Contents REAL ESTATE LISTINGS Havre Hi-Line Realty Ruff Real Estate LLC Koefod Agency Flynn Realty Northern Land & Realty Property West Havre Realty FEATURES Bed, Breakfast & Beyond Kitchen Cache ...Chocolate Torte Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em How to Make a Hot Deal in Cold Times Tree RX
Unlock the possibilities!
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406-945-9039 • www.havrehilinerealty.net Let me, Kim Cripps, help you with your homework!
NEW LISTING! 20 Saddle Butte Dr. $189,900 3 Bedroom, 2 bath
6-10 12-15 19-21
1613 Pine Dr. ~ $188,900 Tri-level home. Must See!
120 Centurian ~ $145,200 2 bedrooms, 2 baths priced to sell. Sold in as-is condition.
23-27
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826 5th Avenue ~ $179,900 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, Double Car Garage
826 1st Ave. ~ $129,900 3 bedrooms, 2 baths
Tim Leeds tleeds@havredailynews.com 1326 Ford Ave. ~ $170,900 3 bedrooms, 2 bath. 410 11th Ave. ~ $139,000 3 bedrooms, 2 baths,
824 16th Ave. - $168,900 Newer kitchen, walk out basement, fenced private yard, original hardwood floors.
716-718 3rd Ave. ~ $82,900
For advertising information, contact Havre Daily News 119 Second Street / P.O. Box 431 Havre, MT 59501 406-265-6795 Please be aware that due to the time lapsed between publications some Real Estate listings may have changed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
116 2nd Ave. SE ~ Harlem $64,900
Box Elder - $26,000 3 bedroom. Sold as is.
I GET MY HOMEWORK DONE! JANUARY 2018 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
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1333 County Road 800 NW
This gorgeous Ranch has River & Creek frontage only a few minutes from Havre. With farm & ranch land and an incredible custom built 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom home, partially heated shop, 2 barns and large storage building for machinery. Contact Ed Ruff for your private showing.There is also 224 +/- acres of pasture land and irrigated hay land.
1207 Lincoln Ave. ~ $165,000
This home has new flooring and new paint throughout with newer siding, newer roof shingles and spacious double garage.
45 Saddle Butte Drive ~ $249,000
The views of South Havre & the Mtns. from this beautiful home are incredible. This home has been meticulously maintained, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on the main. The downstairs entertaining is fabulous with the walk out access to the finished court yard area. An attached heated double garage with mature yard and lanscaping.
1918 1st St. ~ $475,000
This lovely 21+/- Acre Ranchette has a huge riding arena with a spacious 8 stalled finished barn, hay barn, large shop with work area. Complete with 3 bedroom, 2 bath home recently updated.
1151 26th Ave. W.~ $359,000 Custom built! This awesome home boasts 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, double heated garage with radiant floor heat throughout. A must see to appreciate.
929 2nd Street ~ $95,000
1210 14th St. W ~ $188,000
Newly remodeled 3 bedroom home with alley access to large garage. This one won’t last.
This beautiful split level home boasts 5 bedrooms and 2 baths in a nice quite area. New roof & gutters, new flooring and paint. With a walk out basement, gas fireplace, underground sprinklers and a gorgeous paver block driveway.
Bad Lands Car Wash 413 2nd Street ~ $149,900
Downtown car wash, building & car wash on 2 downtown city lots. This is a nice little cash cow.
520 Tracy Lane~ $220,000 536 New York St. ~ $108,000
Newer 3 bedroom, 2 bath home all on one level with utilities on the main floor, an attached double garage.
This pretty home has been meticulously maintained with newer kitchen, bathroom and main floor all in neutral colors. There is a kitchen nook as well as a formal dining room, the oversized garage is attached and heated with a little doggie door and fenced area for Fido.
Hi-Line Motel
Own your own business!!! This well kept jewel has new roof overlayment and siding with 14 units total, living quarters in office area and everyone of the units have had recent updates. This Motel shows a great cash return and the old Radio Shack (an extra large building) could be used for another business. Contact Edward Ruff for more information.
1305 Ike Dr. ~ $149,000
CREATIVE LEISURE - COMMERCIAL BUILDING PRICED AT $650,000
This great home has underground sprinklers for maintaining this large lot that borders the hospital, the utility room is on the main floor and a walk ramp to the front door.
STORY BY Pam burke
PHOTOs BY COLIN THOMPSON
Driving onto the property at Montana Style Bed and Breakfast is akin to entering a world where treasures from other times and other places transform the rooms and atmosphere into a wonderland for guests, where an aged wooden wagon, of the horse-drawn variety, hanging from the ceiling is a chandelier, a century-old quilt is a covering for a sub-wall, and weather-checked signs, windmill blades and rusty car parts are displayed with the rest of the fine art. Betsi Knight’s bed and breakfast, open for a year now, is a transformation itself in which a farm-sized shop, an outbuilding and a farm house have become an events center, a cabin, and sleeping accommodations for up to 14 people with plenty of nooks and seating areas both indoors and out for guests to relax and enjoy each others’ company. “This used to be the barn,” Knight said gesturing to the modern kitchen around her in a room attached to the north side of the events center.
