Lewis and Clark County, Helena hand out historic preservation awards

The city of Helena and Lewis and Clark County presented their 2022-2023 Historic Preservation Awards for outstanding work in historic preservation in the area.

Helena artist Matt Egan spot cleans the 80-year-old Irvin “Shorty” Shope mural in the historic Fort William Henry Harrison Service Club in 2022.

THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Matt Egan – Fort Harrison Service Club Mural

Egan is a local Helena artist who repaired and restored the 80-year-old mural originally created by Shorty Shope and artists from the 1st Special Service Force and completed in 1943.

“With passion, determination and donation of part of the restoration fee, Matt spent countless hours removing decades worth of damage. He worked inch by inch removing smoke and grime to restore the mural to its original glory,” a City-County Historic Preservation Office news release sent Tuesday states.

Camp Rimini War Dog Memorial Pavilion

Camp Rimini was part of a site originally used as Conservation Corps Camp in 1936. The site was chosen by the Army in 1942 for training of sled and pack dogs and their military handlers under the U.S. Signal Corps. The sled and

View Source