Best of Livingston Winners Announced

The “Best of Livingston” is designed to be fun, an opportunity for the Livingston community to commiserate about favorite haunts, important issues, and wishes for the future as well as a chance to celebrate the place we call home.

For being nothing more than a community poll, the Best of Livingston is also fraught with peril.  The concept is curious enough to elicit a range of responses from, “Why are you folks doing this?” to, “This balloting process offends my very soul!”  At the same time, many voters anxiously await the reader poll each year, some even joking how they will rig the vote.

Rigging the vote is difficult, and we here at the Current like to think that we use all of our power and energy to tally results with the utmost integrity.  We throw out obvious duplicates and recount close calls where there might be a tie or a few ballots separating the winners.

For over three months, ballots are collected from three local sit-down coffee shops (Chadz, Coffee Crossing and MT Cup) as well as at the offices of the major sponsor of the event, the Livingston Current.  Each ballot contains nearly 100 questions and although a few respondents complain about the length of the process, most use the ballots as a playground for creative expression—creative being an understatement in some cases.  Livingston folks seem happy to expound on any number of issues given a writing utensil and slight inspiration.

A pair of ballot counters assembled a few weeks ago and started the process of counting the over 200 responses.  Each counter was assigned a separate list of categories which had been split to reflect the greatest diversity.  The counting and recounting process took over 40 hours and each vote for every category was counted.  Duplicate ballots or obvious jokes were omitted and, as indicated on the actual ballot, responses less than half-completed were thrown out. 

No one at the Livingston Current chooses the winners; this task was completed by the Livingston community who participated in the poll.  It is true that many Current advertisers win categories, but it’s most likely because our readers are loyal to the great businesses who take advantage of the pages of the Current to promote their goods and services.  Regardless of whether or not they advertise, winners are counted fairly.

On October 31, 2009, the Current culminated the promotion with the best of Livingston Halloween Bash at the Depot Center.  Partygoers raised funds and 500 pounds of food for the local Livingston Food Pantry.  The Fossils and The Shufflebums performed and provided entertainment for the many vampires, goblins, skeletons and ghouls attending.

This year “Best Local Character” Chad Petrulis took home the golden cup for best costume (and a season ski pass to Bridger Bowl) for the third year in a row, although Livingston’s creative community came out in full force to attempt to break Petrulis’ streak.  Costumes ranged from the absurd to the delightful and masqueraded mayhem ensured until the witching hour.

Thanks to the Community Closet, Neptune’s Brewery, The Murray Bar and Bridger Bowl, the event was a complete success, and the Food Pantry benefitted from the good nature of both the sponsors and the costumed partygoers.

The top three winners of the following reader poll were posted at the party, and first place plaques were available.  Any first place winner who has yet to get a plaque, please contact the Current at (406) 222-3633.

The following Best of Livingston Reader Poll results are neither scientific nor gospel.  The nature of the poll is to be neutral, fair and inclusive and everyone in Livingston is invited to participate.

We thank everyone who voted, hosted boxes and took the time to be a part of the Best of Livingston 2009.

READER POLL RESULTS:

BEST LOCAL CHARACTER

1. Chad Petrulis
2. Rob Bankston
3. (tie) Blackfoot
Russell Chatham

Also in the running: William Whelan, Kevin Hoover, Rich Ruggles, Vern LaDoux, Lindie Gibson, Tim the Magician, Pookie, Margot Kidder, Wilson, Montana Bob, Mike Devine, Ed Turner, Jim Harrison, LouAnn Nelson, James Willich, Ned Shapiro and Eric the Locksmith/Philosopher.

BEST NEW BUSINESS

1. Park Place Tavern
2. Zona Rosa
3. (tie) L-Town Sports
Community Closet Alley Annex

Without a single advertisement, Livingston’s best new business opened to a packed house on July 1, 2009.  The Park Place Tavern, founded by four-time award-winner for “Best Bartender in Livingston” Glenn Godward, along with Bill and Joe Hernandez, prides itself on serving quality food and drinks at reasonable prices.

Godward tended bar for 12 years at the Livingston Bar and Grill before opening the tavern.  “Most of my customers are friends too,” he says.  “I try to take care of them.”

The tavern is located on 122 Main Street, where the SlackKnuckle Pub used to be.  The patio outside looks similar to the SlackKnuckle design, though Joe Hernandez now calls it the “tikki bar.”  A new u-shaped bar dominates the interior of the tavern, which Godward says improves traffic flow and creates a friendlier bar atmosphere.  Some blocked windows were cleared to admit light, accentuating an assembly of Chatham lithographs hanging inside.  One customer also brought in a mounted bison head to hang on the wall.

Though the award for best happy hour went to The Office Lounge this year, Park Place Tavern received many votes in the category.  Happy hour runs from 4-7 p.m., when the price of well drinks and draft beers drops from $3 to $2. 

The Park Place crowd is an eclectic mix, including cowgirls drinking brandy, singles with wine, families having dinner, and fishermen sipping cognac. Most draft beers are local, including brews from Bitterroot Brewing Co. and Red Lodge Brewing Co.  And even the well liquor is good liquor, according to Godward.

The tavern also offers a full menu of traditional bar food and a selection of pastas. “Livingston has a long tradition of good eating places,” says Godward. “Most locals know what they want, and from here you won’t go away hungry.”

Also in the running for Best New Business: Designing Women, Studio Montage, Kelly’s at the Best Western, Allegro, Mill Creek Trading Post, Tiny Tee Graphics, Western Drug Soda Fountain and Pura Vida Salon.

BEST EDUCATOR

1. Danny McGrath
2. Deb Certier
3. Jennifer McMillion

Also in the running: Mr. Feckanin, Marla Bray, Tandy Riddle, Livingston Library, Hermes Lynne, Christina Gillespie, Steve Hopkins, Jimmy Conley, Kelly Dick, Katie Laird, Sue Meador, “life,” “my parents,” and “experience.”

