Margaret

Campaign reaches halfway point

Give where you live! (To cut to the chase, click here to donate right now to the museum.)

There are two weeks left in the Great Fish Community Challenge, which rallies support for 85 nonprofits that make life in the Flathead Valley even better. The Northwest Montana History Museum, which draws more than 10,000 visitors and hosts nearly 150 events a year, is proud to be among the nonprofits selected for the campaign.

The annual campaign, orchestrated by the Whitefish Community Foundation, raises millions for valley nonprofits, providing a percentage match for organizations that raise at least $10,000. All donations to the museum raised through the campaign go to the museum, in addition to the match. Your donations are maximized through the campaign and provide a much-needed boost to help the museum maintain operations and expand programming.

The museum is more than halfway to qualifying for the match! Can you help?

In 2025, the loss of four historic funding sources, including Humanities Montana, means the Great Fish Community Challenge is more essential than ever.

Visit here to donate online, or stop by one of the remaining pop-up donation stations from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., listed below.

The campaign ends Sept. 12. Thank you for your support regardless of how, where, and what you give!

Aug. 28: First Interstate Bank, downtown Kalispell
Sept. 2: Stockman Bank, Whitefish
Sept. 4: First Interstate Bank, Whitefish
Sept. 9: Park Side Credit Union, Columbia Falls
Sept. 11: Three Rivers Bank, East Idaho Street, Kalispell

More background on the campaign here.

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Museum gets in the swim of it

Please join us and 84 other hardworking Flathead Valley nonprofits for the Great Fish Community Challenge!

On Aug. 12 the campaign kicked off to support the work of 85 standout nonprofits. What an incredible turnout from and for the community as the ballpark concourse pulsed with do-gooders of all stripes and specialties.

At the Northwest Montana History Museum booth we introduced visitors to woodsmen along the Whitefish River in 1904, and museum Executive Director (and longtime bookbinder) Margaret E. Davis taught dozens of people to bind a short history of the museum they took home with them.

The party also will pop up throughout the valley before the campaign end on Sept. 12 to cheer community boosters and spread the word. Come on out for events from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., say hello and support the people who make the good life in the Flathead even better.

     Aug. 19: Whitefish Credit Union, Columbia Falls

     Aug. 21: Harvest Foods, Bigfork

      Aug. 26: Glacier Bank, Lakeside

      Aug. 28: First Interstate Bank, downtown Kalispell

      Sept. 2: Stockman Bank, Whitefish

      Sept. 4: First Interstate Bank, Whitefish

      Sept. 9: Park Side Credit Union, Columbia Falls

      Sept. 11: Three Rivers Bank, East Idaho Street, Kalispell

Visit online for more details about the campaign and click here to donate to the museum from the convenience of your keyboard. All donations to the museum go to the museum and once the $10,000 mark is reached, the Whitefish Community Foundation adds a percentage match. Win-win-win!

Thank you to all our supporters regardless of when and how you give.

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Eat it up

Movie Night at the Museum’s film studies continue with a screening of Diner (1982), Barry Levinson’s critically acclaimed directorial debut. Set in Baltimore in 1959, Diner captures the restless energy and uncertain future of six high school friends as they reunite. As adulthood looms, the group finds comfort and confusion in late-night conversations at their favorite neighborhood diner. Starring Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Tim Daly, and Paul Reiser, the film blends humor and heartache in a way that would become Levinson’s signature style.

A breakout hit that launched several Hollywood careers, Diner was praised for its witty, naturalistic dialogue and authentic portrayal of male friendship. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and remains a defining piece of early 1980s American cinema.

The Northwest Montana History Museum invites film fans to enjoy this timeless classic in the Swanberg Classroom on Tuesday, June 24, at 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the movie is set to begin at 7 p.m. Prescreening educational remarks provided by host Jacob Thomas.

Admission and popcorn are free, with soda, water, beer, and wine available for purchase. Seating is provided, but guests are welcome to bring their own cushions or chairs for added comfort.

nwmthistory.org; 406-756-8381

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Walking tours kick off

Starting 10 a.m. May 26, the museum’s Downtown Kalispell Walking Tour runs (ha) most Monday mornings through September.

Now in its the third season, the info-packed tour highlights the landmarks, milestones, and colorful characters of Kalispell history. Actively engage at ground level with the city that became the cultural, economic, and transportation hub of the Flathead Valley, and you’ll never seen Kalispell the same way again.

Museum admission included!

Visit here for info. Read what the Flathead Beacon and the Daily Inter Lake wrote about the tour, then sign up!

We look forward to walking with you!

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Compare Kalispell across a century

Now on display are two large-format aerial images of Kalispell, one from the 1930s and another from the present day. Flathead High senior Atlas Jaques (above), through her work-based learning experience with the museum, compiled multiple historic aerial images into one, using high-resolution scans made by museum member and history buff Pat Walsh.

Additional research and imagery from Donna McCrea, director of Archives and Special Collections at the University of Montana’s Mansfield Library also are part of the exhibit.

Thank you to everyone for making this unique exhibit possible!

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Italy here we come

Join us in the Swanberg Classroom at the Northwest Montana History Museum for the 1991 film Enchanted April. The film screens 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, after remarks by Movie Night at the Museum facilitator and educator Brit Clark, who will discuss the book and its adaptation to film. The production stars Miranda Richardson, Josie Lawrence, Polly Walker, and Joan Plowright. Supporting cast members include Alfred Molina, Michael Kitchen, and Jim Broadbent.

