COLUMN: Laurel a fine host

I remember well growing up just 14 official miles from Billings’ “bedroom” — a quiet little community called Laurel.

It was known for its refinery and its sprawling railroad yard.

Pretty quiet otherwise, but they did have an A&W for some good, old-fashioned mugs of root beer delivered to your car.

Wow, have things changed!

And after this weekend’s Montana High School Class A and C track and field championships, it may well have etched itself into the event planners’ minds as a “must” place to stage an outdoor sporting event.

The Laurel Sports Complex was not there when I was a kid.

It should have been.

The well-kept stadium adjacent to Laurel High School, home of the Locomotives, is a great place to hold a track and field event, as well I’m sure, as football games.

The “bedroom” town has a better facility than does the nearby 100,000-plus “Magic City”.

It is newer than the well-used Daylis Stadium, where, among other events, the annual Billings Senior-Billings West football game (aka knuckle-swap) is held. It’s right next door to Senior High, which, when I went there, had more than 3,000 students.

Both of those are still functional, but both will hear the call for replacement someday soon.

And believe it or not, Laurel, where my Aunt Ruth lived for lots of years while she was the Laurel School nurse, has more easy to access and ample parking than Daylis.

Of course, Billings has the “Metra”, or whatever it is called now and is the place for wrestling, basketball, concerts, etc.

But for outdoor events like the State track and field championships, it's Laurel by a mile.

The running track in Laurel is as good an all weather track as there is in the state. And the stadium seating is perfect for a high school championship event. Fans from around the state packed the stadium this past weekend.

Another advantage to Laurel in the tale of two stadiums is getting to it.

Billings, sadly, is home to clogged streets that are often home to trophy-size potholes, or as my friends used to say, “Chuck-holes”. I had a name for them that included holes but that’s a different subject for a different time.

Once you get off nearby I-90, Laurel Sports Complex is a short ride through the heart of what was the downtown Laurel area. There are just one or two stop lights to navigate and the two-lane public street is basically intact.

At this weekend’s event, the Montana High School Association (MHSA) had plenty of staff on hand to keep things rolling smoothly and for the most part on time.

And somehow, the town had managed to have an “Olympic-like” flame running non-stop during the meet’s three day run.

Of course, that flame, which is visible from the upper rows of stadium seats, was actually a “flare” flame from the oil and gas refinery on the south side of Laurel, but when I pointed out the “torch” to stadium personnel, they all smiled and nodded their heads.

It would have been really cool, I thought, to put up a big sign on the refinery tower from which excess gas is burned off. It could have read something to the effect of “Welcome to the Games of Laurel, 2023 AD”.

At any rate, those responsible for the meet should take a well-deserved bow. It’s not always the case when such things go off smoothly.

But the Laurel games made a statement that the facility and the town are indeed, state-caliber.

And in a state where everything in another town seems to be at least 100 miles away, Laurel is pretty much centrally located.

They even have a WalMart these days. And West Billings has an abundance, perhaps over-abundance, of motel rooms should the need arise.

The “bedroom” community may well be the “living room”.