Transcending history

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LEGENDARY HOMES

Almond Pepper Soup (Badam Mirchi Ka Shorba)

Indian food is not always comprised of in-your-face, complex seasonings. This creamy, slightly smoky, nutty soup drives that point home.

Makes 6 cups 1 pound red bell peppers, stems, ribs and seeds discarded, flesh cut into 1-inch cubes ½ cup almond slivers or slices 6 green or white cardamom pods 3 fresh green Serrano chilies, stems discarded coarsely-chopped (do not remove the seeds) 1 ½ teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt 6 tablespoons finely-chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems

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Pour 3 cups of water into a medium-sized saucepan, add the bell peppers, almonds, cardamom, chilies and salt, and let come to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.

Cover the saucepan and reduce the heat to medium. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are fork-tender, the chilies look pale green and the cardamom pods appear plump (about 15 minutes).

2013 MSUB Foundation Pour half of the bell pepper mixture Wine & Food Festival and its liquid into a blender. Make sure Indian Cooking Class the blender is only half full (or half empty, Class description: Flavorful Dishes from India, China and depending on the way you look at things Southeast Asia with 10 Ingredients or Less in life.) Without adequate space, the steam Ravishing. Exotic. Addictively flavorful. Let Raghavan Iyer, from the hot contents rises and can build up cookbook author and IACP pressure that can force off the lid, creating a Cooking Teacher of the Year, cornucopia of colors on your ceiling. Hold demonstrate how to blend the blender lid in place with a towel and the beloved flavors of India, run the blender in pulse to puree the soup.

China and Southeast Asia with 10 ingredients or less.

Pour the pureed soup into medium-sized bowl. Repeat with the remaining bell pepper Cost: $75 mixture and liquid. Add the second batch of Time: 6 p.m. puree to the bowl.

Date: May 15 Alternatively, if you have an immersion Location: Billings Food Bank (or stick) blender, you can puree the soup For more information: log on to www. in the pan. Ladle the soup into individual winefoodfestival.com bowls and serve it warm sprinkled with the cilantro.

HIsToRY

MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD, THIS HOME IS RICH IN HISTORY AND CHARACTER I BY SHELLEY VAN ATTA

To own an historic home is to own a textured piece of the past, and few historic homes in Billings can rival the signature architectural style of the residence at 2116 Virginia Lane.

When Henry Oaks began construction on this iconic home in 1923, the location was vastly remote, far from the hub of Billings proper. An aerial photograph of the area, taken circa 1925, shows expansive open spaces in frontier land where sounds did not cease until they echoed off the Rimrocks.

Sandstone, quarried in 1923 by Oaks, a manual arts instructor at students from Billings Polytechnic Billings Polytechnic Institute—predecessor Institute (predecessor to Rocky of Rocky Mountain College—used students Mountain College), comprises the from his classes to quarry the sandstone, home’s exterior. The grounds boast which served as the home’s anchor and lush landscaping and signature touches from the green thumb of rendered its aesthetic beauty. These students owner Jim Gainan. honed their skills through construction of the home, but the learning did not happen quickly. While the interior remained unfinished, the home was purchased by

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Clyde Bowen, owner and proprietor of Bowen’s Men’s Store. For Montana history buffs, Clydehurst Ranch, in the Beartooth-Absaroka Mountains, is his eponym.

According to Kathryn Wright, author of “Historic Homes of Billings,” Bowen intended to have mahogany wainscoting, but it was stolen from the home before it could be installed. Bowen’s luck did not improve. An article in the, June 12, 1927 issue of The Billings Gazette, stated (sic):

of renovations on his Virginia Lane home.

“We stopped at a every pay phone on Madison Avenue because Russ would remember ‘one more thing’ he wanted to have done to his and Senia’s home. I didn’t mind at all. I actually found it rather entertaining, and remember thinking that his careful attention to detail was why he was so successful, and also was why theirs was one of the most beautiful homes in Billings.

