Contents REAL ESTATE LISTINGS Flynn Realty Northern Land & Realty Property West Havre Hi-Line Realty Ruff Real Estate LLC Koefod Real Estate Havre Realty
5 23 24 25 25 26 31
FEATURES Story Stoles Andy’s Supper Club Showered with Tiles
6-10 12-17 18-23
OFFICE
(406) 265-6795
PUBLISHER EDITOR
Stacy Mantle smantle@havredailynews.com
COPY EDITOR
Pam Burke
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Jack Lambert
DESIGN
Stacy Mantle Jenn Thompson
ADVERTISING SALES SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES
Tim Leeds tleeds@havredailynews.com
Jenn Thompson addirector@havredailynews.com Jodene Leeds jleeds@havredailynews.com
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.
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
3
NEW LISTING!
265-7845 WEEKDAYS 8:00-5:30 OPEN SATURDAY www.flynnrealtyinc.com ~ FAX 265-8782
NEW LIST IN
9336 Highway 2 W~$464,000
Beautiful updated 5 bedroom, 3 bath Country Home-attached triple garage w/ large carport on +/- 36 Acres plus corrals, fenced for horses. 36 x 40 shop/barn, large deck, greenhouse, Kremlin water tap, Big Sandy Creek running through property and excellent access onto Hwy 2 West of Havre.
G!
606 14th St W~$349,000
Awesome 4 bedroom, 2 bath home near the Hospital. Nice updates, 2 decks, great yard and attached single garage on 2 large lots
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900
295 Stockyard Rd - Chinook, MT $275,000 108' x 40' Shop with Boiler floor heat and gas forced air as back up, city water / sewer. Three 14 x 16 commercial drive through doors, 28 x 32 office space, rest room and overhead storage on 1 Acre lot.
294 S Dell Drive~$206,000
Amazing 3 bdrm, 2 bath home with oversized 2 stall garage. Newer windows and lots of nice updates throughout. South end location-corner lot. Close to park and church.
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900
295 Stockyard Rd - Chinook, MT $189,000 40' x 80' Split Shop:East side- storage/ West side, wash bay. Radiant heat, two 14 x 16 overhead doors on each end of shop and four 10 x 16 sliding doors off storage area.
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900 or Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595 CED! PRICE REDU
1926 Heritage Dr. ~ $264,000
Very clean 4 bedroom, 2 bath home. Many updates inside and out. Open floor plan, kitchen and dining area with lots of granite. Larged fenced back yard, double garage with lots of parking. South end location with great views and close to park and schools.
Unique, private 3 bedroom, 4 bath home with incredible views! Fireplace, Sauna, main floor laundry and bonus room with 1 bedroom & bath on 2nd level. Double attached heated garage plus carport & underground sprinklers-all on over 1 ½ Acres in town.
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900
615 W Madison Ave. ~ Chester, MT $79,000 2 bedroom, 2 bath M/H
Call Derek Fraser @ 262-4603
Small shop on Hwy 2. Good location-East end of Chester. Includes large carport.
Cute South end home. Handicapped accessible, 4 bdrm, 2 bath, open floor plan and hardwood floors. Great garage/shop and partially fenced backyard with shed.
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900 NEW LISTING!
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
313 9th Street W. ~ Chinook, MT $195,000 2 Houses~1 Price! Nice Split-entry 4 bedroom, 2 bath home in Chinook, MT. Daylight basement that leads to over sized single garage. Fenced back yard, covered deck & new roof. Also includes a small 1 bedroom, 1 bath rental home.
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
Business Opportunity in Northern Montana
Flooring Sale & Installation. Furniture/ Home Goods Store. Located in a Small Town with plenty of expansion opportunity. Excellent Family Business with a Great Clientele. Sale Price will included Inventory & Support Equipment.
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595 or Larry Martinson @ 406-390-1509
316 2nd St NE~Rudyard, MT $46,900 3 Bbrm, 1 bath home in Rudyard, MT. Would make a perfect starter home or a great rental, but needs some TLC and refinishing. It sits on a large lot & includes a double car garage. Sold in “As Is” condition.
Call Kristi Parrotte @ 390-4912
51 38th Ave W~$825,000
Call Janis Flynn Pyrak @ 390-4900
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595 NEW LISTING!
755 Stephens Rd~Chinook, MT $179,900
Nice, well-kept 3 bedroom, 2 bath country home outside Chinook, MT. Situated on 2 acres, partially fenced, close to town on paved road. Includes 2 stall garage and shed.
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
Acreage For Sale
+/-2200 Total Acres. +/-1560 Deeded and +/-640 State Lease of Agricultural ground located in Northern Hill County. Ground is mostly CRP, some farmed, some native range and excellent soil types. Mostly fenced. CRP will start coming out in Fall of 2019 and finish in 2021.
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
SOLD!
