Todd Hileman, Tony Smith to be inducted into LHS Hall of Fame
by Kootenai Valley Record
April 16, 2009
Artist Todd Hileman and educator Tony Smith will be inducted into the Libby High School Hall of Fame at the annual National Honor Society assembly at 7 p.m. Monday, April 20, at Ralph Tate Gymnasium.
Todd Hileman was born June 28, 1953, in Libby to Robert "Sparky" and June Hileman. He was the youngest of four children, joining sister Leslie and brothers Tom and Tevis.
Growing up, he played Little League baseball under the coaching of Brad and Dick Baeth, winning the state tournament in Great Falls. Todd and his friends began playing golf as soon as they could ride their bikes to the course. Todd played on the golf team in high school and returns to Libby each May to participate in the Ben Graham Memorial Tournament.
During high school, Todd worked seasonally for Pete Remp’s Christmas tree business. He graduated in 1973 and worked that summer for St. Regis Paper Co. before enrolling at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell, where he took art classes in drawing, watercolor, design and pottery. He started to sell his own original watercolor paintings after the first year and continues to do so to this day.
In the summer of 1974, Todd started working at the boat company at Glacier National Park’s Lake McDonald for Van and Luanne VanArtsdale, formerly from Libby. He stayed there for 19 summers.
He met his wife, Karen, at the park, and they married in 1976. Together they had two children, Somer and Ben.
Todd built his home near West Glacier with the help of his family and friends and has lived there for the past 29 years. He continues to work out of his home, creating his paintings and building furniture. He spends his summers biking, hiking, climbing and exploring in Glacier National Park, and the winter months snowshoeing and skiing in the woods.
Tony Smith is a 1963 graduate of Libby High School. He attended the University of Montana on a baseball scholarship, lettering his freshman year, and participated in many musical events with the university choir and a select quartet from the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.
Following his sophomore year, Tony joined the Naval Intelligence Service and served from 1965 to 1969 in Morocco and Vietnam, earning the Vietnam Service Medal. Returning to the University of Montana in 1970, he earned his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts while spending his summers guiding the Class AA Libby Logger American Legion baseball team to three consecutive state tournaments.
After graduating in 1973, he moved to London, England, where he was employed by the Naval Investigative Service Office and spent much of his free time hitchhiking and backpacking in Europe.
Returning from England in 1975, Tony received his teaching endorsement from the University of Montana and was hired in 1977 at Troy High School, where he has spent the past 32 years.
Tony has coached both boys’ and girls’ basketball at all levels and directed at least 30 major productions during 25 years as drama director.
In the mid-1980s, Tony started the first "Close Up" program at Troy High School, a program that continues to send juniors to Washington, D.C., for cultural and political activities.
Also in the 1980s, under the guidance of principal John Konzen, Tony developed a series of elective classes that he continues to teach, including Native American history and literature, ethnic studies and black culture, health psychology, Civil War history, America in World War II, social movements through music in the 20th century, the American experience in Vietnam, a survey of world religions, and Holocaust history.
From 1987 to 1990, he pursued a master’s degree from the University of Oregon, earning his degree in interdisciplinary studies including anthropology, American history and international relations.
A local committee of Libby High School graduates collects names of makes selections for the Hall of Fame. Past honorees have included teachers, doctors, soldiers and loggers who have done well and given back to their communities. Nominations can be submitted to Dr. Richard Wood, P.O. Box 1566, Libby, MT 59923.
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Editor’s Note: See the April 14, 2009 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, now on Tuesday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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