Margaret

Presidential visits continue

On the heels of a standing-room-only visit from President Abraham Lincoln in February (brought to us by Chuck Johnson), we have Theodore Roosevelt riding this way next week. Catch a presentation with him 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 24, followed by banter and Q&A with the audience and Flathead Valley Teddy Roosevelt buff (and former Montana secretary of state and senator) Bob Brown.

Bring a lunch (many fine downtown Kalispell restaurants nearby offer order-ahead and takeout service, such as Bonelli’s), then spend some time at the museum with a historical figure brought to life by Joe Wiegand. As Wiegand says, the program is “TR-iffic,” and we look forward to seeing you here.

Thank you to our friends at Rotary for making this event possible!

Get schooled in “school”

Have you heard this catchy tune written in 1907 by Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards?

School days, school days
Dear old Golden Rule days
’Reading and ’riting and ’rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hick’ry stick

Rekindle memories of school days of yore, or explore what it was like for kids years ago, at a new temporary exhibit, Timeless Lessons at Central School 1894-1969, opening at the Northwest Montana History Museum. The exhibit celebrates 75 years of formal instruction at Kalispell’s Central School—now home to the museum—and features an array of classroom items that represent various time periods throughout those years. The exhibit through December 2024.

The classroom exhibit includes a teacher’s desk with a 1925 report card and a confiscated slingshot, a poster that adorned a Central School classroom in the 1930s (above), an 1897 ledger of school attendance and grades written in beautiful penmanship, a chalkboard eraser, 1937 poster artwork to supplement lesson assignments, vintage games played during indoor and outdoor recesses, a 46-star United States flag, and a 1950s microphone used by school choirs. In addition, the exhibit is enhanced by a display of vintage clothing worn by a teacher and students.

A hands-on area for children completes the exhibit. Among the activities are practicing cursive writing, viewing replicas of turn of the century 3D travel cards using a stereoscope and learning about different cultures through paper dolls.

The exhibit opens with free admission and refreshments 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 12.

Details:
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 12, 2024
Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 2nd Ave. E., Kalispell, MT 59901; 406-756-8381; nwmthistory.org

Demo days begin

Our oldest exhibit, Sand Monkeys, Tie Hacks, and River Pigs, is closed for renovation. Don’t worry: It will still focus on the timber industry when it reopens this summer, but now will include a model train layout that includes the Somers tie plant and 3D models of Kalispell landmarks!

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

All other exhibits remain open.

Above: Board members (from left) Rod Wallette, Bill Dakin, and Alex Berry as well as Casey Malmquist from SmartLam measure up the museum elevator in advance of the renovation of our “timber room,” now under way.

Come in and celebrate

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 12, all are invited to the museum to mark the 130th birthday of Kalispell’s oldest public building and also a milestone birthday of its tenant, the Northwest Montana History Museum, which turns 25 this year.

See the exhibits, hear live music, eat cake, and check out local history! Visitors will have a chance to contribute to the time capsule that will be sealed up for 25 years, and view other items also set to enter the time warp.

Look to the past and the future at the birthday bash of the century.

Some might wonder what’s the big deal with the Central School building. Carroll Van West, in his well-researched Montana’s Historic Landscapes blog, described the Central School:

“Designed by William White of Great Falls, this impressive statement of town building by local residents was threatened with demolition in 1991–indeed its plight was one of the issues that awoke local citizens to the need for the National Register multiple property nomination.  Not only was this landmark preserved, its transformation into a museum met a heritage tourism need in the region, and also marks, in my mind, one of the most positive developments in historic preservation in the region in the last 30 years.”

Above: In 1915 on the steps of Central School, Kalispell businessman Ah, or Alfred, Hay gathered the baseball team he sponsored in Kalispell’s still-classic posing spot. Along with other ventures, entrepreneur Hay operated a string of restaurants and hotels along the Great Northern line from Essex, Mont., to Seattle.

Get ready to party like it’s 1894 – and 1999

It’s official! Next month (April) we honor a couple of local landmarks: Kalispell’s 130-year-old Central School and its current tenant, the Northwest Montana History Museum – a relative upstart at 25.

Look out for ways to celebrate, coming to your inbox and area bulletin boards soon.

A classic cues up musical fantasy

Beautiful music. Dancing hippos, ostriches, elephants, and alligators. Waltzing flowers. Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer’s apprentice. All are memorable segments of the Disney classic Fantasia, which screens for Movie Night at the Museum at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 26. The 1940 production features eight animated segments set to classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski.