Acreage For Sale ~ $87,000
Spencer's Hi-Way Bar 15940 US Hwy 2 Hingham, MT $450,000
Great Family Business on the Hi-Line! This business has it all. From a great restaurant and bar, to a car/truck wash, RV Park w/shower house, cabin and a very comfortable home with 2 apartments included in the basement.
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
Excellent Building-9800 sq ft located on 2.396 Acres on Hwy 2. Good locationWest of Walmart-Located near junction Hwy 2 and Hwy 87. This property offers the perfect access and parking for any commercial business. With city water and city sewer. This building is known as the Corman Building West of Havre.
Large older Historical 5 bedroom, 2 bath home in Chinook, MT. Fireplace, sun porch, nice large yard and oversized single garage. Located near high shool.
1010 Cactus Drive ~ $269,999
712 E. Washington Ave. Chester, MT ~ $45,000
298 S Dell Dr~$189,000
725 Ohio St. ~ Chinook, MT $210,000
!
SALE PENDING
Holland Apartments 407 4th Ave. ~ $350,000
+/-20 Acres located North of Havre, surveyed and partially fenced. Gorgeous views of the Bears Paw Mountains. This is Bare Land with no utilities in place.
Call Kristi Parrotte @390-4912
4 Parcels on North Side
Approx 1.75 Acres on Havre’s North side. Includes 2 dwellings and a 24x24 shop. Good well with several water hookups already existing along with sewer system.
Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595
SOLD! 1104 12th St. W. ~ $239,000
1135 8th Street ~ $239,000
Land FOR SALE
• +/- 640 Acres Farmland located N. Joplin, MT ~ All Farmed • +/- 400 Acres Farmland located S. Gildford, MT - All CRP • +/- 1000 Acres Farmland located N.W. Joplin, MT - All Farmed • +/- 960 Acres Farmland located N. Inverness, MT - All Farmed Call Ken Nelson @ 406-439-0595 or Larry Martinson @ 406-390-1509
STORY BY PAM BURKE PHOTOS BY JACK LAMBERT
Two Havre-native sisters, sitting around a campfire one night discussing artistic creativity and an idea about illustrating passages from the Bible, ended up in a business partnership that launched a product line for clergy as well as a means for their business to raise money for charity. In the summer of 2014, the Rev. Stacey Siebrasse, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Missoula, told her sister Brooke James, a graphics designer in Havre, that she had made a stole that illustrated the sermon she had delivered to her congregation. She wanted Brooke’s input on how to design and create more stoles. Brooke said her immediate response to the idea was basically, um, what’s a stole?
A stole, for the record, is the scarf-like component of a cleric’s vestment. It is worn draped around the wearer’s neck and hanging down the front of the robe or, for deacons, somewhat like a sash, with the stole over one shoulder, draped across the body and clasped near the opposite hip, with the tails hanging along the outside of the leg. Stacey’s idea was to sew stoles that would each tell the story of a specific verse in the Bible through
6 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
quilted and embroidered fabric illustrations. “Because they have such a homier feel,” she said. Clergy and congregations see a lot of banners, paraments, “which are the hangy things on the wall,” banners and other adornments in churches that tell stories or illustrate points for different occasions, she said, but most of that ornamentation, and most stoles, are factory made. “You don’t see a lot of handmade
stoles out there,” she added. “The idea is that each stole represents a scripture of stories in the Bible and helps share that story,” Brooke said. “So our tag line is ‘Stoles that share the story,’ and each stole has our signature verse on the back. It has a scripture verse that represents the graphics on the front, so this is kind of what makes us Story Stoles.” “And the story being the gospel, as well as just the love of God, essentially,” added Stacey, who thought of the name Story Stoles. The pair registered the business in 2015 and, after working on product development for almost two years, launched the business from Brooke’s basement workroom in February 2017.
The Process The stole-making process that the sisters have worked out is that Stacey develops the initial concept around a scripture from the Bible, most often centered around a church season such as Advent, Easter or Pentecost. The two will talk about the concept, then Stacey will sketch some ideas that tell the story, incorporating significant symbolism, such as fire for Pentecost. This is the point where Brooke takes the lead. She develops the ideas into refined illustrations that they both agree work from a theological and a practical standpoint. In other words, the images capture the heart and message of the scripture and can be reproduced within their time and materials guidelines so the stoles remain affordable for customers. The images also have to be something that can be produced on the computer and by their computerized embroidery machine. The sisters grew up sewing, learning first from their mother, who they said is an accomplished seamstress and quilter, and then from taking sewing in 4-H. The process for creating the stoles and learning to run the embroidery machine, though, was a bigger challenge.
