Butte loved the M&M. I can't wait to share the city's passion for it with the world
I've started my new book project but I need some help from you
Next month will be a year since I moved back home. I came back during the middle of a global pandemic so I didn’t give it much thought. It just seemed like the thing that made the most sense to me. I could live close to my family and I’d be safer knowing that living through COVID wasn’t something I’d have to do alone anymore.
But then something big started to take root. I began writing my first book, which I finished in December. It has been a runaway success, for which I’m eternally grateful. I never thought in my wildest imagination last June that a year later I’d have sold almost 800 copies of my book about the Butte Cabbage Patch.
It was an incredible journey and I learned so much about this unique neighborhood with a checkered past. It still fascinates me to this day even after all of the hours of research and writing I’ve spent on it. But, as life tends to go, the wheels of progress continue to turn and I’m in the middle of my next project already. I wouldn’t say I found it more than it found me.
On May 7, the M&M Cigar Store in Butte, as you probably know if you live anywhere near Montana, burned to the ground. It was a cherished building that was built in 1890 and remained open for most of that time. The people who ran the bar, or were regular patrons of the bar, were just as well known and, in some cases, just as infamous as the bar itself throughout its history.
I’m starting to write this new book and I’m excited to work on it. My grandfather has plenty of pictures of the bar that he’s shot or collected over the years, most of which many people have never seen before. I’m starting to speak with people integral with the bar about what they remember and how it had an impact on their lives. I’m approaching it in a similar way to the last book — I want to uncover the history of the bar that hasn’t been showcased much before while also covering the important people, places, events and other stories that made up the fabric of what the M&M was all about.
If you’re reading this and you have a story that you’d think would belong in the book about the bar, please let me know. I’m easy to find and my goal is to fill up half of the book with people’s recollections. That’s where I need you and that’s a big reason why I’m writing this. I’ve already reached out to a few people, and others I’m speaking with soon. But, if you see this and you know of someone who might be a good one to touch base with, please let me know and I will gladly reach out to them.
The M&M deserves its history showcased in an organized, passionate and dedicated way. I can’t wait to show the love that people have for it to the rest of the universe. Please don’t hesitate to reach out and let’s chat. Thank you!
Jake Sorich is a journalist/writer from Butte, America. You can check out his first book online at www.buttecabbagepatch.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @callmejakeaight. His email is jake.sorich@gmail.com