BEST ELECTED OFFICIAL

1. Bob Ebinger
2. Vicki Blakeman
3. Kara Bailey

Also in the running: Kevin Larkin, Mary Beebe, Brian Schweitzer, Steve Caldwell, June Little, Rick Van Aken, Marty Malone, Marshall Lutes, Randy Taylor and Martha Miller.

BEST COMMUNITY PROJECT

1. Livingston Community Gardens
2. G Street Splash Park
3. McNair Skate Park

Also in the running: Stafford Animal Shelter, “Improving the Civic Center,” Sacajawea Statue, Farmer’s Market, Bozeman Connection Trail, Vision Livingston, Livingston Round-up, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Sister City Organization, and “Sacajawea Park’s beautiful flowers.”

BEST NON-PROFIT

1. Stafford Animal Shelter
2. Community Closet
3. Big Brothers Big Sisters

Also in the running: Loaves and Fishes, Friends of the Gateway Museum, Crazy Mountain Productions, Western Sustainability Exchange, LINKS for Learning, Livingston Center for Art and Culture, The Rotary Club, Livingston Sister City, Montana Women For, Boy Scouts, Community Gardens, Livingston Food Pantry and CASA.

BEST THING ABOUT LIVINGSTON

1. The People
2. The Mountains
3. The Yellowstone River

Also noted: The wind, downtown, “me,” skateboarding, bar scene, coffee shops, “everything,” Livingston HealthCare hospital staff, fresh air, pie, scenic beauty, summer, Main Street, small town character, “no Wal-Mart,” “coolness factor,” location, Community Closet, “Most of the people are sane” and “No pollution because there’s too much wind!”

MOST IMPORTANT LOCAL ISSUE

1. Railroad Underpass/Overpass at Star Addition
2. New Hospital Plan
3. Railroad Plume Superfund Clean-up

Also noted: Ninth Street bridge, economy and growth, Amtrak Passenger Rail Service, cattle mutilations in Paradise Valley, “Keepin’ it real (unlike Bozangeles),” unemployment, keeping Livingston clean, bringing more businesses downtown, City infrastructure improvements, keeping homes affordable, and the women’s clinic on Main Street.

BEST EFFORT TO
IMPROVE LIVINGSTON

1. New Hospital Plan
2. Refurbishing Downtown Streets/Pipes/Sidewalks
3. Vision Livingston

Voted “Best Effort to Improve Livingston,” the new hospital building projected to be erected in the next few years by Livingston HealthCare won top honor. 

“Our first priority is to create a facility that can serve our community with quality health care for generations to come,” says Livingston HealthCare Development Director Sandi Marlowe.  “Now, there are just things that don’t fit.”

The new hospital will house facilities now scattered across 18 locations in town, Marlowe says.  It will be built according to modern principles of efficiency and healing environments, and may offer views of the mountains and immediate access to a park.  According to Marlowe, the hospital will cost an estimated $37.5 million.  When and where the new facility will be built remains undetermined, as planners are still pushing pieces of the gargantuan project together.

The main hospital building currently in use is 54 years old. Some staff members crowd closets for office space, while others operate out of houses across the street.  One plan under consideration calls for the new building to be 116,000 square feet, 56 percent larger than the current sprawl.  According to the plan, patient care areas will increase by 88 percent.  The added space may also accommodate in-house physician clinics and outpatient services under the same roof as the intensive care unit and emergency room services.  Patients with acute conditions may receive specialist care down the hallway, instead of moving across town.

In the new facility, plans call for 25 private rooms to hold one bed each, adhering to the federal critical access facility limit of 25 beds.  As a critical access facility, the Livingston hospital receives government reimbursement according to operation costs, rather than number of patients.  Marlowe says the concept originated in Montana, where hospitals serve a large area but relatively few patients.  All rooms are slotted for the second floor, away from the noise and bustle of central hospital activities and the ER.  According to the plan under consideration, each room will have views of the mountains.

One location being considered for the hospital is east of town, off of Highway 89 on the other side of the bridge.  The Ted and Georgann Watson family offered to donate a 20-acre parcel at the location, and Marlowe says she expects to know if they will be able to accept the land by the end of the month.

Livingston HealthCare is funding the building with current financial assets as well as loan money and community capital campaign donations.  Marlowe says the organization expects to select a lender this month.

Design-build firm Marshall Erdman plans to build the hospital according to new studies of healing environments.  Project Executive Ed Anderson says the firm will use evidence-based design strategies proven to accomplish better healing results than traditional building methods. 

For example, Anderson says evidence shows patients who have access to daylight use less narcotics and achieve faster healing times.  According to Anderson, the science of healing environments often aims to reduce anxiety among patients.  “In a hospital environment, you often can’t control what’s happening to you,” he says.  “When patients are being poked, prodded, and put through magnets, their anxiety level goes up.” 

By orienting themselves to recognizable landmarks, such as the Absaroka Mountains, patients may feel a greater sense of control, and anxiety and heart rate may decrease.

Anderson says the design firm is also considering simple measures to increase efficiency at the hospital.  Patient rooms may be identical, so physicians always know where to find their instruments.  Passages may be designed so patients are transported around the hospital without passing through public reception areas or emergency corridors. 

More space may be available for visiting specialists to work with the tools they need.  Limited or inefficient workspace often hinders visiting specialists from coming to an outdated facility, according to Anderson.  “The new facility will really help our ability to recruit and maintain quality staff,” Marlowe says.

Marlowe emphasizes the hospital’s practice of upgrading according to need.  The hospital is not waiting for the new facility to bring in any necessary equipment.  In 2006 they added an MRI.  This year, they increased the utility of x-ray and mammography information by converting to digital imaging systems

No estimate is yet available for a date when ground may be broken for the hospital, but Marlowe says once the ground is broken the structure will be completed within 18-24 months.

—Wes Venteicher

Also noted as Best Effort to Improve Livingston: New City recycling project, L-town Sports, “any effort,” Margot Kidder, Livingston Mercantile, “someone should buy the Owl Lounge,” free Historic Yellowstone Bus Tours, killing city mosquitoes, “keeping Wal-Mart out,” railyard cleanup, new soccer fields, and H Street improvements.

