‘Root for the Root’ held in Hamilton
by Nathan Boddy
Several dozen people arrived on Main Street on Sunday, February 27th to show their support of community and their mutual belief in the ‘goodness of people.’ Event organizer, Melissa Ryan, first came up with the idea of the ‘Root For the Root’ gathering when she noticed that an area man has been posting fliers in and around Hamilton, which were negative to several Main Street establishments. Ryan describes the man as a “false prophet,” whose negative message was one she and other locals have chosen to counterbalance.
“We are a community,” said Ryan. “We are not going to let somebody come in here and try to divide us or create viciousness.”
Ryan, a native Montanan and owner of Daly Dog Care south of Hamilton, said that division is already rearing its head in many aspects of our lives right now, and that she simply did not want to see one more thing. Ryan was only able to spread the message of the gathering on Facebook, Snapchat and via word of mouth, but seemed happy with the numbers who’d already arrived.
Owners of Between the Worlds, Trevor and Dennis Kelvie, were also in attendance on Sunday. Their place of business has been repeatedly slandered by the fliers, which citizens say are commonly attached to public utility poles with industrial tape and adhesives. Dennis Kelive pointed out that removing the fliers can be a tough job, but suggested that people instead cover them with a positive message like the ‘Love Wins’ sticker that he and Trevor Kelvie were giving away.
“Let him spend his own energy taking them down,” said Kelvie.