Canyon Secret

by Patrick Lee

  The ethnic makeup of McQueen was largely Slovenians, Austrians, and Croatians. It had a small makeup of Italians, English, Swedes, Norwegians, Germans, Scots, and Finns. Many of the residents of McQueen spent their days raising chickens and hogs. As time passed and more mines opened up and became the predominate employer, many of the men turned in their hayforks for picks and shovels. Many of the “old country” traditions and recipes made their way to McQueen. Foods like kielbasa, blood sausage, cheese strudel, and homemade smoke dam were proudly served in the McQueen households.

  The isolated location of McQueen kept it from having the same type of infrastructure as Butte city had. The streetcar system finally was brought to McQueen in 1909. McQueen also did not have a running water system in the early years; the residents used a community well at the northwest corner of the community. McQueen was one of the first neighborhoods to put in sanitary sewer and streetlights.

  The first grocery store was built in 1907. Other businesses soon popped up such as Cesarini’s Grocery, Lutey Brothers Grocery, Grosso Meats, Tipperary Candy Store, Petritz Shoes Repair, Merlak’s Grocery, Tomich Barbershop and the kid’s favorite, Nettie’s Super Ice Cream. The Crystal Theater, which later became known as the McQueen Club in 1944, offered entertainment to the area.

  Jesuit missionaries started the Holy Savior Catholic Church in 1901 and the elementary school in 1904. The McQueen Athletic Club and the McQueen Firehouse were the center of activities for many of the residents. The McQueen Club, the firehouse, Holy Savior Church, and the school were the heart and the people were the soul of the community.

  After breakfast, Mikhail helped Katya with the dishes. As he dried the last cereal bowl, he asked, “No parade this year, huh?”

  She wiped the splashed water from the sink counter and answered, “No. Nobody’s got money to build a float this year. Nobody feels like celebratin’ much anyways.”

  He set the bowl in the cupboard and looked in the living room to see Anna napping in his big chair. “No, I don’t suppose so. Anything doin’ at the McQueen Club?”

  “Ya. They’re having a potluck around 4:00. You wanna go over, Daddy? I’ll fix something and then I can stay with Anna. It might do you some good to see your friends. Everybody still asks about you.”

  Mikhail shrugged his shoulders, “Oh. I don’t know. George most likely has talked to most people by now. They’ll know we’re moving to Columbia Falls.”

  “Daddy. Let’s sit down on the porch and talk about it.”

  Once they got seated on the small wooden bench on the porch, Katya began the conversation she rehearsed during her sleepless night. “How’ll this all work? Me and David are still legally separated. I miss him like crazy. But soon as we’re together, we start to fight. I don’t know if—”

  “You and Anna can live with me and Tomas. We’ll have a big enough house for the four of us.”

  She stood up and walked to the edge of the porch and leaned her elbows on the rail. “Me and David need to work it out. Anna’ll need a mother and dad to help—”

  “He ain’t come down once since March to see her. And even that didn’t work. He got drunk, remember.”

  She promised herself she would not cry. Fighting tears, she managed to turn and face her father. “He’s under a lot of pressure with his job. The poor man works seven days a week so we can get the best care for Anna.”

  “So do me and your brother.”Her voice cracked as her temper flared, “I know, I know. But he’s a boss and the men depend—”

  Mikhail felt his own anger build as he flashed on David falling drunk into Rocco’s Club two nights earlier. “Katya. He plans to come down soon and you can talk it over. If it don’t work out at first, you can live with us. Then—”

  Her self-control vanished. “Why does it always have to be what you want?” Tears gushed. She slammed the gate after she ran down the steps of the porch and then disappeared into the alley.

  Mikhail started to go after her but stopped as he heard the muffled voice of Anna from the living room through the screen door. He composed himself the best he could and went into the living room. Anna had her mask up on her forehead and struggled to catch her breath. “Put your mask back on, Anna.”

  The harsh tone of his voice frightened her and she struggled even more to catch her breath. He gently slid the oxygen mask over her face and knelt down by her chair. “Easy now. Easy now. Take slow breaths.” He forced a reassuring smile and kissed her on the forehead. “It’s gonna be all right now.”