“We had a foundation, but this has been a gigantic learning curve,” Brooke said. “I have a background in making vinyl signs through my graphic design degree, and in my head I thought you could just design something on the computer and tell (the computerized embroidery machine) to do its thing — and then it would just do its thing.” Cloth stoles, though, turned out to be entirely different from vinyl signs. “So there was a few years where I was like ‘oooh,’” Brooke said, with
a groan for emphasis, “because we bought a machine capable of doing what we needed to do, but it was quite an investment and we did not know how to make these.” The investment forced them to keep going forward, she said, figuring out how to make the stoles — because they needed to be made in order to be sold in order to make the payments. The sisters said they have the system down pretty well, now, including figuring out how to adjust for three different sizes of stoles based on the
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
7
wearer’s height and figuring out how to use their fabric efficiently. Once the pattern is computerized and in the embroidery machine, they use it to single-stitch the pattern onto the main stole fabric. The individual pieces that make up the illustration are cut from the fabrics chosen for the project — fabrics that help essentially paint the image with their color and patterns. Using an adhesive backing, these pieces are then ironed in place on the stole. This pieced-together portion is fitted with the machine’s embroidery hoop that is then attached to the machine — carefully lined up to coordinates from the computer. The embroidery machine sews down all the edges of fabric pieces in the hoop, like adding an outline to a drawing. Brooke and Stacey inspect the embroidery for possible errors at this point because these need to be fixed before the hoop is removed. The hoop doesn’t accommodate the entirety of the larger images, so for those stoles it is repositioned to the next part of the image, carefully aligning the coordinates from one part of the image to the next. “So it’s kind of finicky,” Brooke said about repositioning the hoop. “It was a nightmare in the beginning.” The prices — $145, $195, $250 and $325 — are based on their gauge for average time and material investment in the stoles, which also
have the scripture verse embroidered at the neckline. “When we first started this business, we were imagining these elaborate story designs,” Brooke said, “and then we were, like, ‘we’re not going to make any money at this.’” Though the designs were simplified from their original concept, they are far from simple, and the pair also create a unique image for the stoles at each price point. Since the embroidery machine and their supplies are set up in her home, Brooke said, she takes care of most of the hands-on labor, though Stacey comes to town often to help. The Story Stoles new Advent line went on sale in November and the stoles — which they sew in batches of five because that is the most efficient use of fabric — were sold out in all four price points in a day. Brook said she sewed more, and they sold out quickly, too, so two weekends ahead of Thanksgiving Stacey came to town for a weekend work session. They needed a stockpile of stoles for regular inventory, but they also needed extra stoles for a conference Brooke was going to representing Story Stoles as a vendor. This was only the second time they had gone to an event like this. The first was in late July, and it led to an invitation to Brooke James works on one of the stoles from the business’ Advent Collection that went on sale in November.
8 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
the one in Jacksonville, Florida, Nov. 18-21. They had originally turned down the offer, they said, but it was the Southeastern Jurisdiction Clergywomen’s Leadership Conference, which is only held every four years. “But I just felt like women make up 70 percent of our customer base and they only meet once every four years and it’ll be a good opportunity,” Brooke said. “It’s kind of challenging to make it happen also. We’ve had other invitations that we’ve turned down, but we person-
ally met this woman, and she wants to buy one of the Advent stoles and auction it off at the conference.” Brook said, conference vendor shows are something they are not quite ready for as a business but they wanted to try it. “We’re trying to make it work,” she added, because Stacey was unable to attend, so Brooke took her husband, Duane James, to help on a working vacation to Jacksonville.
This stole from the Story Stoles Advent Collection shows a new design element — a snap-on portion. The candle flames are attached to the stole with snaps. This allows the wearer to start Advent without the flames, then attach one each Sunday of Advent, making the stole an interactive illustration of the Advent season.
The Business Model The sisters have promoted and grown the business primarily online and through social media, with a website, StoryStoles.com, a Facebook page and an Instagram account, along with word of mouth. When a new line of stoles is posted online, they sell fast. The 2019 Advent collection sold 21 pieces in one week, Brooke said, pressing them hard to keep up with demand. Their customer return rate is about 19 percent, they said, and some customers have bought a whole collection. “I didn’t think they’d get so excited,” Stacey said, “but they get excited about it, and the feedback we get is really great.”
Part of what gets them the great feedback is their attention to detail on product control, which Brooke said she sometimes gets “a little over-obsessed” about. “I just figure these people are spending a lot of money on them and—” Brooke said, stopping with a shrug. “It’s an interesting niche because we’re selling expensive items to people that don’t really have a lot of disposable income to buy them.” “They get gifted a lot,” Stacey added. The sisters also do various promotions like stole giveaways, which Brooke said have generated a lot of interest, but it also gives them the opportunity to give back to the
religious community. Giving back and working on social change is important to both sisters. Stacey, who often fills in for pastors on the weekends, works as a community organizer for the Missoula Interfaith Collaborative, where she engages people in more than 30 congregations and community groups across social divisions to act on community change. Together, Stacey and Brooke developed what they call their Social Justice Collection that engages the people who follow Story Stoles on social media to be a part of their creative process and learn about and support charitable organizations.