BEST STREET

1. Main Street
2. Yellowstone Street
3. Park Street

Also in the running: Callender Street, Lewis Street, Old Clyde Park Road, “J Street,” Fifth Street and H Street.

BEST PLACE TO COMMUNE
WITH NATURE

1. Sacajawea Park
2. (tie) Yellowstone River
Pine Creek

Also noted: Mayor’s Landing, Yellowstone National Park, ‘outside,” Absarokas, the dock on the Sacajawea Park Lagoon, “the forest,” St. Andrew’s Garden and Ninth Street Island.

BEST SWIMMING HOLE

1. Livingston City Pool
2. Chico Hot Springs
3. Carter’s Bridge

Also noted: Boiling River, Pine Creek Lake, Sacajawea Park Lagoon, Loch Leven, “Ninth Street, but we can’t get there any more,” and many “secret” spots.

BEST CAMPING

1. Pine Creek Campground
2. Mill Creek
3. (tie) Yellowstone National Park
West Boulder Campground

Also noted: Osen’s RV Park, Luccock Park, “any Forest Service cabin,” “my backyard,” islands on the river, Pine Creek lakes, Mallard’s Rest, Pie Creek KOA, and the Beartooths.

BEST PLACE TO WATCH THE SUNSET

1. At Home
2. On North Hill
3. (tie) Livingston Peak
Mayor’s Landing

Also noted: the Wineglass, “the west,’ on the river, Bozeman, Mormon Church, Paradise Valley, the Crazy Mountains, “in alpenglow clouds,” and at the Pine Creek outlook/turnout.

BEST BIKE RIDE

1. City Bike Path
2. Sacajawea Park
3. Around Town

Also noted: Highway 89, “downhill,” Yellowstone Park on Bike Day, “The one we wish we had: along the levy all the way to Mayor’s,” East River Road, “to the bar,” “through puddles after the rain, “home from the bar,” Old Clyde Park Road, and “away from 55mph traffic.”

BEST LOCAL IDEA

1. Livingston Farmer’s Market
2. New Hospital Plan
3. (tie) Community Gardens
Updating Civic Center

Also noted: Vision Livingston, “no ‘marts’,” Skate Park, “the lizard people,” “cleaning up our neighborhoods,” painting the underpass, local spotlight page at bigbearelectric.com, Highsides should be reopened, replacing bad trees, passenger rail service, “buy local,” “make Callender and Park one-way streets,” and Summerfest All School Reunion.

BEST TEEN HANGOUT

1. Pickle Barrel
2. Treasure Lanes
3. Chadz

Also noted: Coffee Crossing, MT Cup, Sacajawea Park, L-Town Sports, McNair Skate Park, Mark’s In and Out, Community Closet and “their own house.”

BEST PLACE TO SEND TOURISTS

1. (tie) Yellowstone National Park
Home
3. Livingston Depot Museum

Also noted: Chico Hot Springs, Montana Grizzly Encounter, “to shop locally,” Gateway Museum, Chadz, Bozeman, Second Street Bistro, Natural Bridge on Boulder River, The Murray, “hunting for jackalope,” Pine Creek Falls, Livingston Chamber, “through Yankee Jim River Access,” and Conley’s Books and Music.

BEST BUMPER STICKER
SEEN LOCALLY

1. “Who’s Your Farmer?”
2. “Hey Osama, Kiss My American Ass”
3. When Abortions are Illegal, Only Rich Women will have Abortions”

Also noted: “Wear your seat belt, it keeps the aliens from sucking you out of your car,” “Montana Native,” Bozeman: Just 30 minutes to Livingston,” “Behind every great woman is a man checking out her ass,” Evolve beyond belief,” “Livingston Blows,” “Area 49,” “You’ve got to have balls to get your dog neutered,” Crime control not gun control,” “Where the hell is Tow-Dot?”, “Save a cow, eat a vegetarian,” and “Happiness is Coming.”

BEST LOCAL CONSPIRACY THEORY

1. City Commission Versus City Manager Ed Meece
2. Bomb Shelters in Paradise Valley
3. Wal-Mart West of Town

Also noted: Bigfoot, the C.U.T., “That no one uses Ninth Street other than the residents,” Obama will outlaw guns, J Street is underground, “gum collection,” “Aliens are governing Park High,” Margot Kidder is really a right-wing Republican, City of Livingston has plenty of money, and that the Yellowstone Caldera will blow.

BEST PREDICTION FOR
LIVINGSTON’S FUTURE

1. Amtrak will Resume Passenger Rail Service to Park County
2. Economic Recession and Unemployment
3. Yellowstone Caldera Will Blow

Also noted: More new businesses, bridges and levy will be repaired, slow and sustainable growth, more out-of-staters and less locals, “horrible hell where robots prey upon helpless humans,” flooding in the area actually on the Army Corps of Engineers map, “will stay destination spot for tourists but no one will move here,” the wind will blow, and “a Delorean sent back to 1955.”

BEST CHEF

1. Brian Menges at the
Second Street Bistro
2. Dan Shapiro at Pine Creek Café
3. Jim Liska at Adagio and Allegro

Also in the running: Zac Kellerman, Scott Lambkin at Zona Rosa, Russell Chatham, Chad Petrulis, Carole Sullivan at Mustang Catering, Bob  at the Fry House, Teri Ruggles at Pinky’s, Chris ** at the Northern Pacific Beanery and Chuck Tanner of the Sport.

BEST FINE DINING

1. Second Street Bistro
2. Chico Hot Springs Dining Room
3. Livingston Bar and Grille

Also in the running: Adagio, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Pine Creek Café and the Stockman.

BEST SERVICE

1. Second Street Bistro
2. Pinky’s
3. Montana’s Rib and Chop House

Also in the running: Chico Hot Springs, Pine Creek Café, Adagio, Chadz, the Office Lounge, Ace Hardware, Mark’s In and Out, Park Place Tavern, The Stockman, Fiesta en Jalisco, Community Closet, and Mark’s In and Out.

