Letter to the Editor - Spanish is not something new in Havre

Dear editor,

It appears time has come for a little history lesson on Montana, a state whose name is rooted in the Spanish language, as its state motto: Oro y plata.

When I was a child, Spanish was a prevalent language spoken on the Hi-Line, particularly in Blaine County, as many working the sugar beet fields were farm laborers from Mexico.

One of the principle characters in Ernest Hemingway’s famous short story, “The Gambler, the Nun and the Radio,” is a Mexican. The story set, ostensibly, in Billings, is subject to an equally clear interpretation that could include the Townhouse Cafe, Sacred Heart Hospital, and the dusty, weed-covered hill just south of the hospital and Pepin Park, as well as the area’s sugar beet fields.

Spanish wasn’t the only language other than English on the lips of many people in the area in the ’50s. Italian, Hungarian, German, Japanese, Chinese, Cree, Ojibway, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Metis French and many more languages were spoken in older Havre households, primarily in the east end.

I still have acquaintances who speak Spanish as either a first or second language.

To hear anyone say that Spanish is not a language of Montana is a cue that the speaker doesn’t know Montana and its historic diversity very well.

Alan Sorensen

Havre