on the Livingston Buy Local website.

As the Livingston community faces a larger-scale continuing global and national economic downturn, Horn says local consumers purchasing from local businesses will help sustain the immediate economy.

“Businesses should also pay attention to the needs of customers,” Horn adds, citing a recent article which studied the secrets of economic success in thriving small towns across America.  In the most successful small towns, business owners had listened to their customers and tried to provide exactly what they needed, whether it was products, services, or even hours of operation.

Both partners at H and H Web share a positive outlook for Livingston’s economic future.

“Livingston has a great mix of innovative thinkers who are really dedicated to this town,” says Hiatt, “A lot of people have really good ideas.”

“A lot of businesses also give a ton of money back to the community, which is a good sign,” says Horn.
Hiatt, a Livingston native, says she saw renewed youth and vibrance in her hometown upon returning a few years ago.  “The Livingston I grew up in is vastly different from the one I know now.  I am so refreshed upon returning.”

Armchair Traveler: GoLivingston.com

“Livingston is such an incredible community with just the right mix: lots of outdoor recreating, a vibrant arts scene, rich history, and a distinct, low-key vibe.  I wanted to share the magic of Livingston with a broader audience in an effort to promote tourism business in the area,” says graphic designer and locally-based artist Brad Bunkers, the force behind the online travel site GoLivingston.com.

A large majority of travelers use the internet and mobile devices to plan vacations and Bunkers said he launched GoLivingston.com about a year ago as an “online travel magazine for web-savvy tourists.”

GoLivingston.com is solely dedicated to promoting tourism in Livingston and features local businesses and activities such as fly fishing and white water rafting in ever-expanding travel stories grouped into categories of seasons and outdoor adventure.  The most popular stories are tagged on the site and links are available to local authors, activities and businesses.

The site also offers free business listings, a section that appears to be growing continually as local shops and services add information.  There is also access to exclusive travel discounts via an email subscription service.

Although the site is fairly new, it has the potential to not only be a comprehensive travel guide but also provide a preview of Livingston’s culture on the street to prospective tourists.

“I like to think we plug in travelers to Livingston before they even set foot in Montana,” says Bunkers.
Although Bunkers says GoLivingston.com started as a side project evolving over time, he has brought in other team members from his Bunkers Art + Design company to help maintain the site.

Bunkers says he is not alone in his approach to creativity and entrepreneurial spirit: “I see so many small business owners in Livingston who have taken an idea and made it into a successful business,” says Bunkers, “It takes a lot of creativity, some luck and a ton of hard work.”

Bunkers says although he may consider himself an optimist, he thinks the economy in the area is steadily recovering and will continue to grow at a moderate pace.

“It felt like we were on the verge of a housing boom a few years back and I think the downturn may have been a blessing in disguise,” he says, “We avoided a major bust and we are now moving forward at a realistic pace.”

Destination Book Shop: Elk River Books

Commitment to culture and the arts is welcome and almost commonplace in new businesses springing up in Livingston.

When writer Andrea Peacock was in the process of moving her family’s household a running joke with cousin Marc Beaudin was: “We have so many books we should open a bookstore.”  Eventually the joke became reality as Beaudin and Peacock began assembling volumes for the new Elk River Books due to open May 24, 2011 at 115 East Callender.

The decision to open a used bookstore was a consideration between the pair for some time, says Peacock. 

“Especially in this community of great writers and educated readers,” adds Beaudin.

Both are published writers and avid readers and Beaudin also has strong connections with poetry and drama as a poet and director.

Peacock spent the past winter in Arizona while Beaudin spent time in Michigan and while away both scoured garage sales, thrift stores and even friend’s basement and attic collections for unique books.
“The process has been a treasure hunt,” says Peacock.

Among the unique finds to be featured in the store is a series of Tarzan books originally owned by Beaudin’s uncle, passed down to his cousin, and then to him, and then given as a gift to Beaudin’s father.

“After my dad’s passing, the books returned to me.  I’m excited about the day someone comes in and says, ‘I remember these from when I was a kid!’ And they’re thrilled to take them home,” says Beaudin.

Along with a high-quality used book selection featuring hand-picked fiction from regional and well-known authors, western history, outdoor themes, arts, poetry, drama, and wine books and cookbooks, Peacock says she hopes the shop will also provide a gathering place for the community.

Elk River Books plans to host regular readings and events a few times a month, the first being a reading with Montana author Rick Bass May 26 for the grand opening of the store.

Bass recently co-authored “Heart of the Monster” with David James Duncan.  The book explores the economic and environmental impacts of hauling mega-load mining equipment through Montana. 

The scheduled reading with Bass will be held next door to the book shop at the Blue Slipper Theatre.  Author Doug Peacock will also be on hand to introduce Bass, and Park County Environmental Council Director Kerry Fee will deliver a presentation on the local impact of mega-load hauling in Park county.

Scheduled events also include the celebration of “Bloomsday” June 16, a tribute to the life and writing of James Joyce, and a reading with poet James Crissman June 24 during the first downtown Art Walk of the season.

