Dirty Water & Butte Pride
- Jesi
- Aug 14
- 1 min read
Well, sugar, when you grow up in Butte, Montana, you learn two things real quick — how to hold your own, and how to drink your coffee black… ‘cause you sure don’t trust the water.
Today, Butte’s in the headlines again with a “Do Not Consume” order after a little mishap at Montana Resources sent questionable stuff into the tap. For most towns, that’s breaking news. For us? Just another chapter in a story older than the Berkeley Pit.
See, my hometown was built on copper, silver, and grit. We mined the “Richest Hill on Earth” till the hills themselves bled into Silver Bow Creek, turning clear streams into toxic soup. And when the pumps stopped in the ‘80s, the Berkeley Pit filled up — a big ol’ bathtub of acid, metals, and memories. Folks have been trying to clean it up ever since, but every so often, Butte’s water reminds you who’s boss.
And here’s the thing — we Butte kids? We’re tough because of it. Our roots run as deep as the mine shafts. We wear our history like a badge — tarnished maybe, but still shining. Dirty water or not, Butte is in my blood (and thankfully not too much arsenic these days).
So raise your glass — of bottled water, of course — to the Copper City. She’s not perfect, but she’s ours, and she’s still the toughest cowgirl in Montana.
