Recently 4th graders from a  Montana Elementary School made headlines after they met with lawmakers in Helena to try and get the Huckleberry to become the official state fruit of Montana. The class had the opportunity to see up close and personal how the Montana Legislature works and it's my understanding that our elected officials will now have the chance to vote on what is now "HB 880" which would make it official.

I'm not trying to throw shade at Huckleberries, those delicious little berries are big business in Montana. All I'm suggesting is that maybe we are getting ahead of ourselves a little bit, I mean have we weighed all of our options?

Isn't there at least one other fruit that we need to give some serious consideration to as well?

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Shouldn't we at least have a conversation about Flathead Cherries?  I mean, not only are they delicious, but the cherry season is one of the most anticipated times of year here in Montana. You can see makeshift roadside stands all across the state with folks asking for and receiving premium prices.

Credit: Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
Credit: Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
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Plus, Idaho already claims the Huckleberry as their state fruit, so that's just another reason we might want to extend the conversation about this.  I mean, do we want to seem like copycats?  Do we want to follow Idaho's lead? I say no.  I say that we create our own path and go with the Flathead Cherry.

As I mentioned, I have no issues with Huckleberries, I think they're great, but Flathead Cherries are a Montana original and it appears I'm not the only one with those feelings.  I did a little impromptu poll and asked Montanans which fruit should get the title of Montana State Fruit, and there seemed to be a whole lot of votes for those Flathead Cherries.

Solanum melanocerasum / Morelle Ogomo / Garden Huckleberry
Michel VIARD
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Which fruit do you think should be the official state fruit?  The Huckleberry or the Flathead Cherry? Vote in our poll below or let us know by sending us a message on our radio station app.

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