'Imagine if' reading were still relevant

We’ve been interested to see the number of letters, mostly negative, generated by the county library’s recent decision to identify itself as ImagineIF instead of as... well... the library.

The library, of course, wants to stay relevant, and so we understand the urge to appeal to younger citizens by showing that it is a “hip and happening” place (as we used to say when we were “hip and happening.”)

But, frankly, we would much prefer to see books and reading become relevant to young people rather than see the library remain relevant by treating all those stacks of books as an afterthought.

Yeah sure, everyone loves popcorn, video games and how-to classes, but if we wanted to learn how to build a chicken coop, we would probably turn to our friends at the farm and ranch store or the extension service first, not the “library.”

Oops! There’s that word again. Imagine that!

Good guys won this time

It was a touching story with a widespread response when a soldier’s medals were stolen from a frame shop in Kalispell.

Public reaction (especially when the thief tried to pawn the medals) and the police response were swift.

Kalispell police even went as far as using a metal detector to find and recover a stolen Purple Heart medal from a snowbank.

Thanks to those efforts, the critical medals have been found, a suspect is in custody and perhaps one thief has learned a lesson about the value in human emotions of military medals.

Norm’s legacy is enduring

Norm Kurtz will be on a lot of people’s minds as the Whitefish Winter Carnival rolls to a close in a couple of weeks. Kurtz, who died recently at age 86, conjured up the whole idea of a winter carnival and then dug in to make it happen in 1960. It’s since grown into one of Whitefish’s biggest and best celebrations.

That kind of positive force was a hallmark of Kurtz’s life. He spent the better part of four decades working tirelessly to make Whitefish Mountain Resort the best it could be and doing whatever it took during the lean years to keep the place running.

Kurtz seemingly did everything around town at one time or another, from playing piano at Frenchy’s Chinese Gardens on weekends to managing the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce.

He was a dreamer, a mover and shaker and brought an infectious enthusiasm to everything he did. Whitefish owes a debt of gratitude to the fellow who was known as Mr. Whitefish in many circles, and “Stormin’ Norman” in others.

If you’re at the Whitefish Winter Carnival this year, toast one to old Norm. He’d like that.

Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.