Lifestyle02

In celebration of the centennial of the U.S. Forest Service, the Flathead National Forest is hosting The Fiddlin' Foresters for a free public concert on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 3 p.m. at the Glacier Bible Camp in Hungry Horse.

The special musical group of Forest Service employees, retirees and volunteers from Colorado will visit Montana for an interpretive performance on natural resource conservation and public land stewardship. The group uses old-time music, songs of the American West and novelty tunes to highlight the contributions national forests and grasslands have made to the American economy, landscape and culture over the past century.

The four members of the old-time band include Lynn Young, Jim Maxwell, Jane Leche and Tom Dalton McFarland, showcasing their skills on the harmonica, fiddle, banjo and guitar, as well as vocals.

Songs such as "Cold Missouri Waters" tell the story of the 1949 Mann Gulch Fire on the Helena National Forest that took the lives of 13 wildland firefighters and burned almost 5,000 acres. A dangerous combination of heat, wind, terrain and fuel turned the routine fire into a deadly blowup. Each performance by the band also includes the classic "Smokey Bear" song.

This is the only concert scheduled for Western Montana during the centennial year.

For more information, call the Flathead National Forest at 758-5208 or visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r1.flathead www.fs.fed.us/r1.flathead.