September 4, 2004
Great Falls residents, serving as alternate delegates to the RNC, visit New York City and notice some differences between Montana and New York. Heh.
The reaction was only natural, given that it was 80 degrees in Brooklyn and that the Hasidic population of Great Falls, Mont., is exactly zero.
And while there may not be any Hasidic Jews in Great Falls, there are approximately 800 Jewish people in Montana (source).
6 responses to "Oy Vey!"
Oy!
Thanks for the “old neighborhood” link, David. And yes, when I was craving a bialy a couple of years ago – I found a recipe & baked my own…
Here in Kalispell, we have no temples, so you actually have to bring Rabbis in or go to Spokane. How sad. Yet we have a Morman temple.
Let’s face it, Jen. There are way more than 800 Mormons in Montana. (I am not one.) They have spent the money and more importantly the time to make their presence known in almost all communities across the country, especially in the western US. They also have sent missionaries to a large part of thw whole world. They are committed to spreading their message.
Yes, I do not think that it is sad. I think that it is a matter of supply and demand, and financial feasibility. Montana has a long history (well, not that long) of folks having to travel far – whether for finding food, a spouse, education, and just about everything else. If you have just a handful of people – any religion – who would like to practice their beliefs – often they cannot afford to have a congregation, church building and pay for a pastor, priest, rebbe, etc…
Many communities in this area share their pastors and priests between Wyoming & Montana – not unlike the late 1800’s & early 1900’s.
However, you can probably find at least one realtor and one lawyer in even the tiniest towns…
and I meant to add, it’s also a matter of priorities…
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