Welcome To Montana!

Wherever we are when we are growing up, each of us probably thinks that place is truly special. It sort of glows in our memory for many years afterward.

That is how I feel about our state of Montana, which is the Spanish word for "mountain." We have many beautiful mountains in Montana. They are tall and craggy and in many cases covered with countless square miles of trees that have been growing quietly far longer than any of us have been alive.

Montana also has broad rolling plains where more than two million head of cattle and sheep and bison and ostriches and llamas, all kinds of animals, graze and grow. In fact, our special state is home for many times more animals--wild and domestic--than it is home for humans. It can be a wild place where temperatures change sixty degrees or more in a single day. But it is also a very friendly place where being a neighbor still means more than merely living next door to somebody.

I spent some of my childhood on our prairies. And I spent much of my childhood in our forests. My father was a school teacher and basketball coach. I have five brothers and one sister. Our home on Larch Street in Libby was a busy, noisy place. We did not have a lot of money, but we still had lots to do, including household chores assigned by our mother. Mine was the ironing and cleaning the bathrooms. I also dug up worms to sell for fishing bait.

I thought about many things in those childhood years, especially playing basketball and football. But one of the things I never dreamed about was becoming the temporary steward of the Governor's Office someday. To me, that is proof that in our special state and our special nation, anyone can become whatever they are willing to work hard at becoming. There is a place for every one of us to make our special contribution, if only we keep looking long and hard enough to find it.

Each one of us has an obligation in our society to study hard and work hard and to each do our part to keep this place truly special. I hope that wherever you are growing up, you will work hard and study hard and enjoy your visit to Montana through this special Kids Page. There is much to do on these pages. And much to do in Montana.

Enjoy yourself. And maybe we will see you in person someday in Big Sky Country. Thanks for coming to see us.

Your Friend,