Memories

     Kelli and I drove back over to Bozeman for half of our weekend to enjoy spending some time with her parents, we had a great dinner and hung out most of the day Saturday before we each went our separate ways.  We got home yesterday evening and today is planned on being a relaxing, watch it rain, kind of day!  
     I got the paper this morning and there was an article about the homes in our neighborhood which sparked my interest.  Kelli and I often talk about how we would like to pick our little house up and move it to some acreage somewhere as there are areas of our neighborhood which aren't very well kept.  The article talked about when the mill here in Bonner was busy and how the town was once coined as the nations "model company town".  There are several interviews of local residents who still remember their families moving here in the 30's and 40's and they talk of how it was like todays kids going to Disneyland for the first time.  For many of them the house the Anaconda Company provided for them here in Bonner was their first home with indoor plumbing.  They all talk of how the small town was alive with the beautiful colors of fresh flowers on porches and huge shade trees protecting the freshly cut lush green lawns.  Stories are shared of baseball games, dances in the town hall, and frequenting the soda fountain in the post office.
     Today as you drive through Bonner it is very difficult to see what these folks saw many years ago.  Some of the homes have been bought and remodeled to regain a portion of their former glory, others have remained vacant long enough to begin to slowly fall apart.  For someone who did not grow up on this end of the state it is hard for me to imagine what it was like back then.  Articles like this one today help me view the town I live in now at it's finest hour.  There are time when I wish I would win the lotto so that Kelli and i could buy and fix up each one of the vacant houses in an attempt to revive this quaint little town that at one time had so much of an impact on the success of this entire valley.  
     It is far too easy for us all to live in the present and completely forget about where we came from.  I hope each of you take time in your busy lives to reflect on the history that built your town, I know I will be.


Remember, the good ol' days really were that good!