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ISSUE 7
MONTANA ROAD TRIP…HELENA

Looking for a destination that combines stellar Montana history with a booming selection of antiques and vintage shops, and lots of food and drink options? Then Helena is the destination for your next Montana road trip. The Queen City has two large antique malls, as well as boutique-size antiques & vintage shops. All are unique and shouldn’t be missed.

The Dandelion
1807 11th Ave, Helena, MT 59601
Open Thurs - Fri - Sat

The 406 Re-Finery
1216 Williams St, Helena, MT 59602
406-431-0791
Open Thurs - Fri - Sat, 10 - 6

HELENA VINTAGE EVENTS

Be sure to check the Directory’s monthly event listings.
Vintage markets are held several times a year in Helena.

Bella Peacock Vintage
1518 Prospect Ave., Helena, MT 59601
406-590-5925
Open 7 Days a Week

Golden Girls Antique Mall
505 N. Last Chance Gulch, Helena, MT 59601
406-443-3893
Open Mon - Sat 10 - 5, Open Sun 12 - 4

Margie’s Vintage
112 E 6th Ave, Helena, MT 59601
406-513-1060
Open Wed - Sun 11 - 6, Sundays are seasonal

MORE HISTORIC THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN HELENA

*Mike and Maureen Mansfield, Montana State Capitol building*

Montana Capitol Building 1301 East 6th Ave.
Built in 1902, the Capitol had a massive historic renovation in the late 1990s to restore the interior to its original appearance. The spectacular results are something everyone interested in Montana history and architecture should see. Self tours year round and guided tours during legislative sessions.

Mansion District, west of downtown, on the slope of Mt Helena
In a tree lined neighborhood above downtown, you can walk or drive to gawk at Montana’s largest concentration of “architecturally significant historic private residences” from the 1880-90s. Dearborn and Madison avenues are good streets to start on.

The Original Governor’s Mansion, 304 North Ewing
If you wonder what the interior of homes in the mansion district look like, this is the place to head. Located on the other side of downtown from the mansion district and run by the Montana Historical Society, tours are free. The Montana Historical Society’s new museum and research center, the Montana Heritage Center located near the Capitol Building, is projected for completion in fall 2025.

The Parrot Confectionery, 42 North Last Chance Gulch
Since 1922, the Parrot confectionery store on the walking mall in downtown Helena has been speaking for itself. With a seemingly unchanged decor, original ice cream fountain, handmade chocolates, roasted nuts, and a jukebox, the Parrot is a must stop in Helena.

Issue 7
MONTANA LONG DISTANCE Garae Sales

A good way to experience small towns and big vistas while hunting for antique and vintage finds is to participate in one of the long distance garage sales held across Montana. Here are two sales to consider for a road trip this summer.

Bitterroot 50 Mile Garage Sale Bitterroot Valley, Lolo to Darby

June 27 – 28, 2025, Friday – Saturday

www.50milegaragesale.com
Facebook; Bitterroot 50 Mile Garage Sale

Well known for its fun and festive atmosphere and wide ranging bargains, one of the longest running sales in Montana runs north and south through the Bitterroot Valley, south of Missoula.

The Bitterroot 50 Mile Garage Sale has been well covered by the media over the 8 years it’s been held, including a recent piece on Montana PBS’s Backroads of Montana. It is a big sale. In 2024, over 325 addresses signed up for the sale and organizers estimate the actual number of sale locations to be at least double that figure.

Word of the sale has traveled throughout the US and now people from out of state are a noticeable proportion of the buyers. Some buyers plan their summer vacation around the sale dates. Organizer Rebecca Ryan of the Bitterroot Antique Mall in Hamilton has heard of buyers flying into Montana to drive back home with their finds in a rented vehicle. If you want to attend, make your plans early, accommodations in the area fill completely during that weekend.

Close to the date of the sale, paper copies of the sale map are available and the sale map is printed in the Hamilton newspaper. The 50 Mile Sale website (www.50milegaragesale.com) includes an electronic map that buyers can access on their phones.