BEST BREAKFAST

1. Pinky’s
2. Northern Pacific Beanery
3. (tie) Homemade Kitchen
Clark’s Crossing

Also in the running: Chadz, Pine Creek Café, Yellowstone Truck Stop, Paradise Valley Pop Stand, Coffee Crossing, Second Street Bistro Brunch, and Val’s Deli in Wilsall.

BEST LUNCH

1. Pinky’s
2. Bittersweet
3. Chadz

Also in running: Zona Rosa, Homemade Kitchen, Mark’s In and Out, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Mustang Catering, Hearthstone, Pickle Barrel, Dairy Queen, 12-Top, Fiesta en Jalisco, The Fry House, Paradise Valley Pop Stand, and MT Cup.

BEST BURGER

1. Mark’s In and Out
2. The Stockman
3. Park Place Tavern

Also in the running: Second Street Bistro, Paradise Valley Pop Stand, Wilsall Café, The Sport, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Chico Grill, Pine Creek Barbecue, Murray Bar and Dairy Queen.

BEST STEAK

1. Montana’s Rib and Chop House
2. The Stockman
3. Second Street Bistro

Also in the running: Matt’s Butcher Shop, “at home on the grill,” Chico Hot Springs, Livingston Bar and Grille, Buffalo Jump, and Wilsall Café.

BEST PIZZA

1. Rosa’s Pizza
2. Yellowstone Pizza
3. Second Street Bistro

Also noted: Allegro, 49’r and the “Meatloaf Pizza” at the Bistro.

BEST GLOBAL CUISINE

1. Zona Rosa
2. Fiesta en Jalisco
3. The Wok

Also noted: Twin Dragon, Adagio, Neptune’s Brewery, and Mustang Catering.

BEST SANDWICH

1. Matt’s Butcher Shop
2. Chadz
3. Pinky’s

Matt Feldtman, owner of Matt’s Meats, offers simple advice for making a good sandwich: “Load it up.”  Sandwich experts at Matt’s Butcher Shop and Deli stuff about a quarter-pound of roasted meat and two ounces of cheese between slices of fresh bread to create Livingston’s favorite sandwich.

Meats are seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted in-house, and nine varieties of bread are baked fresh daily. Matt says locals favor turkey and roast beef, as well as the daily specials including Friday’s chicken salad sandwich and Wednesday’s “BLT.”

Meat and bread are the most important elements of a sandwich, according to Matt.  The variety of meats, cheeses, and breads at the deli provides a range of sandwich possibilities. Matt encourages customers to use their imagination when ordering, and to pile on the fixings.  His 8-year-old daughter ordered simple ham and cheese until she tried his order—turkey, bacon, and avocado served on a sourdough hard roll with all the fixings, including sprouts.  Now young Romy Feldtman orders the same, including onions.

Matt started cutting meat 20 years ago, and says he continues to learn new things all the time. “There’s meat science and meat sense; I have meat sense,” he says.  Matt has been butchering in Livingston for 14 years and selling sandwiches for 10.  When he opened his shop, he says most of his business came during holidays and hunting season. “We used to play cards in the down time,” he says.

Sandwiches helped the business grow, and Matt claims consistency and quality ingredients carried the butcher shop and deli to where it is today.  He also mentions a secret ingredient in the mayonnaise.  Whatever the secret of his sandwiches may be, as long as Matt keeps making them, Livingston will likely keep eating them.

—LC Staff

Also in the running for Best Sandwich: The Pickle Barrel, Pine Creek Café, Homemade Kitchen, “peanut butter and pickles,” Bittersweet, Mustang Catering, “Super Pizza Burger” at Mark’s In and Out and “French Dip” at the Stockman.

BEST COFFEE

1. Coffee Crossing
2. Chadz
3. MT Cup

Also noted: Jumpin’ Trout Java, Cabin Coffee, Second Street Bistro, Café D’Arte, Pickle Barrel, Pinky’s, TJ’s Gas and Convenience and Coffee Creek.

BEST DESSERTS

1. Second Street Bistro
2. Bittersweet
3. Montana’s Rib and Chop House

Also in the running: Dairy Queen, Hearthstone, Zona Rosa, Adagio, Chico Hot Springs, Pinky’s, MT Cup, Livingston Bar and Grille, Chadz truffles, Pine Creek Café, Wilcoxson’s, Homemade Kitchen and the Pickle Barrel.

BEST SERVER

1. (tie) Phalle Colvin at Montana’s
Rib and Chop House
2. Kent at the Bistro
3. Sarah at Pinky’s

Also noted: RicheRuggles at Pinky’s, Lisa Waldron, Katie Narbus, Nicole at the Bistro, Becca Christians at the Pickle Barrel, Orlina Hunsaker at the Rib and Chop, Michelle Lutes, Dan Sullivan, and Laura Poinsette at Pine Creek.

BEST BARISTA

1. Chad Petrulis
2. John
3. Michelle Lutes

Also noted: Kitty Krohne, Jodie Nardella, Baily Brenna, and Kerrie Brock.

BEST CATERING

1. Mustang Catering
2. Zac’s Montana Kitchen
3. Homemade Kitchen

BEST PLACE TO EAT
WHEN SOMEONE ELSE PAYS

1. Second Street Bistro
2. Chico Hot Springs
3. Livingston Bar and Grille

Also noted: Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Adagio, Zona Rosa, and “anywhere.”

BEST EXPRESSION OF
DINNER AS ART

1. Second Street Bistro
2. Chico Hot Springs
3. Livingston Bar and Grille

Also in the running: Adagio, Zona Rosa, Pine Creek Café, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, the Stockman, Paradise Valley Pop Stand, and Mark’s In and Out.