Beaudin indicates Elk River Books will both utilize and support activities at the adjacent Blue Slipper Theatre, using the larger theatre space for readings and opening the bookshop for tea and coffee during theatre show intermissions.

“We hope to connect these two cultural spaces,” says Beaudin, “We also hope to connect with other bookstores to create a destination district downtown.”

“We support anything that helps make Livingston a strong, self-sufficient community,” adds Peacock. 

The basis of the book shop is a commitment to reuse of materials, “things that still have life in them,” she says.

The book shop will also feature locally-sourced materials, selling books from local authors on consignment.

By selling and trading inexpensive goods, Peacock says she hopes Elk River Books can be part of positive growth in the community in coming years. 

“It seems like there are a lot of exciting things happening here,” says Beaudin of the economic environment in Livingston, “I’ve been here the past three years and compared to cities in Michigan, it’s a really vibrant town...this is a town full of people who love local arts events and want to be a part of them.  People here understand culture and economy.”

Peacock notes many positive signs of growth continuing in the community.  “The local food movement is pretty strong,” says Peacock, “Along with the City of Livingston parks plan, and the Northside Park and Soccer Fields project.  People invest in these aspects of the community that feed our souls and feed our bodies and it’s a good indication of what we can do.”

The new book shop will feature a coffee and tea lounge with free wifi where patrons can enjoy a fresh book or chat with other readers.  Peacock says a community bulletin board will be available for postings and the shop will also feature a number of local and regional literary, outdoors and gardening magazines.  Book bags will be available for purchase, and customers may return with the re-usable bag each visit for 10 percent off books.

Downtown Livingston continues to thrive with very few storefronts empty and most local businesses happy to share street space with new enterprises.  Although two bookstores, Sax and Fryer and Conley’s Books will be located around the corner, Beaudin again stresses the benefits of supplementing and supporting the other businesses to create an atmosphere of camaraderie and not competition.

“Things will always change,” says Peacock, ”If we work at it, we can push the community in the way we want it to go.”

The Economy of Culture

“Arts and Culture is a huge growth industry in Park county,” says Laura Bray, owner of the downtown gallery The Frame Garden and a leading member of The Livingston Gallery Association and the Urban Renewal Agency.

Bray estimates there are over 400 full-time arts positions in Park county and predicts the growth of many more in a variety of arts and culture fields.  At present, she projects nearly $5 million to $6 million dollars in annual revenues from the arts industry in the county, indicating it is one of the largest industries in the county.

Bray is working on a committee affiliated with the Urban Renewal Agency, Vision Livingston and the Livingston Gallery Association to place artwork outdoors throughout the city in the next year.
The “Street Arts” project will integrate artwork from local and regional artists into the streetscape of downtown Livingston and the surrounding area.

Although the project is still in final planning stages, Bray indicates the committee hopes to have some of the first works of art in place by a June target date.

Encouraging commerce alongside the celebration of culture is the focus of the monthly downtown Art Walks sponsored by the Gallery Association on the last Friday of each month during the summer season.

Bray says the Gallery Association has agreed to extend later Art Walk hours to every Friday during the summer, and says she hopes local businesses will follow suit and also keep their doors open late on Friday evenings through September.

Cultural traditions are revered in Livingston, whether it be the artistic atmosphere of the Friday night Art Walks or the annual family musical experience of Summerfest.  Both events draw regional visitors to the town as well as provide affordable entertainment for locals.

New Livingston Summerfest director Gar Sanders considered the local approach to creating a successful music festival on the banks of the Yellowstone River this July after taking the reins from former director Kan Kastelitz.

“Ken set up a terrific infrastructure,” Sanders says, “We’re just picking up where he left off.” 
Local favorites Six Strings Down will kickoff the three-day event, which will feature an entire Friday night of Livingston music—including The Fossils and The Max on the same stage. 

Saturday’s line-up includes family music headliners the Buck Ram Platters, a professional Beach Boys cover band and Bozeman artists The Clintons.  Sunday features a cowboy performer in the Will Rogers style, Cold Hard Cash, and country artists Confederate Railroad.  By designing a festival with local flavor, Sanders says Summerfest can support favorite local musicians while drawing a regional crowd.

The ticket price for three days is modest, just $20, and the July 15 event takes place in an open-air Sacajawea park along the Yellowstone Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  With past attendance numbers at nearly 10,000 people in attendance, Sanders says he hopes to create a more regional draw from Bozeman this year by bringing in Bozeman headliner The Clintons. 

“We can promote the event to appeal to Bozeman instead of compete with them,” says Sanders.  Local and regional vendors will also have an opportunity to showcase their products at the event.
Sanders says he hopes to work with downtown businesses in the future to create more of a partnership with Summerfest and downtown Livingston.

“There has been some talk that Summerfest does little for the downtown businesses, but we’d like to improve that and even integrate a kick-off event downtown in the future,” says Sanders.

More information about Summerfest is available on the City of Livingston website under events.

