Big Sky Blog

Never imagined the escaped Arizona convicts would wind up in Montana: MT residents discuss sighting of alleged AZ fugitive

Adam Richman of “Man versus Food” stopped in Butte recently to attempt the Jumboli Stromboli. Any other MT locations he should visit?

Bozeman school using Facebook to try to win $500K.

Billings prepares to host John Mellencamp and Bob Dylan.

Grizzly bears spotted near Brady.

From KXLF in Butte comes a story about the “Jumboli Stromboli” – an 80-ounce monster at Trimbo’s in Butte.

It’s a challenge worthy of the Travel Channel’s “Man Vs. Food” – a five-pound Jumboli Stromboli from Trimbo’s Pizza in Butte. It’s been around for two years and so far, no one has ever finished eating one, but three guys gave it a try Wednesday night.
The rules of the Jumboli Stromboli: one person must consume the entire stromboli in one hour, and competitors are not allowed to leave the table, but they can get up and stretch.

What other Montana restaurants offer up challenges that are worthy of “Man Vs Food?”

Since arriving in Montana, I have been fascinated with Butte – literally rich in history and character, from the days of being the “richest hill on earth,” the battle of the Copper Kings, to the home of legendary daredevil Evel Knievel, and so much more.

So it was amazing to learn that one of Montana’s most famous figures, and one of the figures critical to the history of Butte, William Clark – one of our first U.S. senators, one of the original “Copper Kings,” and perhaps the most famous/notorious personality in our state’s history – has one surviving descendant: Huguette Clark, his daughter. She is now 103 years old. The saga of the Clark family, notably throughout the 20th century, is told in this photo essay on MSNBC.com. Quite an amazing story, and lots of pictures of the Clarks and their real estate.

This is horrible: a plane has crashed in Butte, killing 17 people according to initial reports. First the Bozeman explosion, then the Whitehall fire, and now this…check out KXLF for the latest news.

UPDATE: 14 people – including 7 children – have died in the crash. And in some unusual naming coincidences: the Napa Valley Register reported on its Web site late Sunday that a family of five from St. Helena, California, was among the victims. And the town of Oroville, where the plane departed from before crashing in Butte, is located in Butte County, California. Weird.

Until I moved to Montana, I had no idea that the town of Butte had such a wild and storied history. I also didn’t know that it was world-famous for the annual Saint Patrick’s Day celebration(s). Turns out that Butte has a large population of Irish descendants, and there are several Irish pubs to keep the spirit of St Patty’s Day alive & well all year long. It’s even been said that Butte is Ireland’s “Fifth Province,” so to speak:

Butte, Montana is the city the Irish would have built if the English had said build a city of your own design and consider money to be no object…(snip)…by 1900 Butte had 12,000 residents of Irish descent in a population of 47,635. A quarter of the population was Irish, a higher percentage than any other American city at the turn of the last century, including Boston.

And check this out: the folks at KXLF are doing a live stream from the legendary M&M Bar in Butte!

This is cool: Tim Montana, a country/rock musician who grew up in & around Butte, will appear on “The Late Show with David Letterman” tonight (Friday, October 17) to perform his song “Butte, America.”

Tim landed the gig on after he met Letterman while he (Letterman) was vacationing at his Choteau ranch.

More Montanans on Letterman: Cold Hard Cash (an awesome Johnny Cash tribute band from Great Falls) will be on Letterman in November. Like Tim Montana, they met Letterman when he was vacationing in Choteau.

Looks like aspiring musicians need to hang out in Choteau if Dave is in town!

Many Montana bloggers were excited about Barack Obama’s visit to Butte, America on Independence Day; here are some of their recollections:

Miss Bonkrood, one of the longest-running Big Sky Bloggers, got to shake his hand, and experienced both joy and disappointment:

Then about 5 minutes or later we realize that he is, in fact, making his way down our side of the street shaking hands and holding babies. Both my camera and my friend’s camera had died by then. Elation + disappointment…I’m so glad we hauled our asses out of bed and went out there and stood in front. What an awesome day. Sunburn: totally worth it.

