We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Classrooms are not just confined to traditional school buildings; they can be place-based or found in diverse locations that offer unique learning opportunities. Turner High School students experienced this non-traditional educational approach recently by taking a trip to Helena, Montana. From March 26-March 28, they not only toured St. Helena’s Cathedral and the Old Governor’s Mansion but also explored the state’s capitol building and engaged with the legislative process.
Upon arriving in Helena on Wednesday, the group toured the Helena Cathedral. Here, they learned that construction began on the facility in 1908 and concluded in 1924. About her experience, sophomore Holly Grabofsky stated: “The place of worship held its first Mass on Christmas Day in 1914, years before the building officially finished construction. Spearheaded by Bishop John Patrick Carroll and architect A.O. Von Herbulis, the project adopted a more Gothic style, as opposed to the common Romanesque style, and drew inspiration from the Votive Church of the Sacred Heart in Vienna, Austria.”
She went on to describe the architecture as “featuring reaching towers and stone-carved saints. One of the most adored traits of the cathedral is the fifty-nine stained glass windows constructed by the F.X. Zettler firm in Munich. The company claimed that these windows are the best they have ever produced. Additionally, tall marble pillars reach up to the ceiling on each side of the building, and pews hand-carved from oak line the aisle. In 320, Saint Helena discovered the remains of the true Cross of Christ. Many Roman Catholic churches received small fragments of the cross, and getting to see that was truly remarkable.”
Later that day, Turner students visited with the current Speaker of the House, Brandon Ler, a Republican Representative who has been a House member since 2021. Junior Landon Hickel describes his memory of this encounter: “Ler started off the meeting with an overview of his job and then took questions from the students. One of the questions was about why he chose to become a Representative, and Ler responded, ‘I felt like I wasn’t being represented properly in our government, so I decided to throw my hat into the ring during the next election. I managed to win by a landslide and figured out this was what I wanted to do.’”
The following morning, after listening to committee hearings for about an hour, the student group toured the Capitol building. About her experience at the Capitol, junior Bridget Reed recalls: “Our tour was led by a tour guide from the Montana Historical Society. We journeyed through various areas of the Capitol, which was completed in 1912 and designed by John Kent and Charles Bell. Beginning in the center of the rotunda, our tour guide pointed out the four paintings which display Montana’s ‘diversity and culture.’ Painted in 1902 by the firm F. Pedretti’s Sons, brothers from Cincinnati, Ohio, the murals feature a cowboy, fur trader, Salish Indian Chief, and gold miner (subjects selected by the first governor, Joseph Toole). However, the tour guide made notice that the landscapes of the paintings are not entirely ‘accurate’ and ‘look more like scenery in Arizona.’ While on this level, the guide shared that the State Seal is hidden under the rotunda floor. She also suggested that we could write letters to the state to request that the seal be uncovered.”
Reed went on to describe other aspects of their journey. “We made our way up through the Capitol, stopping at the Grand Staircase to observe statues of significant Montana leaders: United States Representative Jeannette Rankin and Senator Wilbur Fisk Sanders. Here, the tour guide explained the legacy these leaders left the state. She also noted that Montana’s Capitol was the first capitol to have electricity, running water, and elevators. To conclude the tour, the tour guide took us to one of her favorite locations: the Mike and Maureen Mansfield statue. She explained Mansfield’s childhood as an orphan; his military experience in the Army, Navy, and Marines; and his work as a Senator and US ambassador to Japan.”
Many of the students also commented on Charles Marion Russell’s painting “Lewis and Clark Meeting Indians at Ross’ Hole,” which adorns the House of Representatives.
On their second day, the group visited the Mazurek Justice Building to meet with Judge Katherine Bidegaray. About this portion of the trip, sophomore Abby Grabofsky recalled that “Judge Bidegaray went into a story about how she first became interested in becoming a judge. Growing up in small-town Sidney, Montana, which she recalled as ‘the middle of nowhere,’ led to limited television shows for her. Of those few shows was Adam’s Rib, a comedic movie about husband and wife lawyers who fight on opposite ends of a case. Though Judge Bidegaray claims to have not known much about the judicial system back then, she considered the idea ‘very interesting.’ From then on, she knew she wanted to go into law. She was supported by her family, including her mom, who bought her a plate that said ‘lawyer’ and hung above her bed.”
Finally, on Friday, Turner students arrived at the Old Governor’s Mansion for an out of season tour led by Anthony Schrillo from the Montana Historical Society. Schrillo started the tour by telling students that due to the open schedule, the tour would be longer than usual. He then instructed them to enter the manor, where he told stories of the estate’s history and how the Montana Historical Society acquired the property.
Reporting on his experience, Jake Brown wrote: “Following his introduction, our guide brought us into the first of twenty rooms within the mansion. After showing off the living room, kitchen, dining room, library, and his office, we climbed up to the second story to see all the bedrooms. A fun fact he shared with the group was that the house held seven different fireplaces. We also got to see many of the original antiques owned by the family, including some old dolls and a record player. He then brought us through a little door that led straight down to the first floor. Taking us to the back of the house revealed a carriage house [instead of a garage]. There, we found some old carriages and a fake horse modeled after the race horse Spokane, who won the Kentucky Derby the same year that Montana was declared a state.”
