George Ferguson Column: Wells was a Havre fan like no other

In life, it seems as though you only get to know a few people who really touch you. Who really have an impact on you as a person. Family, spouses, friends, your children, those relationships that really impact us all are rare.

I feel lucky to have many of those kinds of relationships in my life. And in the friend’s category, this is a sad time for me, as I’m sure it was for so many of us who knew Wells Lamey, who passed away Sunday. And I know there are many of you out there, because, I haven’t known very many people in my lifetime who knew as many people as Wells did.

Then again, I haven’t met very many people in my lifetime who were like Wells Lamey anyway.

Yes, the Wells I knew so well, was many, many things to many people, and one of those things was being perhaps the biggest supporter of athletics in Havre that I’ve ever known. That’s the Wells I knew best — the fan, the person who absolutely loved local sports, and who enjoyed watching them so much.

For myself, I first got to know Wells when I first started playing golf many years ago at Beaver Creek Golf Course. And later, from playing fastpitch softball in my younger days at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Softball Field. I was told, that Wells was quite the softball player himself — and not surprisingly, a great athlete in his own right. The more I got to know Wells over the years, it didn’t surprise me that he was a great athlete because he was so knowledgeable in every single sport we ever discussed.

In my earliest days of knowing Wells, I also knew that he was a passionate fan of Havre High and Montana State University-Northern sports, as well as the Montana Grizzlies. But, it wasn’t until I started working at the Havre Daily News, and coaching Havre High tennis that I really understood just how dedicated Wells was to sports in our area, and how important those sports were to him.

As it pertains to my being a sports writer, I could have easily employed Wells to help me cover Havre, Northern and Hi-Line sports during the busy seasons because Wells was always there. No, I don’t just mean a football game Friday and a basketball game Saturday night. No, Wells would somehow manage to go to a Blue Pony football game Friday night, a Blue Pony volleyball game Saturday afternoon, probably somehow get to a Chinook football game on the same day, and be in the Armory Gymnasium Saturday night for a volleyball or basketball game, too.

You might think I’m kidding, but I’m really not. Many of us who knew Wells can attest, you would literally see him in the stands at every single sporting event on the Havre calendar on a given weekend, and you would wonder, how the heck does he do that?

I get paid to watch sports in Havre and the surrounding areas, and I’m quite certain that in my 14 years now at the HDN, Wells saw more games than I did. He just loved sports here that much.

To Wells, sports means sports. We’re not just talking football or basketball here. Wells cared about all Havre athletics and athletes, and I learned that first hand in my first year as the tennis coach at HHS.

Blue Pony tennis has just one home meet each season, the Havre Invitational. And my first Havre Invitational as head coach was a hectic one, as it was my first time running a tournament. Amidst all the chaos of that long day nearly 15 years ago, I got a really welcome surprise — a visit from Wells Lamey. Just like every other Blue Pony sport, Wells was there to watch Havre kids play and compete, and support them. And during his stay at the Havre Invite, we talked tennis, he knew the kids, knew what they had done the previous season, and he was genuinely excited to watch our Blue Pony teams play. That day really touched me, and told me everything I needed to know about Wells. From then on, I can’t remember him not stopping by for at least a portion of our tennis tournament each and every spring. Looking back, I wish I had gotten the chance to tell Wells how much that meant to me. I guess I’m telling him now.

Yes, sports was the bond that Wells and I shared, and I know I’m not alone in that. I have so many fond memories of listening to Wells talk about sports because he was Havre’s sport’s almanac. If I ever needed to know anything about past Blue Pony or Northern sports, things that happened before my time, I didn’t go to the Internet or to the library, I called Wells. And I can’t remember a single time that he didn’t have the answer to my question. Again, Wells knew just about everything when it comes to Havre sports, and he knew just about everyone that played them it seems.

One other thing that made me gravitate to Wells was his love of Montana Grizzly football. I will have many memories of Wells stopping in to the Havre Daily, and we would talk Grizzly football, spring, summer or during the season, it didn’t matter. It always made me feel good, too, because Grizzly football was one of the few things Wells asked me about. He made me feel like the authority on that subject, and that always made me feel good. It was an honor to have Wells come and specifically ask me about the Griz.

Wells and I shared a plane ride to the 2001 FCS national championship game, where the Grizzlies beat Furman for the national title. Normally, I’m scared of flying — and I am not afraid to admit it. But, on that charter, where you were allowed to pick your seats, Wells and I sat together, and he basically told me the entire history of Grizzly football on the way down, and it was the only time I’ve ever felt totally comfortable on a plane ride. Listening to him talk, never has a four-hour plane ride went so fast. Yes, going to Chattanooga with Wells is another memory I’ll always cherish.

Through sports, through golf and softball and American Legion baseball, and Blue Pony and Northern athletics, and Chinook and on and on, I am so glad I had the opportunity to know and forge a lasting friendship with Wells Lamey, and I know so many of you out there have those same kinds of experiences and memories that I have with Wells. In fact, because of our love of local sports, there are so many memories I will cherish with Wells that I couldn’t possibly list them all here. Again, that’s because Wells was iconic when it came to sports in this town, and this area, and even this state. And just like he loved to do, now, when I talk about sports in Havre, and in particular, sports fans and supporters of our athletes, I doubt I’ll ever have a conversation that doesn’t include the name Wells Lamey, who I’m so proud to have called my friend.

As I mentioned above, Wells absolutely loved to watch our local sports teams, and it was absolutely amazing to me just how much ground he could cover watching sports in a given weekend. Well, now and forever, when I’m at any game, whether its Pony football or Northern wrestling, or this weekend’s state championship game in Chinook, I’m going to think of Wells because I know he’ll be watching.

From high above, Wells, you have the best seat in the house. Now you’ll be able to watch every Havre sport from start to finish. Meanwhile, down here, while the games you loved to watch so much will go on, while the sports you loved to support so much will continue, you’ll be missed my friend. You’ll be missed by this community, by your family, your friends, and all your loved ones. Wells, you’ll be missed by me.