  Mikhail stroked her hair with his hand. “Shhh, now. Shhh.” Anna caught her breath and the color came back into her face. Her little chest slowed down from the earlier heaving. He handed her the Indian doll that fell off her chair. A smile came across her face and she pressed the doll against her shoulder.

  He changed his position to sitting on the floor. “Did I hear you snorin’ last night?”

  She shook her head and gave him a harmless slap on his arm. Anna pointed at him and imitated him snoring. He laughed and softly rubbed her tiny arm. Talking was easier with Anna than with adults. This puzzled him and wondered why he was so short with adults and yet he talked easily with her, “Happy Fourth of July. Would you like a story about your mom when she was a little girl like you?”

  Enthusiastically she nodded her head and squeezed her doll even tighter.

  Mikhail rearranged his legs and arms and began. “One time on the Fourth, we took your mom up to Park Street to watch the parade. She wore this little red cowboy hat with the string under her chin.” The memory of seeing Katya as a child with the little hat triggered a similar memory of his wife as a young woman. For the first ten years of their marriage, Mikhail and Barbara lived a good life together. He felt she did everything right as she raised Katya and Tomas as little kids. They were happy together and shared the marriage in all ways. He flashed on seeing Barbara as a twenty-five year old women holding Tomas in her arms while Mikhail stood and watched his daughter wave at the ladies riding on the beautiful floats.

  Barbara’s long brown hair draped below her shoulders and the smile on her face beamed as he made eye contact with her as he looked up from the parade. They made love that night after the kids went to sleep and she promised she’d love him forever.

  He felt Anna’s hand tapping him on the arm. Mikhail realized he drifted off in the middle of the story. “Sorry, Anna. Anyway. Your mother waved at the pretty lady riding on the truck. The parade stopped for a minute in front of us. The lady waved your mother over to her. I took her over there, and the lady asked if your mother could ride up on the truck with her for the rest of the parade. I said okay. She hopped up and sat next to the pretty lady and waved to the people as the truck went by. I walked alongside on the sidewalk and picked her up at the end of the parade.”

  Anna drifted off to sleep before he finished telling her the entire story. He slid the blanket up snuggly and covered her and her little doll. Mikhail drifted off back to the memory of seeing he and Barbara lying in their bed vowing to love each other until the end of time. An angry memory swiftly replaced that one as he flashed on the night fifteen years later when she asked him for a divorce so she could live with another man.

  The screen door closed and snapped Mikhail from his trip back to Barbara. Katya walked into the living room and stared at her father still sitting on the floor with his hands on his lap. “Sorry, Daddy. Poor sleep last night and I took it out on you. Can we try it again?”

  “Only if I can get up.” They both managed weak laughs as he struggled over to the couch and climbed up to his feet. They hugged and he whispered, “We’ll work it out.”

  “I know we will. Let’s go fix something for you to take over to the McQueen Club this afternoon. I ran into George in the alley and he wants you to drive him over there. He can’t be too mad at you. I told him you would, so you’re stuck.”

  He nodded his tentative approval and placed his hands in front of him in surrender. “Do you remember that time when you rod
e in the float on the Fourth?”

  “How could I ever forget? You caught up with me at the Civic Center and nearly collapsed from exhaustion from walking that far. And then you had to carry me all the way back up to St. Joseph’s Church on your shoulders when mom met us with the car.”

  “I told Anna that story today. She sure looks like you sometimes.”

  Katya opened the cupboard door and pulled out some bowls. “People that visit her tell me that all the time. When I look in the mirror sometimes, I think I look like Grandmother Moses. The extra weight and my scraggly hair don’t help me none.”

  He shook his head one more time and headed to the bathroom for a shower.

  At five in the morning of the Fourth of July, John Nolan stood over the sprawled body of Tomas as he lay sleeping in the undersized single bed of his room in the barracks. His mind soared back to the beautiful spring morning that Tomas was born. One of the nurses brought Tomas over to him as he stood by Mikhail in the hallway outside of the delivery room. He recalled her words to him, “You have a beautiful son, Mr. Anzich, and he even looks a little like you. You can go and see your wife now.” Nolan shook his head as he vividly remembered the look of surprise on Mikhail’s face. Nolan wished that Tomas was his son. He watched him grow from that baby in the hospital through his years in school.

