The
Nontana Historical Society convenes
With their rallying
call to order, "We just got here!",
the members of the Nontana Historical Society held their first monthly
meeting on June 27 in the parking lot of Martin's Cafe. Unable to book
any of the usual Livingston venues because of their outsider status,
this intrepid group of newcomers braved the brisk summer evening to
gather and celebrate their family histories.
Map: 
Leading off an evening
that celebrated legacies and
lineage, Ms.
Latte LeSaab, recently of California and president of the
NHS, reminded her audience: "We are people, too!"
Interrupted only by a skirmish
in the parking lot with a gang of
aggressive 8th generation Montanans, the evening progressed with oral
histories and slide shows. Photos
of ancestral Nontanans at play were shown as part of the evening's
activities.
| Above:
As is typical of many ancestors who were not born here, these Nontanans
are
playing croquet. |
Right:
A typical
Nontanan Homestead. Some native Montanans are
fighting hard to make homes just like these available to all, right
here in Paradise Valley.
|
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Verbal
terrorist detained at BZN
On June 24 Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) personnel detained a Livingston woman as she made
her way through the security checkpoint at the Bozeman-Gallatin Field
Airport. The woman is on the list of "known or suspected" verbal
terrorists maintained by the FBI office in Billings. Under the Patriot
Act, the FBI monitors Americans with SAT verbal scores of 650 or
higher. Officers seized
two fountain pens, a journal, a notebook, excerpts from the Livingston Enterprise Opinions
page, and an issue of the New Yorker
magazine from her
carry-on bag and took her
to Billings for further questioning.
Former
Livingston resident injured in blast
North Korea
detonated a large nuclear device over New Mexico today. Injured
in the blast was former Livingston resident John Smith. Smith relocated
to Yuma, Arizona in 1989 and was in the basement of his home when the
blast occurred.
The former Livingston resident was not badly harmed, although he said
he will miss Phoenix as well as his annual Fall hunting trips to New
Mexico. Smith was
born and raised in Choteau and resided in Livingston from February to
March 1989.
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The
Maine thing
Governor Brian Schweitzer kicked off the
Montana Department of Commerce's new tourism campaign on Saturday, June
25.
Sporting classic Nor'easter garb,
Schweitzer launched a promotion
designed to lure tourists away from the stern and rockbound coast of
New England to Montana.
Governor Schweitzer announced the new
state slogan, "Montana:
The Other Maine," at a giant lobster feed for the press.
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FEMA
declares state of emergency in Montana
The
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declared a state of
emergency for large parts of Montana today. Michael D. Brown, Undersecretary of
Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response said that
"irony levels have been dangerously low in Montana for some time" but
no one expected the recent and dramatic dive that has plunged the state
into near catatonia.
"You can only go so long
without the bon
mot, the cynical and yet
clever turn of phrase, the heightened sense that very little should be
taken seriously," said FEMA's Montana coordinator. "Irony levels were
up from the average this winter, but have recently
plunged again."
Livingston is an area that
has been especially hard hit. In
the Billings area traffic was backed up for hours as motorists nodded
off during the evening commute.
FEMA is implementing a recovery plan and
expects
to have several busloads of Californians and New Yorkers in the state
in the next few
days. President Bush was eager to visit the state, a reflection of his
deep
fondness for irony-free zones.
Yellowstone
tourist shot
A tourist with influenza type A wandered
away
from his campsite in Yellowstone National Park sometime on the night of
July 2 and crossed the border into Montana. Rangers speculate that the
man's fever disoriented him and that he could not tell the Park
boundary. Influenza type A is very contagious and can affect both
humans and animals. After testing the man,
Montana Fish and Wildlife shot him. This kill brings the total number
of Yellowstone tourists who have been euthanized since 1995 to 43, but
authorities believe the herd size remains viable.
Scuffle
at Martin's ends
peacefully
Police
were called in the early evening of June 27 to break up a scuffle
between
members of the Nontana Historical Society (NHS) and the Park County
Historical Society (PCHS) in the parking lot at Martin's Cafe. A group
of 5 octogenarians from the PCHS arrived during the family history and
video portion of the NHS event and began heckling the presenters,
according to one observer. An eighty-seven year-old was alleged to be
the first into the fracas. Sporting a tee
shirt that read "Born Here to Be Wild,"
he swung his walker at Latte LeSaab, president of the NHS before
onlookers grabbed him by the suspenders and calmed him down. The
gang of 5 was questioned and released.
Unidentified member of the Park County Historical Society
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