As for the treasures found throughout the buildings and grounds, Knight said she’s always been interested in an eclectic array of antiques and found items. She formerly ran Montana Style Interiors, which for a handful of years included a storefront in North Havre, where she sold some of her inventory and helped decorate homes and commercial spaces, before she started developing the bed and breakfast. Knight has done the vast majority of remodeling in the B & B’s buildings
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and, of course, all of the decorating. From building things like the new bar, complete with a desk cubby for a wine rack, to go with her forthcoming liquor license and the closet/ dresser/storage unit that acts as a room divider for one of the bedrooms to finishing her walls with mosaic tiles and a clay mask embedded in her homemade stucco wall treatment, Knight is the architect of this world. She said she still keeps her eyes open for more treasures, and sometimes friends will give her first option
on furniture they are getting rid of, or the opportunity to dig through rogue stashes of forgotten items piled away in outbuildings and never dealt with. She has a line on an old Texaco sign she wants to put at the entrance to the property, she said, or hang on an exterior wall of the events center. The unique setting she has created is part of what has fueled her perfect-score, superhost rating on Airbnb.com. The website brought Knight her first guests one year ago this month, but her attention to guests’ needs is the other crucial ingredient. “I’ve always been passionate about cooking and entertaining,” Knight said, as a way of explaining why she started a B & B at 63, an age when most people are working on retirement plans. That passion shows, whether she’s talking about the facility, the activities, the food or the guests themselves. The first group of guests referred through Airbnb.com came the first day she was in operation. “They sent me a whole school,” Knight said with a laugh. “It was a speech and debate finals, the state finals last January, and I had coaches and students here, and we filled everything. It was great.” From the balcony off the bedrooms above the events center kitchen she pointed out the stairway and paths down to where she has evening campfires — sometimes complete with a musical guest — and to the staging area for outdoor wedding ceremonies.
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Event Center
Knight said, for a wedding held there last year the bride changed in the main bedroom, made her entrance down the stairway to the ceremony held on the lawn, and then the wedding party and guests walked around the corner of the building to the main floor of the events center for the reception. After the meal, which Knight prepared and served with a little help, they pulled open the rollup garage-type door, and danced and celebrated into the night. At the end of the reception, she said, a coach bus that the wedding party had booked pulled in, loaded up all the guests who weren’t staying at the B & B and delivered them safely to town. “Which was perfect,” she said, adding that she got the shuttle service’s contact information for future events because the B & B is outside of town, down a country road and is getting that liquor license. Located northwest of Havre about eight miles down River Road, Montana Style B & B overlooks the Milk River to the south, has access to hiking in the badlands to the north and is not too far from the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks rookery. Knight said she’s close enough to town for convenience, but far enough out to give guests that rural, outdoors experience with wide-open skies, wildlife wandering through the yard, and peace and quiet. Just don’t try to find the place with a GPS navigation system, she said. One couple ended up out in a field “almost in Canada, but they did see four elk,” she added. She has had good luck so far getting customers, she said, with a little advertising along with listings with Airbnb and the Montanan Bed and Breakfast Association, plus word of mouth. She also donated a dinner for eight to Montana Actors’ Theatre to auction off in a fundraiser. It raised
$2,600 for the local troupe, which contributed the beer and wine and a few people to help serve and clean up. Business has built steadily through the year, Knight said, but so far, the B&B has been a one-woman operation, including breakfast for guests every morning. Other meals and entertainment is added upon request. And she caters for functions at the events center, whether the gathering is a big party or a group of friends getting together for lunch. Kinght said she uses fresh, local and organic ingredients whenever possible and rarely follows a recipe, she added, relying instead on her experience and cooking instincts. One guest, she said was in town to lead a group training, and she ended up having Knight make a lunch for the group. Guests have come from all over the world, Knight said, the farthest from China. She said that after the first year in business she understands why the state B & B association recommends owners set aside time to take their own vacation every year. She has learned a lot, she said, such as clean the rooms and bedding immediately after guests leave because it’s the only way to prepare for surprise bookings, and charge for dogs because you never know when a guest’s description of “a few dogs” means 20 corgis staying for three days — true story. But she has learned plenty of nice things, too, and mostly those amount to the fact that she is glad she decided to open the bed and breakfast. She said she’s working on plans to be a part of some loccal events in 2018, and she is interested to see how many guests come for return stays. “You bond so much with these people that come,” she said. “I just love it.”
Accommodations
DARK VELVET CHOCOLATE TORTE “I’ve always been passionate about cooking and entertaining,” Betsi Knight, owner of Montana Style Bed and Breakfast, said. This chocolate torte is one of her favorite treats to make for guests, whether they are staying overnight at the bed and breakfast or there for a catered event. Not only does the torte taste delicious, she said, but it’s simple to make, the toppings can be changed to fit the season and individual tastes, and it can be made ahead. As a bonus feature, it’s naturally gluten free. Knight said she likes to top this torte with a seasonal fruit, whipped cream, a sauce like chocolate or caramel, and nuts, as well. She said that some of her favorite toppings with the torte are blueberries, blackberries and, as a syrup, chokecherries, and pecans or almond slivers for nut. The chocolate or caramel sauce can be as simple as Hershey’s or something more hands-on and homemade like a ganache. For the photo shoot she made both whipped topping and Devonshire cream, which is described as a clotted cream, but tastes like a sweet, whipped, extra-creamy, cream cheese. Dark Velvet Chocolate Torte 8 to 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate ½ cup butter 4 large eggs separated ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Melt together chocolate and butter in a pan • Mix together egg yolks in a separate bowl • In a separate bowl, mix egg whites until fluffy, add cream of tartar and sugar while mixing • Fold in chocolate and butter mixture, yolks and vanilla • Pour mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 min. • Let cool before slicing and serving, topped with fruit, whipped cream, toppings and nuts if desired.
