Rotary marks peace park anniversary

Approximately 150 Rotarians and park representatives from Montana and Western Canada are gathering this weekend to commemorate the 1932 establishment of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

It was the first such trans-boundary park in the world and the model for similar efforts around the world. The annual event known as Hands Across the Border concludes Sunday at Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park. 

For the past 78 years Rotary Clubs in Alberta and Montana have taken turns hosting the celebration in Waterton and Glacier, respectively.

This year, the Rotary Club of Helena, in league with the Rotary Sunrise Club and other Rotary groups in Townsend and Whitehall, is the official host.

This event coincides with the last phases of a long season of commemorating Glacier Park’s 100th anniversary and will include official meetings of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Association. 

The weekend will be full of walks, talks, meals and music.

Glacier Superintendent Chas Cartwright and Waterton Lakes Superintendent Dave McDonough will deliver remarks, as will Rotary District governors from both sides of the border.

Cowboy poet Mike Logan and Grammy-nominated Blackfeet singer-songwriter Jack Gladstone will provide entertainment.

Penny Legate, a television personality and humanitarian from the Seattle area, will address the assembly on Sunday morning.

The proceedings culminate in an 11 a.m. ceremony at Chief Mountain border crossing with the ritual handshake across the 49th parallel between representatives from both Glacier and Waterton Lakes national parks.