a book by its cover
Butte, Montana, was the location of my last two days of travel. What an exceptional experience. Butte is a small city located in the western mountains of the state. The downtown streets remind you of a scene right out of a western where John Wayne might come around the corner at any moment. At one time, Butte sported about 100,000 citizens but slowly declined through the years. It shrank down to 22,000 but is now back up to around 35,000. Like many towns and cities across America, there has been a downtown revival. Many buildings in town are on the national list of historic places and are being restored to their former glory. This city once had plenty of treasure to brag about. In all, about 6,000 properties are on the registry making the historic district one of the largest in the United States.
In the late 1800s, copper, silver, and gold were discovered, and a boomtown began to rise around the mining industry. The population exploded with immigrants from dozens of European and Asian nations. Many were Irish, and in 2017, this city was home to the largest population of Irish Americans per capita in the U.S. The Butte copper industry contained the largest mining operation in North America and was rivaled in the world only by South Africa. Before closing, $43 billion worth of copper was pulled from the earth, creating a hole in the ground nearly large enough to place the entire city into it. It was once called the” Richest Hill on Earth.” Over 10,000 miles of mine shafts are underground layered on one another, eventually reaching a mile into the earth. The city was known as a “mile high and a mile deep.”
In the late nineteenth century, copper was suddenly in high demand due to the rise of electrical power. The mine supplied vast quantities of copper to the military forces fighting World War One. Vast profits drew three “Copper Kings,” who were industrial barons, into a fierce competition, and ultimately The Anaconda Mining Company was formed and operated in the U.S. until the 1980s.
The worst mining disaster in world history, The Speculator Mine Disaster, happened in Butte in 1917 when the tunnels caught fire and 163 men lost their lives.
But there was more than ore underground in the city. The city built underground streets with rows of businesses lining them. Some of them have been discovered and can now be visited. A Speak Easy was found intact just as it was abandoned, with the bar still stocked with bootleg liquor. A famous underground prison operated until the early 1980s, when the federal government shut it down as inhumane. Interrogation chairs where prisoners were tied to the seat and beaten with chains still sit in the bowels of the torture chambers.
The booming town was once home to one of the most famous bordello districts in the country. Over eight hundred ladies per shift worked 24/7 to attend to the miners. Business was so good that the buildings were expanded several times, and rooms were made smaller and called “cribs.” Owners paid off police to allow the establishments to operate, and secret doors and underground tunnels were built so customers could clandestinely travel to their destination from the business district. The Dumas Brothel was the longest-running brothel in the United States and was closed in 1982.
Now Butte is home to the largest superfund site in the country, and new industries have made the city home. It is also a popular destination for the movie-making industry, with numerous feature films and television shows produced there.
What a great find in the Montana mountains! So many exciting places exist, but they often must be “mined” to find and enjoy them.
The underground story of Butte, Montana, reminds me of a meaningful life principle. Jesus explained and reminded his listeners that it is not so much what one sees on the outside of a person but what’s on the inside that is most important. He encouraged people to spend more time working below the surface of their life than above and take care to make judgments about persons you don’t really know.
When Samuel the prophet went to the home of Jesse to anoint a new king for Israel, the old gentleman paraded his sons before the famous character. Samuel intended to choose the wrong brother because of his handsome appearance. Something many of us might have done. God spoke to Samuel and said, “Look, Sam, I get that you see a fine-looking man there, but he is not the one. You are making a common human mistake, judging a person by their outward appearance. When I look at a person, I see beyond the temporal outward look and peer deep into the person’s heart. I’m looking for a man to lead your nation who has a heart akin to My own. He’s out tending sheep at the moment, so get him in here and anoint him. David is a man after my own heart.” Lesson learned!
It is often difficult to maintain this view of a person because it is easier to pigeonhole people by what we can see. How often have you misjudged someone because of their appearance – tattooed skin, unusual haircuts, piercings, language we don’t prefer, beauty, talent, etc.
It’s helpful to remember that everyone has a story, and assessing a person without knowing their story is unwise. I love to hear people’s stories. The narratives of our lives are engaging, informative, and instructive. I rarely enjoy conversation below the surface where I don’t learn something new or reinforce something I already knew. Sometimes three or four sentences from someone sharing their journey changes my outlook on them.
I went to check-in at the Rough Rider’s Hotel just outside the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. After a long drive to get there, I was tired and ready to plop down on a sofa for a while. The registration attendant was a young man, and I quickly recognized his physical limitations. His movements were slow and jerky. He had trouble holding my credit card because his hand shook. He spoke in slow labored tones and was a little difficult to understand.
Do you know my initial reaction to this man’s appearance? He’s not going to be very intelligent. Wrong! Sometimes I’m such a butt! I asked his name and started a conversation with Colton. The hotel desk was not busy, so he had extra time to chat. I learned he is a college student doing seasonal work at the resort. He had worked in the location before and very much enjoyed it.
I was only supposed to stay one night here but had decided that if I could get a room for two nights, I would stay and relax. I was supposed to be staying in the room where Teddy stayed many years ago, but it was unavailable both nights. He told me that he could get me another room and that I would be glad I took it. He also told me to get settled, come back to the desk, and he would tour me through Teddy’s room. I was impressed.
I checked in to what ended up as the most excellent, well-appointed suite I’ve enjoyed on this journey. I then returned to the desk, and Colton took me to the Presidents room. It was a fraction of the size of mine and did not have a balcony because the young employee gave me the best room in the hotel, which was not Teddy’s room. My room did not exist at the time my favorite President lodged there.
Duh, don’t judge a book by its cover. God and His Son are so full of good advice, aren’t they?! I evaluated both the I.Q and E.Q of this man by what I could see, and in less than a minute and failed miserably. Like Butte, the real wealth of this person was a long way below the surface.
This hotel was my best experience thus far, and the college student who checked me in was my favorite front desk attendant. Lesson learned.
Live Inspired!
Don Mark
