Heritage Museum opens June 2
by Jay Goley
May 24, 2012
The Heritage Museum in Libby will have its annual Opening Day on Saturday, June 2.
As always, the museum will offer games, demonstrations, lectures and new displays, including renovated exhibits of the Libby Volunteer Fire Department, the history of buttons and children’s toys.
Exhibits and demonstrations will go on throughout the day, every one focused on various facets of Libby’s storied history, including Native American lore, exploration, mining and logging.
This year, the Swamp Creek Community Hall, which was moved to the museum some years ago, will be outfitted with a new larch dance floor, and the Spinning Squares will demonstrate square dance and give visitors a chance to learn some of their moves from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Patty Rambo will demonstrate traditional Native American games that taught the kids skills they would need in everyday life. Researched, restored and reintroduced by the International Traditional Games Society headquartered in Browning, they are fun to play. Rambo, a certified trainer for the Society, will be on hand from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
A few of the games that will be shared include Doubleball, a physical team sport; Guessing sticks (an intuitive game), Stone People (a speed game that teaches respect and story telling) and Rock in the Fist, which tests a player’s skills to read the opponent's body language. There will also be an opportunity to learn the Ring the Stick Game and make game pieces to take home.
Starting at 1:30 p.m., Jeff Gruber, a local historian, will show and narrate a DVD of a 1947 film of J. Neils Lumber Co. Sawmill and logging operations in the Warland area. Copies of the DVD will be available for purchase in the museum’s gift shop.
The Kootenai Muzzleloaders will set up camp and show their skills and handmade crafts. Mark Morain will demonstrate muzzle-loading rifles and pistols, and his candy cannon.
On the quieter side, Kenny Beckstrom will demonstrate a rock blaster that uses no explosives to make little ones out of big ones.
Charles Robbins of Missoula will again demonstrate the traditional skill of rope-making.
As always, lunch will be offered in the museum’s Sylvanite Cookhouse at reasonable prices, and the bluegrass band "Beyond Help" will perform outside the cookhouse beginning at 11 a.m.
Railroad buffs will find that the Shay steam locomotive "Old Four Spot" has moved from its usual spot beside Highway 2 and is now in a protective shed, where restoration work has begun. The Shay’s prime renovators will be on hand to explain how they’re restoring the engine and what they plan to do with it.
The museum will open its doors at 10 a.m. Saturday and close out its celebration at 5 p.m. For the remainder of the summer season, hours will be Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Admission is by donation.
The Heritage Museum is run completely by volunteers.
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