BUTTE – In the spirit of Christmas, Butte hung up a large, historic star on top of one of the Mining City’s headframes Wednesday afternoon.
Crews battled high winds and cold as they hoisted the restored star more than 100 feet into the air to mount it on top of the headframe at the Steward Mine Yard. The World Museum of Mining and volunteers restored the lighted star to get it back into working condition so the city can continue this tradition that goes back many decades.
“It was on from 1965 and it was lit until 1982 a few years in there it wasn’t lit, and when mining stopped they weren’t lighting the headframes and then a group of Anaconda Co. volunteers started the tradition again from 1990 to 1996 and then they stopped. But it was a tradition that started at the Anselmo back in the 1930s,” said Jeanette Kopf of the World Museum of Mining.
The star will be lit throughout the Christmas season and can be seen from just about anywhere in Butte.
Reporting by John Emeigh for MTN News
