News

Walk this way to know Kalispell

Years in the planning, the Northwest Montana History Museum launches its long-awaited walking tour in early June. Our Downtown Kalispell Walking Tour: The Iron Horse Snorted in the Garden of Eden runs weekly at 10 a.m. Mondays from June 5 to Sept. 25. Private tours also are available.

The well-researched, high-quality walking tour shows how Kalispell evolved into the cultural, economic, and transportation hub of Northwest Montana’s unique Flathead Valley. The approximate two-hour, level, and ADA-accessible tour covers about one mile and makes more than two dozen stops amid 30-plus highlighted buildings that tell the story of Kalispell’s history and people. 

Along the way walkers learn about architectural styles and modern reuse as well as prominent citizens and early settlers, how a bison herd could buy a city block, and where to spot ghost signs.

All walks begin and end at the Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 Second Ave. East, Kalispell, MT 59901.

Recommended for ages 10+

Museum admission is included with a ticket to the walking tour.

We look forward to walking with you!

Please visit nwmthistory.org for ticket and walk policies. Online ticket sales end a half-hour before the walk begins. Tickets also are available at the museum or by calling 406-756-8381, option 5.

A signed waiver is required to participate in the tour, provided on-site.

This program is sponsored in part by the Foundation for Montana History and researched and organized by staff and volunteers of the Northwest Montana History Museum. Proceeds benefit the Northwest Montana History Museum and its preservation and presentation of regional history.

Experts set to expound

We have four wintry Sundays of fun on tap, through Feb. 26.

Amy Grisak (second from right) works in words, radio, and her backyard “farm” in Great Falls. She launches the series Jan. 15 with a talk on historic fire lookouts of Northwest Montana, one of which—Hornet Lookout, 45 miles north of Columbia Falls—just marked a century.

On Jan. 29 Jim and Randy Mohn (second from left) present a program you won’t find anywhere else: a review of Kalispell’s historic theater scene.

After decades as a wildlife biologist, John Fraley (right) turned to writing books. At first he focused on historical figures of Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Now he’s turned his keen eye on himself. His fifth book, My Wilderness Life, is just that: a reflection on a life spent nagivating and making sense of the natural world. Hear how his story made it to the page, and about the people and sights that inspired him along the way on Feb. 5.

Maritime archaeology photographer Kyren Zimmerman (left) goes deep to find his subjects, which lurk under the surface of Flathead Lake and other waters. He talks Feb. 26 on what lies beneath. From sunken boats to train cars, he takes his passion for noninvasive marine photography to a technical level. He converts image files into 3D renderings and uses an ROV (remote-operated vehicle) to document and photograph his finds. Zimmerman has traveled as far as Fiji and the Channel Islands and all over Montana to work and hone his skills, always innovating.

Visit nwmthistory.org/programs/john-white-speaker-series/ for tickets and info. All talks start at 2 p.m. and are followed by a Q&A and a half-hour casual social time.

A note about tickets: You can order the series online or individual tickets through the link above, or you can call Terri or Margaret (406-756-8381 option 5 or 6, respectively) or come by the museum 10 to 5 Monday through Friday.

The holiday party runs for a month

If you missed our open house Dec. 1, never fear: The decorations stay up through December.

Volunteers led the effort to have dozens of kids from Kalispell to Bigfork decorate our museum, as explained in-depth by reporter Hilary Matheson at the Daily Inter Lake (https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2022/dec/01/local-youths-help-decorate-museum-history-mind/).

Every room received a festive, historic, and regional touch, from information about how Montana trees went to Washington, D.C., to holiday celebrations by Glacier National Park employees.

Come visit, and see for yourself. Happy Holidays!

Montana landscape photography

Exhibits focus on Montana landscape and “The Way We Wore”

“Landscapes of the American West: Photography of Jeff Corwin” Dec. 15, 2022-April 30, 2033
“10 Items: The Way We Wore” Dec. 15, 2022-August 31, 2033

Join us for an opening reception 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at the Northwest Montana History Museum.

On Dec. 15, museum visitors will get two exhibits for the price of none as the Northwest Montana History Museum opens new shows in its two temporary-exhibit spaces.

After 40-plus years working in commercial photography around the world, Montana photographer Jeff Corwin turned to fine art and found inspiration in landscape. Of the 17 pieces in “Landscapes of the American West,” most feature rural views of Montana, including areas near Sourdough, Dillon, Livingston and Wilsall. Two images are of Eastern Washington.

A vacation near Ennis planted the seed for Corwin’s move to east of Bozeman. Now he lives in Cardwell, where he’s building a house. Even so, Corwin says, “I go out and shoot every day.”

His work speaks to the quieter country. “I tend towards the emptiness of landscapes, not the glory of mountains and meadow and late afternoon light,” he says. “I don’t seek out that emptiness, but after so many years, just react to it.”

From a pillowlike snowfield constrained only by a fence in Bozeman, to the lush green leadup to a low butte in Rapelje, Corwin finds much to focus on and frame in his Montana journey.

“The Way We Wore” represents the latest in the “10 Items” installations for which curators take a roundabout look at the collection and present a select group to illustrate a certain theme.

Volunteers Judy Elwood and Sharon Bristow and board member Jane Renfrow will put on display a selection of uniforms connected to the Flathead Valley.

Most of us know the psychological impact of pride felt at the act of putting on a uniform, whether enlisting in military service or joining a sports team or club. The people who wore the uniforms included in the exhibit must have felt a similar thrill. They signaled the high honor of belonging.

The uniforms prepared for the exhibit range from a 1950s Boy Scout uniform and a nurse’s cape and cap to school gym clothing and a band uniform from the Kalispell Fire Department. Also included: a ceremonial coat that belonged to Judge Joseph E. Rockwood, a member of the Patriarchs Militant of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Rockwood served two terms as a judge in the 11th Judicial District, then two terms in the Montana House of Representatives. His 1920s home, on the National Register of Historic Places, stands at 835 First Ave. East.

Details:
5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022; free admission
Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 Second Ave. East, Kalispell; 406-756-8381

COVID-19 Update

We are taking several precautions to make sure that a museum visit will not adversely affect the health of our visitors:

All public fixtures in the museum (handrails, door knobs, bathroom components, interactive exhibits) will be regularly sanitized.

All visitors to the museum are encouraged to wear face masks when social distancing is not possible.

There will be hand-sanitizing stations in the museum.

In our 22,000-square-foot facility there is a lot of space in which to spread out and remain “socially distant.”

Everyone is always welcome at the Northwest Montana History Museum. However, if you have a cough, a fever, or are just feeling under the weather, we kindly ask that you visit us some other time; not only for your own health but for the well-being of our staff and other supporters.