Name to a Face: Rhea Armstrong "Caverns Master"

Rhea Armstrong may have been born in Butte, but she is a true Cardwell native. Her family has always been in the region; her great grandparents originated their homestead in Milligan Canyon.

Attending Cardwell School up to her high school years, Rhea participated in a local 4H club. After graduating from Whitehall High School she attended college, obtaining a degree in Elementary Education from the University of Montana Western, then known as the Western Montana College, in 1987.

Her degree started her on the blessed path of teaching. She moved to Inverness, Montana, and taught second grade for three years before coming home to Cardwell, where she began teaching the eighth grade.

Throughout her years of teaching, she enjoyed many experiential trips around the world. She has visited Ireland, Scotland, China, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, and Spain. Rhea also has explored Hawaii, which, she says, can sometimes seem like a completely different country. Her travels have always included her cousin, and recently she has been able to rope a younger family member into the fun. These trips allowed her to get an upclose look atthe world around her, where she brings knowledge back to her students, all of whom enjoyed learning more about other countries.

Rhea started working at the Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park in 1986 as a tour guide. She later left her teaching career behind to become the park's assistant manager. she is now the Manager of the park. Always busy and working hard, she is in charge of all the park's inner workings, from the trails and camping to the tours, as well as dealing with private businesses. This definitely keeps her hands full but she has always enjoyed every minute of it. Unlike most of the other state parks that only deal with one area, such as camping, Lewis and Clark Caverns deals with multiple fields at once. She works mainly behind the scenes, occasionally getting out to teach visitors at the park.

Rhea has focused her time not only on the Lewis and Clark State Park and her family, but as an active member of the Whitehall and Cardwell communities. She does her part as a Board member of the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce, and participates in Bible Studies; before COVID-19 she was also very active in adult volleyball. She has been a Board member for the Whitehall Pool, and she also participates in work for Love IINC, an organization dedicated to helping others in need by way of clothing, food, housing, and more. The organization, Rhea said, is more about extending a true helping hand, not just offering money to quick fix a situation.

"I love that Whitehall is a big family," Rhea added.

Through her work with so many community organizations, Rhea wishes to see that hospitality extended throughout all Whitehall groups and organizations - welcoming one another and working together to serve a common goal - making Whitehall the best it can be.