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FEBRUARY | MARCH 2023 • MONTANA SENIOR NEWS SPOTLIGHTS 29

A LUXURY
RETIREMENT
COMMUNITY
IN THE
HEART OF THE
MISSION VALLEY

"The nicest retirement facility in the state."
Topped with small town charm.

Apartments
Beauty in the Basics
Apartments feature 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths with full sized kitchens,
private laundry, attached 1 car garages, individual front and back
porches and open floor plans. Utilities, phone, cable and internet
packages are all in one bill.

Detailed Design...
Picture windows, granite counter tops, tiled showers, brushed nickel
finishes with wood doors and trim all lend to a decadent space.
Father Pierre-Jean De Smet was a Belgian Jesuit missionary who helped found
Montana’s first church in 1841, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Mission, in Stevensville. ...with Seniors in Mind
Public domain / Photo by Matthew Brady, Lincoln anda Cilvil War Photographer. Wide doorways, lever door knobs and faucet handles, rocker light
switches, bigger drawer pulls, grab bars, and zero-step entry on
all of the grounds make way for easy living.
Smet was raised speaking Flemish and French. At 19, he entered the
Petit Séminaire at Mechelen to pursue his long Jesuit formation. In Amenities
1821, first crossing himself before crossing the Atlantic, he took the Cleaning? We've got that too.
usually frightening seven-week sail with 11 other Jesuits-in-training, Residents will enjoy weekly light housekeeping and linen
aiming to become a missionary to Native American Indians. services, so window washing and lifting mattresses are a thing of
He began his two-year novitiate at a Jesuit mission in the past. Changing light bulbs and air system filters are, too.
Whitemarsh, Md., where he was exposed to English. In 1823, via a Yard Work? Forget about it.
two-week journey by stagecoach, he transferred to Florissant, Mo., Days spent straining your back over snow shovels and rakes are
to complete his theological studies and begin his studies of Native over. Lawn care, garden care and snow removal are included for
American customs and languages. After seven years of study, he all residents.
was ordained a priest on September 23, 1827. Activities
Around 1830, De Smet moved to St. Louis, to serve as treasurer Gathering Spaces
at the College of St. Louis. A few years later, he became an American Whether you choose to watch the game in front of the big screen,
citizen. In the Jesuit’s peripatetic system, Father De Smet then enjoy the view from the veranda, or warm yourself by the
traveled north in 1838 to what later became Council Bluffs, Iowa, double-sided fireplace, there are plenty of areas to convene in
to found the St. Joseph’s mission. De Smet worked primarily with our rustic club house.
a Potawatomi tribe. Fitness
In 1831, deeply distressed by so many of their children sick and Stay independent by staying strong, using our fitness center
dying, Salish Chief “Big Face” (Tjolzhitsay) sent a delegation of four designed with seniors in mind. Our resident garden provides
Salish chiefs to St. Louis, to ask the black robes for help. Mind you, a fresh produce and recreation.
one-way trip in those days was 1,625 miles (equivalent to the distance
between Portland, Maine and Miami). It was a four-month outing. Located Close to
They were directed to meet with none other than William Clark Flathead Lake, Glacier Park, Whitefish Ski Resort, Golfing, Fishing,
and Shopping in Kalispell or Missoula.
of the Lewis and Clarke Expedition, who was then Governor of
the entire 69,000-square mile Missouri Territory (formerly The
Louisiana Purchase Territory). Two of the chiefs died in Clark’s
house. The other two were directed to the office of Bishop Rosati,
who assured them missionaries would be sent in the future. Right.
After waiting patiently for four years, in 1835 Chief Big Face sent
another five-chief delegation. The Sioux massacred the group. He
then sent another delegation in 1837, another 3,326-mile round
trip, to no avail.
Figuring they were talking to the wrong people, Chief Big Face
sent yet another delegation, this time to De Smet’s St. Joseph’s
mission. The group journeyed another 1,200 miles via canoe on
the Missouri River. 406-676-PEAK (7325)
De Smet met with them and assured he’d go with them to the
Salish encampment the following year. Well, they did travel the
next year, but for a reason lost in the mists of history—they went 575 Eisenhower St SE | PO Box 435 | Ronan, MT
to Pierre’s Hole, in what is now Idaho, 300 miles to the south of
thepeaksronan.com | [email protected]
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