Book signings planned this weekend in Apgar

The Montana House in Apgar and the Glacier National Park Fund have several programs planned this week. These events are free and open to the public.

For further information call 888-5393 or 862-6110.

Photographer and author Bret Bouda will sign his books, “Jammin’-to-the-Sun,” “Black & White Glacier Classics” and “Glacier Park Wide” at the Montana House from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 31.

In “Jammin’-to-the-Sun,” Bouda captures the grandeur of the park and the glamour of the famous red buses.

Bouda’s “Timeless Light” photo exhibit celebrating Glacier National Park’s Centennial is display at Glacier Park International Airport. It contains more than 90 images on canvas of the park and will run through December 2010.

In 1981, Bouda left Czechoslovakia and ultimately became a U.S. citizen. He visited Glacier Park for the first time in 2004 and in 2005 he moved with his wife and their two children to Kalispell.

Also on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Dave Hadden of Headwaters Montana will give a presentation about completing Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

Hadden will talk about expanding the park boundary in British Columbia and the recent pact between Montana and British Columbia to protect the Flathead River.

On Sunday, Aug. 1, local authors Beth Hodder and Patti Hirst will sign their books from 2 to 5 p.m.

Hodder moved to Montana from Ohio in 1978, working seasonal jobs in Glacier National Park before getting a permanent job with the U.S. Forest Service. The job turned into a 25-year career, while her husband, Al, worked at the Spotted Bear Ranger Station.

The Schafer Meadow Ranger Station in the wilderness is the scene of her first book, “The Ghost of Schafer Meadow,” a mystery about a teen who is suddenly taken from her friends and city life to the wilds of Montana.

Her newly released second book, “Stealing the Wild,” is a sequel involving four backpackers, a lone horseman and the law.

Hirst is a resident of Whitefish.

Her children’s book, “Rocky Mountain Snow Ghosts,” was published in 2008. The illustrations in the book are done by Abigail Folk, also a Whitefish artist. Hirst has a doctorate in education and, before retirement, taught special education in the Philippines, Beijing and Columbia Falls.