If you don't know, July 14 is Helena's 160th birthday. She, the Queen City, began in 1864. Helena, as any queen would, has kept her beauty and beautiful pieces: Mount Helena, the Fire Tower, the religious buildings, its store buildings, houses for the rich, and houses for the poor, and .
.. its crooked streets.
Two of her best assets, Mount Helena and Ten Mile Creek, provided lumber and water in the beginning. Today, the two give us hiking, viewing, hot pools, and drinking water. Where would we be without them? To celebrate Helena's birthday, I reminisce about events I would like to have experienced in person.
To achieve this, I'll take a fictional trip back and bring along my friends (from a long time ago in junior high school) Ricky, Dennis, and Bryce. The events we will witness should be shared between friends. ■ 1892 We, the gang, hop on the trolley in East Helena and ride into the city, past the Montana Central Depot, later the Great Northern (now the Federal Reserve Bank), then on Knight Street, into Kenwood (Kessler School) and then to the Broadwater Plunge, (Williams Street and Highway 12).
We spend the entire day between the Plunge going swimming, and Central Park (now Green Meadow Country Club), playing baseball and getting food at the pavilion. Much, much later in October 1935 the earthquake puts the plunge out of commission. My friends and I are the last to leave, (we are still 13 year olds,) as the life guard, Ken, 'Knuck,' Morrison locks the doors.
He was the l.
