This summer I have spent a considerable amount of time exploring some of the areas in which I lived as a child – my home towns. We moved around a fair amount when I was young but I consider Livingston, Montana my childhood home and Helena, Montana my ‘teenage years’ home.
This week, I am in Livingston. It amazes me how some things stay the same. Of course, much changes as well but that is almost expected.
I attended the Eastside School in Livingston from first thru fourth grades and, just up the street, the Lincoln School for the fifth grade. Both of these very old buildings remain though neither of them is a school any longer. I suppose that is ok since I was in class there some forty years ago. I know, I know…. someone is getting old!
The Eastside School building is now a performing arts building. I was SUPER pleased to find it open so I went exploring. The MASSIVE staircase to the second floor that I remember so clearly wasn’t quite as massive but the wood was the same as was the creak produced by each step. The huge playground from which I made many booming kickball kicks over the fence? It too was nowhere near as huge as I remembered but the basketball hoops and kickball field lines were still there. Inside, what I remember to be one of the first grade classrooms, was a restaurant – Faye’s Café. I ate lunch there and was impressed! The food was excellent and the service superb! Most certainly far better than the school lunches I remember eating in the basement. The gymnasium had been turned into a theater which was very dark so I didn’t do more than just peek in the door.
Livingston itself was almost exactly as I remembered it. The downtown area had some different stores and some were the same – Dan Bailey’s Fly Fishing Shop, for example – there since 1938. It seems to be a busier town than I remember but this may have been due to the weekend activities in the area. In any case, it is still a wonderful small town with super people and amazing mountain views!
I lived on a ranch east of Livingston, right along the Yellowstone River. I went for a tour of the ranch and it was nearly exactly as I remembered it – nearly forty years later! An absolutely wonderful place for a kid to grow up!
I stayed at the “Livingston Campground”, an RV park near the Interstate. I’m not exactly sure what to say about the campground. I hate to give any business in Livingston negative marks. It’s probably worth noting that I’m not a big fan of the typical “RV campground” – all lined up and mashed together. Let’s start with the positive: the water was fine, the sewer worked, and Wi-Fi was ok for a campground. It wasn’t super-fast (and was very slow in the evenings) but I was able to get a bunch of updates taken care of and accomplish some big downloads that I needed to perform for work. The negative: I felt sorta “iffy” being surrounded by fairly rundown mobile homes and old campers, most with a reasonable collection of junk (old wash machines, trailers, cars, and just general junk). Of course, some of the expected “noises” (shouting and such) from such places occurred from time to time The RV spots were fairly small and difficult to maneuver into and out of – at least for my big rig. The power post was very old and worn – not quite scary but getting close. The road noise was much more significant than I care for – this may have been due to it being the weekend after Sturgis and all the loud and obnoxious Harley traffic. I have no idea what is so “cool” about making so much noise. I think if nearly any other “segment” were to make as much noise (say airplanes, for example), they’d be banned from existence. Anyhow… the campground worked and I never felt like I was in danger or anything but I sure expect more for thirty-five dollars a night.
Another great place to eat is Rosa’s Pizza which is south of the Interstate. Their pizza is very good!
I HAVE to ask…who was your first grade teacher? Mrs. Olson or Miss Linton? (Trying to guess when you were there!) I know that Mrs. Olson was teaching in the same exact classroom for over 30 years before she retired.
Wow Dan – great question! I’m afraid first and second grades are a blur to me. I believe I was there starting about 1974. It seems like I was in the classroom on the north-east corner of the first floor but I think that may have been second grade. For third grade I was in the classroom on the southwest corner of the second floor, I think the teachers name was Mrs. Schwartz??. Fourth grade I remember fairly well, northwest corner of second floor and Mr. O’connor (I think). Fifth grade was over at the Lincoln school building and we walked back and forth for lunch and gym (and whatever else).
I don’t remember many classmate names but are few were Jeff Kaiser, Jon Williams, and Michael Gordon.
Any of that ring a bell?? When were you there?
Wow thanks for the memories. I lived in Livingston as a child also. I attended the east side school too.Remember that store that had the wooden Indian in front of it? What was that store?
I also remember Ben Franklins and A&W, Dairy Queen , fishing in the Yellowstone river…
I wonder how it must feel to revisit. Probably not the same as we remember it.
Hi Naomi, I do remember that Indian!!! 🙂 I can’t remember what store it was at though. I remember LOVING Ben Franklin with that massive stockpile of toys (which was probably all of twenty items) – ha!
When were you at Eastside? By chance, was your father the minister at the Church of Christ?
Visiting is odd. So much was exactly the same but much was different – everything was smaller. It sure does bring back the memories though!!