Model T. Photo courtesy Heritage Museum.
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Heritage Museum opens June 2
Displays, Fur Trade Presentation, Ham Radio, National Guard Helicopter, Food
May 31, 2007
The Heritage Museum’s 29th Opening Day celebration will be June 2 from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM. Come and explore Libby’s history and see what made it the place that it is today.
The museum is home to various machines, documents and artifacts that were part of Libby’s social and economic past. The mining machinery and the rock crusher will be running. There will be demonstrations of drag saws as well as old chain saws. The Hyster lumber carrier, restored in 2003, will be on display in the yard. Take a ride through the grounds on the Buffalo Fire Truck or the Model T. Other vehicles will include the “Big Boomer,” a giant oilfield engine, and several other antique engines form Kalispell. The Kootenai Muzzleloaders will set up camp and show their crafts and skills.
At 10:00 AM Jim Mee and Bob Malyevac will give a presentation on David Thompson and the fur trade in the Beebe Room. They will be showing items of the fur trade from the educational trunk provided by the Forest Service.
Be sure to bring the family outside at 11:00 to see the Montana National Guard helicopter land on the grounds. The pilot and crew will make a short presentation and answer any questions. The helicopter will remain on the grounds on static display until 3:00 PM. Live music is being schedule for the afternoon.
The museum's opening day will be a special event for the Lincoln County Amateur Radio Group, which will be contacting "ham" operators around the world from the museum grounds. Bill Cunnane, who will be the main radio operator, has held radio conversations with other hams in more than 100 countries. This month he e-mailed more than 1,000 clubs and other organizations with news about the event and information about Libby and the museum. He expects many of their members to participate. Each ham contacted on opening day will be mailed a "QSL" card with a likeness of the museum. The local hams will also be accepting "Radiograms" to be transmitted via voice and Morse code networks to recipients nationwide and in most countries of the world. Messages can be sent to American servicemen and women, but military regulations prohibit their going to those in combat zones. You’ll need to bring the mailing address and phone number of the person you want to contact.
Artwork by the Libby Fine Arts Group will be on display in the Tower Gallery through the month of June. Plan to visit each month to see the changing exhibits in the gallery: quilts in July and photography in August. While you’re at the museum, you can pick up an entry form for the Heritage Museum’s Second Annual Chili Cook-Off scheduled for Saturday, July 28. There will be cash prizes plus a special People’s Choice Award!
Great burgers, hot dogs and pies and other treats will be available in the old Sylvanite Ranger Station cookhouse. Just outside the cookhouse is the Heritage Garden, a vegetable garden planted and tended by volunteers. Last year, much of the produce from this garden was donated to the Libby Food Pantry.
The season will continue through Nordicfest, Sept. 9, 2007. Hours are: Monday-Saturday, 10-5 and Sunday, 1-5. Admission is by donation. The museum has no paid staff and, other than an occasional grant, receives no funding from local, state or federal sources. The Heritage Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.
Related Links:
Heritage Museum
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