Butte: Come for the History, Stay for the Beer

Yes, Butte is a place that takes beer very, very seriously. There are a bunch of micro-breweries in Montana, and you usually won't find Bud Lite on the menu...

Now, for my impressions of Butte so far other than the alcohol (you can see what my priorities are); the people here are very nice, though the majority I've talked with at length so far are transplants from somewhere else- other parts of Montana, Milwaukee, Indiana. Dick Gibson, who specializes in Labor history tours (and the 1917) is a geologist who became a historian and preservationist after coming to Butte.

We are staying in the North Butte Historic district, less than one block- crawling distance- from the boarding house where Frank Little was abducted from and the Finnlander Union Hall- both have been demolished and replaced by a 50's-style motel with a palm tree in the front. Many of the beautiful historic buildings are empty, boarded up- as Mr. Gibson said, neglect is the savior and curse of these structures. They still exist, because for the most part no one has bothered to buy them and tear them down to put up a Starbucks. But many are collapsing and there's little money to restore them. Many residential homes- with people still in them- don't look much better.

In the 80's after the Berkley Pit shut down, thousands were out of work, and like in the South Bronx, landlords burnt down their properties for the insurance money- so there are a lot of vacant lots and parking areas in Butte.

The largest employer in Butte now is the Walmart located across the street from where Frank Little is buried.

There is potential here. There is a foundation trying to support local artists and gallery system. Butte Historical Adventures is trying to bring in tourism, while saving what is left of Butte thriving history. And they have a hell of a beer selection...

What people think of Frank Little and the IWW? I don't know. Frank seems to be known as sort of a folk hero here but only because most don't really know what he and his union stood for- meaning he is not associated with revolutionary anti-capitalist ideals. From what I saw at the Granite Mine Disaster memorial on Sunday, the reaction I got from miner of 44 years after implying the company may have been responsible for many of those deaths....well, I'm not advertising what exactly I'm researching here.

I'm guessing the attitude is one that they wish Anaconda was still around, so at least there would be jobs- other than at Walmart- a far less dignified (and sustainable) way to make a living then being a skilled miner. The one mine that is still here, near the Pit hires only 300 men, non-union, but better payed than anyone in town. I'm guessing there won't be another strike in Butte for a long, long time.