A special publication by the Havre Daily News
Living History Day, June 6 Pam Burke ~ Havre Daily News
Provides the opportunity to experience the area history firsthand While the common t h re a d among historical attractions everywhere is to teach people about history, Havre’s Living History Day Saturday, June 6, provides the opportunity to experience the area's history firsthand, as well. Living History brings together efforts at several of the area’s historical sites and annual events that welcome people to take part in activities, demonstrations and reenactments that bring the area history back to life.
Fort Assinniboine During this weekend event, historic Fort Assinniboine, once the largest military post in Montana and the U.S., will have half-hour tours all day, starting with the first at 10 a.m. and ending with the last
tour leaving at 3:30 p.m. During the tours, people will be treated to live firearm and cannon demonstrations by the Bullhook Bottoms Black Powder Club and learn about traders, Mounties, soldiers and Vative Americans who are testimonials to our state’s past and the opening of the frontier. People can stroll through displays and vendor booths with hides, guns, Native American craft work and more, with old-time music providing a special historical note. Organizers are working to include a small military encampment on site to show how soldiers lived while out on the trail or on campaign, to compliment the tours of officers quarters, the officers’ Amusement Hall, the fort library and more. Tours on the Black Jack touring wagon, named after General John “Black Jack” Pershing who was stationed at the fort early in his career, will go out every half hour. Fort Assinniboine is located about six miles south of Havre, east off U.S. Highway 87. Cost is $5 per adult and $3 for 18 and younger for the day. If the rugged outdoors whets your appetite, barbecued burgers with side dishes will be available for $3 each or 2 for $5.
Havre Beneath the Streets
Frank DeRosa Railroad Museum
During Living History, displays of some of the city’s old businesses will come alive at Havre Beneath the Streets museum with actors re-enacting the business deals of old and providing tasty treats. The Sporting Eagle Saloon, the Old West at its best, will have gamblers and dance hall girls, as well as good ol’ boys just needing a drink. People can shop at Gourley Brothers Bakery to purchase tasty homemade pastries made fresh for the day. Havre's Meat Market will be handing out samples to anyone wanting a heartier bite to eat. Have a sweet tooth? A choice of old-fashioned penny candy will be available to buy at Holland and Son Mercantile. Saturday's tours will start at 9 a.m. and run every half hour with the last tour leaving at 4 p.m. A special rate of $8 a person will be offered for tours on Living History Day. The main office for Havre Beneath the Streets is at 120 3rd Ave. Appointments for tours are welcomed.
During Living History, members of the local model train club will be running a variety of toscale trains in the museum. This display will include not only the museum’s main-floor tracks at 120 3rd Ave., but also have special runs in the large and elaborate tracks in the basement. Admission is free and model train enthusiasts will be on hand throughout the day to talk about the trains and the railroad.
Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump Though many museums offer the chance to see relics and bones that have been uncovered and placed into displays, Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump offers a rare opportunity to view artifacts in their natural, found state. A site where different tribes and cultures or Native Americans had run bison off a cliff overlooking the Milk River, Wahkpa Chu’gn is a living archaeological dig that reveals cultural and natural influences
through different eras. Tours of the buffalo jump start at the jump’s interpretive center, which is on the northeast edge of the Holiday Village Mall parking lot, or at the Clack Museum. For Living History, tours will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A demonstration of the ancient cooking method of stone boiling will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. next to the interpretive center. In celebration of Living History, tours will be given at a reduced rate of $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and $4 for students, and children younger than 6 will get in free. Tours are about one hour long and are fully handicap accessible, including a six-passenger Polaris to help anyone who wants a ride get from the center to the tour starting point without hiking.
H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum The H. Earl Clack Museum, which shows the area history from the dinosaur age through to modern times, is going back to prehistoric times this year, celebrating the dinosaur heritage of the area
n See Living History Page 4