  And now he stood over a boy turned man. He wanted to kiss him on the head like he did when he was a little boy. Instead he reached down and firmly grabbed him by the shoulders and yelled, “Alright, time to get up and face the music. If you’re goin’ to dance, you’re goin’ to pay the fiddler.”

  Tomas jerked up and sat with his eyes scanning the room for his bearing. “What? What do—”

  “Never mind. You’re goin’ to work that big head of yours off before you go to work. Get on your clothes! You’re goin’ for a long walk. Hurry up!”

  Tomas slid around in the bed and placed his feet down on the floor. He still wore his socks and clothes to bed. He searched for his shoes. And then it hit. His head pounded and his stomach heaved. Tomas bent to reach his right shoe and stopped. He jumped up and ran for the bathroom. Nolan heard him vomit. One of Tomas’s shoes lay upside down in the hallway leading to the bathroom. Nolan picked it up and walked slowly down to join Tomas who wrapped his arms around the toilet. Dry heaves tortured his body and nothing remained in his stomach from the night before.

  Nolan placed an arm on Tomas’s shoulder and said, “Let’s walk. You’ll feel better.” He remembered from his own experience of dealing with severe hangovers. “Come on, Nephew. Let’s go.”

  Tomas gathered himself and pushed himself up from the toilet. They stopped and got his other shoe and went outside. The sun came up over the ridge as they walked down the road leading to the east side of the Hungry Horse Reservoir. After walking about half a mile, Tomas stopped and blazed through another bout of dry heaves. He wiped his mouth with his forearm, and with Nolan’s encouragement, they continued walking. An hour and a half later and having endured Nolan’s constant barrage of stories of his hangovers, Tomas walked up the stairs to the barracks. Nolan walked fast and never slowed down except to stand and watch Tomas attempt to clear his stomach. Sweat poured down his face as he walked in. He took off his clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist. He went in and with Nolan’s constant haranguing, he tolerated a long, ice cold shower.

  After he managed to eat some scrambled eggs, toast, and drink several cups of coffee and tomato juice, Tomas boarded the bus to the top of the Dam. He climbed into the back and avoided the eyes of his partner, Shorty Davis who sat in the front row. Tomas berated himself about getting drunk with David and vowed to never drink again. He knew Shorty would question him about last night. Shorty made it real clear yesterday afternoon about not working with drunks. Tomas promised himself to put on a good act and work non-stop until the whistle blew at 4:30.

  Shorty waited for him at the side of the bus. He liked Shorty but tolerated some bad moods that included ranting and raving. The look on Shorty’s face looked to Tomas like it was going to be one of those kinds of days. “Did ya get drunk with your asshole brother-in-law last night?”

  Tomas stood his distance and answered, “No Shorty. I drank three beers with him and was in bed by 9:00. I feel great today.” Shorty walked away and mumbled, “Ya, you betcha.”

  He jogged up alongside Shorty and walked together. They set their buckets and jackets down on the bench in the shack. Without looking up Shorty growled at Tomas, “You’d better be feelin’ great. We’re short-handed as hell and they are stickin’ a new guy in with us. Besides we been challenged to more pours by next block over. It’s gonna be hotter than yesterday. So you’d better be feeling great.” He looked right in Tomas’s eyes and continued, “You follow, Kid?”

  Tomas swallowed hard as the smell of the Copenhagen on Shorty’s breath filled his nostrils. His stomach moved but held. He also fought the dull throb of the headache and said, “Yes, sir, I follow.”

  Shorty nodded a slight approval, spit out his snoose, and poured a cup of coffee from his thermos. They stood there and watched their boss Fred Spear and a young Indian man walk toward them. “Hey, Shorty, this here is Cliff Buckless. He’ll be workin’ with ya today. He’ll be the third and will spell you and your partner. Heard ya been challenged. You start in block number six. Hope you kick Buck’s ass.”

  Shorty nodded and introduced himself to the new man. “Have you run a vibrator before there, Cliff?”

  After a short pause, Cliff answered, “Yes.”