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12 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2018
Smoke ’em if you got ’em STORY BY PAM BURKE PHOTOs BY COLIN THOMPSON On the ever-growing list of locally owned dining places offering unique menus in Havre, add the deli at Gary& Leo’s Fresh Foods which installed a commercial-sized smoker and has become the go-to source for flavorful smoked ribs, chicken and special order meats. “As part of our remodel – which the deli area finished in August of 2016 – we wanted to do ribs,” deli manager John Malisani said. “We do a good job on (broasted and roasted) chicken, and we thought what’s the logical thing that we can do that people need that we aren’t duplicating something that’s already done in town.” The natural gas-fueled smoker holds up to 400 pounds of meat, Malisani said, and, surprisingly, only needs one relatively small wedge of hickory to make enough smoke to leave a thick smoke ring on the meat. Though the deli has filled some big orders for smoked meats, like the one for pork butts to make 200 pounds of pulled pork, and their smoked chicken sells consistently, it’s the baby back ribs that are popular with customers. “They’re not the fall-off-the-bone type of ribs where you grab it and it falls apart. They’re not meant to be,” Malisani said. “They’re a true smoked rib that’s still holding onto the bone a bit. We’ve had great success with them.” At 7 a.m. each day, deli staff starts the prep work for the ribs so they’ll be done by early afternoon. The ribs are rinsed and the tough membrane is pulled off. This membrane is a layer of connective tissue on the underside of the ribs, like the girdle or spanx of membranes. Unlike other connective tissues, this membrane does not break down. “If you don’t do that the smoke won’t penetrate, it won’t get tender. You’ll cook it, and yes, it will be cooked ... by definition,” Malisani said. But the ribs won’t be as tender or flavorful as they would otherwise. The good news is that removing the membrane is easy. Malisani said he uses the thick, rounded and smooth tip of a spoon handle and pushes that tip between the membrane and the meat at a rib bone. He then pries up on the membrane to loosen it enough to slip his fingers into the
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gap and grab hold of the membrane and pull it free of the ribs. The ribs are rinsed one more time and then, importantly, patted dry so the dry rub spices will stick, he said. The deli uses a combination of pre-mixed spices with a few touches of their own, he said. The ribs, up to 48 racks, are coated liberally with spice and between 8 and 9 a.m. placed on the pre-heated trays to cook at 230 degrees for four hours. The whole chickens are added 30 minutes later so all the meat is done cooking at the same time. Larger cuts and types of meat, such as the pork butts, turkeys and briskets, are cooked separately from the ribs and chicken. They can take 10 to 12 hours of cooking time because of their larger size and their need for a lower heat setting. “Low and slow is the key,” he said, to getting the meats saturated with smoke and cooked thoroughly in a way that breaks down the fibers and retains the moisture. The wedge of hickory log used is a food-grade wood shipped in by the pallet load from Seattle, Malisani said. They chose this particular smoker because it didn’t use compressed-wood pellets, some of which have additives to help them hold their shape. The hickory is a split log that has been heat treated to remove any pests, making it a good clean source of smoke, he said. The smoker takes up a significant chunk of space in the deli, so it was part of the remodel plan from the beginning.
“We figured that now is the only time that we could do it,” he said, adding that new store deli is easily twice the size of the old one and the smoker had to be incorporated into that design or it would never be retrofitted in. Even with all the planning, the remodel work went like most remodels and they made adjustments as they went, he said with a laugh, including discovering well into the project that the smoker needed its own ventilation system to meet building code. The smoked ribs are packaged and kept in a warmer. If any are left over, they are refrigerated and sold cold the next day, re-tagged at a discount. The cold ones seem to be popular for packing in lunches, Malisani said. One year into the experience, he added, he usually has a pretty good handle on the days when the ribs are going to sell big, though he gets sur-
prised on occasion. For some reason they sold out of all their ribs on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, he said, so had to
cook extra the next day. “I’m never brokenhearted about cooking extra,” he said. “It will be put to use.”
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223 3rd Ave. • Havre, MT 59501
Tom Healy
Jeff Healy
residential Listings & land for sale
1265 12th St. ~ $279,000 1218 3rd St. ~ $125,000
Craftsmans home in glo-ed subdivision. 4 bedroom, 2 bath with cozy living room and downstairs family room. Attached double garage and huge outdoor patio for entertaining.
Cute 2 bedroom home with a huge fenced yard! Everything is updated inside and out. Would make a great starter home!
1485 15th Street North
900 6th Street ~ $139,000
Great home on the edge of town with a huge shop on the property! Great mature yard with lots of trees and plenty of space! Don't miss out on this property!
Cute 3 bedroom, 2 bath home that is ready to move in to! Recently updated main floor! Call today to schedule your showing!
726 6th Ave. $355,000 Completely remodeled historic home with all of the character of an older home but all new on the inside! Single garage in the front of the home and a 3 stall fully finished and insulated garage in the back. Fully fenced in back yard with a patio and a deck. Underground sprinklers throughout the yard.
12 Hidden Valley ~ $280,000 Great Location!! Hidden Valley park borders the property on the south side and the view of the Bears Paw mountains is amazing from your living room! Schedule a showing to see for yourself!
