Across the street in front of the Western Heritage Center, Reich notices the rectangle granite block curbing from the original paving of Montana Avenue.
Reich grew up in Oregon and didn’t move to Billings until 1985.
But, once here, he embraced local history with a passion, collecting hundreds of postcards of early Billings as well as other bits of historical memorabilia.
Gems of his extensive collection will be on display at the Yellowstone County Museum starting April 29.
The link between Billings and the postcard is a natural one, Reich says in the introduction to his book “Billings,” part of the Arcadia Publishing’s Postcard History Series.
As Billings came of age during the early 20th century, postcards were in their heyday.
Reich bought his first postcard — a sepia-toned 1909 photograph of the Rimrocks across the Yellowstone River from Billings turned into a postcard — at Huff’s Antique show.