What began in 1938 as Walt Disney’s idea for a “Silly Symphony” cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse grew into a full-length animated feature film with Fantasound, a pioneer sound system developed by Disney and RCA that made Fantasia the first commercial film shown in stereo. For many Americans, the movie also was an introduction to classical music.

The film opened to critical acclaim but failed to make a profit, partly due to the loss of European distribution during World War II. Since 1942, the film has been reissued many times and is now ranked as the 58th greatest American film in the American Film Institute’s list of top 100 movies. It was also selected for preservation by the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Doors open 6:30 p.m. Admission and popcorn are free, but donations are gladly accepted to defray costs. Soda pop, water, beer, and wine are available for purchase. Seating is provided, but viewers can bring their own cushions or seating if they like.

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.

What was Abraham Lincoln thinking? Find out Feb. 25

It’s November 18, 1863.

Tomorrow is a momentus day: The Gettysburg National Cemetery is being dedicated. Abraham Lincoln has been asked to make “a few appropriate remarks.” It’s bedtime, and his speech isn’t done. His bone-wearying day began in Washington and ended in Gettysburg.

“Abraham, you can’t afford tired, you need to finish!” he says to himself in his bedroom. He is “torn asunder” as he works on the speech. Racism, slavery, war carnage, and the deaths of two of his children tear at his soul.

The Night Before Gettysburg takes you inside the mind of Abraham Lincoln, as he asks himself, “What is slavery? Why is slavery? Why are men enslaved?” As he answers the questions, you see Lincoln the man, who he was, what he stood for, and the burdens he carried.

On Sunday, Feb. 25, at the Northwest Montana History Museum, Lincoln invites you to join him on a journey back to 1863. You’ll absorb history on your journey and learn about a man who worked hard to reunite America.

Playwright-actor Chuck Johnson of Minnesota comes to perform this unique piece of theater, which he has performed in Gettysburg, Penn., and at the recent occasion of the 160th anniversary of the address.

Please join us for this free special event! Limited seating; first come, first serve.

Doors open 3:30 p.m.; performance starts at 4 p.m.

Mel Brooks and David Lynch teamed up for a heart-wrencher

February’s feature for Movie Night at the Museum is The Elephant Man, starring Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt. The film screens 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27.

Directed by David Lynch (and executive-produced by Mel Brooks), the 1980 film is based on the life of Joseph Merrick, a severely deformed man living in 19th century London. When physician Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) discovers “John” (John Hurt) in a freak show, he brings him to the hospital for an examination. He learns that there’s much more to John than his outward appearance and begins to work with and eventually teach his challenging patient.

The film also stars Hannah Gordon, Anne Bancroft and John Gielgud. It received eight Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Doors open 6:30 p.m. Admission and popcorn are free, but donations are gladly accepted to help defray the costs of Movie Night. Soda pop, water, beer and wine are available for purchase. Seating is provided, but viewers can bring their own cushions or seating if they choose.

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. East, Kalispell. For information call 406-756-8381.

Lensman captured Kalispell at a pivotal time

Raymond (“Ray”) Weaver (1892-1964) returned to Kalispell from World War I in 1919 with permanent lung damage from a mustard gas attack in the trenches of France.

On returning home, Weaver picked up a camera and seemingly never put it down. From the swimmers of Woodland Park to an auto accident downtown, or shoppers bustling along Main Street, Weaver documented with a sharp eye, strong sense of composition, and a feel for everyday life in a midcentury American town.

See a dozen images from a keen observer of the Kalispell scene over decades.

The urban-rural divide comes to heart

The first feature in 2024 for the Northwest Montana History Museum’s Movie Night at the Museum is the 1927 silent romantic drama Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. The film screens 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23.  The movie marked the American film debut of German director F.W. Murnau and stars George O’Brien, Janet Gaynor, and Margaret Livingston.  

Livingston plays a city woman vacationing in the country who meets and falls in love with a farmer (O’Brien). Torn between his love for his wife (Gaynor) and his new love who wants him to sell his farm and move with her to the city, O’Brien finds himself agreeing  to kill his wife so they can be together. But, as in life, all does not go according to plan in this story of love, loss, and redemption.    

Murnau was the first director to use the new Fox Movietone sound-on film system, making this one of the first feature films with a synchronized musical score and sound effects soundtrack.

At the first Academy Awards in 1929, the film won an Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Picture while Gaynor received Best Actress in a Leading Role. Critics have called Sunrise the greatest film of the silent era.  

Doors open 6:50 p.m. Admission and popcorn are free, but donations are gladly accepted to defray costs. Soda pop, water, beer, and wine are available for purchase. Seating is provided, but viewers can bring their own cushions or seating if they like.

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.