Helena Revisited

Last night Sandie Dixon called and said the weather was suppose to be bad today.  It didn't take Bill long to say 
"I'll just hunker down."  The weather forecasters were calling for high winds, rain, and hail. 

This morning we had cloudy skies and then the skies cleared to a beautiful day.  

Our first stop was back to the Governor's Mansion.  You could tell our tour guide loved her work.  She was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable 

 

It was a three story brick
Queen Anne style.

Here's our tour guide demonstrating utensils in the kitchen.

This doesn't show the Tiffany glass windows very well.

The Governor's Mansion was built in 1888 by the Chessman family.  In 1900 railroad contractor Peter Larson acquired the mansion followed by the Conrad family of Great Falls in 1911.

The State of Montana acquired the mansion in 1913 to serve as its first official governor's residence.  Governor Samuel Stewart was the first governor to occupy the home.  

  

There were nine first families that lived in the home.  

We were able to use our two for one ticket and it cost us $4.00 total for the two of us.

Since we were on a roll arriving when the tour began we decided to walk down the street to St. Helena Cathedral.

It was a beautiful day and the doors were open.  There was a docent inside to explain all the details of the cathedral.  I'm so glad we decided to go inside.  There is no way you would appreciate the stained glass from the outside.  The only problem is pictures aren't the same as being there.

Next stop was the Masonic Museum.  Bill is a 32 degree Mason and anxious to see the Lodge and contents.

It was so nice to have the museum to ourselves.  Daniel greeted us as we entered and gave us a brief tour, outlining the major artifacts on display.  

This is a Masonic jewel that belonged to the Marquis de Lafayette in the late 1700's.  The Marquis was from France and played a large role in the Revolutionary War along side his friend George Washington.  

 This was Merriweather Lewis' Masonic apron.  This was included in a recent History channel program about Freemasonry.                   

       I thought this apron was unique as it was from Wales.

Yesterday when we did the train ride our guide pointed out the street where Gary Cooper was from.

We drove down the street and took a picture.  It is a private home today.

Myrna Loy's home wasn't far but Bill was more interested in Gary Cooper.  (He made many Western movies). 

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