BEST WINE LIST

1. Second Street Bistro
2. Chico Dining Room
3. Allegro

BEST PLACE TO DINE ALONE

1. Mark’s In and Out
2. The 12-Top
3. Northern Pacific Beanery
4. Pinky’s
5. Montana’s Rib and Chop House
6. Chadz
7. Paradise Valley Pop Stand
8. Second Street Bistro Bar
9. Fiesta en Jalisco
10. Hearthstone

BEST BAR/TAVERN

1. The Office Lounge
2. The Murray Bar
3. Park Place Tavern

Also noted: Whiskey Creek, Neptune’s, The Mint, 49’r, Z-Barn, Chico Saloon and Pine Creek Café.

BEST HAPPY HOUR

1. The Office Lounge
2. The Murray Bar
3. Park Place Tavern

NICEST BAR STAFF

1. The Office Lounge
2. The Murray Bar
3. Second Street Bistro Bar

Also noted: Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Whiskey Creek, The Z-Barn, Neptune’s, The Elk’s Lodge, Pine Creek Café, and The Sport.

BEST BARTENDER

1. Glenn Godward at the
Park Place Tavern
2. Chuck at The Office
3. Nathaniel Browning at
the Second Street Bistro

BEST MARTINI

1. Second Street Bistro
2. Park Place Tavern
3. (tie) The Office Lounge
The Murray Bar

BEST DRAFT BEER

1. Neptune’s Brewery
2. The Murray Bar
3. Whiskey Creek

BEST PLACE TO WATCH SPORTS

1. The Office Lounge
2. 49’r
3. The Murray Bar

Also noted: The Sport, Montana’s Rib and Chop House, Whiskey Creek and Park High School.

BEST PLACE TO DRINK ALONE

1. Home
2. The Murray Bar
3. Whiskey Creek

BEST FLY FISHING SHOP

1. Dan Bailey’s
2. Sweetwater
3. (tie) George Anderson’s
Yellowstone Angler
Hatchfinders Fly Shop

BEST WOMEN’S CLOTHING

1. Wild West Clothing
2. Livingston Mercantile
3. (tie) Community Closet
The Vogue Shop

Also in the running: Timber Trails, Designing Women, Bob’s Outdoors, Pamida and Way Out West.

BEST MEN’S CLOTHING

1. Bob’s Outdoor
2. Livingston Mercantile
3. Community Closet

Also in the running: Timber Trails, L-Town Sports, Yellowstone Gateway Sports, and Pamida.

BEST WINDOW DISPLAY

1. Wild West Clothing
2. The Office Lounge
3. At Home on the Range

Also in the running: The Danforth, “live cats” at Mordam Art, Community Closet, Iraqi Casualty Count, Christmas at Chadz, Truex, Coffee Crossing, Livingston Mercantile, Conley’s, Root 66, Paradise Ring Works, Sax and Fryer, and Cowboy Connection.

BEST FRESH PRODUCE

1. The Farmer’s Market
2. (tie) Albertson’s
Town and Country

Also noted: Foodworks Market, Bozeman Co-op, and “my garden.”

BEST GROCERY STORE

1. Town and Country
2. Albertson’s
3. Foodworks Market

BEST RETAIL WINE SELECTION

1. Gourmet Cellar
2. Town and Country
3. Albertson’s

BEST RETAIL BEER SELECTION:

1. Town and Country
2. Albertson’s
3. Spirits Liquor Store

BEST HARDWARE STORE

1. Ace Hardware
2. True Value
3. Kenyon Noble

BEST CAR DEALERSHIP

1. Whiting Motors
2. Yellowstone Country Motors
3. Headwaters GMC

BEST REALTOR

1. Gillian Swanson
2. Jon Ellen Snyder
3. Bruce Lay

Also noted: Ashley Kayser, Michelle Goodwine, Hebberd Blesius, Ernie Meador, Dude Tyler, Pat Wagman, Jeff Welke, Tracy Raich, Michael Kolivas, Lisa Schwartz, Stacey Raney, Julie Kennedy, Sarah Jane Rindos, Gary Ward, Sam Noah, Dixie Bullock and Candace Dorr.

BEST BANK

1. First Interstate
2. Sky Federal Credit Union
3. American Bank

BEST HOME DECOR

1. Catherine Lane Interiors
2. Community Closet
3. Rocky Mountain Interiors

BEST CONVENIENCE STORE

1. TJ’s Gas ‘n Convenience
2. Loaf and Jug
3. Town Pump

Also noted: Sax and Fryer, True Value Hardware, Western Drug, and Kum and Go.

BEST SALESPERSON

1. Robin Zank
2. (tie) John Boyd
Julie Delorey

Livingston’s best salesperson volunteers two of the six days she works every week at the Community Closet.  “My job and my whole lifestyle now is service to others,” says Robin Zank.  “It’s the most important thing in my life, whether I’m paid for it or not.”

Zank says she began to volunteer at the thrift store when she moved to Livingston four years ago, and quickly became a part of the community.  “People here are very down to earth,” she says. “They have no problem helping each other."

A baker by profession, Zank says her skills as a salesperson result from good, old-fashioned manners and a learned ability to create a fun environment around her. “We try to make it very social, and we communicate with our customers,” she says. “It’s amazing how people respond when you treat them with kindness.”

She chooses music from among donated media, and says people always comment on the tunes playing in the store. One day a week she plays only records. “I like to play old stuff people haven’t heard for a long time,” she says. “I’ll play anything from a yodeler from Norway to Barry Manilow, the Beegees to Hank Williams.

When there is a special occasion, Zanks says she spoils her customers by bringing in gourmet treats.  On Valentine’s Day she brings homemade truffles.  On Christmas, a variety of specialty cookies she favored as a baker.

Zank says she enjoys being part of the cycle of giving and getting.  “The thrift store helps people walk gentle on the earth,” she says.  “People learn to give, and it allows them to have things they like.”

She says there is even some magic at work.  She sees people come in asking for something the store doesn’t have, and a couple days later the item appears.  If an item is not selling, an employee has just to touch it, to move it, and an hour later it sells.

Dedicated to a lifestyle of service and giving, Zank is eager to welcome anyone who may come in to the Community Closet for a shirt, a smile, or an afternoon.

