A Little Town On The Prairie

A Little Town On The Prairie

I was born and raised in a large metro area. I had read about life in small towns in distant places but never had the desire to live there. The advantages of big city life blinded me to reality on a smaller scale. And so another adventure begins.

On a map, Havre, Montana is located on U.S. Highway 2 as you head west toward Glacier National Park. It is approximately 45 miles south of the Canadian border and sits almost dead center between the North Dakota and Idaho state line. You can get there by road, rail and sometimes by air. Target, Sam’s Warehouse and Costco are a good drive away. However you can shop Kmart, Wal-Mart and Cavalier’s Men and Boys right in town.

The town’s original name was Bullhook Bottoms. Later it was given a more respectable name, Havre, after the French city Le Havre, France. The town grew as the Great Northern Railroad built a service and repair shop there. It was an ideal location situated halfway between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Seattle. A statue of James J. Hill, the founder of the Great Northern, stands in front of the Amtrak station in the center of town.

I write this to give background to the town Judy and I moved to with our kids in the late ‘80’s to start a church. After living in a rental for the first year, we bought a home and settled into small town life. Havre became home and its people became our friends. Our kids grew up in a nice neighborhood and attended good schools. Looking back, we have many fond memories of this little town on the prairie.

If you ever get a chance to visit Glacier Park, make sure you stop by Havre. It is a welcome oasis on the vast expanse of northern Montana. When you do stop by, make sure you say hi to our friends and the Ark Church. Havre may not be a big city but it has a big heart. Havre has it!