99 + 1 = A celebration of 100 birthdays for two locals

A longtime family connection and a chance sharing of the same birth date brought together a 99-year old lady and a one-year old boy for a celebration recently at the Sweet Nursing Home in Chinook. Marybelle Miller, who grew up in the Bear Paws and later operated a photography studio in Havre with her husband, Fred, was connected to the family of Frank and Bettie Barber for many years. The Barber's great grandson, Reece Talksdifferent, shares a birth date with Marybelle. Reece's great grandmother, Bettie, said, "I wanted to help two very dear people in my life to share their birthdays together." Hence, the party for Marybelle and Reece.

Marybelle's daughter, Linda Sloan, was helping her mother at the party. Linda and her husband, Don, had come from Anchorage, Alaska for the celebration. Marybelle and Fred had one other daughter, Laura, who has been deceased for many years.

A real Rosie the Riveter

Over cake and ice cream family and friends shared a few stories about Marybelle and her history. Marybelle's family lived in the Bear Paws south of Havre. She boarded in Havre in order to attend high school. She would do domestic work, while in school, for local families and eventually worked for Buttrey's Store in the china department.

Vowing never to marry a man named 'Fred' or' Miller,' she and Fred married in the mid-1940's and he immediately left for World War II where he was a military photographer. While Fred was away in the military, Marybelle went to Wyoming where she worked in a defense plant, like the famed Rosie the Riveter pictured during the time. Their first two wedding anniversaries they were apart.

When Fred came back from the war he began working for Wright Studio in Havre as a photographer. Eventually he and Marybelle bought the business and operated it until the 1970's. The studio was located east of Buttrey's in downtown Havre, then later moved to a location near the present-day Independence Bank.

Family told, "Marybelle loves to fish. At age 97 she got a fishing license and some of us took her fishing at Beaver Creek. She had caught the limit when the game warden came and checked all the fishermen around us, but not Marybelle. She was upset because she wanted to show that she had a license and could still catch the limit." She lived alone, with some outside help at times, until this past July when she came to Sweet Home.

As to how times have changed, Marybelle's daughter told that her mom had done FaceTime (an interactive computer application) earlier in the day with her grandson. Marybelle said, "When I lived in Havre during high school I never knew if my folks made it back to the Bear Paws until I saw them the next time they came to visit me in Havre."

Planning for a future party

Linda and Don Sloan will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary next year. They plan to come back to Montana to celebrate their golden anniversary and Marybelle's 100th birthday. Reece Talksdifferent didn't have much to say on the future party. It seemed if he had plenty of icing to eat off the birthday cake and some spoons to bang together, he was having his own party. Reece is the son of Stephanie and Seth Talksdifferent and is also growing up in the Bear Paws.

The "Journal" congratulates Marybelle and Reece on their joint birthday celebration.