Local Contractor Networking:
The Yellowstone Connection

While arts and culture provide a backdrop of entertainment and a continuing successful and growing light industry in Livingston, many local professionals in business over decades are finding creative solutions to marketing their businesses, improving service to the community and working together to encourage positive growth.

A partnership of 11 local service professionals recently formed The Yellowstone Connection, an organized affiliation of contractors committed to certified work and working together to increase local referrals.

Guy Olson of the participating member Greybeal’s All Service says many local customers often contact Bozeman contractors for work that can be done by local individuals and companies.  By forming The Yellowstone Connection, participating service providers hope to increase local referrals, keep service dollars local and quality of workmanship high, he adds.

The Yellowstone Connection requires partners to maintain the necessary certifications, training and licensure for their business and employees along with proper general liability and workman’s compensation insurance.

In addition, The Yellowstone Connection partners guarantee use of quality products. 

“Cutting corners on quality supplies like paint or shingles may make the other guy cheaper,” says Yellowstone Connection literature, “But what will this do for you in the long run?”

A final guarantee on all work also adds a premium to using a contractor from the referral network.  Most participants in the program are local and family-owned businesses with decades of experience of service in the Livingston community.

The Yellowstone Connection maintains a Facebook page with regular updates, and participants Gutter Solutions are one of the members of the association who also maintain a detailed blog online at guttermontana.biz.

On the Gutter Solutions blog, detailed localized case histories, ideas for saving water with rain barrels and tips for maintenance and repair are among the many topics updated regularly for interested customers.

Participants in The Yellowstone Connection also include Nevins Glass, D.B Drywall Finishing, Miller Roofing, Printing for Less, Romans Plumbing, Ron’s Building and Painting, Tech Electric and Wells Works Excavations.

Downtown on the Rise:
Goughnour Properties

While the tremendous building boom of a few years ago has subsided, one local builder has chosen spring of 2011 to complete a project restoring and revitalizing a historic downtown property.

Former State House Representative Bob Ebinger, his wife Robin Hoggan Ebinger and architect Lucas Schad are the primary partners in Goughnour Properties, a business that has been revitalizing the historic 1891 Goughnour Lumber Yard property near the corner of Lewis and Second Streets in downtown Livingston.

While a complete renovation of the historic building on the property was completed about four years ago and two privately-owned condos were created, partner Bob Ebinger says phase two is now finally nearing completion.

The second phase of the project includes building two additional 1,600 square foot condos on the site and garage space for the total of four units.  Ebinger says they hope to have the project near-completion and have the final two condos on the market by July of 2011.

“We were waiting for the economy to turn and show signs of improvement,” says Ebinger, and adds the timing has worked out well and they plan get the project done while the market is improving.

Along with the condo installation, Ebinger also notes they aim to install a mural based on a historic photograph of the original lumber yard on the wall of the property adjoining the corner parking lot.

As an investor going forward on a speculative real estate project, Ebinger says he sees great promise in Livingston’s economic future, but there are challenges to be overcome: “What this community needs is some kind of large business coming in.  He says there are many individuals and organizations in the city working towards this goal, but confidentiality clauses can make difficult to partner with new industry and determine how to meet the needs and goals of prospective new businesses.

“The business community and the property owners also need to promote growth themselves while there is less opportunity from the outside and pick themselves up from the inside,” adds Ebinger.

He notes the good environment, clean air and water, and high quality school systems could all be big draws for prospective industry and make Livingston a great place to live and do business.  Activities in the arts also continue to enhance the community, but he notes a lot of activities in the arts base might not produce long-term or lasting growth.

Ebinger says a the city and county are attempting to find ways of promoting new development in Livingston, whether examining impact fees for small-scale development or working on bringing new business to town and he says he is looking forward to seeing the responses to many of the community’s economic challenges unfold in a positive manner.

Eventually, Ebinger notes, “The best success will come from different elements of the community working together.”

—Reilly Neill

One Good Egg

It’s spring and the seed racks beckon and tease.  Above the feed store, the sign in bold shouts “The chicks are in!” 

It’s a time to clean house and reset priorities, a time for faith, renewal, reflection, the promise of a temporary release from winter’s grip.

Outside our house there’s a new 8” of snow, the wood stove is going and we are sharing our living room with four pens of 100 chicks.

Once upon a time Old MacDonald had a farm: a couple of chickens scratching in the yard, a milk cow with a name and a wife that cooked.  Now and then they sat down exhausted to enjoy the products of their efforts.

Today, people wait in line at the drive through for an “Egg McMuffin” which they consume in their car on they way to work. McDonald’s used 600 million eggs in 2005 alone.

But do you know where your food comes from?  Can you afford to care when you are late and borrowing from the next paycheck?

Americans as a whole spend less of their earnings proportionately on food than any other nation.
Less than two percent of the population are farmers feeding the other 98 percent and much of the rest of the world.

Cheap food is neither cheap nor food. While the agricultural/industrial revolution fuels the ever-increasing demands of a growing population, what is the cost to the health of the planet and the structure of  a society still dependent upon it?

