Josh Danreuther and Charlotte Broekhuysen Stanberry stand in front of the big puddle in front of Pep's.
Cities and towns across America lay claim to landmarks as signatures of their identity. Most anywhere you travel, large or small, has a few. New York City has the Empire State Building (among others). San Francisco has the glorious Golden Gate (and Haight-Asbury). Seattle has the Space Needle. Flint, Michigan, has poisoned drinking water. You get the idea.
Through its history Big Sandy has had its share of landmarks. For decades the town was watched over by the famous water tower (long gone now, its legs cut out from under it in 1993). There was the iconic Montana Hotel on Main Street (now a barely recognizable abandoned building).
There were so many; let's see, what else? The much-loved movie house, Bud Gullickson's Grand Theater (a spectacular boiler explosion marked its demise in 1969; torn down a few years later). Surely there were more: Pratt & Sven service station (tanks dug up, buildings leveled many years back), the "Y" Café and Hotel (gone), the old high school bus barn/gymnasium (gone), the Wolverine Hotel (long, long gone), maybe the old "haunted house" out on Kenilworth Road? (burned to the ground years ago). Hmmm.
Well, we still have the bank building. And the old Smith's store (part of it houses the deli, the other part under long-term development as a cultural center). Hmmm.
Heck, we have to have something that will slow those travelers down as they cruise through town on their way to take a look at the Shep monument in Fort Benton.
But take heart, Big Sandy residents, neighbors, and distant enthusiasts. There are signs of hope for a new iconic landmark, which just might help put Big Sandy back on the Landmark Map. I am
talking about the quiet rise of "Puddlemania" in and around Big Sandy.
The founding father of Puddlemania in Big Sandy is lifelong resident and itinerant philosophizing farmer, Craig Edwards. A few years back Edwards first noted that whenever it rained, a certain puddle would be formed on Johannes Avenue, in between the bank and Pep's Bar on the north side and the Big Store on the south. The size and shape of the puddle would sometimes vary, depending on circumstance, but it was appealing to Edwards in both a visual and a tactile sense. He found that for people with the gift of imagination, "Puddle" provided a sense of community.
In no time at all, Edwards fell in love with the charismatic pavement dent full of rainwater. He began to spend time with Puddle, taking photographs and going on short but very gratifying "walkabouts". And he started to talk to others about the alluring nature of Puddle; telling his friends about his discovery.
Others both inside and outside the community became enamored with Puddle. Josh Danreuther, owner of Pep's Bar, located just a few yards northeast of Puddle, became a vocal supporter. Edwards first drew widespread local attention to Puddle when he featured it as part of a promotional poster for a poetry reading at Craig Edwards' Fine Arts Photography Gallery in 2018.
Soon folks could be seen at various times, standing in Puddle (or on it, when the temperature dropped below freezing). Props were often used for selfies and other photos. Kids might stop by after school to stomp and splash one another, laughing and prancing about.
Puddle didn't mind. Puddle has always just gone with the flow.
Interest in Puddle is blossoming near and far. Several Facebook posts by Craig Edwards and others have garnered literally hundreds of comments, quips and observations. There have been some lengthy debates on the subject of Puddle.
A group has been formed to protect and promote the interests of Puddle in Big Sandy and beyond. Both the physical and intellectual properties of this landmark are being evaluated and considered as far as the future is concerned. Big Sandy has seen other landmarks fall by the wayside and the proponents of Puddle hope to keep this from happening this time.
Plans are being made for Puddle's involvement in the Big Sandy Homecoming festivities of 2020. Of course, Puddle is a force of Nature, and not subject to the whims of Man. Puddle could decide to just not show up at all for the Homecoming event. It's not up to us.
Like many of Big Sandy's natives or residents, Puddle has a charm and a charisma that is hard to put into words. When it comes to Puddle you just have to spend a little time, and then make up your own mind about how the experience makes you feel. This seems to be true of much of what is to be found in this community.
Other towns, big or small, may have their puddles. But only in Big Sandy will you find "Puddle", or now, "Puddlemania".
If I were that statue of Shep, down there on the river breaks; well, maybe I would start looking over my shoulder a little bit. Someone, or rather something, might be gaining on it.
