Stratton homestead to be lost to history I recently attended the final July 4th picnic at the historic 120-year-old Stratton Mill in the Highlands. I can't tell you what a sad occasion it was for me. Friends and family gathered and said their goodbyes to the mill and its surroundings. Some of us took small pieces of the mill building just for our own memories. As I walked through the grounds, I thought about the rare turn-of-the-century water-powered sawmill that supplied the lumber for the Butte mines. I thought about the historic significance of this ground beneath my feet. I thought about how soon there would be no trace that it ever existed. It sickened me. Then, as I sat watching everyone visiting and reminiscing, I couldn't help recalling how Sen. Conrad Burns had told Vadis Stratton (with a hug and a kiss) that she would never lose her home or the mill. I recalled the pleas, the phone calls, and the letters and e-mails sent to Burns, Max Baucus and Dennis Rehberg, which eventually all fell on deaf ears. I remembered how prime land in the Beaverhead County was offered as an exchange and refused, as well as petitions with over 4,000 signatures were unaccepted by the Forest Service. Vadis Stratton truly believed Burns would help her save her husband's family homestead. She believed that the historic 120-year-old structures would not be destroyed. She has clung to the hope that her senators and congressman would help her. An historic homestead has been taken away from a native Montana family that arrived in the Highlands by covered wagon. On Aug. 31, the Stratton's will be leaving their home and memories of over 100 years. The public voice was ignored when the Forest Service employees refused to accept the petitions from the Strattons. (They stated they weren't taking any petitions at that time.) The public voice was also ignored when all the correspondence fell on deaf ears by our Montana delegation. Don't believe this could not happen to you. I hope those 4,000-plus voters who signed those petitions will remember the fatal outcome of the Strattons. I still believe that more than 4,000 votes could be powerful in an election. Readers...remember the Strattons when you step into that voting booth. Becky Benson Taylor 126 Bluebird Lane Whitehall