Is the current interest in all things “Foodie,” local, raw, organic, Vegan, “sourced” and so on a flash back to the 70s back-to-the-land movement, a revisiting of the romantic idealism of the Victorians, or one final fling with a Slow Food picnic before digitally cloud computing to hyperspace?

Are we more connected by blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, less lost with GPS, or yearning to find a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share to put us in touch with our roots?

In the west, we don’t plant until after Memorial Day and by June 5 it’s too late.

Not much leeway. The seed racks are filled with promise, cooking shows abound, magazine covers shine, the library shelves fill with how-to inspiration on the latest craze to hit the backyard: Chickens!
Meanwhile, in the store, the lettuce on the shelves has doubled in price and looks terrible due to a freeze in Mexico and local eggs are up to $6/dozen.

So maybe the consumer wants to try their hand at raising something, but where and when, and how—between the job (or finding one), kids, aging parents, and life? 

There will be no more vacations, but that baby chick is so cute!  At $2.89-$3.29 it comes with a carrying box, a few shavings, and will have already been named by the time you reach the register.

Pullets, those are the girls, are the ones that lay the eggs.  They are already sexed and that’s why they cost more. Straight run chicks less expensive but they are also unsexed, so there is at least a 50 percent chance one of them will crow.  This risk makes the option a no-no in city limits.

Hens can still lay eggs without a rooster, but having one around does keep the girls content, protected, and alerted to newly-found food sources when allowed to forage freely.

“Food, Water, Shelter” is the farmer’s mantra.  Take care of these needs and a peaceable kingdom is obtainable. 

With chickens, consider the operation will be replacing the mother hen so a heat lamp and bulb and a reliable power source will be needed.  These things catch fire and more than one chick has been fried, not to mention whole structures.

A waterer, less than $10, plastic (tops and bottoms sold separately, they break), and more for metal, but they rust.

Feeders are less than $5 (guessing, they last forever, I got mine at an auction 25 years ago) but as the chickens grow they will need different sizes. Shavings are $5 to $6: grit, oyster shell, we’re getting ahead already and the chick has not even survived the trip home (not too cold, not too hot and go straight there, you’re are done shopping).

Don’t forget the feed.  Ask what they are presently eating, meaning if they have had their first drink and bite. 50 pounds of feed costs about $15 to $18.  Some places sell 5-pound designer bags for starters. Note too, you will soon be looking for a truck or SUV, and a partner. Remember, there is usually help to load the rig at the store but the help does not follow you home.  Think of it as an opportunity to give up a gym membership, and never having to pay for a work out again!

If the token chick (best to get a few more to cover your losses and for companionship of the same kind when you are not there) survives the first 24 to 48 hours, jet lag, mauling by little ones and assimilation with other pets with previously established territory, you have made a career change and a commitment to the out-of-doors once the chick is ready to move outside. We don’t keep animals, they keep us (often on a short tether).

There will be a serious investment in infrastructure. Hopefully the fencing came before the chicken.  My first pigs stayed in a discarded appliance box while I fashioned the first of a long series of many temporary housing units for them. But back to the chickens, don’t forget the garden hose, shovel, rake, and the hen house or variation on the theme.

Definitely do not mix chickens and pigs as pigs will happily eat chickens and not tell you about it except for the leftover feet.  Don’t forget the power bill, smell and clean up.

You will meet the neighborhood through their dogs and the silent marauders whose stealth keeps you wondering; was it a cat, skunks (they come in threes), raccoon families, weasels, mink, fox, coyote, cold, heat wave, drought, wolves, bears, city regulators and county livestock taxes.

But what about the first egg?  You will wait, all the while feeding, hauling water while housing, cleaning, hoping, for 16 to 24 weeks for the first one.

It will be priceless.

Wait another week and you will have enough to invite friends for brunch and you will shine, resplendent in personal empowerment to do for yourself and your family, appreciative of the taste of the real thing, nourished by the knowledge and enriched by the closest thing to a complete protein. It’s love, pure and simple.

There will be another lone egg tomorrow or the next.  Hens only at most can lay one a day and two out of three is not bad.

You’re hooked for life or at least until you have to buy another bag of feed, or the neighbor dogs find a hole in the fence, or the it- turned -she- turned egg machine shuts down production and is still eating while taking a much needed break and sadly, eventually, inevitably, you may have to find out how to kill a chicken, if it hasn’t already otherwise met with fate.

To everything, there is a season, even for eggs. Why are eggs so cheap at Easter? Because they are old, have been stockpiled in the warehouse and are used to get customers in to the store to buy something else, like a dye kit. Just like that chick was a lead in to your life as a farmer.

But the chick allowed you the freedom to do for yourself, to become a producer as well as a consumer, a provider, and it afforded you access to not only a lifestyle few others enjoy but to savor the flavor of something so fundamental and essential.  To have had a taste of reality, pure and simple in all its complexity you will now know its price.

Or you can keep the polish, heels, lipstick, suit and day job and vote with your dollars. Will you outsource jobs?  Will you buy organic?  Will you buy local?  Can you depend on trucked-in commodities from a place you don’t know whose practices may be suspect?  Do you rely on over-regulated, understaffed, politically motivated, middlemen to make your decisions?  Who feeds the chickens whose eggs you eat and what?  Cage free?  Free Range?  Organic? Local?  California?  Montana?  Paper or Plastic?  So many decisions.

