Book Review
The Legislature Ghost -
Echoes of the Past

 Great Plains of Montana featured in Canadian author's book ‘The Legislature Ghost’

 *By Elizabeth Doney  Havre Daily News*

     A book featuring short stories, poems and photos titled, "The Legislature Ghost," is hot off the Eagle Butte Press.
Written by David J. Carter, the stories tell eerie tales of ghostly encounters and memories of life growing up on the Great Plains of Montana and Canada.
     "There are stories in there that will make you cry and stories that will make you laugh," Carter said. "The stories and poems arose over the past 30 years — often they just happen — and I have to sit down and write right away or else they disappear. Poems especially demand' to be written, right now!"
     There are 30 short stories, 17 poems with 165 photographs featured in the book that was created through the author's imagination and true life experiences.
     Some of the photographs were taken in Laredo and some of the stories feature prisoner of war heroes from Chinook. Digital photography has allowed Carter to see scenes and old buildings 'anew', Carter said.
     "In particular I have a series of photos of old (soon to be gone?) buildings and machinery — as taken along the Hi-Line to Malta, from Havre to Great Falls and Havre to Chinook," Carter said. "I have similar photos taken in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to 'preserve' these scenes of yesterday. When I look at an old building, I get a certain feeling — I figure that the memories just linger."
     The book goes right into a story that mirrors the title, The Legislature Ghost giving the reader a sense of intrigue that promises more mystery to come and ends with shocking surprise.
     Based on the author and former Speaker for the Canadian legislature, it is his true account of working alone and late at night in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton.
     The story ends with the Carter's mind carrying the eeriness to another dimension — the future.
    "While I was there all hours of the night, it can be kinda eerie, to say the least. So the story just happened. It's a true story."
Another story nestled between the pages tells the tale of a mother who lost twin girls in an accident and recounts her emotions.
     "The mother ends up walking by the riverbank and she imagines in the distance that she see the ghost of her father holding the hand of each of the little girls," Carter said. "Sometimes imagination tells the story."
     The lyrics of the poems seem to be able to touch the depth of the topic and reflect the author's passion for his topics.
The book is available at The Havre Book Exchange.  He and his wife are no strangers to Havre, for the past 10 years, they have traveled to north central town from their home in the Cypress Hills about every three to six weeks for occasional services with the St. Mark's Episcopal and First Presbyterian churches where good friendships have developed, Carter said.
     "We find the folks in Havre most friendly — we just like the town, we like the people and so we just wander on down there," Carter said. "From where we live in the Cypress Hills, I can see the Bear Paw Mountains and Sweet Grass Hills."