1010 Cactus Dr. ~ $299,000 Beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright style home with the entire 2nd floor as a master suite, 2 car attached garage plus a carport, and a finished basement with a walk in huge sauna! Great views and lots of privacy on 1.65 +/- acres in town!
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1637 Rich St W~$299,900
1323 36th Ave. W ~ $345,000
Gorgeous, updated 3+ bedroom trilevel country home on 1 acre. Large open kitchen with granite counter tops/living area with custom built-ins, 2 fireplaces, wet bar and great deck. Fenced backyard, double garage and awesome views.
4 bdrm, 3 bath Ranch style home located near Schools and Park. Open floor plan, lots of updates, large backyard, double garage and great views from 2 decks.
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 265-9400
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900
18 Pike St. ~ $199,900
6907 43rd St. W. ~ $264,000
Holland Apartments - 407 4th Ave.
14-Plex. Spacious Apts. - Good cash flow. Close to downtown. 8-1 Bedroom. 6 Studio.
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
Large 5 bdrm, 2 bath home on nearly 1 acre located West of Havre. Open kitchen, fenced back yard, attached double garage with garage with large parking pad and detached double garage.
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900
9 Cypress Drive ~ $269,000
South end, 6 bedroom, 3 bath home with master suite, on main floor with 3 nonconforming bedrooms in daylight basement with large family room with fireplace and steam shower. Great view & landscaping, fenced backyard & double garage.
Beautiful, updated 2 bdrm, 2 bath home with single car garage in private cul-de-sac. Updates include new siding/roof/plumbing/ bathrooms. Beautiful hardwood floors, covered patio, hot tub, & single car garage. Also, walk out basement apartment for that extra income. Move in ready!
Call Kristi Parrotte @ 390-4912
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 265-7845
1104 Cleveland Ave. ~ $145,000
3155 9th St. E. ~ $399,000
60' x 90' Shop on 2 Acres! 5400 sq. ft. Shop. Includes air compressor, oil heater, radiant heat system & 2 post hoist. Very Motivated Seller. Will consider Contract for Deed with acceptable down payment.
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900
618 6th Street ~ $149,000
Charming 3 bdrm, 1 ½ bath home-newly painted main floor w/hardwood flooring. Backyard patio area w/lots of perennials & raspberries. New sewer, roof & siding. Includes A/C. Single detached garage. Walking distance to downtown & parks.
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900
Bullhook Bottoms Casino ~ $650,000 A large Commercial property that includes a Casino & Liquor License on 1st Street/ Hwy 2 frontage in Havre, MT.
Call Ken Nelson at 406-439-0595 or Larry Martinson @ 390-1509
1402 8th Ave. ~ $169,000
4 bedroom, 3 bath home with fenced backyard, underground sprinklers & attached single garage.
709 9th St. ~ $98,000
Cute 2 bedroom, 1 bath single level home. Single detached garage. Perfect starter home or Income Property.
Call Nick Pyrak @ 406-390-2867
237 New York St. ~ Chinook ~ $79,000
3 bdrm, 1 1/2 bath home in Chinook, MT. Large lot, 2 large garages & close to downtown.
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
Call Gary Toldness @ 390-3155
Casino-Food-Lounge! Nice small town business in the Hi-Line farming town of Joplin, MT. Located halfway between Havre and Shelby. Includes full Liquor License & large dining area for restaurant use.
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
Oil City Saloon 132-134 W. Dawson Shelby, MT ~ $145,000
Nicely remodeled Bar with full liquor license and 6 rental units. Busy location at crossroads of I-14 and Hwy 2.
Shop For Sale ~ $85,000
2 Bay Shop. HWY 2 Frontage. East end of Havre.
• +/- 640 Acre Farmland located N. Joplin, MT ~ All Farmed • +/- 1280 Acres Farmland located S. Inverness, MT - All CRP • +/- 160 Acres Farmland located N. Joplin, MT - All Farmed • +/- 2390 Acres Farmland located N. Havre, MT - Nearly All Organic • +/- 400 Acres Farmland located S. Gildford, Mt - All CRP
Land for Sale
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
9 6th St. E. ~ Malta ~ $59,500
2 (+/-.36 Acre) City Lots for Sale in Glo Ed Area. City Water/Sewer to curb & electrical run into back of each lot. May be combined or sold separately. Lot #2~$37,000 • Lot #7~$39,000 Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 406-390-4900
4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1 ½ story home with large yard fenced in back, located on corner lot .
Building Lots For Sale
Cute 3 bdrm, 1 bath, 2 story home in Malta, MT. Single detached garage and within walking distance to downtown.
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
Good occupancy rate with approx. $28,000 gross yearly income.
Land for Sale
13.26 +/- Acres near Saddle Butte. Gas, electric & telephone lines in road right of way adjacent to acreage. Water available. Great Views! Owner may consider sale of smaller portion. Call Paul Kuka 265-7845
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
Income Property 410-422 W Harrison Ave~ Chester, MT~$250,000 (2) 3-Plexes~(4) 3 bdrms and (2) 2 bdrms
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595 or Larry Martinson @ 406-390-1509 736 Ohio Street ~ Chinook ~ $89,000
Joplin Bar ~ $210,000
Updated 4 bedroom, 2 bath older style home. Fencedbackyard, healed double garage, 2 1/2 lots that sit on a corner with abundance of parking. Possible mother-inlaw apartment in basement. Move in ready!