99¢ to $6 per dozen I cannot tell you which ones to buy, but I can tell you which ones are freshest because I just gathered and delivered them to the grocery shelves from a farm nine miles away and trust me, sometimes that’s as close as you want to be to a chicken.

At least we still have choices and the freedom and obligation to make educated decisions. I cannot afford to buy my eggs nor can I afford to charge any less but I will not feed my family any others (we eat the cracked and misshapen that don’t make it to market).

The price of freedom is constant vigilance or one good egg from the hands of a neighbor. Chickens earn their keep and supply a local sustainable protein source and I can help you get started with raising your own.

Who’s your farmer?  Know your source.  Ask questions.  We’re all in this together and serve at the pleasure of the planet. Farm visits welcome (please leave your dog home!) at Willow Bend Produce at 271 Cokedale Road.

—I. A. Carlhian  

The Whithorn Collection Revisited

 

After over two years of cataloging of nearly 10,000 images, negatives and archival material, the Yellowstone Gateway Museum now houses a permanent collection of digitally archived photographs originally compiled by Bill and Doris Whithorn.

The Whithorns—Bill as the photographer or photo archivist, and Doris as the chronicler—wrote and published over 20 books on area history, placing them among Livingston’s most unique creative artists, and presented here is a picture of their work looking back at historic shots of the area’s past.

The Whithorn’s photographic records—along with oral and written histories, negatives and video—were donated to the Yellowstone Gateway Museum by the Whithorn’s daughters Alta and Carol in the fall of 2006.

The consequential archiving of the Whithorn photos at the Museum was no easy task.  The Museum acquired grants to help fund the manpower necessary for the job and along with the trained technicians working to individually scan, catalog, file and digitally upload each photo in the collection, over 25 volunteers also donated their time and energy to the project, all in the name of preserving Park county history.

By printing selections from the Whithorn collection during the archival process over the two year process, the Current hoped to enlighten locals and visitors alike to the phenomenal heritage of the area.  In the case of this issue, the selection of images represents a re-printing of one of the the first issues of the Current where the images were featured.  Images from the now vanished town of Aldridge (once a booming coal town south of Gardiner) and images by amatuer photographer John C. Haberstroh were featured.

At the time of printing, less than 1,000 of the  images had been chronicled by Museum cataloguer Jon Watson and a team of volunteers in early 2008. 

Hopefully these visions from the past give readers a perspective on the beginnings of the community and inspire an interest in the historical culture of Livingston as well as an interest in the world-class exhibits maintained by the Yellowstone Gateway Museum.

While the Museum undergoes considerable renovations in heating, air conditioning, climate control and exhibit space, exhibits will be closed to the public while these renovations are underway.  The Museum is set to re-open September 2011, but during such time the entire catalog of Whithorn images may be viewed online at yellowstone.pastperfect-online.com.

For more information about the program, or the 10,000-plus images of the Whithorn collection, contact the Museum at 222-4184.  Many of the Whithorn volumes have been reprinted and are also for sale through the Museum of online at www.friendsofygm.org where an index of titles is also available.
We invite our readers take a trip back through time to the days of the area’s beginnings, and enjoy a perspective on the past.  The following notable shots picked by the museum staff are only a hint of what will be preserved for future generations.

—LC Staff

Bygone Days: Perspectives from the Past

The Livingston Post
April 27, 1899

“Parties whose cows turn up missing from this time on are apt to find them missing bovines in the city pound near the jail.  Marshal Nelson has decided that cows shall not run at large in the city this summer and when such animals are found on the streets the marshal will detain the ‘critter’ in the pound until the owner pays the fine necessary to get the animals released.”

“Hunters Hot  Springs still continues still continues to be an attraction for people of this city who are bent on recruiting their failing health…Savage’s hotel at the springs is taxed to its full capacity nearly all the time and the Springdale station presents a lively appearance on the arrival and departure of the crowds of guests which come and go on every train.”

“The local skating rink has been moved from the opera house to one of the Danforth buildings on upper B street.”

“The Enterprise changes hangs this week,  Geo. H. Wright, the founder of the paper, having sold the plant to B.F. Hoover of Ohio, who will continue the publication of the journal.  We understand that no radical change in the makeup of the paper, either with respect to its political complexion or its weekly grind of news service is contemplated.  It will still bear the imprint and genius of John S. Stuff, who has been retained under the new management as editor in chief….”

The Park County News
May 1, 1941

“Electric Rates are Reduced.  Minimum Monthly Bill now only 75 cents, Water Heating rate Added.  The Montana Power Company the past week announced substantial rate reductions effective May 1.  The new rates are announced with approval of the Montana public service commission.  The minimum monthly bill will be 75 cents instead of $1.00, the 75 cents paying for 12 kilowatts.  A drop is made from 5 cents to 4 ½ cents for the next 48 kilowatts, and corresponding rates for greater consumption.  A one-cent rate for water heating is also included in the new schedule.” 

