COLSTRIP — Kayla de la Ossa lights up anytime she gets to talk about her home town, so she's definitely in the right job.
"It was always my dream to work in a museum," de la Ossa said.
Two years ago, she was named executive director of the Colstrip Schoolhouse History and Art Center — SHAC, for short — and a new exhibit may be her finest work yet: a curated collection of Colstrip throughout its 100-year history.
"The most exciting part to me is to help people understand the history of Colstrip, and to get to watch families read things about their own family," she said. "We get to display some things we otherwise wouldn’t display."
Some of her favorite examples include two Kay Lovelace paintings.
"If you’re going to talk about any kind of art in Colstrip, she’s your gal," de la Ossa said.
In her bio, you’ll find out Lovelace studied with perhaps Montana’s most famous artist: Charlie Russell.
On the back wall is de la Ossa’s biggest triumph: photos throughout time from various Colstrip citizens, who are the reason the SHAC exists.
"A group of concerned citizens bought the old schoolroom from the district for $1," she said of the 99-year-old building's history. "Then they kept it going through bake sales mostly.
"The whole community came together to make this building happen. It's a testament to how our community rallies together."
As far as history goes, nobody knows more about Colstrip than Roger Rosdahl.
"I like it here," the 77-year-old said. "I’ll probably be here forever."
Rosdahl has lived in Colstrip basically his entire life. He was born in Forsyth.
"But I only spent two days there," he likes to joke.
After four years in Seattle, Rosdahl moved back to Colstrip in 1974 and has been there ever since. It's why SHAC administrative assistant Leslie Hull asked Rosdahl to help design a walking tour of Colstrip’s historic corridor.
Except...
"I usually drive around it," Rosdahl said with a laugh.
So we hopped in Hull’s truck and drove. First stop, the house Rosdahl grew up in, and specifically, a tree right next to the front steps.
"I think we were born about the same time in ’46. It grew quite a bit. I never did grow," he joked.
That’s not quite on the tour, but he can tell you just as much about all the places that are.
"Those were the barracks," he said as the truck drove past 302 Water Ave. "And this was the mess hall."
All in all, there are 24 different spots to check out on the tour, starting at the front of the SHAC and ending in the back garden with a time capsule, recently filled with artifacts, to be opened at the next centennial celebration.
"Hopefully someone will find it on June 22, 2123," Hull said.
And start a new tour of their own.
You can find the full walking tour on the Schoolhouse SHAC Facebook page.