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
9
Charitable Giving Each year they have put out a call for stole designs to be a part of a charitable giving contest. Anyone can enter the contest to design a stole, Stacey said, and after the entry deadline closes, they then narrow the entries down to the top six designs. Brooke cleans up the drawings and posts them online for people to vote on to determine the winning top three designs. Brooke creates the final stole designs on the computer, and these designs are then produced and sold for a year as their Social Justice Collection. The charity gets 50 percent of the proceeds of these sales, and the top placer wins a free stole the runners up get gift certificates. The first year, they partnered with Days for Girls International. “They make hygiene product kits for girls and ship them all over the world,” Stacey said, “so (the girls) can attend school and not have to shy away from being in public.” Havre’s Days for Girls participating organization is the First Lutheran Church, 303 6th Avenue, which is a drop-off point where the supplies are collected before being boxed and sent out. To date, the sisters have donated $2,250 to First Lutheran from the stole sales. This year, during the late July conference with Young Clergy Women International, an annual conference for young women around the world under 40 who are pastors, the sisters partnered with Young Clergy Women International for their charitable giving contest. The design contest had a tie in the placings, so Brooke and Stacey produced four stoles in the collection, which is planned to go on sale in January. “We’re trying to do some charity work where we can give back because we’ve had so much support,” Brooke said. The sisters said that they have always been close, but have gotten closer because they get to talk all day when they’re sewing, but also get to talk almost daily to keep on top of the business and designs. The business has already been a success for the two of them personally and utilizes each others strengths, with Brooke handling the graphics and marketing and Stacey conceptualizing designs and writing description content. “I like this job because it allows me to feed that creative drive that I have and get to do graphic design that I’m passionate about,” Brooke said, adding that “when we go to post something everything that’s written she wrote. It’s all thoughtful and complete and great, and on point with scripture.” “I don’t think we would do anything else where we’d be creative together,” Stacey said.
10 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
11
Andy’s Supper Club STORY BY PAM BURKE PHOTOS BY JACK LAMBERT
When Shaina Hofeldt moved back to north-central Montana in 2012, she knew she wanted to settle back into the community and invest in a business, but after starting a family she decided to wait until her children started school. As it turned out, her first plan trumped her revised plan when the restaurant she was managing, Andy’s Supper Club and Lounge, came up for sale. “Everything just fell into place,” Hofeldt said, adding, “It was like, ‘Well, when the opportunity’s there, you just take it.’” Hofeldt said she had been working at Andy’s for a year and a half, the last six months as co-manager, when previous owners Judy and Dorothy Sande said they were going to close the restaurant if it didn’t sell soon. Hofeldt, who bought the supper club in September 2018, said the change from manager to owner has been smooth and pretty stress-free, in part because she had previously owned and operated a deli in Salt Lake City but in large part, too, because of her staff of about 20 employees. “Thankfully, we have really good people here and that makes it easier,” she said. She also credits what she learned from Dan Kucera, whom she worked with at Murphy’s Irish Pub and at Andy’s. Hofeldt said she studied his management style and practices, and she had originally come to be working at Andy’s because he took over management there for about a year. Hofeldt said the restaurant, which has been a
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
13
Havre mainstay since the 1950s, has a strong following of regular diners, who have come to expect a quality dining experience. But menu changes that have been introduced slowly since Hofeldt took over as manager are attracting new additions to the restaurant’s customer base, she said. Essentially, she wants to have every menu item made from fresh, quality ingredients, she said, and the ultimate goal is for everything served to be made from scratch. “It takes time,” she said. “You know, you implement one thing, you get everyone trained and up to speed, and it becomes easy and you implement another.” For example, she would have to implement kitchen routines that include taking the time and burner space to cook down bones to make the stock so her gravies can be entirely scratch-made, and time and counter space to make pasta from scratch, as well.
