The Atrium shopping center celebrates 35 years

Opportunity Link Inc.'s Volunteers in Service to America volunteer Samantha Rybicki, left, watches as Joan Showen puts money into a jar next to her favorite flower arrangement during the 2nd Annual Flower Show in the Atrium Mall Saturday afternoon. The flower arrangement, asters in a watermelon, was done by Faye James. The money raised from the Flower Show will help the Atrium purchase a Wii for children to play in the lower level of the mall on Saturdays.

One of Havre's biggest landmarks at the corner of commerce and history, the Atrium Mall, celebrated its 35th anniversary, as well as the fact that it is currently in one of its most prosperous periods.

A variety of activities filled the mall on Saturday, demonstrating the appreciation and use of the large central meeting space.

A flower show with 14 unique entries raised money for the mall to buy a Wii video game console for children in the mall to play.

Ann Flathers won the "best in show" $10 award with her colorful bush rose, but she returned the prize to the funds being raised.

Havre's Girl Scouts also had a good weekend, as they "made some nice money, " according to mall spokeswoman Faye James, selling pies by the slice or whole.

The weekend also saw the beginning of another fundraiser, selling raffle tickets for a golf basket, which will be drawn during an event during Havre Festival Days with visiting pipers.

The legacy of the building isn't the only point worth celebrating. Only one of the buildings 29 storefronts is empty.

"This is the fullest it's been since around 1980, " Dave Shaw, the mall's owner said.

Looking more to the future than the past, Shaw has a few ideas for some of the "nooks and crannies" as well as some big upkeep projects, including, Shaw hopes, a new insulated roof this fall.

"There's just a lot of fixing that needs to be done, " Shaw said. "I'm too busy paying my power bill to do anything. "