A new owner blooms

In 2007, Jim Gainan, president of Gainan’s Flowers and Garden Center in Billings, purchased the home. Like the Hart family, Gainan is civic-minded and actively involved in the community; however, also like the Hart family, he, too, treasures his privacy, which the set-back location of the home affords.

“My attraction to the house was how it made me feel when I walked in,” Gainan said.

“It’s warm, protected, interesting and secluded.”

Gainan treasures his home’s past.

“You don’t have to be an archeologist or historian to appreciate an historic home. I see it as an investment in history.” However, he adds, one thing that is no longer periodically significant is the home’s location. What once

“The body of the late C.W. Bowen, who was killed last Wednesday night in a New York City Fifth Avenue bus accident, arrived in Billings Saturday night at 11:38 on Northern Pacific train No. 1. R.M. Hart of the Hart-Albin company, a business associate of Mr. Bowen, accompanied the body to Billings from Chicago to where it was taken from New York by Charles Weill of the firm of Weill & Hartmann, resident buyer for the group with which the Hart-Albin stores are affiliated. Upon arrival in Billings the body was taken to the Bowen home on Virginia Lane, just off of the Poly drive, where it will repose until the funeral services.”

A home with Hart

Following her husband’s death, Mrs. Bowen sold the home to Ray M. Hart, founder of the Hart-Albin Company. Wright’s research shows the Hart family moving into the home in 1927. Their son, Russell Hart, later brought his bride, Senia Croonquist, to live there, where they raised a family until selling the home in 1957 to Frederick W. Mueller. Russell and Senia Hart repurchased the home in the spring of 1977. Prior to becoming a realtor, local businesswoman Karen Frank was one of Hart-Albin Company’s premier buyers. Frank recalls a buying trip to New York City with Russ Hart when he was in the midst

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Top: Craftsman touches and hardwood throughout earmark the iconic home. Above: An original stone fireplace anchors the living area.

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A spacious dining area spills into the home’s living room, making entertaining a breeze.

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LEGENDARY HOMES was a remote area of Billings now is the epicenter of the city, just blocks away from the hospitals, schools, Hilands Country Club and Montana State University Billings.

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Top: When the home was built in 1923, the location was considered the “outskirts” of town. Above left: Senia Hart pictured in the Hart Albin store. Above right: Russell Hart, pictured far right, with Hart-Albin executives. Senia and Russell bought the home in 1957 then repurchased it in 1977. Photos courtesy of the Western Heritage Center.

Historic homes are not for everyone, but they are for those who want the appeal and charm that is distinctive to period homes.

Buying one provides a singular opportunity for a family to intertwine their roots with those who lived there before. Historic homes hold a certain coolness factor, too. It’s an intrinsic feature that is intangible, but nonetheless real.

Many home owners see an historic home as a rearview look at a more elegant period, full of style and warmth, boasting meticulous craftsmanship, classic lines and beautiful finish work that are unique to its place in history, all of which the Virginia Lane home has.

An architectural stalwart, many have driven by this home daily without realizing it has been in our community for 90 years, weathering through the flood of 1937 (which literally was in its own backyard). It has endured various home ownerships, the evolving landscape of the city and modern day updates and renovations. This has hallmarked the home’s time with elegance and grace, thanks to the nurturing care it has received from the many people who loved it through decades of change.

The massive stone fireplace still dominates the living room, an immoveable memory of things that do not change. The adjoining land, which once expanded to Sixth Street West, still remains nearly an acre, a tremendous tract of land in the heart of the city. And, of course, with a Gainan tending care to the landscaping and

Above: The guest rooms feature garden views of the property.

Right: The smartly-appointed bath features vintage touches like a pedestal sink and angled ceilings.

garden, the grounds are nothing short of spectacular.

The interior renovations have been in keeping with the integrity of the home—subtle, yet brilliantly chosen.

This residence is an ageless classic beauty, still the fashion of her time. History or not, some things never change.

Facts for this article were gleaned from “Historic Homes of Billings,” by Kathryn Wright and illustrated by Carolyn Thayer. Historic photos are courtesy of the Western Heritage Center.

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