Another veteran blogger, Patia Stephens, was pretty emotional about seeing Obama:

It was at that moment that I got verklempt — choked up — and tears came to my eyes. Why? I don’t know, exactly. Maybe it is because Obama’s candidacy has given me hope for my country after years of disappointment and sadness. Maybe it’s because I believe he has the potential to restore justice to the United States of America, as well as our reputation in the world.

The Smith family traveled from Great Falls to see Obama in person:

After about 30 minutes at the exit to the museum, (we) spotted a small group of people leaving the museum, walking across the tennis court about 50 yards away. Sure enough it was Barack and what I would assume was a group of Secret Service agents. Everyone that was waiting in the area we were in jumped out of their cars and I took a couple of pictures. Even though we didn’t get to see him in the parade, or very close, it wasn’t a bad trip at all and we got to see Barack.

And Big Sky Cairn tells of visitors from Idaho, and also offers up details about the other politicians that were on hand (click to read it all):

A group of people seated near my family had driven all the way from Post Falls, ID only to find out that morning that Obama would not be riding in the parade…Other than some inconvenience to local residents, businesses and the like, the Obama Fourth of July extravaganza seemed to run smoothly. And my family was able to secure our usually parade viewing spot without incident, so we were happy.

ADDED: Maleesha and her family also got up close & personal with Obama:

So when we told 3 1/2 year old AJ that Rockobama was going to be in Butte’s parade, he jumped up and down like we were going to Chuck E Cheese. Long story short: after 2 hours of cheesy floats, local politicians, line dancers, and the annual Pirate Bus, we all got to shake Mr. Obama’s hand.

By the way – for the record, I am not an Obama supporter. I’m just trying to gather up some first-hand accounts of his visit.
All in all, it sounds like most people got what they wanted out of Obama’s visit. Another big “get” for Montana in a crazy election year!

It’s been confirmed that Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama will be visiting Butte, America on the 4th of July, aka Independence Day. A former Butte resident ponders the excitement, and Big Sky Cairn notes the possible consequences of the ensuing media circus:

…I’m not sure how to feel about Obama’s decision to come to Butte for the 4th. On the one hand, it’s kind of cool. But…there is the real possibility that his presence will ruin the very idyllicism that his campaign is trying to harness. Police officers who would have had the Fourth off, will now be working security. Thousands of out-of-towners will invade the parade route. And journalists of all sizes and stripes will be working Harrison Avenue for B-roll and man on the street interviews. Yes, it is going to be Mansfield-Metcalf part deux.

But the best part of Obama visiting Butte – again! – is summed up by a commenter over at Left In The West: “I’ll bet the butt cheeks of all those liberals in Missoula are clenching, big time.”

County #1 in Montana, according to our license plates, is Butte-Silver Bow. There are about 35,000 people in the 715 square miles, most of them concentrated in the historic mining town of Butte, also known affectionately as “Butte, America.” Butte has a large Irish population, as evidenced by the world-class St Patrick’s Day celebration. Butte is also famous as the birthplace of the greatest American daredevil: Evel Knievel. Also of note is the Berkeley Pit, which functions as both an environmental cause and a tourist attraction. And if there’s a movie with the words “Psycho Sheep” in the title, well…you know it just has to be “Psycho Sheep Of Butte!”

Don’t forget to check out the Google Map of Butte!

Police need your help; information from the GF Tribune:

Anaconda-Deerlodge police are searching for an Anaconda woman who has been missing for two weeks. Detective Bill Sather says 45-year-old Helena Gracia’s sister reported her missing last Saturday.

Her family last saw her on May 23, when she went to the store to get groceries and fill a prescription for her mother. Police say Gracia was last seen later that day with a man at an Anaconda bar. Gracia’s brother, Mike, says the family wasn’t immediately alarmed, because she had talked about going to Missoula to look for a job. However, when calls to her cell phone went unanswered for days, the family called police.

Gracia’s car was found behind the bar last Sunday. The car was locked, the groceries were inside, rotting, and Gracia’s purse and her mother’s medication were also found in the vehicle.

More details are at the Montana Standard. Note that there are different spellings given for her last name, Gracia and Garcia; not sure which is correct. If you have any information about her whereabouts contact your local police or sheriff’s office.