1894 Williams St. Bridge to East Helena?

What in inglorious end it could be for the historic 1894 Williams Street Bridge!

If the proposed move is carried out, and the bridge is reconstructed over Prickly Pear Creek in East Helena, it will end its days as a backstreet workhorse, right beside a busy four-lane highway, and just yards away from the vast ASARCO slag heap.

Scott Nelson of the Bridgeworks Conservancy, the man who saved the historic Craig Bridge, has been in negotiations to acquire the Williams Street Bridge, and to preserve it on his Broadwater property, very close to its original location. For whatever reasons, it appears that Mr. Nelson has been suddenly taken out of the loop concerning the fate of the bridge.

If the move to East Helena is made, will the missing decorative elements of the historic bridge be restored, or will it suffer even more degradation than it already has?

I understand that East Helenans could gain some modest benefit by once again having a bridge over the Prickly Pear on Pacific Street, but in my opinion relegating the Williams Street Bridge to this task is simply inappropriate. This historic structure should be preserved, restored, and placed in a beautiful natural setting where many future generations of Helena area residents can experience it.

Stewart Homes and Other Images Added

Helenan Tom Kilmer has generously sent in a collection of great images, which have been added to the Helena site. The subjects include the 1964 Last Chance Stampede parade, the Montana Centennial parade (also 1964), the Algeria Shrine Temple before it was the Civic Center, and a couple of Stewart Homes, the 1940s housing project on Montana Avenue where Tom grew up.

Stewart Homes has been in the Helena news lately because it is slated to be demolished and replaced with new affordable housing. In a recent Independent Record article, the Helena Housing Authority called for suggestions concerning the project, including perhaps a new name. In doing a little history research to accompany Tom's photos, I discovered that Stewart Homes is named for Samuel V. Stewart, who was Governor of Montana from 1913 to 1921. Governor Stewart's claim to infamy is that he made it a priority to enact the Montana Sedition Act in 1918.

The Act made it a crime to "“utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, violent, scurrilous, contemptuous, slurring, or abusive language” about the U.S. government, its Constitution, military, or flag. It conveniently overlooked the First Amendment to the same Constitution, which states that “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech ….”

Thanks to the efforts of University of Montana journalism students, and others involved in The Sedition Project, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer recently pardoned 78 persons who had been conviced under the Act.

It's my opinion that for this reason alone, Governor Stewart's name be dropped from the future housing project, and the motivation for doing so should be made very public.

Central School & Helena High School images from Nancy Goodspeed

Helena history buff Nancy Goodspeed recently submitted to the "Helena As She Was" site some great ca. 1930 photos of Central School, and also of the "High School on Wheels", when Helena High School classes were held in railroad passenger coaches after the devastating earthquakes of 1935. The quakes heavily damaged the brand new HHS (now Helena Middle School). See Nancy's photos on this page: http://www.lifelikecharm.com/schools.htm