Artist Cavanaugh leaves big legacy

Artist Bob Cavanaugh spent most of his last 40 years as a resident of Kalispell, and he certainly left his mark behind — not just with the art he created, but with the legacy of mentoring, community service and kindness that he was known for.

Cavanaugh, who died Sunday at the age of 87, was a distinguished sculptor and painter, but that never went to his head. He was the exact opposite of stuffy — always had time to help another artist, to tell a story or just plain to have a good laugh. He was what they call in Yiddish a “mensch” — a man of character, a real human being.

Maybe that’s because he came up through the ranks without anything being handed to him. He served his nation in the Merchant Marines during World War II, studied art and design, worked among many other jobs as an editorial cartoonist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and eventually made the transition to fine art. Lucky for the world that he did, as he taught us all to see the world better.

Artist friends such as Mark Ogle and Gary Riecke, who shared stories about “Cav” in Wednesday’s Inter Lake, will help to keep his legacy alive. So too will the countless paintings and sculptures made from his hand and his inimitable imagination that will grace Western art collections for years to come.

A big heart for small critters

The Small Critter Food Exchange is a network with a simple yet laudable goal: to help keep small pets fed, even if their owners are struggling with money.

The food exchange was founded in November by animal lovers Robyn Maisch and Kris Bridenstine to help keep small pets fed, even if their owners are struggling with money.

Now, with the exchange having more than 100 members, people on hard times all over the valley can get the needs of their pets met.

You have to applaud the efforts of these two women — plus all the other donors who assist their work.

To donate to the group or to participate, visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/smallcritterfoodexchangeflatheadvalley.

An insensitive comparison

You may have been as shocked as we were to see a local environmentalist make an off-handed comparison between snowmobilers and child molesters in a story in Monday’s Inter Lake.

Keith Hammer, chairman of the Swan View Coalition, was complaining that after the Skyland-Challenge Creek area was closed to snowmobiling, Forest Service officials told the recreationists to go to the Swan as an alternative.

“This is the equivalent of telling a child molester to simply move on down the street to the next playground,” Hammer wrote to the Forest Service.

Well, no it isn’t. There is nothing equal about the two situations, and to suggest there is shows an insensitivity hard to fathom in someone who has been in the public eye as long as Mr. Hammer.