Disco balls
"Hush of the Land" in Helena
Dear reader,
Time really flies in summer, in particular when you live in Montana. I can’t believe that our “Hush of the Land” storytelling and reading in Helena was already a week ago! I am writing this after getting the kids to school, feeding the horses, working on my new favorite chapter of my next book, and in between getting fun items checked off my Smith river trip to-do-list (we finally got a permit after seven years of trying!), like renting a tent for the girls and getting gift cards for my kids teachers. Eventually all my lists merge into one.
May 30 in Helena, MT. What a wonderful evening to remember. Around 150 people, snuggly fit in a lovingly restored old Lobby at Anchor G. A shy, talented local artist made the most beautiful flower arrangements and signs to welcome people in from the sidewalk at Last Chance Gulch in Helena’s downtown. When we drove up to the venue, Thelma was sure we took the wrong turn. So much had changed since she grew up and last visited Montana’s state capital, she couldn’t orient herself in her old home. The bank on the corner was rebuilt, the saddle shop closed, the ice cream shop where Smoke and her always ended their dates had moved on long ago. In the last newsletter, I wrote about how much change those two have seen in their lifetimes, but this time it seemed like too much, too fast. But when The Lobby quickly filled with familiar faces and new guests, we had some ice cream and cookies (Thank you, Wild Montana for bringing those!), admired the disco balls (!), listened to the music and settled in.
Smoke has to have his cowboy hat on when he tells a story. So he put it on, and took us to Hogback Lookout with a sweeping view of the Helena valley. Watching for wild fires was his first job when I came to Montana in 1954. He left Ohio with some friends the night of their high school graduation in an old car they had fixed up in their garage over the winter. They were so excited, they only stopped on the 1,800 mile drive to change tires or cool down the motor. There was no time for sleep. Smoke’s shop teacher knew a guy at the Forest Service in Helena and got the job on the lookout. His friends weren’t so lucky, they couldn’t find employment and left town before the summer was over. Smoke loved to be a fire lookout. “It was a great place to think,” he likes to say. Sitting up there by himself, gave him time to think about what he wanted to do with this life. Time slowed down. Smoke made up his mind right then and there that Montana would be his new home, and what an important decision that was! Maybe we should all spend a few days a year on a lookout, in the meadow, or river just to be with ourselves and listen what the “Hush of the Land” comes up with.
Thank you Chelsia Rice, owner of the Montana Book Company in Helena for inviting us to come to Helena and share the “Hush of the Land”; special thanks to Mike Korn without who this event might have never happened; the Wild Montana for bringing cookies and snacks; the Last Chance Back Country Horsemen for co-sponsoring and bringing a pack saddle and a perfectly mantied load for the stage; and the lovely crew from the Anchor G for making us feel so welcome in a new place. But most of all, thank you to all of those people who came. You make this journey possible. We hope you can sit by a tree, in a lookout, on a meadow, or by the river this summer to slow down, think, and listen to the “Hush of the Land”.
Auf bald,
Eva
NEWS and upcoming EVENTS
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EVENTS
Paradise, MT, June 19, 6-7pm, Paradise Center
Lincoln, MT, July 27, Sculpture in the Wild
Kalispell, MT, September 3, Flathead Valley Community College, 6-7:30pm (60th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act!)
Seeley Lake, MT, December 6, Community Foundation Bldg, 2pm, hosted by Alpine Artisans
Virtual HUSH OF THE LAND Storytelling & Reading with book signing!
We are currently working on offering a virtual HUSH OF THE LAND Storytelling & Reading with book signing event. Please get in touch (info@evamaggi.com) if you would be interested in having us talk to your community or join your book club via zoom!
You can also find HUSH OF THE LAND on Facebook and Instagram.