DRUMMOND — Montana’s smallest communities have been some of the hardest hit during this pandemic, but they’re also home to some of our most resilient Montanans. That’s certainly the case for Drummond, Montana.
A small town with no more than 300 residents, Drummond is quiet, but if it’s the Drummond hustle and bustle you’re looking for, you can find it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the Senior Center.
Here, Annette Ramberg and Denise Hultman spend their day cooking meals for about 50 individuals from Maxville to Helmville. On the menu you’ll find hearty meals like beef stew and lasagna.
Once Ramberg and Hultman finish cooking and preparing take-out boxes, they hand over the reigns to delivery gals Linda Smith and Colette Fadness.
Smith, director of the Drummond Senior Citizens' Center, said most of their seniors pay $5 per meal, but they offer their service for free if a customer can’t afford it.
Pre-pandemic, the Senior Center offered meals at its facility on Broad Street, but due to COVID restrictions, organizers switched to delivery. With limited options for grocery shopping and restaurants in the Drummond area, meal delivery is in high-demand.
“We do have two cafes in town, but our nearest grocery store is 30 miles away,” said Smith.
Three days a week, you’ll find the Drummond Dream Team working their way through town, delivering meals to folks like Bill Wangler. “I think they’re doing great, they couldn’t do better taking their time and doing everything,” shared Wangler as Smith dropped off his Monday meal.
The work flies by and the women work well together. That’s no surprise though, considering they’ve known each other for years.
“We have Annette Ramberg, who's our head cook, and I graduated from high school with her so I've known her all those years,” said Smith, adding, “Denise Hultman, I've known her quite a few years too... she used to own a bar here and she served food out of the bar, and then Colette Fadness, I watched her grow up! In fact, I taught her while I was student teaching, so I’ve known her forever too.”
According to Smith, when you live in a place like Drummond, Montana, where everybody knows everybody, helping out your neighbors isn't cause for praise, it's just what you do.
“Oh you know, I hate to say that we do a lot," said Smith, "There's so many people in this community that do a lot. I can't take all the credit because there's lots of people that do a lot of things in Drummond. In a small town, you have to. People take care of their neighbors in a small town."
To sign up for the Drummond meal delivery service, you can call the Senior Center on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays at (406) 288-3368.