—LC Staff

BEST COWBOY BOOTS

1. Bowman’s Wilson Boots
2. Community Closet
3. Way Out West

Also noted: Livingston Mercantile, Bob’s Outdoors, Wild West Clothing, Cowboy Connection, and Bob and Lu’s.

BEST THRIFT STORE

1. Community Closet
2. Senior Center Thrift Store
3. (tie) Designing Women
Bob and Lu’s

BEST AUTO REPAIR

1. A-1 Muffler
2. Larry’s Foreign Auto Repair
3. American Automotive

BEST MASSAGE THERAPIST

1. Lori Matthews
2. Kristen Kovash
3. Sara Rossi

Also noted: Nicole Chowen, Marya Spoja, Amory Anderson, Linda Mahr, Nancy Milligan, Elizabeth Vallencourt, Chico Day Spa, and “my husband.”

BEST HAIR STYLIST

1. Hana McClennen at Grace Studios
2. Brook Gall at Pura Vida
3. Laura Bolduc at the Salon

Also noted: Tina Polluck, Kara Pinder, Larissa Viers, Sharopn Johnson, Walter Kirn, Sandra Bourque, and Trish Pederson.

BEST SALON

1. Grace Studios
2. Pura Vida
3. The Nest

Also noted: The Salon at Main and Callender, Tara’s Salon, Tangles and Company, Jack’s Barbershop, Studio Montage, Legends, Lady Ann and Root 66.

BEST DOCTOR

1. Dr. D. Scott Coleman
2. Dr. Douglas P. Wadle
3. Dr. Christopher J. Lee

BEST NURSE

1. Peggy C. Scanson, CNP
2. Terri Wheeler
3. Heather Jurvaklanen

BEST DENTIST

1. Liz Blavatsky, DDS
2. Gary Jagodzinski, DDS
3. (tie) Theodore K. Kulaga, DDS
Lani McLane, DDS

BEST CHIROPRACTOR

1. Merle Bouma, DC
2. Jim Brandau, DC
3. Kirk Archibald, DC

BEST WEB SERVICES

1. Wispwest
2. Bresnan
3. Sparkling Dawg

Also noted: Bridgeband, John Gracey, Catherine Bourneman, Coffee Crossing, imt.net, Tom Pascal, Chadz, Big Sky Internet Design, and Brad Bunkers.

BEST VETERINARIAN

1. Duane Colmey, DVM
2. James O. Murray, DVM
3. Livingston Veterinary Hospital

BEST FITNESS INSTRUCTOR

1. (tie) Sara Rossi at Breathing Room Yoga
Carol Stern at Total Fitness
2. Karen Stenseth at Firehall Fitness

BEST LODGINGS

1. Murray Hotel
2. Chico Hot Springs
3. The Comfort Inn

Also noted: Best Western, Pine Creek Lodge, Blue Winged Olive, Livingston Inn, Budget Host, “my house,” and Patricia Blume Properties.

BEST LOCAL ARTIST

1. Parks Reece
2. (tie) Edd Enders
Bob Storey

Also in the running: Brian White, Laura Poinsette, David Swanson, Robert Newhall, Parke Goodman, Elichai Fowler, Brad Bunkers, Sarah Homans, Steve Fox, Doris Davis Gallagher, Karen Garre, Russell Chatham, and Shirl Ireland.

BEST GALLERY

1. (tie) The Danforth
Park’s Reece Gallery
2. B. Civilized

Also noted: Mordam Art, Livingston Center for Art and Culture, The Frame Garden, Paradise Ring Works, Paradise Art Works, Garee Fine Art and B. Civilized.

BEST LOCAL AUTHOR

1. Tim Cahill
2. Christopher Paolini
3. Jim Harrison

Author Tim Cahill arrived in Livingston in 1979 to view a total eclipse of the sun.  The moon moved on, but Cahill stayed.  “As far as I know, it’s a place that doesn’t have a warrant out for my arrest,” he says.

In 2009, Livingston selected Cahill from among a tough pool of competitors, including Jim Harrison and Christopher Paolini, to receive the award for “Best Local Author."

In the Livingston of 1979 there were no faxes and no e-mails, Cahill says.  Though it was a radical idea at the time, Cahill moved to Livingston to live and write while publishing in Chicago.  When e-mail arrived, Cahill says, freelancing became more common.  “I moved here to work and people thought I was prescient, that I could see the future.”

Before moving to Livingston, Cahill received a graduate degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University and wrote for Rolling Stone.  At the time, a literary circle in San Francisco including Cahill, Russell Chatham, Tom McGuane, Richard Brautigan and William Hjortsberg visited Livingston, but did not often discuss the small Montana town while in the big city.

At the time, Cahill says, “hippie-dom” was breaking up all over San Francisco.  The authors, like everyone else, were there for sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

“They were talking to people clueless about fishing—people who were anti-gun, anti-hunting, and who for the most part thought people who liked outdoors and wilderness were probably Neanderthals.”

Most outdoor writing either taught basic skills, such as how to paddle a canoe, or told tales of dominating savage beasts.  “Magazines like Adventure for Men, Men’s Adventure—Man’s Testicle—all showed wonderfully gaudy pictures of some unshaven guy, square-jawed, broad-shouldered with a ripped shirt, dragging a woman whose shirt is even more ripped, and they had titles like ‘Jaguars Ripped My Flesh.’”

Rolling Stone launched Outside magazine in 1978 with a new idea to publish literate writing about the out of doors.  As one of two people in the office who liked to go outdoors, Cahill was elected as an editor and writer for the new publication.

Around the same time, Cahill completed a novel about serial killer John Wayne Gacy, titled “Buried Dreams.”  The novel was a bestseller, and Cahill faced a dilemma.  “I spent three years working on the Gacy book, in the sewer of that man’s mind, and while it worked out economically for me, psychologically it was a bad thing,” he said.

On the other hand, writing outdoor stories produced an opposite psychological effect, a cleansing effect.

“The question I had to answer to myself was: do I want to be rich and really psychologically scarred, or have less money and do things I really like to do—I chose doing things I really like to do.”

