The Schlicht Family: Helena, Montana June 2009

So the last time I was in Helena, that I actually spent some time there, I was there to take my state nursing board test almost 20 years ago. At that time, I was to stressed to EVEN think of taking in the sites of the town. Let me know were Walmart was and I was fine. When Mike and I were in Helena for RaeLynn's graduation the weekend of June 5-7, 2009, we took in some of the sites-more so of the historical area. The picture above, is on top of a hill looking down on the old mining part of town. The buildings are very old and so close together!

The Old Fire Tower, called Guardian of the Gulch, is an official city landmark. This twenty-five foot fire tower was built in 1876 after a huge fire destroyed the downtown area. The octagonal cab was added in 1886 and last used in 1931. The Guardian of the Gulch was manned around the clock to keep watch over the city. If a fire was spotted, the alarm was sounded to alert the town to begin fighting a fire. The Guardian is the last remaining tower of the many that once existed in Helena. In fact it is one of only five of its kind left standing in the United States. On the sign in front of the tower they say it is where the "bucket brigade" would start with any fire in town.

This is a statue in front of the capital building

This is the "official" beginning of "Last Chance Gulch" "just one last chance before we leave" Those are the reported words of a Georgia-born prospector panning for gold in 1864 on Prickly Pear Creek. It was a rich last chance the prospectors found gold in this narrow ravine and the gold rush was on. Last Chance Gulch is now a 3 block pedestrian mall but still has a lot of the old buildings from the 1880's

This stately Queen Anne style mansion has enjoyed both public and private roles in the history of Montana and its capital city. The history of the mansion is as much a history of the people who resided here as it is of a building. Montana's Original Governor's Mansion, built in 1888 by Helena entrepreneur William Chessman as a symbol of his wealth and influence throughout the Helena community. The next two owners, the Larsons and the Conrads, continued the pattern of affluent living. In 1913 the State of Montana acquired this handsome brick mansion as the first official governor's residence for nearly half a century. Between 1913 and 1959, it was home to nine Montana governors and their families.

The Montana Historical Society was established in 1865 and is the largest institution of its size west of the Mississippi River. The Museum collects, preserves, and interprets fine art, historical, archaeological, and ethnological artifacts that pertain to Montana and its adjoining geographic region. Besides caring for the Society's museum collections, program staff conduct research, produce exhibits, sponsor public programs, answer reference requests from the public, and provide technical assistance to other museums and historical societies.

My mother-in-law called this "Paul Bunyan's ox Babe" This metal sculpture is called "herd bull" it is of a buffalo skull which is the favorite trademark of C.M. Russell.

White Buffalo at the museum

OLD popcorn machine

Old slot machine

I like the shadowing of the war bonnet

This flag was one of the flags at the Battle of Little Bighorn

Buffalo family

Looking closely at these moccasins, they were all worn. I love the bead work.

Painting by Charles M. Russell

This drawing was an original done by Charles M. Russell. There is writing on it from him and also of the rancher. The rancher states this what he saw of his cattle during a bad winter. Guess this is a good as any digital picture back in the days.

This is a beaded bag. Both sides of the bag were beaded, but in different designs

back side of the above bag

Outside of the Capital Building, they have the area staked out for when they plant flowers. It will say Montana 2009. I thought it was pretty neat to actually see how they start out.