  Shorty shook his head as Tomas walked the new man toward block six. He thought how it was bad enough working with a hung over partner, now he had to put up with a Blackfeet Indian who was probably hung over too. Shorty worked with lots of Blackfeet Indians and liked how steady most of them worked. He just wished it hadn’t happened on a day when Buck Morris and his crew challenged them to a pour. Maybe this young guy’ll work out. I don’t want to listen to big mouth Morris bragging on and on for weeks.

  The bellboy signaled the operator and he guided the bucket of concrete over to block six. The men stood in the corner and watched the contents enter the five-foot block. Tomas gave himself another pep talk, “Work harder than you ever had before. Shorty’ll tan your hide if you don’t.” Shorty picked up his end of the vibrator and signaled Tomas with a slight nod of his head. Every nerve in his head reacted as the vibration rolled through his arms and up through his neck. He rejoined his private thoughts, “Oh God, I promise to never drink again. Please help me make it through today.”

  During lunch, Tomas listened to every word Cliff told him about the Going to The Sun Highway and the eastern side of Glacier Park. “Cliff, would you take me up there sometime? I’d help pay for gas and everything. I’d really like to see it.”

  “I will take you there on our day off sometime. I can show you my home in Heart Butte. You can then see the Mountains from the other side.”

  “I’d like to do that, Cliff.” Tomas remembered looking up towards the area of the Going To The Sun Highway on his first trip to Glacier with David. “I’d like—”

  “It’s time to hit the bricks. You can talk about Glacier on your own time. Let’s roll.” As he did every day, Shorty handed his bucket to Tomas after eating. “Take this on up for me will you, Kid?”

  Tomas sighed relief once he realized Shorty forgot about last night. Shorty’s crew had finished tapping three pours before lunch and Shorty took the opportunity to razz Buck about them lagging behind.

  John Nolan insisted that Tomas bring two extra jugs of water with him. Tomas drained his regular jug and worked on one of the extras as he walked back to block six to join his crew. He felt strong and realized what Nolan told him was right. “Kid, the one thing about a good hangover is that sometime during the day you will start to feel better. It’ll feel as good as a good shit.” Tomas felt warm inside as he thought of how good care Nolan took of him that morning. He now understood how Nolan and his dad were such go
od friends. After his father, John Nolan was the greatest man he ever knew. I am so lucky to have him as my godfather and step-uncle.

  The bus ride down to the bottom was loud and Shorty and his crew celebrated the victory over his rival Buck Morris. Shorty loudly bragged how he beat Morris with a snotty-nose kid and a first-time Blackfeet Indian kid. “I whooped your ass Morris with a couple of young greenhorns. And one of ‘em was even hung over, but don’t tell his old man. He’ll get his ass kicked.” The bus erupted into loud laughing and others joined in teasing Morris and the men in his crew.

  Shorty continued, “We’re meetin’ down at Whitey’s and the drinks are on Buck. I think I might try a martini tonight or some other fancy drink. Oh ya, Morris. My young pups will have Shirley Temples too.” Again the raucous group of men roared their approval.

  Cliff quietly whispered to Tomas, “What is a Shirley Temple?”

  He remembered back to his senior year prom dance and the dinner at the Arrow Club in Meaderville after the dance. “Oh it’s a real sweet drink that doesn’t have any booze in it. I bought one for my date after the prom once.”

  He nodded his understanding but couldn’t imagine any of the bars in Hungry Horse serving a girl’s drink. Cliff Buckless watched many of his friends and family members get drunk and behave badly when he lived on the Blackfeet Reservation. After basketball season of his senior year, he packed a small suitcase and hitchhiked over to Hungry Horse and started working on the Dam.

  He walked by many of the bars in the Canyon as a way of reminding him that he would never drink. Cliff flashed on that cold night in February when he was twelve years old. The tribal police car pulled in front of their house at two o’clock in the morning. He still remembered the red light swirling around and around. He scratched the frost off the glass, and he and his little sister peeped out of the window. The greatest fear for him in life came through right at that moment. The knock on the door sounded like a giant pounded with a large rock. He and his sister opened the door and heard the news of the head on car crash on the bridge between East Glacier and Browning. His parents and his uncle were dead.