Name to a Face: Arlene Weber

Arlene Weber is the first generation in her family to be born in Montana, though her family has been here since 1910. Her father was born out of state; he would often tell her stories about his home state of Iowa, but also the town of Whitehall, MT they lived in. Her father and grandfather have always inspired her love of history which has guided Arlene through her life. She was told stories of her Grandmother coming over on a clipper ship and how her grandmother was around for the 1900s Haley's Comet.

Arlene graduated from Whitehall High School and went on to get a degree in Occupational Safety and Health in 1978 at Montana Tech. She then worked at the Trident Cement Plant in Three Forks for 23 years and retired in 2002. Though she retired, she continued with consulting work for a while after with Trident. She turned to the Rotary Club in 2000 where she has gained much ground over the years. She was club President in 2002-2003 and later became the District Govenor for the Rotary Club in 2011-2012. She then began to reinstate her love for history by volunteering at the Jefferson Valley Museum Inc. where she has been giving her time to help preserve history for the past ten years. She has been a part of the museum board in the position of Secretary. Arlene is dedicated to the museum and has even donated some of her family possessions to the museum collection. You can see her uncle in a picture with his own car in front of the house that was later taken down and replaced by the postoffice. Her very own camera which she had received in the 8th grade sits proudly in the camera display case.

With the love for history also came the love for photography. Arlene has loved photography ever since she was young and has taken pictures of nature ever since. She loves how rocks can make such interesting shapes and often takes pictures up on the Boulder Batholith. She had been a part of the High School's Annual staff in earlier years and had grown her own business from it. She learned to frame on her own so that she could properly display her own artwork without paying the expenses of the framing industry. She has now retired from the photography and framing business but still enjoys the peace of taking unique photos on her own time. She has helped the museum on occasion with her framing talent.

Arlene has been rooted in this community since she was born and she loves the space this town gives. Despite not being crowded she enjoys the fact that the community is filled with good people who are willing to come together to help each other or to preserve history like the museum. She is happy that the town has a healthy amount of volunteer spirit and that we can come together even in hard times. Despite traveling to five continentes and over twenty seven countries she has always come home to Whitehall, Montana.