Nelson @ 439-0595 Derek Fraser @ 406-262-4603 18 Call | Ken LIVING Havre and theCall Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2018
511 2nd Ave E Joplin, MT $14,000
3 bedroom, 1 bath single level home in Joplin, MT.
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
Acreage For Sale
106 Acres. Flood frigated. Hay land for sale. Located near Chinook, MT
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
We have buyers for farmland in the Hi-Line Area!
Make a HOT DEAL in COLD Times STORY BY Pam burke
PHOTOs BY COLIN THOMPSON
Trying to sell a home in winter poses challenges, but home owners can focus their energy on some pro-active steps to help find an interested buyer. Trying to sell a home in winter poses challenges, but home owners can focus their energy on some proactive steps to help find an interested buyer. When Bobby Bradshaw and Tessa Nystrom bought their house in 2015 the seller had the house in pretty good shape, Nystrom said, including new carpet and paint throughout the basement. They felt pretty confident in the soundness of their purchase. They had worked to remodel, modernize and get the house and garage to suit their needs, but when Bradshaw got a job in Great Falls they had to look at what needed to be done to get the house sold and their investment out of it. Nystrom said they picked their battles on that. They finished up projects that they had been working on, including the remodel on the second bathroom, but decided not to invest in replacing the closet and bedroom doors like they had planned, opting to simply to install the matching doorknobs they had already purchased. Roger and Stacey Freier, on the other hand, had lived in their home for 25 years. They had maintained the house and kept it modern, but when they decided to sell, they still went ahead and replaced the carpeting and painted the entire interior. They
also installed railing on stairs to the front door and replaced the driveway’s broken asphalt surface entirely with paver stones. Both couples did things right, the experts say, and both were working to get their homes sold as of midDecember. “One of the biggest things that will help the sale process in a home is taking care of appraisal contingencies,” Mike Winchell owner Lodestar Land and Home, said. “It won’t finalize if they’re not addressed.” That means the house has to meet
Courtesy photo
standards, including taking care of chipped and peeling paint, having rails on stairways and windows cannot be broken or chipped.
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“People forget that the majority of our loans are FHA, Fannie May or Freddie Mac. FHA requirements have safety and health standards,” Edward Ruff, owner of Ruff Real Estate, said, adding, “You have to fix it anyway, so you just as well do it before people start looking. “This time of year they’ll do a hold-back,” he said, but that could cost the seller and adds hassles for the buyer. A hold back requires a bid from a licensed contractor for the needed work, then an amount one-and-a-half times that bid price is held back from what the seller receives to cover the cost of the repair work. Another problem that can stop a sale is an open insurance claim, Ruff said. With hailstorms and harsh snowstorms in the past few years, people have been having a hard time getting contractors with the time to finish the work. But homeowners need to make sure the work is done and the claim is closed or the sale can’t go through, he added. A lot of work can be done if the winter stays open like it was for the most part through December, he
added, or a good few days comes ope for quick jobs. Though the exterior of the home can be tricky to work on this time of year, there is plenty that can still be done to prepare a home for sale on the inside, Winchell said Filling holes in walls and adding a
Before
Courtesy photo
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fresh coat of paint is one project that will pay off. “One of the important things about painting is to make sure that it’s done to higher standards if you can’t cut a good line with a brush make sure you use tape,” he said. And use light and neutral colors that will match different styles and be easy to cover in case the new owner prefers a bolder look. Replacing carpeting or flooring can be a bigger investment that might not pay off, the two realtors said, but they could offer advice on that to individual customers. A lot of times, a thorough or professional cleaning with do what’s needed. Hard surfaces are popular these days, Ruff said, so the new owner might not want carpeting, especially if the floor underneath are already a hardwood. Carpets can the source of one problem that occurs in homes: an off smell. “Odor free, fresh cleaning, it does make a difference,” Winchell said. “A lot of odors get overlooked … one thing that could be beneficial to some people is to have a nonbiased source come in and say, “Hey, do you smell anything?” Even that old trick of baking fresh cookies or bread to give the house
After
that homey ambiance can’t compensate for bad smells, Winchell said, and while this definitely includes homes with pets and smokers or just old houses, everyone should do an honest assessment before putting their home on the market. People who are selling a rural home with a well and septic should have those checked, Ruff said. People are generally OK if things are not working perfectly, he added, but buyers want to know. “When you live on a farm or a ranch or live in the country you don’t think of these things,” he said, but homeowners should consider bringing in a well expert to assess the well and pump, as well as having their septic tank pumped. And anyone having trouble locating their septic and contact their county sanitarian. That office can help by searching their records for maps and using locaters. Some details and repairs are easier and cheaper than others to address. Make sure the home has adequate lighting, Winchell said. “In the winter months, half the time we’re showing homes we’re doing it in the dark,” he said. “Replace the bulbs and make sure they’re the same color,” to give the look continuity. Keeping sidewalks and driveways cleared of snow is another thing to do. Ruff recommended leaving a shovel out for the realtor to give walkways a touchup if needed. “If you’re trying to sell a vacant home in the winter, do whatever necessary to make sure that home is being checked on,” Winchell said. “The last thing anybody wants to find and as a realtor you show up to show a home and you find out that it’s flooding and nobody knew about it because it was vacant. Just pay that little bit extra to have the heat at a safe temperature, and if you can’t make the steps to check on it on a weekly basis then try and find someone else to do if for you.” Most realtors can be called on to check them, or know someone who can be relied on, he added. Some problems don’t even need to be fixed, Ruff said. If you can’t get a broken screen door fixed, remove it so it doesn’t detract from the look of the home. And keep clutter to a minimum, including in the yard. If trees in the home’s yard were damaged by the October storm, hazards should be dealt with, but if the homeowner is just dealing with a clutter of small branches, those can at least be collected and piled neatly out of the way. “I would say making it shine is the biggest thing you can do,” Ruff said.
