From the Fringe … Spring has sprung, and it's about time

There really is nothing like the end of winter in Havre and on the Hi-Line. Sure, it can, and will still snow, and it will still get cold up there from time to time. But anyone who lives, or has lived, in Havre can attest that the return of spring just means more to us then it does to many people across the country.

It means more because winter’s, mild or rough, are long and exhausting in Havre, and in most of Montana. And when you finally see that light at the end of the tunnel, it’s such a great feeling.

Those of us who love the outdoors, and sports that are held outdoors, feel it even more.

Havre High spring sports are underway, and they were a major part of my life for so long. Each and every spring I was the head coach of the tennis teams at Havre, it was just the best feeling in the world when spring would officially arrive, no matter how bad the weather would get after that.

Yes, in Havre, you learn to make concessions. You know the weather will still suck from time to time in the spring, but you also know it finally won’t last.

Loving the return of spring also means, for many, returning to the outdoors.

It would mean for me, and so many of us in the area, the return to the golf course.

Now living in a completely different climate, I’ve already gotten spoiled, having played golf more than 10 times this past winter. And I’ve told many people I golf with that, that’s just not possible in Montana. Golf is a seasonal sport in Montana, and when it’s over in the fall, it doesn’t come back until spring returns for good. That’s golf in much of Montana, and that’s why I loved spring so much.

The same can be said for getting back to our favorite things to do outdoors like hiking, fishing, floating, boating and more. Montanans are very outdoor oriented, and that’s just not something we get to enjoy much in the winter, if at all.

I never took that fact for granted in my years in Havre. Once I got addicted to hiking in Glacier and Yellowstone national parks, I started to look forward to springs even more because, in those places, the hiking season is so short, and it comes and goes so fast.

Yes, if you love outdoor recreation in Havre, it’s a short, short season to enjoy it.

Baseball is no different. And that’s one of the many reasons I was opposed to Montana adding high school baseball. No matter how much alll of us wish it was different, baseball is not a March sport in Montana. It just isn’t. That fact is also what makes American Legion Baseball in Montana in the summer so special, and so important to so many.

But, whether it’s hiking, or baseball, or tennis and golf, or just going out to Beaver Creek Park to spend the weekend, with how brutally long the winters are in Havre, even the mild winters, we just appreciate the return of spring more than most. 

I know I did. And I honestly kind of miss seeing the return of spring in Montana, if only a little.