Throughout the summer, and for two more weeks, the Havre Chamber of Commerce has hosted a farmers market. The market itself happens right in the town square on the Hi-Line, on the edge of the downtown area. My wife and I decided to check it out this past Saturday as a day out together. The Market itself featured a couple dozen vendors and live music. You can find anything from jewelry to art to fresh produce there, making browsing the various booths an enjoyable experience on its own.
The real fun of visiting the Saturday Market wasn't just the opportunity to check out the local artisans' wares. My wife and I spent a couple of hours walking the area and chatting with the vendors and small business owners. The experience was a sampling of the attitude and personality of the Northern Montana area. The people we visited with had made great products and were working hard at what they loved.
Our first stop of the morning introduced us to Tolan and Sam Harbor, who started a flower farm about 18 months ago. Their table looked and smelled gorgeous. Dozens of freshly cut flower arrangements in unique and interesting vessels adorned the table. The pair were veterans of the Havre Farmers Market, on their 8th outing for the year. "We start all of the flowers in our basement so we had 20,000 flowers in our basement. We start from seed with grow lights." The home flower farm business is booming for the Harbors, who work 15 hour days and have hired help to keep up with the demand. They do sell arrangements for special occasions as well as cut flowers at local farmers markets. They also grow hops, which they sell to local breweries.
Our next stop was a small table where a very friendly woman named Marcia who was selling paintings. She explained that she took up painting for stress relief nearly 30 years ago and now sold her work to make room for more. The colorful landscapes, scenes, and animal paintings were so fun and creative I bought two, which are now hanging in my office. She explained that the best part of the local market was the addition of live music, which enhanced the atmosphere and encouraged people to spend time hanging out and visiting longer. We chatted at length before I resumed my tour of local entrepreneurs.
Several stops later, I met Carolyn Davis and Bill Runningfisher of Fort Belknap. Mr. Runningfisher was selling native art and jewelry as well as traditional tomahawks, knives, and arrowheads. He explained that he had learned the craft of beading and painting from his mother and father, who themselves had spent their lives producing beautiful art work. My wife was particularly taken by the earrings they were selling, which featured hand painted images. All of the paintings were smaller than a dime. He explained that the brushes he uses in the work have only 2 or 3 hairs each and the painting is done one dot at a time. Our conversation eventually found its way to Bill's work as private security and contracting with the government and other tribes for consulting work. Bill owns Eaglechild Consulting and Enforcement Services. The conversation about his experiences was fascinating, especially regarding his art and work helping to bolster tribal law enforcement for the Blackfeet reservation, particularly in the Browning area.
As we browsed the market, we encountered more and more interesting personalities and stories from local small business owners. We met Jeremy, who started a coffee roasting business in his home. He and his wife sell their Costa Rican and El Salvadorian Coffees at markets and vendor shows. Have-Her-Roast Coffee has been a success so far and hopes to distribute to local shops in the near future. You can find them on Facebook. I picked up a couple bags and will be posting a review in the future. We also stopped in and visited with the Bear Paw Bowls food truck, selling Acai bowls. Bailey Clemens and her husband own the truck. Their bowls were delicious and provided a fun snack on a hot morning.
Near the end of our time at the market, my wife and I stopped to visit with the gentlemen playing the background music for the morning. Tripping Billy, out of Havre, Montana, were approached by the Havre Chamber of Commerce to play for Saturday markets. The pair describe themselves as playing everything from Jimmi Hendricks to Johnny Cash. They explained that the eclectic nature of their musical selection seemed to be particularly appealing to the market crowd. The duo happily chatted with me at length about their music, experiences, and other topics. They are currently looking at recording at the studio in Big Sandy and will likely put out an album before long. You can check them out on Facebook.
There are two more Saturday Farmers Markets for the year in Havre. I heartily recommend you check them out and pick up produce or interesting locally produced items. For me, the bigger reason to visit is to meet some of the interesting people. Just asking about their work and products opened a whole fascinating culture of people looking to better themselves and their communities. That alone is worth the drive up on a Saturday.
