 May 26, 2008 |
Living the Dream
Couple show their love for Philipsburg by restoring historic soda fountain |
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By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian
Photographed by MICHAEL GALLACHER of the Missoulian
While on vacation in Montana, the part-time Virginia and Florida residents heard about the beautiful Flint Creek Valley and decided to go see it for themselves. Stunning scenery? A friendly community with an old-fashioned candy store? Why not? And so the couple set off for Montana Highway 1 and when they arrived at their destination and cruised up Philipsburg's main drag, they found what they had long been searching for - their dream town. This marks their third Memorial Day weekend as part of the town's business community. If timing in life is everything, the Marchis believed their trip to Philipsburg was meant to be. A "for sale" sign in the window of the M.E. Doe Building, a grand two-story Victorian in the heart of downtown, beckoned the couple and jump-started another dream they had long shelved: to own and operate an old-time soda fountain. Built by M.E. Doe in 1887, the building housed Philipsburg's first drugstore and soda fountain and, as the years piled on, several other businesses, including a hotel, a cafe, and a toy store. Although it looked every bit its venerable age, the building had survived the past century still structurally sound and with all its original architectural charm. The more the Marchis looked and thought about it, the more they became hooked on the building, on the town and their dream. And so they bought the building hardly knowing the town or the people in it. A dream is one thing, but reality is a whole other world. First they had to clean the old building, which had stood empty for years. "Dust had permeated every crack and the place was a mess," Tony Marchi said. "We spent three days of cleaning and it had my wife nearly in tears," he said. "But unbeknownst to us, Shirley Beck (owner of the town's famous candy store, the Sweet Palace) and Claudette Dringle (owner of the town's Opera House Theatre) had organized a work party. Twelve people showed up with buckets and sponges to help us clean up and get ready to open for our first Memorial Day in 2006." When the work was over, as if by magic, large trays of food showed up to feed the work crew. |
For the first time in untold years, the M.E. Doe Building had again become a gathering spot.
It was then the Marchis realized how fortunate they were. They didn't know - couldn't have known - the building they bought came with the community. In the Marchis, Shirley Beck said, the community saw a couple who were ready to "dig their feet in like a calf at a new gate" to make their dream come true. "When we saw that passion, over we went to give them a hand," Beck said. "We left worked and changed our clothes and started scrubbing and cleaning. "Those of us who are determined to stay here and have a good life and who have a sense of community know it's hard to stay when things seem overwhelming, and sometimes getting these old buildings in workable shape can be overwhelming," Beck said. "We experienced that with the Sweet Palace, where every time you moved something, something fell apart. "So we know what it's like to have a hand when you see somebody else get started." Since that unexpected, wonderful day when the work party showed up unannounced, the Marchis have worked steadily at improving the building. They opened what is now called Doe Brothers Restaurant & Old Fashioned Soda Fountain, furnished with a 1920s soda fountain set pulled out of an old shop in Kalispell. All of the decor hinges on history, showcasing the late 1880s and early 1900s. There's an old-fashioned crank telephone for customer use, a display of pharmaceutical bottles left over from the original Doe pharmacy, and the Does' original hand-painted vault used for the safekeeping of valuables and profits. In keeping with the nostalgic theme, nearly all the menu items are Montana-made or Montana-inspired, including buffalo meatloaf, Montana-certified Angus beef and, appropriately, the food of miners - pasties. A full-grade commercial kitchen was recently installed, and in coming years, the couple plans to resurrect the building's second story and bring back the hotel operation Doe had in place when he started business in 1887. Of course, this time around, management will be considerably different, Marchi explained. Back in those days, the ore boom was in full stride and Philipsburg didn't have enough beds to sleep all the miners. As local lore goes, Doe capitalized on the situation in a most creative way. Because the mines worked on three shifts over 24 hours, Doe rented out his hotel bedrooms for eight hours at a time. As much as he loves resurrecting the history of his building, Marchi said he doesn't plan to bring back Doe's business plan. Instead, the original 10 small hotel rooms will be modified into six large, upscale rooms, each decorated with a historic theme. And, no, he joked, the rooms won't be rented out in eight-hour shifts. In a community like Philipsburg, it's hard to not give back when the community is so giving and helpful to newcomers, Marchi said.  He's doing his part, bit by bit. Among his business obligations, Marchi is also a member of the Granite County Search and Rescue and vice president of Philipburg's Chamber of Commerce."This is a great town," Marchi said. "It's the kind of town children can play in the streets. It's community-minded, and it's a Norman Rockwell kind of town, frankly." |
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