Treasures on the Prairie: 150 Mile Garage Sale

August 8 – 10, 2025, Fri-Sat-Sun
Eastern Montana, Hysham, Forsyth, Rosebud, Miles City, Terry, Fallon, Glendive
www.treasuresontheprairie.com
Facebook: Treasures on the Prairie MT

In 2023, local business owners pitched the Forsyth Chamber of Commerce on the potential for benefits to communities from holding a long distance garage sale in eastern Montana. Business owners Angela Campbell and husband Terry ‘TK’ Kantner had participated in similar garage sales in other states to source items for their store, Rusty Dog Antiques in Forsyth. They believed a long distance sale could help bring visitors to their part of eastern Montana.

They were right. Angela reports the first Treasures on the Prairie: 150 Mile Garage Sale in 2024 was a success. Some sellers sold out the first day and businesses like Rusty Dog Antiques had three times their normal sales during the weekend.

From my experience with the 2024 sale, in addition to the outstanding vintage finds I scored, it was a great way to visit communities that still feel like Montana and take advantage of things only eastern Montana offers.

I finally took the opportunity to visit the Evelyn Cameron exhibit in the Prairie County Museum housed in a beautiful old bank building in Terry. And not only old stuff and history are on offer along the sale trail: I bought a superb, freshly baked lemon layer cake from a seller outside of Forsyth!

A few other Montana long distance garage sales:

June 6 – 7, Fri – Sat, Northeast Montana Treasure Trail, Plentywood to Culbertson

July 19, Saturday, Broadwater County Wide Yard Sale, southeast of Helena

It started with a handwritten recipe
card for chocolate chip cookies.

The power of paper

By Shelly Turk, Billings, MT

When it fell out of my mother’s worn cookbook, it brought an unexpected pang to my heart and a few tears. Many items that I own bring memories of my parents and grandparents, but there’s something about their handwriting that just arrows straight to my heart. It’s personal, it’s unique to them, and it’s a moment in their lives. The cards, notes, recipes, and even old bills of sale with my loved ones’ handwriting are a treasured collection that I visit often.

The love and appreciation for paper and the stories it tells has led me to amassing a larger collection of ephemera including a handwritten songbook, worn maps, old photos, drawings done by a soldier in WWI, and a Victorian scrapbook done by a young girl. Inside the back cover was a note that said that the girl died of scarlet fever. I have brought home beautifully scripted letters and menus from France, an old diary from Scotland, and funny postcards from New England. Perhaps my favorite find was five letters that were inserted between the pages of a Hanon piano exercise book that I purchased at a yard sale. The letters were from Ray to Helen while he was serving in the army during WWII. The letters were affectionate and full of his concern for her while

he was gone. In the last letter, he asked her to marry him. I imagine her sitting at her piano, taking solace in her music until he returned. I love the glimpses of other lives captured on paper.

According to AbeBooks, ephemera “are objects, usually made from paper, created to be used for a short time only—things designed to be temporary.” In his book Encyclopedia of Ephemera, Maurice Rickards describes ephemera as “the minor transient documents of everyday life.” Bookmarks, concert posters, letters, luggage labels, maps, menus, postcards, scripts, tickets, timetables, and advertisements are just a few of the hundreds of examples of ephemera that people collect. Most items were intended for temporary use and considered disposable, so are even more precious because they survived through time.

People look for a variety of items for their unique insight into history, their beauty, and their importance. Collectors of ephemera usually fall into one of two categories: those who collect objects, and those who collect based on subject. Object categories include things like matchbook covers, autograph books, valentines, sheet music, crate labels, etc. Subject collecting goes a bit further. Those collections usually center on a specific era or event in history, such as WWII, fashion through the ages, letters of famous persons, among others. Those collectors are interested in a certain subject and look for anything pertaining to that passion, including documents, letters, brochures, ledgers, photographs, and maps. Regardless of whether or not you collect ephemera, do think twice before throwing out the paper that has made up your family’s lives. One day you will prize that handwritten recipe or letter, especially in this age of technology when handwriting is becoming a rare thing.