In his introduction, Aaron Parrett writes, “Almost from its inception in the 1860s, those who have visited the place agree that there’s no place quite like it on earth.”
“Butte, America” a phrase coined by the local chamber of commerce in the 1980s, is “… a kind of microcosmic crystal of the entire country” with ethnic diversity, struggles between corporate forces and social justice, a host of colorful personalities who rose to national attention, and its inhabitants’ indomitable pride in their city. It’s little wonder that a remarkable number of writers have chosen to use Butte as the setting for their work.
Storylines were copious and varied; from the romance of the Wild West and miners’ dreams of wealth, to labor’s struggles with corporate greed and the heavy hand of the Anaconda Company. The lives of the copper barons, Marcus Daly and William Clark, have been scrutinized in numerous books.
Butte spawned several literary notables, from the scandalous Mary MacLane (1881-1929) to contemporary poet Ed Lahey (1936-2012). Famous out-of-towners include detective writer Dashiell Hammett, author of Red Harvest and The Thin Man novels, who came to Butte to work for the Pinkerton Detective Agency.
Parrett’s list of notable books about Butte is lengthy and well-worth investigating.
“Butte on Film” is a much shorter list, but includes one of the city’s most famous personalities, Robert Craig Knievel, aka Evel Knievel, in a 1971 biopic that features some excellent shots of the city, including a scene in the iconic M&M Bar. The city has also been given incidental mention in many films and television programs.
In his afterword, Parrett notes that novels set in Butte not only depict human misery and environmental abuse, but also present a town of “remarkably honest” and “surprisingly philosophical” people who “endure and triumph in small, appreciable ways.” Long live Butte, America!
Parrett, a Butte native, attended The University of Montana, and received a doctorate in comparative literature from The University of Georgia. In 2004, he won the People’s Choice Award from the Montana Historical Society for his article on “Montana’s Worst Natural Disaster: The 1964 Flood on the Blackfeet Reservation.”
– Judy Shafter