“Forty to play Marbles.  Forty Livingston youngsters are registered for entry in a marble tournament which began yesterday afternoon at the Civic Auditorium.  Finals will be played Saturday morning.  The tournament is sponsored by the Junior Chamber of Commerce.”

“The state purchasing department last week awarded a contract for a car of flour for the state prison at Deer Lodge to the Livingston Milling company.”

The Park County News
April 29, 1965

“Screwball Rural Mail Lease Plan Needs to be Scuttled, Better Write to Washington…The recent proposal  by the Postmaster General to lease cars, rather than pay mileage, for the 31,000 rural letter carriers throughout the United States, is indicative of the danger  of city-oriented, computer-minded, big government…We have talked with some of the rural carriers in the Wilsall area, we think that at the present rate they hardly get a fair depreciation on their cars or trucks..after they pay insurance, gas, oil and repairs…Congressman Olsen is one of the senior members of the House Post office committee , and he should be able to explain how impractical such a proposal is.  Would you like a robot for a mailman?”

“’Open Your Future—Read’, ‘Read—the Fifth Freedom—Enjoy it”, ‘Know What You Are Talking About—Read,”—these are just a few of the themes for National Library week.  There’s an excellent display at the A. W. Miles store on Library week, but Wednesday there was the greatest demonstration of the cultural output of this community ever presented, when the Livingston Library week committee presented at the library the work of nearly 100 local artists—iol paintins, water colors, drawings and paintings of every description, ceramics, pottery,  leatherwork, and handiwork of all kinds.  Truly the committee and the librarian, Olive Griffith and her staff were themselves amazed at the extraordinary response.”

“Despite Rain, Chills Boy Scouts, More than 100 of ‘Em, Enjoy Camp, Flag-burning ceremony Saturday…Boy scouts and their leaders from Bozeman, Livingston, Big Timber and throughout the Yellowstone Valley Council area, numbering more than 116 Scouts alone, had a damp but nevertheless enjoyable and instructive three day camp Friday to Sunday at Mars Park in Bob Weimer’s Star addition.  A feature was a flag-burning ceremony, with Roy Sommerlad, police magistrate-elect.”

“CowBelles Thank Mrs. Lajeunesse For Support of ‘Eat More Beef’ Napkin Promotion in Park County…The CowBelles still have a substantial supply of the napkins on hand and they make be purchased from any member in case lots or in packages of 125 napkins.”

Spring Fashion 2011: Park High Seniors Model Looks from Local Shops

Sparkling ornaments featuring flip sides of baby pictures and senior pictures of graduating seniors hung from ribbons from the ceiling of the Livingston Elk’s Lodge last Thursday evening as Park High Seniors modeled fashions through the ages from local shops.

The event was only one of many fund raisers for the Senior All Night Party which will be held June 4, 2011 at Treasure Lanes Bowling Alley and Music Ranch Montana.

“If it saves one life, it’s all worth it,” says Sheila Segil, mother of a graduating senior and one of dozen or so parents who have spearheaded fund raising efforts for the all-night senior party. 

Having an extensive background in paper arts, Sigel also designed the elaborate custom-made decorations such as  senior portrait centerpieces which are still available for sale to benefit the party.

The annual Senior All Night Party offers a safe, drug and alcohol-free venue for local seniors to celebrate their graduation. 

Nearly $12,000 is needed to fund the annual event, which will include bowling, inflatables, a gaming station from Game Stop in Bozeman, salsa dancing lessons, poker, laser tag and taco and ice cream bars among other activities lasting through the night and until the following morning.  Nearly 90 percent of the roughly 120 graduating seniors attend the event, says Segil.

A number of raffles and fund raisers continue in the months leading up to the event, including the “Goat-o-Gram” promotion on April Fool’s Day, and raffles of an Apple Ipad and a “Queen For A Day” basket containing $500 worth of beauty treatments, services and products.

The event is presented purely by donations from senior parents and the community.  Local businesses and organizations such as the Rotary Club, local school bus drivers, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Dan Meyer, the Livingston Elk’s Lodge and many others also donated time, energy and resources to the party and the fund raising activities.

The theme for the elaborate April 14 fashion show fund raiser this year was “A Walk to Remember,” and included fashions from the Curated Closet, Grandma’s Treasures, Wild West Clothing, Timber Trails, The Spur Line, and Incognito Costume Shop in Livingston; Lilly Lu, Re-Couture and Sugar in Bozeman; and the online Etsy shop The Dust Peddler.  Clothes modeled included designs from the turn-of-the-century to modern western and urban chic.

Senior girls modeled the fashions on a raised runway for a packed house at the Elk’s Lodge and the event raised nearly $2,000 for the Senior All Night Party.  Segil says fund raising committees have reached about two-thirds of the total amount needed to put the party on and says they hope to reach goals for putting on the event by the end of next month with continuing raffles and donations.