While it is the goal for menu items to be entirely from scratch, she said, she is confident of the quality of her dishes because she is particular about the ingredients she buys. “A lot of the stuff I buy, ingredient-wise, I could probably get cheaper, but I chose not to,” she said. “It costs more, but it’s a priority.” Among the foods that are made entirely from scratch at the restaurant are all the sauces, soups and dressings. “A lot of our dressings have honey in them for the sweetness of it. That’s another thing when you’re trying to sweeten a dressing and you want to cut costs, you put sugar in it, well, we don’t do that,” Hofeldt said. “It’s little things, like that, that people probably don’t even know, but it makes a difference.” In fact, she said, she it’s not just
14 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
any honey — she gets it from Buhmann Apiaries in Chinook. Finding and using quality locally sourced foods is another passion for Hofeldt, who was raised on a ranch south of Chinook, near Cleveland. She gets the restaurant’s lettuce from High Horizon Gardens and the locally sourced steaks on the menu from Bear Paw Meats. She also serves beer from all three Havre breweries and spirits from the local distillery, listing them on the restaurant’s website as local partners. People will still see the Sysco truck supplying the restaurant, she said, but a lot of people have a misconception about it. Yes, restaurants can buy precooked foods from the company, she said, but they can also buy ingredients, even Montana-sourced foods. When she asked about the company’s Certified Angus Beef, she found that up to 65 percent of
the beef seed stock that year from Chinook’s Shipwheel Cattle Co. One of the benefits of buying through Sysco is that she knows she can buy the quantity of ingredients she needs, and the company has already put the food through their grading process, which is especially important for the steaks that Andy’s Supper Club is known for. The supplier has control of finishing the beef, then grades it for both cut and quality, she said. It’s all processed the same with the same aging processing. “So I know that when the beef comes through my door, there’s consistency in the cut and the quality,” she said. “What I found is that helps me because then when people come in they know that they’ve had the steak and they like the steak, and the next time they come in it’s just as good as the last time they were here,” she said, “and then the next
time they come in it’s still just as good as the last two times. “That’s what I like about the Certified Angus Beef product,” she added. While Hofeldt is regularly working to upgrade the menu to meet her vision, Andy’s will be keeping steaks on the menu, obviously, she said. She has started the Saturday and Sunday brunches and is looking seriously at changing the appetizers in the future. “I want to bring some of what we do with our specials to the actual menu because our changes have been pretty cool as far as the different sauces and the rubs,” Hofeldt said. She is adding a selection of five cocktails to her happy hour deals, along with five appetizers to give people coming in off work something to eat, too. The final list of new drinks and appetizers, she said, hasn’t been decided yet.
Shaina Hofeldt watches the three pans she has on the stove while making lemon chicken with pasta at Andy’s Supper Club in Havre.
“The take-home for that, I think, would be that I’m just trying to continually make small changes on the menu, so that you’re always keeping things fresh and new. Even if you’re just changing it twice a year, it’s better than not having any changes at all,” she said. “It keeps the kitchen creative.”
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
15
Lemon Chicken and Pasta The Lemon Chicken and Pasta recipe is one that Shaina Hofeldt, owner of Andy’s Supper Club and Lounge, makes at home, though the restaurant’s Lemon Butter Zoodles, made with zucchini cut to look like pasta, is similar. Hofeldt said she considers this a go-to meal because it is quick, simple and flavorful, plus it’s easy to alter to suit personal tastes and what you have available in the refrigerator. “It’s really super simple and has all fresh ingredients,” she said. “Just keep it easy.” The angel-hair pasta in the dish can be swapped out with rice, zoodles or other types of pasta, she said, and different combinations of vegetables can alter the flavor subtly. One of her other favorite sibsttutes is to use shrimp rather than chicken. If you do this, she said, you should cook the shrimp with the vegetables. While she encourages experimenting with the meal, the one thing she said she recommends sticking with is using fresh ingredients. “Good ingredients, the fresh spinach, the fresh grated Parmesan cheese,” she said. “… I think it makes a difference. It’s better for you; it tastes good.”
16 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
Lemon Chicken and Pasta
Shaina Hofeldt Andy’s Supper Club INGREDIENTS 2 6oz. chicken breasts 1 small zucchini, chopped (about 2-3 cups) 4-5 button mushrooms, chopped 1 handful fresh spinach 1 lemon, zested and juiced 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons wine salt and pepper oil, for frying 2 servings angel-hair pasta, cooked
Andy’s Supper Club 658 1st Street West, Havre, MT
• Sunday-Thursday 4:30-10:00 p.m. • Friday-Saturday 4:30-11:00 p.m. • Saturday-Sunday 8:00 a.m-1:00 p.m.
INSTRUCTIONS Boil the pasta in hot water so that it reaches preferred doneness prior to vegetables being done. Fry chicken breasts in oil on medium-high heat, with salt and pepper to taste. Chicken can be cut into slices when half-cooked — as it was in this demonstration — to speed final cooking time. While chicken is cooking, prepare vegetables, lemon and cheese. In a separate pan, saute zucchini and mushrooms in oil just until soft. When chicken is browned and almost cooked through, add a splash of wine (about 1 tablespoon) and half of lemon juice to pan. When vegetables have started to get soft, add remaining lemon juice and a splash of wine to vegetables. After about a minute on medium-high heat, add half of lemon zest and spinach to vegetables, stir, then stir in half of cheese and all of the drained pasta. Turn off heat. Remove chicken breasts from pan, cut both into thick slices (if not already sliced), and stir into vegetable-pasta mix. Divide onto two plates and top with remaining zest and Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.
