Timely Trio slated for Town Square celebration

How timely to have the Timely Trio perform the "Havre Song" at the Town Square ribbon- cutting celebration tonight, since Mayor Rice this year proclaimed the song as Havre's official song.

The ribbon-cutting kicks off the celebration of Havre Festival Days this weekend.

The Timely Trio Dena Tippets, Mavis Filler and Kim Callahan wrote the "Havre Song" in the 1980s. They will be joined tonight by Darla Cook's sixth- through eighth-grade choir students in singing, "Havre, you may have been born there. Havre, you might just belong there, but there's one thing, you'll never stay long there without a friend, with making a friend."

"This will be the first time Kim will hear students singing the song she wrote," Filler said. "It's a songwriter's dream to have people know and sing the words to a song you have written."

Cook has been teaching the song to her students in her music classes for many years.

"One year Dena and I performed the song at a junior high concert with the students," Filler said. "A few weeks later, a student from the class saw me outside my house and said, I know you. You sing the "Havre Song." I know that song. This is my town and I love it here.' She proceeded to sit on my front swing and she sang the whole song to and with me. It was wonderful to hear her speak of her pride in her town."

Callahan will be visiting from her home in Dickinson, N.D. She lived in Havre for 10 years.

"We are delighted to sing in Havre this year for Havre Festival Days," Callahan said. "I am anxious to return and see old friends. It is always a kick. I love the people, the area, the Bear Paws."

Callahan returns to Dickinson to perform for a United Way function on Saturday.

"Kim writes a song often a silly skit or song for nearly every event at which we perform," Filler said. In 1999, she wrote a beautiful song called "Brotherly Love" for a Masons conference in Glasgow. The Montana Masons purchased the song and had tapes made, which they have available for purchase.

The Timely Trio, whose members have sung together since 1983, will also perform at Holiday Village Shopping Center from 2 to 4 p.m. today.

Callahan has also written a ballad called "Farewell Fort Assinniboine," a haunting melody about the Missouri River titled "The Missouri Rolls On," and a song called "The Eye of the Needle," which places blame for the destruction of a beautiful rock formation on the Missouri River.

Tapes and CDs will be available at both the ribbon-cutting ceremony and at the mall. They are also available at the Montana State University-Northern bookstore and at the Heritage Center.

The trio will perform at the Montana History Conference to be held in Havre beginning Oct. 25.

In other Festival Days news,

Havre Beneath the Streets will have an open house Saturday afternoon with live people in costume in the exhibits. For $4, people can spend as much time in the Havre underground as they'd like. The open house is a fund-raiser for Havre Beneath the Streets.

Sunday is the last day for summer hours at the tourist attraction. Beginning Monday, the hours will be 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The first tour will be at 10:30 a.m. and the last will begin at 2:30 p.m. Special tours can be arranged by calling the office at 265-8888.

The Havre Railroad Museum will feature an HO run called "Great Northern, from Steam to Big Sky Blue" Saturday from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m