Segil notes parent chaperones are still needed for the event at Treasure Lanes and at Music Ranch Montana June 4.  For more information about the raffles listed  or to volunteer for the event, contact Segil at 222-6684 or Janice Berg at 222-1120.  Donations for the event may be sent care of Rainbow Enterprises, 111 West Lewis, Livingston, 59047.

Like the all-night party, the senior fashion show fund raiser is also an annual event and businesses or organizations wishing to be involved in next years’s activities are invited to contact the numbers above.

—LC Staff

Earth Day Photo Contest Winners 2011

PICTURED ABOVE: First Place winner in the 2011 "Last Best Places" Earth Day Photo Contest: A photograph of a hawkmoth larva near Clyde Park taken by Kenneth Younger.

The Livingston Current recently asked the community to participate in a digital photography contest to commemorate Earth Day 2011  The theme of the contest, as in years past, was “Last Best Places,” a term often associated with Montana’s untouched wilderness.  The Current encouraged photographers to submit photography that celebrated the many places on the globe still abundant with nature, or places which may have special significance in the photographer’s dialogue with the Earth.

As ecosystems across the planet are intrinsically linked, the wildness of Montana is only representative of many remaining natural places on Earth still significant to humans.  We received submissions of animals, sunsets, forests, rivers and meadows in Montana and around the world, and each photograph portrayed a unique connection each artist had with their subject matter.  Hopefully, these photographs and reflections lead to a greater appreciation of the Earth as well as a commitment to help preserve this very special place in the universe.

Photography is a powerful medium that can reflect the beauty of the natural world as well as the many critical issues facing the environment and our role in both the destruction and the preservation of the Earth’s forests, mountains, deserts, rivers and oceans.

We would like to thank photographers who submitted their images and visions of the Earth for this issue.  Through other’s eyes we can sometimes see our place and other places in a new light. We would also like to thank Lindsay Wells at lw-photography.com for leading the judging process.

Heath Care Savings Myth of Obamacare

Six years ago I visited a small medical clinic when one side of my face quit working.  I thought I might have had a stroke, and the doctor thought I actually did have a stroke.  I was taken to the hospital in a nurse’s car and proceeded to run up quite the medical bill, as thousands of dollars worth of tests were performed on me.

While whether or not I had suffered a stroke was being determined, I followed doctor’s orders and went along with recommendations for an MRI and spinal tap, among other costly procedures.  After being released with a minor case of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome (something similar to Bell’s Palsy except faster healing), I returned to work and to life.

Within a few months, the final bill came, and the insurance company I had been paying for over a decade let me know they would not be covering the incident and the trip to the emergency room because, “It was not an emergency.”  No matter that the entire process started when the doctors were convinced I was in an emergency situation.  As anyone who has battled an insurance company without access to expensive legal assistance knows, further resistance was futile.

$7,000 in medical debt later, with a new and hopefully more compassionate insurance provider, I still have little trust in the health insurance system, reformed or not.  Jaded, I’m not about to put all my eggs in the Obamacare basket.  I maintain insurance as I know too many people thrown into lifetimes of debt on account of unpayable medical bills.

Providing health insurance for employees has never been cheap, but for the past five years the Livingston Current newspaper has  offered such insurance to our employees after their first 90 days.  For a business with less than five employees the premium rates are steep, but employees are healthier and have access to preventive care while working for the company.  They may also avoid crippling debt if they face major medical expenses.

Our company followed the health reform debate of the past year and hoped to see benefits for many of the low-income workers our business and others in the community employ, but alas, those benefits now come with higher costs for health insurance premiums.  Our insurance provider has raised our rates, effective in June, some 13 percent.

Not everything provided by Obamacare is bad. The reforms implemented March  23, 2010 across the country include a new focus on preventative care, generally requiring all new health care plans to cover preventative services such as mammograms or colonoscopies without charging a deductible or co-pay. 

The reforms also extend coverage for young adults, remove some restrictions for pre-exisiting conditions and establish an externally-reviewed claims and appeals process.

New tax credits enacted March 23 for an estimated four million small firms across the country are promised.  Many of these businesses barely breaking even or in the red will be unaffected by this benefit; many others may see progress over several years.  But in the meantime, employers like myself will be required to find an extra 13 percent for premiums. Payable immediately.  This is reform?

Obviously, the health insurance industry is not going into this battle unprepared.  By significantly raising premiums it’s apparent that that industry has its “ways” to counter financially any reform.

Running a small business anywhere in America right now is a financial challenge regardless of rising costs of basic health coverage for employees. But in the state of Montana, which boasts some of the nation’s highest workers-compensation insurance premiums as well, continuing to employ workers in a cloudy economic atmosphere is becoming almost cost-prohibitive.  Add a basic health insurance premium to the costs of employment, and the total amount paid to employ a worker begins to rival any actual salary paid.

After taxes and insurance payments, a full-time minimum wage worker in Montana takes home about $850 per month.  After adding taxes, health insurance premiums, and unemployment and workers compensation insurance, the employer pays about $1,500 per month per employee.  Money made by the business is already stretched thin to pay the employee.  Now the working poor will see their salaries decrease further, and employers will see costs in the equation continue to rise.  Not three percent or even seven percent but a whopping 13 percent.

