Programs

For 22 years, the Northwest Montana History Museum has organized presentations on the many facets of Montana history for its John White Series.

Regularly selling out, the subjects of John White Series talks last year ranged from historic fire lookouts of Northwest Montana, Kalispell’s bustling vintage theater scene, and underwater shipwrecks in Flathead Lake. This year’s speakers delve into grizzlies, motorcycle adventuring, indigenous foods, and Meriwether Lewis’s mom.

“These talks go deep on aspects of Montana life and history that give reason to gather in winter with friends, family, and others who share curiosity for our state and its people,” museum director Margaret Davis said. “We always advise people to reserve spots early to avoid disappointment as we have had to turn people away for lack of space.”

2 p.m. Jan. 7 Ron Brevik: “Over 16 years and 70,000 miles I rode by motorcycle all of the county, state, and federal paved roads in the Treasure State”

2 p.m. Jan. 21 Kate Kendall: grizzly expert spent decades in Glacier National Park and throughout Montana

2 p.m. Feb. 4 Mary Jane Bradbury: storyteller and historic interpreter takes on Lucy Marks, mother of Corps of Discovery expeditioner Meriwether Lewis

2 p.m. Feb. 18 Mariah Gladstone: Blackfeet-Cherokee resident of Babb founded Indigikitchen (indigikitchen.com) to revitalize indigenous food knowledge

The John White Series pays tribute to longtime beloved staff members John White Sr. and Jr. of Central School. The 1894 schoolhouse is Kalispell’s oldest public building and home to the premier regional history museum, which draws thousands annually for exhibits and events year-round.

Details: 2 p.m. Sundays, Jan. 7 and 21 and Feb. 4 and 18, 2024; social time afterward

Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 2nd Ave. E., Kalispell, MT 59901; 406-756-8381; nwmthistory.org

Tickets for individual talks are $15 (members) or $20 (nonmembers). The series costs $40 (members) or $60 (nonmembers). Purchase online when links available or contact Elle Eberts-Robocker, Donna Buckalew, or Margaret Davis at the museum.

What happens when a heavy metal band takes to the road? How does the trip affect the lives of the band members, their crew, and the fans? All is revealed when This Is Spinal Tap screens as the September feature for Movie Night at the Museum. The film marked the directorial debut of actor Rob Reiner, who was, at that time, known mainly for his role as Archie Bunker’s son-in-law on television’s All in the Family. The film will show 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26.

The “mockumentary” stars Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer as members of Spinal Tap. The band is followed on their American tour by documentary producer Martin “Marty” DiBergi, played by Reiner. While the film was popular with the critics, it met with only modest commercial success. Over the years, however, it has developed a cult following and in 2002 it was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry for basically launching the mockumentary genre. 

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 are welcome to bring their own cushions or seating.

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 Avenue East, Kalispell. For more call 406-756-8381.

For the second time this year, the Northwest Montana History Museum offers a bookbinding course that covers book history, bookbinding processes and tools, and hands-on learning.

Over eight sessions, students will review the history of the book and related arts, then learn how to construct at least five binding formats.

Margaret E. Davis, executive director of the museum and a longtime bookbinder who studied in China and has taught, lectured, and written about the subject, will teach the course.

No previous bookbinding experience is required, but students should have manual dexterity, ability to follow multiple steps, and interest in developing hand skills. Basic tools and materials are provided.

Details:
6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Sept. 6 to Oct. 25, 2023
Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 2nd Ave. E., Kalispell, MT 59901; 406-756-8381; nwmthistory.org

Course fee: $150, $140 for museum members; contact Margaret Davis to enroll at 406-756-8381 option 6, or email director@nwmthistory.org. Space is limited; registration with payment in advance is required.

This project is funded in part by the Montana Arts Council, an agency of the State Government, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

On July 25, extraterrestrials will land at the Northwest Montana History Museum as Movie Night at the Museum features the 1951 science fiction classic “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” Produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise, the movie features Michael Rennie as Klaatu, an alien humanoid sent to Earth with an ultimatum.

As the representative of a federation of other planets, Klaatu’s mission is to warn humankind that their experiments with atomic weapons are threatening the universe. In addition to delivering his warning, Klaatu is supposed to convince all nations to cease their aggressions and live in peace. Traveling with him is the robot Gort played by Lock Martin. The film also features Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Frances Bavier and Billy Gray. In 1995, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.

The movie will screen 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 25. Doors open 6:30 p.m. and 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.

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.

North Valley Music School presents Tall Tales & Tall Songs: An Evening of Songs with Bill Rossiter on Thursday, June 22. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the show goes on at 6.

Lewis and Clark wandered through Montana looking and dreaming of a Northwest Passage. Then they went home.

Homesteaders, hunters, adventurers, and gold-seekers, following a different kind of dream, wandered into the West, too. And they stayed.

Braving the wilderness with hand tools, ox-drawn wagons, and a bucket of hope, these travelers started out singing hopeful songs about the land of milk and honey. By the time they’d settled on their claims they were singing homemade and often hilarious songs about alkali water, grasshopper plagues, chickens with the pip, leaky sod huts, and sharing a bed with a chummy centipede.

Come on out and get an earful of Montana history.

Free to the public, thanks to a grant from Humanities Montana.

During World War II, many of the country’s professional baseball players were called into service, leaving the field to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

The 1992 film “A League of Their Own” tells the story of two sisters who join the league to play for the Rockford Peaches. The movie follows professional and personal lives during the 1943 baseball season as two sisters and their teammates play their way to the best record in the league and qualify for the World Series.

Directed by Penny Marshall, the movie stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Rosie O’Donnell, Jon Lovitz, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall, and Bill Pullman. The film was both a critical and commercial success, grossing more than $132.4 million worldwide. In 2012, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission and popcorn are free, but donations are 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 Avenue East, Kalispell. Call 406-756-8381 or visit nwmthistory.org.

~ If you’re looking to reserve space on a walking tour, visit here! ~

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 and 4 p.m. Fridays through September. Private tours also are available. Visit here for much more info on the tours.

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. The walking tour is $20 for adults; $18 for veterans, seniors, and students; $15 for kids 10 to 17 years old; and $10 for kids 4 to 9.

We look forward to walking with you!

Please visit https://www.nwmthistory.org/programs/downtown-kalispell-walking-tour/ 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.

“Touch of Evil,” Orson Welles’ classic 1958 film starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, and Welles himself, screens for this month’s edition of Movie Night at the Museum at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 25.

Former museum executive director Gil Jordan steps in to host movie night in Jacob Thomas’s absence this month. Jordan founded the Movie Night at the Museum series years ago.

Other than that, it’s Movie Night as usual! Free admission and popcorn, fun people, drinks for purchase, and a classic movie — all a great reason to get out of the house and get into the museum.

That’s the gist of environmental philosopher Christopher Preston’s new book, which takes a look at resurgent wildlife populations and their effect on humans and our thinking.

Learn more at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 4, when Preston visits from Missoula, where he teaches at the University of Montana, for a free talk about his book and answers to questions such as “What is environmental philosophy anyway?”

See you here.