Hi-Line Living: Bringing history to life

Saturday, Havre celebrated Living History, with many locations offering tours and activities for community members and tourists of all ages.

Volunteers made the day and history come alive from a time that can only be found in history books.

The events included activities at Havre Beneath the Streets, High Line Heritage House, the H. Earl Clark Memorial Museum, Fort Assinniboine and Wahkpa Chu'gn Buffalo Jump as well as a few others.

The North Central Montana Everything Antique Show was held at the Great Northern Fairgrounds Friday through Sunday in conjunction with Living History.

Havre Beneath the Streets was first open for tours in 1994 but the "underground mall," tunnels and rooms beneath the streets, date back to the 1890s. For Living History, re-enactment actors brought new life in these historic rooms, giving people who went on the tours the feeling they stepped back in time. With the Living History event, children were given a penny in every room and the money they could later use to buy penny candy at the end of the tour.

The first room on the tour was the office of Havre Attorney Max P. Kuhr, portrayed by Jake Strissel. Kuhr was a Chinook High School graduate in the year 1909 and was a World War I veteran. The room was a recreation of his original office, with most of the legal books and furniture that once belonged to Kuhr. Strissel, who has been a re-enactment actor for Living History for four years, and Allysa Willis, the re-enactment actress of two years playing a widower for the Holland & Bonnie Mortuary room, said to prepare for the event they receive a study guide and have to read up on the background stories for the characters they are portraying.

Willis added that she loves re-enactments.

Strissel said that he enjoys the community pride and giving the community and tourists the chance to look back into Havre's unique history.

Abby Boyce, a first-year volunteer, and Willie LaSmith, a fourth-year volunteer, were the re-enactment actresses for the Gourley Brothers Bakery, located was part of the original space for the store more than 100 years ago. A large portion of the location is under remodeling and unavailable for tours. Boyce and LaSmith agreed that their favorite part of volunteering was the incredible history that was hidden beneath the streets.

A popular room in the Beneath the Streets tour is the Bordello room, which, before becoming a Bordello was a Chinese safe house. From 1904 to 1940 the Bordello was owned and operated by Havre historic figure - and philanthropist - Chris "Shorty" Young. Young was also one of the very few who put away a small portion of money for when the girls had finished their careers in the Bordello, provided that they lived that long, said Jeri Hannah, a volunteer and a re-enactment actress for the past 10 years.

She added that the location of the Bordello is original and still has the numbers posted over some of the beds that still remain. This was done in conjunction with a hotel, which had a tunnel leading from the hotel to the underground Bordello. Customers would order which woman they wanted by the number over the bed, with a total of 27 beds at the time.

The other re-enactment actress for the Bordello was Brittany Bonner, who has been a volunteer for three years.

Bonner and Hannah said that an interesting addition to the Bordello room is that it is believed to be haunted and has been investigated and written about in recent years.

The High Line Heritage House was another location holding events for Living History, offering tours of the second-oldest standing house in Havre. Emily Mayer, owner of the house, has been remodeling it for the past several years and has hopes to eventually turn it into a historical bed and breakfast.

The house was originally owned and lived in by the Mathews family and their two servants, Mary Daniels and Paul Tayimo. Tayimo was one of 1,500 Japanese immigrants living in Montana in 1910. He eventually went on to be an Episcopal minister - even translating a wedding ceremony later on for a Japanese couple in the state, Mayer said.

The Mathews had six children who lived in the house, as well, in addition to the borders and co-workers who came and went over the years, Mayer said.

The property also had a small living quarter in the backyard for borders, as well, with the last of them, Bill Widdikind, living there for 30 years moving out in 1960.

The house was originally built in 1898, with a coal boiler and no indoor plumbing. The house at the time of its construction was heavily influenced by elements from overseas, Mayer said.

Once the steam plant came to Hill County, the house was converted to steam heating. Later a bedroom was converted into a bathroom once plumbing was able to be installed. The house also had no electricity untill 1904, Mayer said.

Mayer has also filled the house with many antiques from close to the time period in which the Mathews had lived.

Catherine Mathews died in 1915 and John Mathews re-married. He died in 1925 during his candidacy for Hill County Assessor, Mayer added.

Since the Mathews family eventually moved out, many other families have lived in the house before finally being bought by Mayer in 1997. She has owned it ever since.

Mayer was unable to lead tours Saturday due to other obligations in other locations for Living History, one of which was the Wahkpa Chu'gn Buffalo Jump that had 53 people take tours, she said.

In addition to the Beneath the Street and the Heritage House other events were held such as at the H. Earl Clark Museum, which had a free hands-on-history event from 1 to 3 p.m. Volunteers taught children to make old-fashioned toys such as yarn puppets, hand puppets, stick horses and more.

Fort Assinnibone also held tours and cannon fire blasts every hour. At 4 p.m. The fort also hosted an old-time dance with a dinner and a no-host bar.