The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Helen Richter is retiring from the Big Sandy Medical Center on April 15. If you see her around town be sure to wish her well.

Helen's story is interesting. She came from England in 1947 along with her girl friend from Scotland to seek their fortunes as Registered Nurses in the United States. They spent their first night in the United States in Times Square in New York.

The two of them saw an add in their British Nursing Journal for Two Registered Nurses needed in a hospital in Big Sandy, Montana. They decided to apply and rode the train to Havre where the Big Sandy director of nursing, Mrs. Brettne picked them up and took them to Big Sandy where they were interviewed by Dr. Murphy and both were hired even though they found out later there were some forty applicants for those two jobs.

It helped that both Elizabeth and Helen were midwives as well. To get from a nurse in the British Isles to Montana was not an easy job and took around six months.

The first day the two were in Big Sandy they walked around the town, counted five churches and five bars and said to each other that they would give it a week. It was a case of culture shock supreme!

A week passed and the town and the people in the town really grew on both of them.

The two lived in a basement apartment until Elizabeth married Jerry Martin. After a tragic accident Elizabeth and her children moved to Shelby, then to Casper Wyoming.

It took Helen some nine years to get marred but finally her turn came and she married Big Sandy Pharmacist Vern Richter Vern had five children of his own and the two had one together. He is Doug who lives in St. Paul with his wife and two children.

Helen always has lived in Big Sandy, for 49 years in July matter of fact and has worked for 38 of those years at the Medical Center. She first worked in the hospital and with the residents but for a long time now has been a nurse in the clinic part of the center.

Nursing is not what it used to be and Helen, like so many of us, is old school in her occupation.

But first the best of Helen's world.

"I love all aspects of nursing. We have had so much fun with our patients and I really have enjoyed nursing in the clinic. There is always something happening there," said Helen.

As for the bad, Helen said that government interference is just awful these days.

"You can't just take care of a patient anymore and most of your time is spent on paper work, not taking care of your patient at all," Helen said. "It looks to me like it is not going to get any better. It is only going to get worse."

That part of Helen's job she will not miss at all.

So, after April 15 and one day before her 75th birthday, Helen will walk away from the Big Sandy Clinic for the last time.

Well, not quite.

"I will be on call until the end of December when my license expires," Helen explained.

She is going to be at home most of the time cleaning out her closets and getting rid of an accumulation of things she kept but does not need.

"Hopefully I won't get bored," Helen said, smiling.

Bored. Hardly. For you see what kept Helen here all these years in the town with five bars and five churches has been the life time love affair she has had with the people of this community.

That won't change and the English nurse who was going to give it to the end of the week to stay in Big Sandy is planning on being here for a long long time more. Just doing things that are more stress free to her life!