Hi-Line Living: Great turnout for Living History Day

The Havre-area history over the past 2,000 years was brought to life for the public Saturday during the annual Living History Day.

People could stop at Wahkpa Chu'gn Buffalo Jump and learn about how Native American's hunted and prepared food.

They could, stop at Fort Assinniboine and see how soldiers lived during the Indian Wars of the late 1800s.

Havre Beneath the Streets was open so people could get a taste of city life in turn-of-the century Havre.

Volunteers from throughout the community were on hand to play the parts of some of the city's residents from the early 1900s.

And the old Mathews home on 3rd Street showed the life of a well-known family in the early 1900s. Museum owner Emily Mayer is in the early stages of making a museum house out of the home that was built in 1898.

Antique tractors were on display along with many other kinds of antique items at the Great Northern Fair for the annual North Central Montana Everything Antique Show.

All of this was part of Havre's effort to show off its historical attractions.

It apparently was successful.

At Havre Beneath the Streets, 286 people showed up to take the tour, said Christy Owens, the office manager.

That is more than usually come on a Saturday and more than showed up last year on Living History Day, she said.

Owens said the number of local residents who toured Havre Beneath the Streets was higher than usual. And the discounted rates and the added attractions offered during Living History was a special treat to out-of-towners who happened by.

"We were happy to get the kind of community support we got," she said.

Representatives of other groups holding Living History Day activities also reported an uptick in the number of visitors.

Organizers at tourist venues in Havre see the day as an effort to convince both local residents and people from out of town of the benefits of the area's historical attractions.

If area residents go to Living History and enjoy it, they are more likely to bring out-of-town guests when they are in town, or they are more likely to talk about the attractions when they see tourists on the street.

Organizers say they want to make next year's Living History bigger and even better.