The film tells the story of four English women who decide to leave rainy 1920s London for an April stay in an Italian villa on the sunny Mediterranean. Lotty Wilkins (Lawrence) and Rose Arbuthnot (Richardson) know each other only slightly through their ladies club, but make the decision to join forces and travel to Italy, hoping to bring some joy into their dreary lives. Because they need help with the expenses, they invite the elderly Mrs. Fisher (Plowright) and the very wealthy and beautiful Lady Caroline Dester (Walker) to join them. 

Based on Elizabeth von Arnim’s 1922 novel The Enchanted April, the film follows the experiences of four diverse women as their friendship grows and their lives change for the better during a month in the Italian sun.

The film was shot on location at Castello Brown in Portofino, Italy, the castle where the book’s author had stayed in the 1920s. Enchanted April premiered with positive reviews at the London Film Festival in November 1991.

Doors open 6:30 p.m. Admission and popcorn are free. Soda pop, water, beer, and wine are available for purchase. Seating is provided, but viewers are welcome to bring their own cushions or seating. 

Celebrating its 25-year anniversary, the Northwest Montana History Museum brings the past alive through exhibits, artifacts, educational programs, and events. Regular museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell. Call 406-756-8381. 

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Folk researcher cues up the sounds of history

On April 24, Jeff Warner performs “Range the Wild Woods Over: Songs and Stories from the Lumber Camps.”

An international performer and recording artist, Jeff Warner tells history through traditional music played on banjo, concertina, and “pocket instruments” such as cow bones.
 
Six months after unveiling its new Lumberjacks, Tie Hacks & River Pigs exhibit focused on the timber industry, the museum presents Warner’s program on life in the logging camps, particularly its songs and stories – and even the smells. The performance starts 7 p.m. Thursday, April 24, and doors open at 6 p.m.

Dangerous, lonely, and remote, the logging camps of the early 1900s were difficult places. Residents made their own entertainment.
 
Come listen and learn about working in the woods from a traditional music man.

This performance is sold out.

More on the performer: 
Jeff Warner comes from a royal family of song collectors (his parents, Frank and Anne Warner, learned the murder ballad “Tom Dooley” from Appalachian musician Frank Proffitt in the 1930s, along with hundreds of other tunes); worked for Pete Seeger; performed around the world; recorded for Flying Fish/Rounder and other labels; and too many accolades to list here. Visit his website for more.

Details: 
Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell; 406-756-8381; nwmthistory.org

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Makers started at home

Do you have cherished home sewn items crafted by your great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, or relative? Such objects, passed down through generations, connect you to memories of the crafter and to history. They call to mind the fashion and household trends unique to their time period. 

The Northwest Montana History Museum’s new exhibit Home Sewn: Thread, Cloth, Needles, and Yarn showcases a variety of crafts: sewing, crocheting, knitting, embroidery, quilting, and needlepoint. Many of the articles on display were handed down through families and then gifted to the museum. 

Visitors will see an extensive variety of handsewn articles representing the skill of the crafter. Featured pieces include a 1910 wedding gown (exhibited with photo of bride Minnie Larson wearing the gown on her wedding day), 1950s children’s clothing, and practical items such as 1950s embroidered kitchen towels and an 1897 log cabin silk quilt. 

Enhancing the exhibit is an 1895 Montgomery Ward cabinet model treadle sewing machine (below). This machine is unique in that the back of the cabinet bears vent holes in the shape of two hearts to provide ventilation—something a machine with open cast iron supports did not need. 

A display showing a child’s bedroom, replete with a brass headboard and embroidered quilt, features a handmade, braided rug. A doll’s bed with a quilt and a display case filled with handmade children’s clothing and doll clothes completes the room.

As always, the exhibit includes a hands-on corner with activities for children.

Details: Museum hours run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell; 406-756-8381; nwmthistory.org

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Indigenous art and toolmaking takes the spotlight

Some spots remain for Aspen (pictured) and Cameron Decker’s talk 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2. The Deckers specialize in art, toolmaking, and language in all they create. Most recently they unveiled a mural in Missoula and last year completed a parfleche commissioned by the Northwest Montana History Museum.

The Arlee artists will speak about the process of making Salish art and tools, the issues that it brings up in regard to making the objects (environment, sustainability, culture), and what that reveals about the place they are in as contemporary Native Americans. The presentation teaches about native plants, and connection with the land and local ecosystems. Their presentation also introduces the science behind these objects, as well as various contemporary Native American artists who influence their work. Both speakers incorporate and speak Salish and Plains Sign Language associated with the making of objects in their program.

John White Series talks go deep on aspects of Northwest Montana life and history and give reason to gather in winter with friends, family, and others who share curiosity for our state and its people. Talks almost always sell out; you can reserve space for the Deckers’ talk at the link below.

2 p.m. Feb. 2 Aspen and Cameron Decker on “Our Belongings: Sqelixʷ (Salish) Art and Toolmaking“

The John White Series pays tribute to beloved former staff members John Whites Sr. and Jr. of Central School. The 1894 schoolhouse is Kalispell’s oldest public building and home to Northwest Montana’s premier history museum, which draws thousands annually for exhibits and events.

The John White Series is a fundraiser for the nonprofit Northwest Montana History Museum and its mission to preserve and present regional history.

Details: 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2; social time in Hollensteiner-Stahl Hall afterward; Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell, MT 59901; 406-756-8381; nwmthistory.org

Admission is $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers. Purchase at the link above or you may also try your luck coming in to the museum.

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Flathead had first movie production house in the state

Apparently the first movie filmed in Montana was Where Rivers Rise in 1922.

We’d love to find a copy of this film and hope history buffs may have come across it, or know someone who might know more about the film and the beginnings of Montana’s movie business.

A screening in 1947 in Columbia Falls mentions Mr. and Mrs. Bill Slifer, who sponsored the event.

Contact the museum, 406-756-8381, with any leads you may have! Thank you.

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