Documentary film 'Butte, America' tells story of extraordinary Montana city

Butte is a city many love and others hate. Few encounter Butte and walk away neutral.

Its bold character, compelling history and resilient spirit drew award-winning filmmaker Pamela Roberts to tell Butte's story on film.

The documentary, "Butte, America: The Saga of a Hard Rock Mining Town," comes to the Myrna Loy Center, Saturday, Feb. 21, for two shows, at 6 and 8 p.m.

"I was drawn to this story most powerfully by the people of Butte, and the unique and indomitable character of the community," Roberts said.

It's a city that people often speak about using dramatic terms, she said: "the richest hill on earth;" "the town that plumbed and electrified America;" and now, "the nation's largest Superfund site."

Called by some the Pittsburgh of the West, it produced more than one-third of the world's copper. And, at one time, employed over 16,000 miners.

"Even today, this remarkable history plays an important role in the community and the lives of the people who still live there," Roberts said.

Capturing this epic story on film took a decade.

Roberts recalled that she was standing on an overlook above Butte after visiting the Granite Mountain Memorial, a site commemorating the deadliest hard-rock mining tragedy in American history.

"I looked over the abyss and I just had such a strong feeling about making this film."

The project's scope, she said, made her feel physically ill.

"I knew how much work and sacrifice would be involved," she said. "I knew that I was both excited and devastated by this idea."

She puzzled to herself,"What is it that makes this place so fascinating?

"There's a spirit that lives on that has to do with the people that came before."

That day proved a defining moment. Roberts, an Emmy-nominated director, who is also a fourth-generation Montanan, never turned back from the challenge.

The film premieres in several Montana cities this spring and is slated for broadcast on PBS this fall.

Early on in the project, Roberts partnered with writer and Butte native, Edwin Dobb, who co-produced the film, screenwriter Eugene Corr, who co-wrote the script.

"It's very much a story of the town," said Dobb, during a recent phone interview from San Francisco.

"The central character is the town itself. It's the biography of a town. The principal relationship is the dramatic tension between the town and 'the company,'" he said.

"The Anaconda Company is almost like a character in the film."

Early on, Dobb and Roberts decided the only way to tell such an epic story was through the eyes and voices of some of the people who had lived it.

"The aim was to identify something essential about Butte -- some deeper truth about the place," said Dobb. "We decided to focus on the work and working class experience. We knew we wanted to tell the story through the lives, experiences and voices of living characters."

They found that in Marie Cassidy, the matriarch of a Butte mining family, and John T. Shea, an ironworker who worked on the mine headframes and below ground as a ropeman.

"Our inspiration from the beginning was the people of Butte, the men and women who had the least to gain and the most to lose from their labors," said Roberts.

The story Roberts and Dobb discovered has significance far beyond the boundaries of Butte and borders of Montana.

"Butte's story is a large drama that played on a small stage in a mile-high valley of the Rocky Mountains," said Dobb. "It's a microcosm of what happened in America in 120 years.""

It's where the Industrial Revolution collided with the frontier.

"It's different from so many other communities in Montana," said Dobb.

It was pro-labor, religiously diverse, multiethnic, very Irish and very Catholic. It also had an urban nature and was tolerant of different lifestyles.

"I fell in love with Butte," said Roberts. "There's a real strong sense of identity and place there, which is a real essential ingredient in documentary filmmaking."

"Butte has such a strong sense of history. ...It's just a treasure trove."

"Story telling has a living spirit to it and it really runs through the fabric of Butte."

"The film is really meant to be a tribute to working class people. There is an unusual cohesion and loyalty forged in Butte. I don't know of any other place that there is a solidarity -- that is forged in the mines.

"We always say Butte is one of America's hardest places. There is so much strength and vitality there. Strength of character and a strong identity of place and self.

"I think people are hungry for that, they're drawn to Butte. They know it's there and it feels good. It's so lacking in the rest of America but it lives on in Butte."

Butte's history continues to be relevant today, Roberts said.

The most obvious reminder is the Berkeley Pit.

"It's an important legacy and metaphor of the consequences of extracting metal from the ground, not only in Butte but around the world," said Roberts. "It's the place the bill came due. It's laid bare for all to see."

A similar toll is taking place today in other parts of the world, such as China and Indonesia, where the environmental damage may be hidden from view.

"The earth is bearing the price," Roberts said.

For those who've formed an opinion of Butte, Roberts urged, "have an open mind. Butte is so many things to so many people. Come with no expectations at all."

If you go

As of Tuesday, few tickets remained for Saturday's 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. screenings at the Myrna Loy Center.

Reservations can be made at 406-586-1151.

However, another Helena show in April is now being scheduled.

To check on the April showing or those in other Montana communities, visit http://butteamericafilm.org.

Admission to the film is free, but a $10 donation per person is requested.

Advance tickets for the April show will be available at the Myrna Loy Center, 443-0287.

Saturday's shows will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the filmmakers and historians from the Montana Historical Society.

The Helena screening is sponsored by the Montana Historical Society and

MontanaPBS.

Educational program

Now that the "Butte, America" film is completed, Rattlesnake Productions is developing a place-based educational program, "About PLACE!" It will provide a comprehensive educational outreach program for schools and communities. For more information, visit http://butteamericafilm.org.