Homeowners Roger and Stacey Freier decided to replace all the carpeting and repaint the walls before putting their house on the market. Paint will almost always pay for itself, especially in neutral colors as is seen here, the experts said. Whether new carpeting will pay off is not as clear cut and many factors have to be weighed for that decision.
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COMMERCIAL LISTINGS Commercial Lots Commercial lots located in Havre with US HW 2 and 15th Avenue access. Possible owner financing! 1135 11th Street Large family home has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, laundry on main floor. 2 non-conforming bedrooms/1 bath on lower level and media room on 2nd floor. Updated flooring and countertops. Motivated seller offers home warranty! Loads of storage and parking! Lone Tree Cattle Company Working ranch, 10,500+ acres deeded acres. Several homes, working corrals and outbuildings. Good water development, phenomenal hunting! 3401 13th Street West 5-bed/3-bath home, oversized 2 car attached garage and separate shop building on 1 acre.
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Multi-unit motel complex with daily, weekly & monthly rentals plus several commercial rental spaces, owner/manager accomodations & laundry facility. Located on busy US Highway 2, a great business opportunity that offers low vacancy history.
1150 14th Avenue Roomy 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with a triple attached garage. Large kitchen, dining room and main floor utilities. Large family room, bath and bedroom in basement. 417 South Main, Harlem - $39,000 3-bedrooms, 1-bath, 2-car attached garage, Nice lot.
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705 5th Avenue 10-plex apartment building, centrally located with a strong rental history. 11135 River Rd. Minutes from town, Country Living at its finest! 5061 sq. feet on 60 acres. 5-bed/4 baths, 3 fireplaces and wet bar. Home has separate living space in walkout basement. Fencing for horses.
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Commercial Building Good rental history with 2 offices. Call Cindy to schedule showing!
We have qualified buyers for farm and ranch properties.
TREE STORY BY Pam burke
PHOTOs BY COLIN THOMPSON
Fall 2017 was hard on a lot of things in north-central Montana, not the least of which were the trees which took a big hit from the Oct. 2-3 record-breaking snowstorm, but with some attention to pruning and planting, the trees have a chance to come back healthy and strong and fulfilling their purpose.
In an ideal world the right type of tree for the climate and location is planted in the right spot, it gets pruned expertly and stressed enough by mother nature to strengthen it, but never damage it, and the tree grows to a ripe old age fulfilling its purpose to make shade, block wind, create a visual barrier or produce fruit. “There’s what we’d like the world to be like and there’s what the world really is like,” Peter Kolb, Montana State University Extension forestry specialist, said, “and that’s the realm I prefer to work in. We’re all about options and consequences.” Trees are not always right for the climate and soil they are planted in. They often aren’t pruned regularly. Sometimes they’re hacked back because they threaten a structure, like buildings, streets and driveways, and JANUARY 2018 | LIV-
overhead power and phone lines. And sometimes a storm comes along and wreaks its own havoc on the trees. “Mother Nature doesn’t pay attention much to numbers,” said MSU Research Associate Roger Hybner at Northern Agricultural Research Center, referring to the general pruning rule that no more than 25 percent of live growth should be taken from a tree in any year. You have to look at what you have and what you want out of the tree to make decisions on how to recover from damage and go forward, both men said. But first, it helps to know how a tree works to know how to make decisions on pruning and care, Kolb said.
Tree Physiology 101
Whether they use leaves or needles, trees “are just solar receptors that use the sun’s energy to convert carbon dioxide into a complex carbohydrate called sugar. That’s all there is to it,” Kolb said. “The glucose molecule is the build-
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ing block for just about everything you see in a tree and us as well,” he added. For trees to perform this process, called photosynthesis, they need water which transports the sugar throughout the tree. The water comes up and the sugar gets drawn back down into the tree. But the tree only does this on its own in the spring when an abundance of water is available and the tree’s cell structure is still tight enough to create pressure to pump the water up the trunk to the branches, stems and leaves, Kolb said. The rest of the year trees operate off a suction system to keep water flowing. The pores in leaves that take in carbon dioxide also allow water out, and the drier the air, the stronger the suction pulling the water up and out of the tree as evaporated moisture, Kolb said. When humidity is at 20 percent, about the average humidity for this area, the amount of suction on a leaf is 2,000 pounds per square inch — compared to the average vacuum that exerts 50 to 60 psi, he added. This means that when the air is
warm and dry, it pumps the circulation system of the tree. When the day gets too hot the leaves droop, making them less effective as solar receptors — shutting down photosynthesis — also cooling the leaves and collapsing the pores, which drastically cuts the water vacuum and evaporation, he said. It’s an efficient system, he said. Tree parts basically consist of a stem, or trunk, branches, and leaves or needles. Most trees have dark heartwood at the center, sapwood around that, a cambium layer and then bark on the outside. The cambium is the only part that grows, Kolb said. In winter, the cambium is only about two to three cells deep, which is thinner than onion skin, but in summer it can grow to 200 to 400 cells thick depending on the tree and the growing conditions. Cambium produces the cells that become sapwood — as tree rings — on the inside and bark on the outside. The bark protects the living tissues of the tree, the sapwood transports water and nutrients, and the heartwood is actually just dead cells from the older rings of the tree.