Cahill titled his first collection of short travel stories “Jaguars Ripped My Flesh: Adventure is a Risky Business,” in the spirit of the Men’s Adventure pieces.  He took another title, “A Wolverine is Eating My Leg,” directly from the magazine.  Other titles include “Pecked to Death by Ducks” and “Pass the Butterworms: Remote Journeys Oddly Rendered.”

When Cahill now plans a trip, which will become a story, he says he identifies a quest.  Many times the quest is just to satisfy his own curiosity.

He read in the London Times that people in Turkey were beginning to see evidence of the supposedly-extinct Caspian tiger, and after a few phone calls, Cahill arranged for an expenses-paid trip for him and a photographer.  The quest was to find the tiger, or at least the story.

“I found evidence,” he says.  “I’d say the chance is more than 50 percent that it exists.”  He traveled to the border of Turkey and Iran and Iraq, where the Kurdish workers party had been fighting the Turkish government for 16 years. In such an unstable area a soldier might be mistaken for an civilian, or a civilian might be mistaken for an insurgent.  Nobody was doing much hunting.

“An ironic result of the war was that it was pretty damn good for the animals in the region,” Cahill says.  Prey species flourished, providing a good environment for the elusive tiger to survive and multiply

Early in his travel writing career, Cahill admits he took voluminous notes in camp, brought them back to a home office, read through them, and tried to find the angle.

“It was like holding up a piece of glass to the sun.  You turned it and turned it, until a rainbow came through the material.  There it was; the story.”

Thirty years later, he is confident of his ability to find the story.  “Now I know, when it starts happening, that this is the story,” he says.  “I don’t know what the story is before I go, but I have enough experience to recognize it when it starts to happen.”

While he may be a character in his own stories, Cahill says he does not attempt to influence their outcome by his presence. 

“There are so many fantastic things going on if you have your antennae out and you’re looking.  You can see the story happening.  You don’t need to embellish or make it happen—it’s fantastic enough on its own,” he said.

With his most recent book, titled “Lost in My Own Backyard: A Walk in Yellowstone National Park,” Cahill took an opportunity to meditate on the park, the earth, and walking.  The book is part of a series on walking written by various authors. 

The publisher asked Cahill where he would like to walk.  “It occurred to me I could walk around Yellowstone Park without getting on a plane, going across the earth, or suffering the attention of various warlords,” he says.  So he asked to write about Yellowstone Park, and the publishers agreed.

Cahill’s favorite hike in the park is Specimen Ridge in the Lamar Valley, an area he refers to as “America’s Serengeti.”  He also favors the Beckler Meadows, in the southwest corner of the park.

Last December Cahill traveled to the Pantanal region of Brazil, a region of cattle country bigger than Texas, with horses, Brazilian country music, and real jaguars ripping real flesh.  Prior to Cahill’s visit Jaguars had recently mauled three people, killing one.   All of the attacks occurred in an area about the size of Park County.

One day Cahill was riding with a group of cowboys in 105-degree heat, stalking jaguars.  When he directed his horse under the shade of some trees, the cowboys called him back to the sun and the heat.  “The jaguars are in there,” they said. 

He moved out of the shade and soon noticed a fresh jaguar track, the size of his fist, crossing the sand.  The jaguar was in those trees.  “It made me think about jaguars in a whole new way, and I didn’t particularly want them to rip my flesh,” he said.

Later, he viewed the first jaguar he had ever seen in the wild.  He sat in a boat drifting through a flooded plain when he saw the jaguar swimming about 20 feet away.  He said the jaguar didn’t see the boat immediately as it was pursuing a caiman, a South American crocodile which it probably intended to eat.

Cahill watched the jaguar through field glasses when it turned and its head filled his vision.  “And it gave me this dirty jaguar look,” he says.  Then it left the water, scaled a cliff, and entered the jungle.

Though he is working on writing a story about the jaguars in Brazil, Cahill says he hasn’t been doing much other work lately.  At 66, he says the adventures are becoming more difficult to perform and he would like to begin working on something different, challenging, and maybe even a surprise, but he doesn’t yet know what it will be. 

He and local author Peter Bowen have also been brainstorming about working together on a project, but nothing is settled or in stone yet.

Cahill said he is flattered by the “nice honor” of the award for best local author.

—Wes Venteicher

Also noted for Best Local Author: Walter Kirn, Scott McMillion, Doris Whithorn, Maggie McGuane, Richard Wheeler, Dwight Harriman and Gatz Hjortsberg.

BEST JOURNALIST

1. Scott McMillion
2. Matt Dettori
3. David Nolt

Also noted: Dwight Harriman, Karen Ronnow, Tom Gersack, David Lewis, Tim Cahill, Steve Matlow, Jen Eames, Lindie Gibson, Tom Brokaw and Todd Dvorak.

BEST BOOK SELECTION

1. Conley’s Books and Music
2. Sax and Fryer
3. Livingston Public Library

Also noted: Community Closet and Sacred Mysteries.

BEST PHOTOGRAPHER

1. Melanie Nashan
2. Tom Murphy
3. Lynn Weaver

Also noted: David Nolt, Paul Dix, Larry Stanley, Lindsay Wright, Nathaniel Browning, Warren Mabie, Cody Redmon, Dan Shapiro, Bill Campbell and Audrey Hall.

BEST LOCAL MUSICIANS

1. Nan and Jimmy Conley
2. Mike Boise
3. (tie) Kyle Brenner
Cindy Hicks

Also in the running: Kevin Toll, Frank O’Connor, Scott Bohler, Ben Bullington, Hilary O’Hara, Caitlin Ryan, Rich Ruggles, Libby Caldwell, Shelly Besler, Jamie Jean, Mike Devine, Garret Melin, Dan Myer and Keith Lowry.

BEST LOCAL LIVE BAND

1. The Max
2. The Fossils
3. 30-Ot-Hix

Also in the running: Big Quinn and the Broken Hearts Band, The Shufflebums, Caitlin and the Clutchriders, the Red Elvises, Prairie Wind Jammers, Nite Ride, Ringling 5, Highway 89, Pretty Good String Band and The Blokes.

