Community comes together for holiday festivities

Members of the Havre community congregated around the Town Square area to participate in several Christmas and winter-themed activities Saturday.

People began the day, after raising pledges for Special Olympics Montana, by braving the frigid temperatures and diving into icy waters as part of the SubZero SuperHero Polar Plunge.

Two members of the local Hill County Search and Rescue, Perry Atchison and Derek Eldridge, were on hand and in the water to assist anyone who was having difficulty getting out of the water.

They were also testing out new suits that have three layers as opposed to the single-layer suit that the Havre Fire Department uses, Atchison said. He added that the additional layers allow them to change buoyancy as well.

Atchison said he was impressed with the turnout for the Polar Plunge.

For Eldridge, the event hit close to home.

"Special Olympics is something for me that's very near and dear basically," he said. "My brother's been an athlete in Special Olympics for about 20 or 25 years probably. So it's nice to be able to give back to the community and give back to something that I've been involved in since I was a little kid."

Eldridge has been with the Search and Rescue for three years and Atchison has been there for two years following his time in the U.S. Navy and working in the city. Both of them added that if anyone is interested in Search and Rescue, they meet every third Wednesday in the courtroom of the Hill County Detention Center. It is open to anyone 18 and over.

"It's becoming one of those things that's kind of lost," Eldridge said. "People don't really think about Search and Rescue, but there is a huge need for it. Especially in this area. People hunt, people fish, people could be going out in a tractor and get stuck somewhere having to walk and get turned around and get lost. That's what you call us for. We're not just traffic control. We put ourselves and our bodies and our lives on the line to help out another person."

People interested can visit https://www.hcsar.org or visit the Hill County Search and Rescue Facebook page for more information.

Following the Polar Plunge, people dressed up in their best Santa, Mrs. Claus, elf or even reindeer outfits and ran the mile-long course up Third Avenue for the Santa Run.

By the time the race started there was a slight drizzle in the air. Red and blue flashes of light from law enforcement vehicles blocking off streets lit a path for the runners. Chamber members stood at the start/finish line using their phones as stopwatches.

A few minutes later, a lone runner came sprinting toward the finish. The small crowd that gathered began cheering as he got closer and closer.

The first-place finisher was Montana State University-Northern cross country runner Luke Karnauskas.

Karnauskas said he had never done a Santa Run before, but signed up for this event because his coach, Chad Spangler, mentioned the race to him and his mother recommended it to him.

"It's nice to see people get into Christmas," he said.

He added that if the weather was good next year and "not in negative numbers," he would do it again, but that he would "definitely wear gloves next time."

Several other runners came in shortly after Karnauskas including Mattiah Gray and her son Landon. She was dressed as Mrs. Claus complete with a white wig.

"I love Christmas," she said. "I love the lights. I love the snow. I obviously love running in the snow."

Landon said he signed up along with his mom to try and beat her.

Mattiah won an award later on for her costume and Landon won as well for fastest youth to finish the Santa Run.

Hilary Riggen ran the event as well with her three sisters and five kids. It was her first year running the race.

"We were all in town and thought it would be fun," she said about her reason to sign up.

She added she would do it again next year depending on the weather and who was in town for her family.

Shane and Megan Boyle, father and daughter, ran the race together.

"It's awesome and I hurt," she said.

The two had never done it before and Shane said they signed up because Megan did cross country this year.

Megan Boyle also cheered on her brother, Bill, as he ran across the finish line and joined his father and sister.

The runners and their supporters made their way from the finish line on Third Avenue to Town Square where a crowd began to gather to watch the Tree Lighting ceremony. Groups of people were huddled around barrels with fires going inside them, trying to stay warm.

Santa and Mrs. Claus led people to the square after they had cookies and milk with children in the Havre Eagles club, where more than 100 children and their parents circled around Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Havre Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Kim Cripps said that, in the past, the Ambassadors held a Lunch with Santa event, but this year they wanted to change it up.

"We like to give back to the community," Cripps said, "say, 'Thank you.'"

She added that all of the items at the event were donated.

Each child received a ticket for a drawing at the tree lighting ceremony as well as a book and candy cane, which were provided by the ambassadors, Cripps said.

Martin Holt, better known that night as Santa, and Ms. Claus, Angela Murri, sat and read "The Night Before Christmas" to the children, showing them the pictures on every page as the children sat and listened.

Amy Brown and her son Brooks, 3, said that they were very happy with the event and would do it again.

Brooks said he was very excited for Christmas and he enjoyed the pink, sprinkle cookies.

Amy Brown said it was very cool seeing Santa and they were excited to see the tree lit.

The Cookies and Milk event was sponsored by Havre Hi-Line Realty, Infinity Bake Shoppe and the Havre Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 166.

Once they got to Town Square, Santa and Mrs. Claus began announcing the first-place finishers for the Santa Run along with best-dressed and other awards.

Santa then began a countdown for the tree lighting and the crowd cheered when the lights on the tree came on.

Members of the Havre High School choir sang Christmas songs as the crowd took photos of the tree and mingled.

Alexis Squires said she likes the tree-lighting ceremony because "It brings everyone together."

Erin Olson and her family were standing just a few feet away from where Santa and Mrs. Claus were speaking. She said her family comes every year.

"I think it just starts the whole Christmas season in Havre," she added. "All the community comes together and we celebrate together. It's just awesome."

Her daughter Heydon added "I like that it gets you in the Christmas spirit."

Erin's son Tucker said he likes seeing the lights on the tree because "it looks really cool."

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Havre Daily News reporter Derek Hann contributed to this story.