A tree pruned after the Oct. 2-3 snowstorm shows a branch pruned leaving a too-long stub past the last living limb, top, and one trimmed correctly at an angle just past a living branch, bottom.
Trees will get thicker as each year’s cambium layer grows and adds another ring to the tree, and they get taller and longer limbed by growth from terminal buds. These buds are, primarily on the ends of branches and the end of the stem, but they can grow from anywhere along the tree. When a bud sprouts midway on a branch or on the trunk it is generally in response to an injury, whether a planned pruning, a limb break or limb die-back from disease or pests, Kolb said. This is how a tree works to replenish its solar receptors.
Applying the Knowledge
These trees show significant damage from limb breakage that also tore out bark and sapwood on the trunk. The tree on the left may be helped to heal by trimming the stub correctly and smoothing the tear flat. The wound to the tree on the right is unlikely to heal, and the tree owner will be faced with decisions on whether to salvage the tree or remove it.
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Normally pruning should be done in early spring or fall, Kolb said. For leaf trees that means before the buds sprout, so probably prune in March, and needle trees after the buds open so April or May. And fall pruning comes after trees go dormant, which is September or October, maybe late August in years of stress like the drought of 2017. Any time part of a tree is broken off, cut into or even pruned, this damages or cuts off the flow of water and nutrients, but it also leaves the tree vulnerable for invasion of pests or disease.
Broken limbs should be pruned as soon as possible, Hybner said. And if they are heavy branches, you should use the three-step method described in the Pruning for Health section. If you want to preserve as much of the limb as you can, cut it back to about a half-inch past a healthy bud or stem that is growing out of the top of the limb, and make the cut angled so the angled face is downward as much as possible, Hybner said. If the limb has to be cut off completely, examine the base of the limb for a slight swelling. This is called the branch collar, Hybner said, and you want to be careful not to damage this because it has the capacity to grow cells over the wound and seal it off. The branch should be cut onequarter of an inch past the branch collar and left perfectly flat, Kolb said. If the cut is made too far away from the collar or left jagged or with a dip, the collar won’t be able to grow across the wound. Conifer trees, Kolb added, need to be trimmed the same way, but they will produce pitch to seal the wound. If a limb was torn off leaving exposed and damaged cambium and sapwood, that area needs to be smoothed down, without leav-
Photo/Pam Burke
The weathered bare wood and split and sagging bark show how an improperly trimmed and dead branch can leave a tree vulnerable to disease and pests.
Photos/Pam Burke
The partial callus growth, left, shows that a limb was pruned incorrectly so the wound didn’t heal completely and the center shows signs of probable rot. The fully formed callus, right, shows how a correctly pruned tree can heal itself to protect itself from disease and pest invasion.
ing a dip, if it is going to have any chance of growing a callus to seal the wound, Kolb said.
Many trees sustained significant damage from the storm. Some had limbs and branches getting broken off one side of the tree, leaving it imbalanced. Some had major sections of bark ripped open. Some had their tops broken off. Some had to be severely cut back to get them away from power lines, buildings and other
structures. The decision on what to do with these trees can only be made on an individual basis, Hybner said. One of the first things you should consider is whether the tree poses a hazard, Kolb said. If the tree was a towering cottonwood with two main branches and it lost one branch — virtually half the tree — and the trunk shows early signs of rot or has a significant chunk of bark pealed off, that might be the time to cut the tree down and start over.
The too-long stub left on this tree will not heal, so it will leave the tree vulnerable to disease, pests and eventual rot. The line drawn in shows placement for a smooth, flat cut that would likely develop a protective callus.
The face of the pruned area on this tree shows a slight jaggedness to the cut, at left, that would prevent a protective callus from forming over the wound.
Raising a Tree from the Wreckage
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Pruning for Health
• Dead limbs and suckers can be trimmed from trees and shrubs any time of the year, but a few rules of thumb will help make pruning helpful rather than hurtful, Hybner said. • Pruning of deciduous trees and shrubs, including fruit-bearing, should be done after the worst cold of winter has passed and before the leaves bud out. The exception to this rule is that flowering shrubs that do not grow fruit, such as lilacs, should be trimmed after the flowers have died. Conifers are trimmed after the first growth has started because the tree needs the pitch to be running to seal the wounds from pruning. Formal hedges have their own development and maintenance needs that homeowners will have to research. • Do not prune more than 25 percent of a tree’s live growth in any year — and less if the tree is already stressed from damage or disease. The exception may be the first pruning after storm damage • Cut limbs at a 45-degree angle 1/4 inch past a node, bud or stem. New growth will come from the bud or node, so any limb left past that point will turn into a dead stub and might get diseased or cause more limb death. • When trimming a limb from the trunk, don’t leave a stub. Cut the limb 1/4 inch from the branch collar, which is the fatter, swollen part of the limb where it connects to the trunk. That branch collar will grow, or form a callous, around the open wound left after a limb is cut off. • Be careful not to cut into or shave off the branch collar, and make sure the trimmed area is flat and smooth. • Do not rip the bark — it doesn’t grow back. KeepHavre Daily News illustration/Pam Burke • Numbers 1 and 2 illustrate the first two ing tools sharp is crucial, cuts in the three-step method of pruning and when using a saw to cut large limbs, use a three- a larger limb. Number 3 is the final cut at the branch collar. If a large limb is cut at step method in which the the branch collar, often the limb’s weight first two cuts remove the causes it to fall before a clean cut can be majority of the limb and the finished. This tears the bark, leaving a wound that won’t heal. third cut prunes the limb near the branch collar. The first cut is across the bottom side of the limb, out away from the branch collar. The second cut starts at the top, one inch farther down the limb from the first cut, and it cuts through the limb. The third cut trims the limb at the branch collar, without the weight of the limb to cause problems. • Frequently step back and view the tree from different sides to make sure the pruning is creating a balanced tree. • Limbs can be trained to a certain extent. A limb growing at less than a 45-degree angle away from the trunk should be removed or trained to grow out lower by bracing it away from the trunk or weighting the branch to make it droop.
