In his song “A Mining City Christmas,” Butte native Mark Staples sings about the “lights upon the mines.”

Those lights have always made Christmas just a little more special in the Mining City. It is something we have in Butte that they can’t have in other places.

Larry Hoffman is one of the reasons we still have those lights on the gallows frames in Butte. He and some of his fellow volunteers climb up each year to make sure the headframes are lighting up Christmas in the Mining City.

They also make sure the headframes fly the American flag. They even put up Irish flags for the An Ri Ra Irish Festival each August.

Larry has spent most of his 79 years somehow involved in mining. He went under for the first time at 8 years old, and he knew he would make it a career.

After growing up in Lewistown and graduating from Fergus County High School, Larry came to Butte to earn a degree in mining engineering at the Montana School of Mines. The school changed its name to Montana Tech by the time he finished.

A birth defect in his lower back meant that he could not pass a physical to work for the Anaconda, Co., so Larry went to work for himself. He took contract mining jobs in Butte, as well as various other places in North American and South America.

Through it all, Larry called Butte his home. He also passes on his love for mining with anybody who will listen. That includes many years of leading mining tours underground.

Listen in to hear Larry talk about his mining career, his take on the history of Butte and what it is like to climb up to the top of those gallows frames.

You might learn a thing or two about our mining camp and gain a better appreciation of the beauty of the Butte skyline.

Today’s podcast is presented by Casagranda’s Steakhouse. Eat where the locals eat.