The mystery of the missing sign

Somers residents want to find landmark that 'disappeared' 20 years ago

The Daily Inter Lake

Two decades ago, a Somers landmark disappeared. Now, after 20 years of waiting for its return, a group of longtime residents wants it back.

"It just all at once disappeared," Howard Ruby said.

Ruby and his friend Francis VanRinsum can't recall why the sign, which told the town's history, was made in the first place. They do remember that then-Sen. Bob Brown was instrumental in bringing it about.

Brown found funding through his Helena connections and gave a short speech in Somers the day it was erected. The sign's unveiling was a community event, culminating in a potluck at the fire hall, VanRinsum said.

It was a large, wooden sign, at least 4 feet by 8 feet. Its routered letters were painted white; the sign was brown.

It looks similar to historical highway markers, but VanRinsum said the sign is not an official marker.

"This was a private thing just for Somers," he said.

The sign hung at the boat launch south of town for about five years before it was damaged in an accident. Exactly what happened isn't known, but Ruby thinks someone accidentally backed a boat trailer into it, cracking the sign's lower right-hand corner.

VanRinsum went to repair it not long after the damage occurred. When he arrived, he found a group of state government employees taking the sign down. They told him they were going to fix it, so he didn't protest.

He thinks they were from the state Department of Commerce but isn't sure what that department would want with a sign. He, Ruby and other Somers residents have been trying to get it back ever since.

"We know it's sitting in a warehouse somewhere," VanRinsum said.

They've considered getting a new sign, but that would be too expensive. If they can find it, they want to put it atop Somers Hill next to the historical marker about the railroad.

Anyone with information about the sign is encouraged to call VanRinsum at 857-3777 or Ruby at 857-3801.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.