SH
18 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
HOWERED WITH TILES
STORY BY PAM BURKE PHOTOS BY JACK LAMBERT
If you are considering what type of shower to have in your home, whether in a new home construction or as a remodel of your existing shower, tile can create a beautiful and long-lasting centerpiece in a bathroom. This issue offers advice from John Muller, co-owner of McNair Furniture in Rudyard, about some of the preconstruction decisions the homeowner has to make before the tiling project begins, whether the project is part of a new build or a remodel. Muller, who sells tile in the store,
but also has crews to install tile onsite, was working with his crew in December on a three-shower project in a new home being finished this winter. The April issue of Living will take readers through the tiling process, along with showing the progression of the showers from start to finish.
In the meantime, Muller had tips for people considering tiling a shower in their own home, starting with five points he covers with customers who approach him about tile. The answers to these questions determine how the homeowner goes forward with the project.
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
19
John Muller, co-owner of McNair Furniture, searches through tile samples on display at the store’s tile room.
What area is being tiled? While the area or room being tiled is important in general — for example, is it a kitchen floor, a backsplash, an entry or a shower — the question applies to showers specifically, too.
It makes a difference if you are tiling the walls only or the shower floor, as well, because shower floors need denser porcelain tiles, while the walls can have ceramic or glass tiles.
20 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
Other questions need to be considered, too. Do you want to install matching tiles on the bathroom floor? Or does the shape or size of the area dictate using a certain size of tile?
What look do you want? Think about whether you want a sleek, modern style, or maybe rustic, retro or regional. Do you like the minimalistic, light earth-tones of the Swiss? Do you want bold patterns of Moroccan or Mexican tiles? Do you
want the shower to look like a woodsided sauna? Do you want a built-in nook to hold soap and shampoo bottles? If you had a word to describe the look you want, would it be classy,
Hundreds of tile samples are on display at McNair Furniture, which carries and installs a wide range of flooring.
campy, dark, light, bright, soothing, simple, easy-to-clean? Take photographs of looks you like, or find some in magazines or on the internet, and show these to your tile source and contractor.
Tile experts can help pick the best tile for a job. The glass tiles shown here add flair to walls but are too soft for floors.
What colors do you want? Tiles can be found in colors from white to earthy sandstone to brilliant lime green, some have intricate patterns or they look like marble, wood or metal.
If you want to be on trend at the moment, Muller said, “greige” is in. This is a neutral look that has both gray and beige tones in the pattern and will work with either warm or
cool colors for the bathroom walls and flooring. There is something for every style. The hardest part might just be having to make a choice.
Some things that can drive the price of tiles have nothing to do with quality. Where the tiles have to be shipped from and might be about shipping from the source or even the color, he said. One caution he did have is that the really cheap tiles that are sometimes sold online or in large retail stores are likely cheap for a reason. They might be the tiles culled during quality control at the factory, or they might
be from different batches and have slightly off colors from one tile to the next. There are plenty of tiling choices to fit a variety of budgets, he added. If money is tight, people can consider going with less trendy tile, choosing ceramic over porcelain, or going with a tile that hasn’t been gauged and sized, which means each tile has been examined to be of an exact duplicate of the others.
expensive. If a tile order has to be shipped special freight — or a contractor has to bump other jobs back to
accommodate yours or hire extra help to get a job done quickly — these things can cost money, he said.
What is your budget? Tiles can be found to fit a range of budgets, Muller said. As an example, he added, getting a 4-by4 foot tile shower installed by a contractor can range from $2,000 to $5,000. Many decisions can affect the cost, he said, including the type of waterproofing material to use; using a prefabricated shower or tub or going with a tile floor that requires a mortar base be built and waterproofed; or choosing more or less expensive tiles.