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What to Cut and When
Hybner recommended pruning in the following order to help the inexperienced sort out how to shape the tree. Pruning that can be done any time of year • Broken limbs • Dead limbs • Suckers — unless they are needed to refill a shrub’s shape. Pruning for spring and fall: • Waterspouts, which are suckers growing from the tree trunk or branches. A waterspout growing in a place and direction that will make a healthy replacement limb can be retained, but thin out, or remove entirely, clusters of them • Limbs growing straight up, straight down, toward the trunk, or across another limb. • Unnecessary limbs and growth — including too many limbs in one area, an over-long limb or a double leader. • Diseased vegetation — which is trimmed back 6 inches from the last sign of disease. Cuttings with disease should be burned right away and all pruning tools cleaned with hydrogen peroxide before being used on another plant.
Photo Pam Burke
The upper limbs of a conifer will start growing toward the sky after the tree was topped, such as the ones shown here. This tree sustained damage to its leader, the topmost stem, which was then pruned off about two years ago. Some options for this tree are to train a branch to be the new leader or prune the branches to give the tree a rounded top rather than the cone-shaped profile it would have had naturally.
But a lot of times, even a tree that sustained significant damage can still be salvaged. The winter months will give tree owners time to contact professionals — arborists, the county Extension office, the tree specialist with the city — and do some research to assess options. Because the storm came in late fall, the trees were essentially dormant, Kolb said, so that means all the energy they stored up from the summer months will be available to help them bounce back from the damage. Both Kolb and Hybner said trees can survive and grow and be useful as shade trees or windbreaks or bird habitats for decades after sustaining serious injury. A topped conifer with still grow, developing a rounded top rather than being shaped likd a pointed cone. Topped deciduous trees, even ones cut entirely back to their trunk and main branches, can still grow limbs. If the tree isn’t a hazard and you can live with the tree maybe not being perfect again, Hybner said, give it time and some TLC. “I’m thinking the next three to five years are really gonna tell people whether they need to start planting new trees or if they can resurrect the old ones,” he said.
Growing into the Future
Trees affected by the storm are going to need extra attention for the next few years, Kolb and Hybner said. Conifers that were topped can sometimes have a branch trained to become
the new leader, but care should be taken to keep top limbs pruned because they will continue to grow longer and curl upward, Kolb said. On deciduous trees suckers, which are new growth sprouting from ground level, or waterspouts, which are suckers growing from the tree itself, especially where limbs have been cut off, need to be removed, probably continuously until that area is shaded over. If you want a limb to grow in to help fill a void in the tree, then retain a waterspout that looks to be growing in the right shape and direction, Kolb said. Limbs might continue to die back and need removing. “When in doubt about whether or not to trim a limb, leave it until the next year,” Hybner said. “I’d wait until the tree greens up in the spring (each year) then tie some ribbon around the dead limbs so I know what to cut off next pruning.” Be careful with trees that have not been kept up with regular pruning or have been damaged, Hybner said. They can have hidden weaknesses from rotted or poorly formed limbs or trunks. Branches being held down by a crossing limb can pop free once the ill-growing limb is cut off. Weak roots can give way. And if a tree was left imbalanced by storm damage, the remaining branches might have to be repeatedly pruned back over a handful of years until new growth catches up. Watering, fertilizing and aerating the ground around the trees will help recovery and speed new growth. If you fertilize the lawn, that should be enough to help the trees, Hybner said.
And consider watering deeply two or three times a week to get water down farther into the ground rather than a little bit of water every day. But to make fertilizing and watering effective, the lawn or the ground around the trees should be aerated every year, Hybner said, otherwise the water and the fertilizer just run off. One sign that a tree was overly stressed the previous year is the number of seeds and cones it develops. If you get a lot of seeds and pine nuts, that’s a sign of stress — the tree’s fail-safe mechanism for continuing its life through seedlings. The trees “got a double whammy last year” with both drought and the storm, so seed producers like pines, elm and ash will probably really kick out seeds this year, and that will be expected, he said. But if
the tree is cared for all year and still does it in 2019, that might be a sign of trouble. Hybner recommended collecting up some seeds and starting a new tree if the tree that was damaged has been a good one for your location and your needs. “It’s fairly easy to start a tree from a seed or a pine cone nut,” he said, by growing it in a pot for a few years. If you are starting over with a new tree, Hybner recommended studying up on species and varieties that will suit your needs and flourish in your habitat. “Maybe drive around and see what held up well in other yards,” he said. People just need to take the time now to study what they have for damage, think about what they want for a future tree and understand their options with what the storm dealt them, Kolb said.
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