Havre Nice Day: Life's a funny little thing

Life’s a funny thing sometimes. Sometimes it’s good, others it’s bad and at times it pulls you in several directions at once. Six years ago, while driving across the country, I passed through a small town way up in northern Montana, driving from Missoula to Washington, D.C., to see some old friends.

The small town that I passed through was Havre. 

I remember very little of Havre; mostly I remember passing by the train yard and thinking of old rail bums with unshaven faces and small packs slung over their shoulder. Rail bums who rode those lines in the aftermath of World War II and became, in their own way, an icon of chasing the American Dream. And that’s what I remember, how the town made me feel like somehow I had time traveled to that time to early America, chasing the American Dream.

Back then I didn’t know what I was chasing, mostly just rambling through, town to town, not really ever thinking of settling down, and at the time I passed through Havre I had no idea it was going to be the place I later called home.

In many ways Havre became like the town of Spectre from the movie “Big Fish.” Six years, ago when I was passing on through, I arrived at the place where I was supposed to be but just a bit too early.

Years later, after I lived in Missoula for about a year, pouring concrete and working other odd jobs to make ends meet, I decided to move to Havre to attend Montana State University-Northern to become a welder.

When I first arrived in the town I had completely forgotten that I had passed through it years before, but I knew something was eerily familiar about the place, it was not until a few years after living in the town it struck me it was the town I had been in years before.

While attending Northern, I met my wife and life happened. Dropped out of college, got a job with a local contractor here in town, had a kid and bought a house. And I thought that was pretty much it, but little did I know there was more to come.

Before my wife and I moved into our home, we were living in a one-bedroom, upstairs apartment, which was fine for the two of us but was nowhere nearly big enough for us and the baby. But while we lived in that apartment I started writing again, mostly poetry, a few short-stories here and there, stuff like that. I had been submitting my works to several different magazines and other publications. Rejection after rejection came back until one email I received telling me a east-coast publisher wanted to publish a collection of my poetry. 

Suddenly, I was a published poet. I quit my job so I could go on a book tour, which either was or wasn’t successful depending on who you talk to and what your ideas of success are. I personally felt it was a success, but the money was not there, and I came back to Havre after being on the road and started looking for a new job. I didn’t want to go back to contracting work, I wanted to try to be a professional writer still and somehow make enough money to provide for my family.

So I went to Havre Job Service Center, where I saw that The Havre Daily News had an opening. I applied, but didn’t really know if I would get the job. I was hoping to because, first off, there were not a lot of jobs available at the time, and, second, we still had to make ends meet.

The editor for the paper, Tim Leeds, gave me a shot, gave me an opportunity to be a journalist and gave me my first assignment. So there I was, ready to work. It was a hard adjusting to the new career, before The Havre Daily News I had only ever worked manual labor jobs. But it was thanks to the staff at the paper, including Pam Burke, who helped me get my legs for journalism. 

It was also thanks to my time at the paper I gained a deep appreciation for the city of Havre. The more and more I worked at the paper, the more and more I learned about the town and why people seemed to like living here. I met a lot of wonderful people while working at the paper and they helped spread their love of Havre. The town still has a long way to go but there are people who are working hard every day to make it better. There are also a lot of people who work hard every day to make ends meet. 

Growing up in D.C., there were a lot of poor areas in the community, a lot of hard working people who struggled every day to put food on their tables for their families. But over in the big city, people are not nearly as friendly, kind or giving as a community as the people in Havre, a great example are the community dinners for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

The longer I worked at the paper, the more I wanted to get involved with the community, but the trouble was, because I worked at the paper, I couldn’t, for professional reasons, be a involved in the community. 

But life is a funny thing sometimes and a few months ago I was offered the opportunity to take over one of the local businesses in Havre. Although I loved working at the paper, it is the opportunity of a lifetime and gives me the ability to contribute more to the community I feel like is home.

From a street bum to a reporter, now a business owner, all within six years. No where else, I believe, except for Havre would that have been possible, and I am greatly appreciative of that.

One day I may come back to The Havre Daily News, returning to my job as a news reporter, but at this time it is time for a new chapter for me and my family. I appreciate everything The Havre Daily News was able to teach me, and I appreciate all the people who I have had the pleasure to work with and meet because of the paper.

See you all on the other side.

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Derek Hann is a former reporter for The Havre Daily News, transitioning to being a Havre business owner.