What is your schedule? There’s an old saying about construction: You can have it good, fast or cheap. Pick any two. In the tiling world, fast can be
If you’re still willing to try tiling So if none of this has changed your mind to go with a quick, less expensive, shower insert rather than a tile shower, Muller had a few more tips for
the homeowner. Whether you are working with a brand new construction project or a remodel, having square, plumb and
straight walls is important, as is having a solid, flat floor. It’s unlikely that the shower space will exactly fit the tile size, so some
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
21
Advice from the trenches... or how to keep your shower tiling project from circling the drain In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that my husband and I are do-it-yourself-ing our way through finishing our new home construction project. I am, as I write this article, in the middle of a shower tiling project of my own — not the one that will be covered in this magazine, though. I felt it was more important to show how it should be done by a professional. Besides, I don’t want to be held responsible for getting the wrong visuals stuck in any DIY-er’s brain. Still, in case anyone can benefit from the poster child for the school of hard knocks, I’m offering some tidbits of advice from my own home tile installation project. 1) Get advice from professionals. When you buy tiles and/or other materials from local stores, you get to talk to their professionals and ask about everything from picking tiles and trowels to the right type of mortor and how thick to mix it. I have found all these experts to be very generous with their expertise, though I did not ask enough questions before launching into my project. 2) Related to the first point, You-
tube is your friend. Find a professional tiler with a Youtube channel to learn from. Personally, I like Sal DiBlasi at https://www.youtube. com/user/saldibs for a wide range of projects and advice. Other tilers have posted videos, just make sure you find professionals and confirm that their advice follows sound practices. If nothing else, the videos will tell you enough to know what questions to ask. They also show you what different stages of construction look like and types of tile work — from building a mortar base to grouting, and from mosaic to subway tiles. Of equal importance, review the pertinent videos before you start each step of the tiling process. 3) If you have never tiled before, I highly recommend that you buy some cheap tiles leftover from someone else’s project and practice laying tiles on a piece of drywall or plywood or something before you get to your shower. Habitat for Humanity ReStores is a good place to find cheap tiles. Also, if you are using one of the types of waterproof fabric membranes to line your shower
stall, get a bit of extra of that, too, for practice. It would be worth the time and expense. 4) I cannot overstress this final point: For the love of peace on earth and your own sanity, do everything in your power to make your shower stall square, straight and plumb to begin with. We. Did. Not. To be fair, the problems were not entirely our fault, but we did not fix all we could have — should have. I see that now. In fact, our project was a geometric wonder, representing an arched trapezoidal parallelogram. It was awesome, and I sincerely mean that in the most sarcastic way possible. A friend of mine, who knows math, laughed and said that I had thrown out quite a random collection of shapes in my description. Sadly, though, our shower floor somehow had all these shapes represented in one 3-by-4 foot space. If it’s impossible to re-do the frame construction and you know it has these types of issues, ask the professionals how to deal with the problems. Do this before you order your tile because the right tile can compensate for these faults.
Remodel? The 30-year-old plastic liner on this shower started bulging over the summer and, because it is brittle with age, cracked at some point in the fall. After trim was removed, crumbling drywall and wallboard showed that water had been getting behind the liner and swelling the materials behind it. As a remodel project, the owner will have to take this shower alcove down to studs and subfloor to evaluate the integrity of the structure before an progress can be made toward tiling. If any wood is damaged by water or mold it will have to be replaced even before a shower base, wallboard and a water barrier can be put in as preparation for tiling. The good news is that if the shower alcove is not square, plumb or level, this will be a good time to remedy those problems.
22 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
tile cutting likely will be necessary, but if the walls are not square, vertical and straight, they will require more inventive cutting, spacing or layout to compensate for these issues, he said. The floor needs to be solid to carry the weight of tiles, but also to ensure the floor doesn’t flex and cause cracking, he said. The shower floor being flat is more more important than being level, he said. The difference is that a level floor doesn’t have any slope, but as long as the water will flow down the drain rather than pool in a corner, you’re OK. Flat floors are smooth surfaces, which are needed not only to make the tiles lay flat, but also to get good adhesion contact between the tile and the floor. For example, if you need 1/8-inch of thinset, which is the special concrete for laying tiles, under your tile to make it stick to the floor, but you have a 1/8-inch bump in the floor surface, the tile will sit right on the surface without adhesion in that spot. This is true of walls, as well. One last tip Muller offered is for anyone who is remodeling a shower to install tile: If you have any question about the soundness of the wallcovering or the sub-floor, you’re better off tearing it out and replacing it now rather than letting something go and having it damage the shower a few years or a few months down the road, he said. Start from the foundation, he said.
8 Knob Road
625 9th Street
2-bed/1-bath home in a quiet neighborhood boasts a large, fenced backyard.
6 Pike Street
3-bed/3-bath home, main floor laundry, beautiful and clean with many updates, extra large master bedroom, single attached garage, underground sprinklers.
Newly remodeled 3+bed/2 bath impeccable home features office, concrete driveway with lots of off-street parking, daylight basement, all in a great location close to schools in a quiet neighborhood!
15 First Ave. NE, Rudyard
2-bed/2-bath home features main floor laundry, heated 2-car garage, all new windows in the upstairs and an apartment in the lower level with separate entrance. Live in one and rent the other or combine for one large home!
1420 Wilson Avenue
Great home has 3 bedrooms and updated 2 baths with a detached double car garage. Updated kitchen, main floor utility room, beautiful bonus room, fireplace in main living space. Lovely fenced yard has underground sprinklers.
617 Pennsylvania Street ~ Chinook
Super cute, 2-bed/1-bath home boasts 3-car detached garage and manicured yard with mature shade trees.
1060 Blvd. Avenue
This very clean home features 2+2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, as well as updated kitchen, nice dining room and cozy woodstove in living room. The insulated, heated garage is spacious for use as a workshop or storing toys! Home has newer siding and roof. A huge backyard boasts a storage shed and plenty of off-street parking! Close to schools, parks, etc!
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 walk-out basement. Fencing for horses.
1311 5th Street
2 bedroom, 1 bath home with detached 1 car garage and fenced yard. Partial basement offers great storage options.
