By Ross Markman
With its mountainous terrain, single stalk of wheat and the words "Pride of the Hi-Line" at the peak, only one thing is missing from Havre's new logo.
A cow.
But according to Havre Mayor Bob Rice, cattle aren't the only thing the town should be associated with.
"I didn't want a cow on (the logo). I was glad it wasn't on there," Rice said. "We have more things to be proud of than our cows."
Rice and a committee of 10, including the city's department heads and several residents, decided on a logo designed by Ray Floren, owner of Hill County Printing in Havre. Floren's design was chosen out of more than 20 submitted, Rice said.
Other designs included one with trees in the Bear Paw Mountains and another with a stalk of wheat with the words "City of Havre" surrounding it.
"The rest were pretty generic. We wanted something that was going to jump out at you, something you would be proud to wear on your shirt," Rice said. "I like the Havre pride thing. That was my whole idea to get this pride thing going."
Floren, 44 and a lifelong Havre resident, said he based the concept for the logo on the mayor's suggestions and the mayor himself.
"I just kind of dreamed it up and kind of correlated the mountains and the wheat. And the mayor asked for it to be in an oval shape," said Floren, whose brother Rob assisted in the design.
"It's definitely a change. We've had the same logo for a while," he added. "It's just something new to go with the new mayor. It represents him well."
Rice said the logo, which will be printed in red and gray, will be on city letterhead, affixed to city shop vehicles and possibly duplicated on a T-shirt.
"I would hope people would adopt it and maybe some businesses could sell the shirts," he said. "This has nothing to do with our economy or survival. It's just a pride thing. If you're proud of where you live, that goes with a lot of things."