BEST LIVE MUSIC VENUE

1. Pine Creek Café
2. The Murray Bar
3. The Z-Barn

Also noted: Chcio Saloon, The Owl, Summerfest and the Band Shell at the Farmer’s Market.

BEST PLACE TO PLAY POOL

1. The Office Lounge
2. The Murray
3. Whiskey Creek

BEST JUKEBOX

1. The Murray Bar
2. The Pickle Barrel
3. (tie) Paradise Valley Pop Stand
The Office Lounge

BEST CASINO

1. 49’r
2. Whiskey Creek
3. The Mint

BEST ACTOR/ACTRESS

1. Gary Fish
2. Margot Kidder
3. Gillian Swanson

Also noted: DeeDee VanZyl, “my ex-wife,” Jamie Jean, Sandy Barton, Bill Koch, Tim Williams, Rich Hall, and Alex Armstrong.

BEST LOCAL MUSEUM/EXHIBIT

1. Yellowstone Gateway Museum
2. Livingston Depot Center
3. Livingston Model Train Club

BEST LOCAL CELEBRITY

1. Margot Kidder
2. Michael Keaton
3. Tom Brokaw

Also in the running: Russell Chatham, Big Quinn, Tim Cahill, Brutus the Bear, Mark Murphy, Joanne Gardner, Tim the Magician, Dennis Quaid, John Fryer, Dean Holmes, Peter Fonda, Doug Peacock, Rich Hall, Jeff Bridges, Christopher Paolini, Chad Petrulis, Jimmy Buffett, and “me.”

BEST PLACE TO PARTY

1. The Murray Bar
2. “My House”
3. (tie) Pine Creek Lawn
The Office Lounge

Also noted: The Elk’s Lodge, the Depot, “where the keg is,” Allegro, the Old Saloon, Summerfest, Steph and Kelby’s, Mill Creek Campground and the Z-Barn.

BEST PLACE FOR A FIRST DATE

1. Second Street Bistro
2. The Empire Theater
3. Pine Creek Café
4. Treasure Lanes
5. Montana’s Rib and Chop House
6. Chico Hot Springs
7. Mark’s In and Out
8. Floating the River
9. Chadz
10. Northern Pacific Beanery
11. Yellowstone National Park
12. Adagio
13. The Stockman
14. Sacajawea Park Picnic
15. Bridger Bowl
16. Livingston Bar and Grille
17. Mountain View Cemetery
18. Paradise Valley Pop Stand
19. Livingston Rail Yard
20. The Murray
21. A Drive into the Mountains
22. Fiesta en Jalisco
23. Community Closet
24. The 12-Top
25. A Pickup in Paradise

BEST LOCAL EVENT/FESTIVAL

1. Summerfest
2. Fourth of July Rodeo and Parade
3. The Farmer’s Market

When organizers netted the Kingston Trio to headline Summerfest two years ago, the event brought a crowd of nearly 10,000, including visitors from every state and several countries.  The latest fest featured the Drifters, drawing large crowds and enough local favor to be voted Livingston’s best event.

“It was the best one to date,” says Summerfest founder and organizer Ken Kastelitz.  The event earned record profits, which benefit the city recreation department.  Some of the money goes toward scholarships for children’s sports programs.  Last year, proceeds provided a new basketball scoreboard for the civic center

“At this festival, the entertainers really have to entertain,” says Kastelitz.  With so many activities available, bands need to work to keep an audience.  He says the Drifters succeeded by packing their set with classic tunes listeners knew.

Assistant director John Gracey and a music committee begin making arrangements for the next Summerfest the day after the festival ends.

The 2010 summer lineup will feature soul legend the Platters.  Chris Hyatt, who Kastelitz calls Livingston’s long lost son, will travel from Florida to perform.  Cold Hard Cash, a Johnny Cash cover band from Missoula, will appear as well as a new lineup of local groups.

Festival-goers may expect the usual fare of family-friendly events, including children’s activities in the civic center, food vendors, beer, a car show, climbing wall, and free swimming at the city pool.  Organizers boast a safe event.  Last year, there were no incidents.  “I think the kids help monitor the parents,” Gracey says. 

“A lot of the bands have been mind-boggled by how pretty it is,” says Gracey.  Many performers, impressed with the scenery and the friendly atmosphere, say they would like to return to Livingston.

Summerfest is held in the third week of July.  “That’s the closest you can come to being sure of weather in Montana,” Kastelitz says. 

Though last year’s festival will be hard to beat, the 2010 Summerfest is shaping up to be one of the best yet.  The price of admission remains at just $20 for the weekend that’s come to be Livingston’s favorite.

—LC Staff

Also in the running for Best Local Event/Festival: Art Walks, Halloween Bash at the Depot, Bark in the Park, Depot Festival of the Arts, Stafford Shelter’s Fur Ball, and Christmas tree lighting at the Depot.

BEST PLACE TO PEOPLE WATCH

1. Chadz
2. The Murray
3. Community Closet

Also noted: Pinky’s, Sacajawea Park, Main Street, Town and Country parking lot, Rodeo, Coffee Crossing, baseball fields, the Stockman, Summerfest, Pine Creek Café, downtown, MT Cup, and “anywhere in Livingston.”

BEST BATHROOMS

1. Community Closet
2. The Office Lounge
3. Whiskey Creek

Also in the running: Second Street Bistro, Livingston Bar and Grille, Highsides, Teddy Roosevelt Lodge in Yellowstone Park, and “Closest place when you have to go.”

Thanks for voting, Livingston!

Comments

[coach outlet malls]

To offer a different perspective, I'm not sure that economics of transportation will ever drive us to become Locavores. Oil is but a sparse fraction of the cost of transport and distribution.
To me it is all about community and a healthy lifestyle. I would much prefer buying local even at higher cost because of the value to our community. And if we can get local volume over the threshold of economies of scale, then will be self sustaining. Unfortunately, Locavorism today is really on the fringe. In business terms, we need more market share - and then the economics will work too.

[registry cleaners]

Congrats u guys.