Commercial Lots Commercial lots located in Havre with US HWY 2 & 15th Avenue access. Possible owner financing!
960 31st Street North
Rural property containing 1.5 acres, 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths, fenced yard, great views from every window!
We have qualified buyers for farm and ranch properties.
Milk River Ranch located between Chinook & Havre. Over 2600 acres, multiple hay and pasture possibilities. Great access from multiple country roads. Property includes homesite and several cattle facilities. Great hunting possibilities!
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
23
24 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
950 Assiniboine Ave. $240,000
110 County Line RD S. $439,000
937 Indiana Street Chinook $239,900
801 6th Street $152,900
1630 Northern Heights Drive $378,000 Beautiful modern home 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, executive kitchen, formal dining room, large office, triple attached garage, finished patio area, new floors, new roof and underground sprinkler system.
Hi-Line Motel
Spacious home with open floor plan. Recent updates include new bathroom, nice kitchen, separate dining room, 4 bedrooms on 2 levels, extra parking & large garage.
212 Illinois Street Chinook, MT $110,000
525 18th Street $67,900
CREATIVE LEISURE COMMERCIAL BUILDING
1200 3rd St ~ $48,000
1325 4th Street $28,000 Lot & Garage.
This house has made a nice home for the sellers dad and is now a rental with a duplex unit in the downstairs area.
Several business rentals on the main floor with good rental history and plenty of parking. Downstairs is a complete living facility comprised of nothing but the best for a home...there is a down under driveway with lots and lots of inside storage for equipment, trucks & vans...
529 Pennsylvania St. Chinook, Montana ! $114,900
SALE PENDING 14x63 Gallatin mobile home - must be moved! $25,000
Country living at it's best & only minutes to town. This custom 2 level home has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, main floor living & sits in a beautiful location w/panoramic views. It has extremely spacious living areas inside & out w/lots of custom built-ins and shows amazing pride of ownership. Enjoy the attached heated garage/shop, 6.1 acres, the finished barn and corrals-Tons of space for all your toys/horses etc.
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.
931 5th Avenue - $109,900
1030 18th Street $238,000
32010 HWY 2 W. - $319,900
This would make a great starter home or retirement home at a great price for this well kept 3 bedroom, 2 bath Home with large lot and extra off street parking!
SALE PENDING!
725 11th Street ~ $154,900
600 16th Street $149,900
I get my homework done when I list or sell your home!
SOLD • SOLD • SOLD • SOLD 320 2nd Avenue E ~ $88,350 429 1st Avenue ~ $155,000 731 4th Street ~ $69,900
3 bedroom, 2 bath home. This home has a new beautiful bathroom on the main floor with new hot water on demand, all new hard surface flooring on the main floor. The Master bedroom has a master bath
Wild Horse Range Bear Paw Mtns.
Experience these 320+- deeded Acres of meadows, trees and springs. The land is fenced & well watered. With loads of wildlife (deer, elk, pheasants).
SEVERAL BUILDING LOTS FOR SALE IN CHINOOK, MT.
ACREAGE LOTS
with Utilities 5 Miles W of Havre (3) 1.5 Acre Lots $20,000 (1) 3.2 Acre Lot $40,000 (1) 5 Acre Lot $75,000 (2) 10 Acre Lots with Views CONTACT ED RUFF FOR MORE INFORMATION AT (406) 390-1574
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
25
26 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
27
ASHLEY MOLSTAD Havre | 265-3815 NMLS ID# 729317
KRISTY FOX Havre | 265-3802 NMLS ID# 400360
EXPERIENCE YOU CAN COUNT ON You can count on us to be your partner every step of the way during your new home construction or purchase! Stop in today or apply easily and quickly online at stockmanbank.com
Montana’s Brand of Banking Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender
28 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
29
30 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2020
I see more than a bundle. Anthony Cammon FSS LTCP, Agent 115 4th Avenue West Havre, MT 59501 Bus: 406-945-9000 anthonycammon.com
1706808
While other insurers just see your home and car as a bundle or a combo deal, I take the time to see what they mean to you and give them the protection they deserve. LET’S TALK TODAY.
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company State Farm Fire and Casualty Company Bloomington, IL
Unique well maintainted property at 627 9th St. Has 1-2 bed apt. and 2-1 bed apts. with laundry access for all apts. Located on large oversized lot and has a large oversized double garage. House has metal roof.
Rudyard 226 2nd St. NW -
Maintained home and property. 1 large bed on main floor w/deck and 1 bath, 2 bed downstairs and room for a bath with Triple Garage.
Harlem 305 1st Ave. SW -
Home with updates. 2 bed, bath, kitchen on 2nd floor & lg.master bed w/ bath on main floor with large porch, kitchen, dining & living.
Visit our website at: www.havrerealty.com JANUARY 2020 | LIVING Havre and the Hi-Line MAGAZINE |
31