Celebrating In St. Marie

Dear Editor,

We just returned from a short week of visiting, hunting and celebrating Thanksgiving with our "chosen daughter," who recently relocated to St. Marie from Olympia, Wash. We were excited to meet and be a part of the St. Marie family on Thanksgiving day at their community town hall dinner, where 25 of us gathered to share a delicious meal contributed by all.

It was an incredible group of people from many areas of the country, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Billings, to name a few. Time living at St. Marie varied from a few months to 19 years, and there was positivity all around. It made this Thanksgiving extra special to us, as it is always great to be surrounded by loving and friendly people that are working to make a vibrant community amidst the deterioration around them. Many have, or are creating, beautiful homes.

Our Rachelle is happily thriving in her new community of friends, who look after each other and have many activities that they participate in each week. There's the daily dog walking group, weekly movie nights, weekly potlucks, swimming, barbecues and marshmallow roasts around campfires.

Kudos to the adventuresome at St. Marie. We loved our time spent with each of you, and we will be back!

Sincerely,

Gary and Marlys Martin

Helena, Mont.