East Helena Branch Library May Happenings          (Use Scroll Bar)

For Children:
Storytime on Wednesdays at 10:30am. Enjoy a picture book or two with a like-themed activity to make and take home. All ages are welcome. Activities are geared towards pre-school ages with adult assistance. All ages welcome. May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31

Movie for K-12: How to Train Your Dragon will be shown on May 24th, 4-6pm. Popcorn and soda will be provided. Movie is rated PG and runs 98 minutes.
Teens (6th-12th grades):
TeenTime on the 1st Thursday, May 4th (Star Wars Day), after school until 5:00pm. Snacks are provided. Project/Craft will be Star Wars Origami!

The Democracy Project on Tuesday May 2 & 9, 4-5pm. Snacks are provided. The Democracy Project is a teen-led, non-partisan initiative supported by local libraries, community partners, and Humanities Montana. This program gives teens the resources to effect change and know their role in an evolving democracy through direct civic participation. Students work for six months on projects they feel are vital to their community, ending with a public showcase.

Adults:
Reading Circle Book Group meets every last Friday of the month at 3:00pm. For May, the meeting is the 26th. The title this month is The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. A limited supply of books are available to share among the group.
Movie based on Reading Circle Book from April: May 5th 3-5pm. Arrival is rated PG-13 and 116 minutes long. Popcorn and soda provided.

All Ages:
Wizard Wednesdays: May 17th from 4-6pm. This program recurs on the third Wednesday of every month in 2023 in East Helena. Patrons may bring in their tablets or phones for one-on-one assistance with online library services, including downloading e-books and audiobooks and managing family library accounts. (Disclaimer: We cannot help with non-library apps, hardware issues, or lost passwords / locked devices.)

Board Game Saturday on May 20th from 10am-1pm. The library has board games to choose from or bring your own. We’ll provide a hot or cold drink while participants enjoy playing board games with other patrons.

Quarterly Craft Swap: Drop off/Donate slightly used or new crafts on May 22 & 23. Shop for free and new-to-you crafts on May 24 & 25.

HIGH PLAINS SHEEPSKIN 2020

         In 1993, Gary Thomas bought a building on Main Street in downtown East Helena, Montana for a practical reason: it was the closest commercial space to his house that he could afford. His plan was to change the nature of his business from retail to mail-order and do away with most of his products to concentrate on making sheepskin slippers. It turned out to be a great decision because of something he didn’t initially expect – East Helena is a truly great place to run and operate a business. It’s a small town that should brag about itself more often than it does. Downtown may only be a couple of blocks long, but it has filled up with incredible business owners who are all in it for the long haul. It’s a quiet place in good country.

            There are several reasons for why East Helena works out so well for an independent business. The commercial real estate is reasonably priced yet still easily accessible to the nearby population of the Helena area. Bank access, postal service and City Hall are a few things that are just down the street. The primary element that makes East Helena such a great location is its abundance of amazing neighbors – both in the business community and residents of the town. One of those neighbors that we would like to single out is our incredible local Post Office. We are a mail-order business, and we ship out over 2,000 packages each year. The East Helena Post Office is a local partner that we could hardly do without. Everyone on staff really goes out of their way to streamline the process and get our goods into the postal stream as effortlessly as possible. We owe those folks a tremendous amount of gratitude.

Our Founding
         High Plains Sheepskin was started in the cold and windy basins of southern Wyoming (hence the name “High Plains”) in 1975. Gary’s first shop was in Laramie, WY. After nine years, he moved to Last Chance Gulch in Helena, MT. Then, in 1993, Gary moved one final time to our current location at 5 West Main Street (formally known as Prickly Pear Junction) in East Helena, MT. We are right across the street from Dave and Annie’s restaurant, Main Street Easts (best breakfast around!), and next door to Stacks Clothing CO. & Antiques. This is our factory, warehouse, shipping center and retail outlet all rolled into one.

         Prior to starting High Plains, Gary had several years of experience in the tanning and industrial sheepskin industry. In the tannery, he worked as a sheepskin finisher and grader. As an apprentice under an old school Czech craftsman, Gary made sheepskin paint rollers, industrial applicators, and saddle pads. His passion for doing what he loved led him to work for himself, building High Plains Sheepskin from the ground up. Gary employed many ambition and talented people throughout the years who helped him build and sell his slippers, mittens, and hats. Spencer Haire was his final trusted employee and worked alongside him until Gary made his last pair of slippers. Gary Thomas tragically passed away in August of 2019 leaving Spencer and his wife Casey Sasek to purchase High Plains and continue providing his beloved sheepskin slippers to tens of thousands of customers around the country. They make a good team. Spencer manages the shop and makes all of the products while Casey’s background in banking allows her to handle the books and marketing. In 2020, they welcomed their first son, Jackson, to the wonderful world of sheepskin slippers.

         The new management of High Plains has also hired their first employee, Trevor Held, who is an East Helena native and part of the first graduating class of East Helena High School. Go Vigilantes!

         High Plains Sheepskin has always been a small business. We work all year to make thousands of slippers, mittens, and other products that we then ship to all 50 states, Canada and overseas. We enjoy what we do and love being a part of East Helena’s small but growing community.