New pub, general store nurture community in Trego

On any given day there’s not much bustle in Trego, but as the locals well know, that’s the beauty of their tiny town.

School is out for the summer. This time of year it’s dead quiet at the rural K-8 schoolhouse that’s a social hub for much of the year.

Many of the community’s 600 residents — a number of them retirees who have built their dream homes in the woods — make their daily stop at the Trego Post Office. There’s a hush there, too, on this cloudy summer day. The Post Office has been the one constant anchor in the town; the first one opened in 1911 to serve the community that sprang up along the Great Northern Railway line in the early 1900s.

In a nearby trailer court a man on a riding lawnmower makes his rounds. But there’s not another soul around.

Down the road, two young children ride their bikes with youthful abandon on a dirt road amid the idyllic pastoral beauty of Trego’s open meadows.

Yes, it’s quiet in Trego by all accounts. Yet there’s big news in town.

After going without a general store for many years, Trego once again has a gathering spot. The Trego Pub and General Store opened in late March, filling the need for a local watering hole and convenience store for staples. For residents who live off the beaten path about 37 miles from Whitefish and 17 miles from Eureka, it’s nice to have a place to sip a glass of craft beer or make an emergency run for milk and bread.

Todd and Leilani Swan are the proud owners of Trego’s newest business. The account of how their lives intersected, but always led back to Trego, is a love story on several levels.

Leilani and her husband, Bruce Etter, who passed away in 2001, came to the Flathead Valley from Phoenix and moved to Trego in 1988. They were immediately smitten with the small community so far off the beaten track.

She worked for the U.S. Forest Service for a while, helping with timber sales, mapping roads and fires before earning a nursing degree in 2000 from Montana State University. Leilani somewhat serendipitously also worked at the Trego Mercantile for a time.

When Bruce died, Leilani’s father insisted his daughter move back home to Arizona, but after he saw firsthand how she had embraced Trego — and Trego folks had embraced her — he came to understand the small community was indeed home to Leilani.

Todd, a Pennsylvania native, came to Trego by way of the Forest Service in 1992, when he began work as an archaeologist for the federal agency, working largely on former Champion timber land. He did that off and on for about 15 years.

Todd was one of Leilani and Bruce’s closest friends. A while after Bruce’s death Leilani and Todd both moved to Kalispell.

Todd, also a custom woodworker and an artist, ran a woodshop in Kalispell.

Leilani, an infusion-services nurse at North Valley Hospital, was daunted by the long commute from Trego, so she bought Bill McClaren’s place in Kalispell and raised dahlias for a few years in addition to her nursing career before recently selling the property.

Todd and Leilani’s friendship endured and grew closer. They got married five years ago and began hatching a plan that would get them back to Trego. Leilani had owned the property where their new pub and general store is located since 1990, and it happens to be in the heart of Trego.

Their joint conclusion was “we should build a store.”

Lost Creek Woodworks framed the building and Todd used his woodworking and construction prowess to finish the interior.

The couple live in the upstairs of their new building.

“At the end of a 17-hour day we crawl upstairs and go to bed,” Leilani said with a smile.

The Swans wanted a business that offers a family atmosphere, so there’s a trunk full of games for children who tag along with their parents. By choice, the pub has no gaming machines, no TV screens and no fried food, offering instead a variety of panini-style sandwiches, “beer” dogs, homemade salsas and fresh salads with homemade dressings. Champagne, wine, mimosas and a variety of craft beers quench patrons’ thirst.

As the Trego Pub and General Store’s Facebook page notes: “Just a place to have a good beer, meet friends and have good conversation.”

Live music will be staged through the summer and will be announced on Facebook. A large deck with a panoramic view of the Tobacco Valley provides additional summertime seating and is next to a game area where ladder ball props are set up.

“People are tickled to have somewhere to go,” Leilani said about their clientele. “Our intent is to have a gathering place.”

Todd said he loves the way Trego folks rally to help their own, whether it’s a raffle for a local scholarship or support “anytime someone is sick or in trouble.

“It’s a strong community, a great community,” he added.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.