Where is the break?  Where is the reform?  What can a small business owner do to continue to employ workers and provide necessary health insurance?

New reforms promise tax credits and decreased employer financial responsibility for health premiums.  Employers will only be required to cover 50 percent of premiums whereas previously the responsibility was 60 percent.  But passing the cost on to the employee seems less than fair, considering the take-home pay already received is taxed and levied heavily.

Thanks to the in-state program Healthy Montana Kids Initiative (HMK), many dependents can theoretically be dropped from policies.  But depending upon HMK is risky as the initiative only remains in effect as long as the Montana Legislature deems HMK fiscally important.  Although new national reforms indicate children up to the age of 19 at some point will be covered regardless of pre-existing conditions, varying and changing federal legislation also presents a risk when dropping a child from a policy.  There is no guarantee the child will be covered for any period longer than the next legislative session.

No reform can be considered permanent and the insurance industry will certainly continue to bob and weave as far as absorbing any real cost or enacting any true reform.  All citizens, employees and business owners alike, can do is continue to let state and federal representatives know this is not reform and it is not good enough for citizens.  We demand more than business as usual.

Within the fine print of the health care reform law lie the same loopholes which allow the insurance industry to determine the rules and definitions of individual health care coverage.  If the loopholes cannot be exploited, the premium costs will simply rise.  What can we do?  We can only pay the increased premiums and play by industry rules, and hope real health care reform will come at some point in the future.

Above all else, we can hope we do not get sick.

—Reilly Neill

The Curated Closet: New Non-Profit Venture in Downtown Livingston

A new second-hand boutique in downtown Livingston will be highlighting re-use in fashion and art while benefitting the community.  The Curated Closet at 110 West Callender is a venture of the local non-profit thrift store Community Closet.

The organization's motto, "Where fashion meets philanthropy," only hints at their goal of providing essential clothing and household items at rock-bottom prices and returning profits to the community through grant programs.

From revenues at the thrift store and the adjacent Alley Annex, the organization now employs 10 people and has distributed over $200,000 in grant money in the community to date, says Executive Director Caron Cooper.

"We're really proud of what we've done," says Cooper, but securing additional revenue remains essential as the board continues to see an increasing number of community applicants for grant funding.

Inspiration

When Cooper visited a number of higher-end thrift stores in New York recently, she had an idea for a similar shop in Livingston.

"I saw how beautiful second-hand can be in a retail setting," she says.

The proposed boutique would require a larger retail space and Cooper said the current location of the Community Closet at 416 East Park Street continues to be ideal with drive-up donation drop-off and ample parking.

The Community Closet was saving items for a fashion show fund raiser when the central downtown location on Callender Street became available.  Within 17 days, employees had refurbished the former Grace Studios salon and The Curated Closet (C2R3) was open for business.

The inventory is scant and specially-chosen, less than two percent of the Community Closet stock at best: vintage gowns and cowboy boots, sequinned tops and purple tuxedo shirts with frilled collars.  Among the fashion items being hand-picked from Community Closet racks by stylist Bridget Kelly rest curios and vintage objects of varied usefulness and nostalgia such as a 50s-era Fly Tying kit or pairs of horn-rimmed glasses clipped to hanging chains with close-pins.  A multi-tiered hand-made cabinet sits ready to display artisan and antique jewelry.

Cooper says the prevailing theme is "Livingston's Past Present and Future."

She indicates a continuing vision for the boutique to “R3”  or re-use, recycle and reinvest and will be asking local artisans who re-use materials in crafting art or jewelry to sell in the gallery setting.

As far as the variety of donations dropped daily at the Park Street store, "We have things people are willing to pay more for," says Cooper. 

“We can honor the donors more," Cooper adds, indicating fair market value could now be noted in many receipts for donations. 

She says many Community Closet shoppers are also ebay sellers, and the new boutique hopes to benefit from some of the profit margin on these items rather than watch them leave the store for relatively minimal prices.

"The goal of the project is to raise more money for the thrift store," says Cooper.

At least 50 percent of the inventory in C2R3 is from the racks in the main store, items shoppers have access to at Community Closet.  Items are cleaned and pressed and presented according to colors and themes.  There are fashions and accessories for women and men, and even a few for children along with unique curios.

"It's not tea-pots and China," says Cooper, "It's a quirky selection with a local feel."

Cooper says the shop will also offer a concierge service, "If you want a vintage cowboy boot in a size 7, we can look for it."

Fashion Forward

The Curated Closet opened for business March 3, and will be open thereafter Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Business hours should be increasing to five or six days a week in May. 

"We have an extremely cautious business plan," says Cooper, but adds they do hope to eventually employ at least one additional employee at the Park Street thrift shop as a Community Closet staffer will be moving to the new location.

The new location will be retail-only specific donations for the Curated Closet can be dropped at the Community Closet.  Call 222-6200 for more information on either the Community Closet or the new C2R3 boutique.

—LC Staff