Our Viewpoint

When you think about history, Montana isn't that old. We've only been a state for 130 years. The Ledger has been around for 115 years. That's pretty young for establishments, especially when you visit the East Coast and see landmarks such as Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts and St. Augustine, Florida, which claims to be the oldest city in the United States.

This weekend, the Whitepine Church will celebrate 100 years. We have fond memories of participating in vacation bibie school and Christmas programs at the church. The tiny church with the wooden pews. In the back room, pictures of past events still hang on the walls.

The church went several years with visiting pastors until Mary Harker started leading the congregation in the early 1980s. Harker served as pastor until her death in 2013. Walking into the church, it's not hard to remember Mary at the pulpit with her cassock and her gravelly voice.

In 1946, Andy Marich and Letty Larson were the first couple married in the church.

Andy Marich and Letty Larson took advantage of the offer June 17, 1946. Two more generations of the Marich family (Andy and Letty's son Lee and their grandson David) were married in that church. It was important for David and wife Tracy to have that tradition in be married in the same place as his grandparents.

The congregation remains small, with 10 to 20 people each week, but the Whitepine Church is steeped in tradition. You will be greeted with hugs and hellos, and you will leave being part of a 100-year history.