Helmville Rallies to Save Rodeo

HELMVILLE - Montana Highway 141 is a 32-mile-long road that meanders through western Montana without passing through a single town.

Close to the northern end of the highway however, a mere mile long deviation will land you in the collection of buildings that make up Helmville.

Less than 250 people call Helmville home.

But once a year, nearly 2,000 people descend upon the community for a weekend, swelling the population enough to jump into the top 50 most populous cities in the state.

The special occasion?

The Helmville Labor Day Rodeo.

The rodeo, which is the last Northern Rodeo Association event of the year, has nearly as many competitors as Helmville does residents.

The "Biggest Little Rodeo in Montana," started in 1965, making this the 53rd annual event. After last fall however, there were doubts that the event would make it past 52.

In November it was announced at a town meeting that the wooden grandstands that proudly stand on the western side of the rodeo grounds were no longer fit to be used.

"Landowners thought it was unsafe and didn't want anymore rodeos until they did something to it," said Kathy Daniels, one of the organizers behind the effort to save the grandstands. "Every year we would secure the back of it and put boards up... but the ranch owners decided we needed to do something more."

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The iconic grandstand was built in 1927, when local ranchers chipped in $10 a share for the construction of a roofed grandstand.

Since then the grandstands have been an iconic attraction for Helmville. The rodeo grounds are located almost a mile from town but the grandstand can be seen from the main street.

When the community met to determine the grandstand's fate last year, three options were considered: demolishing the grandstand, building a modern one of steel or restoring the existing structure. The latter option was chosen without dissent.

The construction plan is to restore the grandstands as accurately as possible. The stands will be reinforced with concrete, new X-bracings and a lot of new boards.

Once the restoration was approved as the course of action, Helmville faced another dilemma- the cost. Construction costs were originally estimated at $80,000, a hefty sum for a small town.

Again, there wasn't much hesitation to go forward with the project-the rodeo is too entwined with the community. The local Community Club is funded directly from the rodeo. The club serves as town gym, civic center, wedding hall, funeral home and everything in between. It's the heartbeat of Helmville.

"The rodeo is the big money maker for the community," said Jodi Barger, a Helmville resident and longtime rodeo attendee. "It is also a chance for people to get together and have a great weekend."

Barger's first memory of the rodeo was carrying the American flag into the rodeo during the Grand Entry.

"I was probably seven or eight years old," Barger said. "My mom used to carry it, now my daughters are carrying on the tradition."

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The first check was written in December. Since then the project has raised more than $55,000. Donations have come in from as far away as Texas and southern California.

Helmville received many sizable donations from various Montana organizations.

The Helena based Montana History Foundation awarded a $5,000 grant to the cause. Blackfoot and Missoula Electric Cooperative donated another $5,000 each, with matching donations from Colorado based CoBank.

In May, Governor Steve Bullock announced nearly a quarter million dollars in funding for tourism infrastructure-- $15,500 was earmarked for the Helmville Community Club and the grandstand's improvements.

"It's wonderful to know that people care about us and recognize the value of our classic American Rodeo," Camille Coughlin, leader of the fundraising efforts, said in a press release.

The last push will be Helmville's final fundraiser June 30. The Community Club anticipates the steak dinner and accompanying silent and live auctions will exceed the fundraising goals for the grandstand.

Construction started in May, earlier than expected according to Daniels. The front of the grandstands is torn off and concrete work is already done. The construction should be done the last week in August, just in time to host the 53rd annual rodeo.

The community can't begin to express how great it is to have gotten enough support to keep the grandstands, and the rodeo, intact and as iconic as ever.

"This is a wonderful way to contribute to the tradition and character of Helmville," said Coughlin.