COLUMN: Finding a niche for outstanding Montanans

One of the great things about Montana is our sense of community. We embrace the experience of being a Montanan, and value the experiences of our neighbors and those who have come before us.

In that spirit, the state Capitol in Helena includes a Gallery of Outstanding Montanans. Niches in the west wing of the Capitol honor those who are from Montana or came to Montana and changed the state or the nation for the better.

Because there are more great Montanans than space available in the Capitol, the gallery displays each honoree for an eight-year period, with new names displayed every two years. The Montana Historical Society, which manages the program, is accepting nominations through Oct. 3 for the next round of honorees.

Nominees must have been “born, raised or lived a significant period of time in Montana,” and living people are not eligible for nomination. You can review a list of past honorees at http://mhs.mt.gov/education/OutstandingMontanans.

When I checked the list out, I was happy to see many of my favorite Montanans included, but also surprised by some of the omissions up till now.

You won’t be startled that the list includes artist Charles M. Russell, actor Gary Cooper, Copper King Marcus Daly, Crow Chief Plenty Coups, poet Richard Hugo, statesman Mike Mansfield or historian K. Ross Toole. All told, there are, by my count, 41 worthy choices in the gallery so far, but the Gallery of Outstanding Montanans began back in 1981, and though space may be at a premium in the Capitol for displaying them, there is no doubt that hundreds of Montanans deserve to be included in the mix. The Historical Society plans to make room for 10 more this year.

Finding those 10 should be no problem, but narrowing it down from the many possible nominees could be. I spent about 20 minutes and put together a list of nearly 30 people who are worthy of our state’s esteem. Some of them are just plain obvious such as Norman Maclean, the author of “A River Runs Through It” and “Young Men and Fire,” or Elouise Cobell, the Blackfeet Indian elder who led the successful fight against the U.S. government over mismanagement of Native American trust funds.

The absence of Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress and the only member of Congress to vote against both World War I and World War II, may be explained by the fact that she is honored elsewhere in the Capitol, but it is an oversight that should be corrected in any case.

Among the local names that are worthy of being included in the gallery are William Logan, the first superintendent of Glacier Park; Stan Lynde, the cartoonist and author, who resided in Polson for a number of years; Glacier Park conservationist George Bird Grinnell; and author James Willard Schultz, who documented the life of the Blackfeet.

Many others worthy of consideration include novelist Ivan Doig, historian Stephen Ambrose, Lakota warrior Sitting Bull, author Wallace Stegner, daredevil Evel Knievel, novelist Jim Harrison, actress Myrna Loy, actor Steve Reeves (better known as Hercules to folks of my generation!), novelist and poet James Welch, sculptor Bob Scriver, author Richard Brautigan, actor Carroll O’Connor, the infamous Calamity Jane, and novelist Will James.

My own personal favorite would be Emma Ingalls, the co-founder of the Inter Lake. Although her husband, Clayton Ingalls, gets the credit for being publisher, Emma was always an equal partner with him and had to carry more than her share when ill health struck him. She was a noted storyteller and historian and was one of the first two women elected to the Montana Legislature in 1916, the same year Jeannette Rankin went to Congress.

Her peer, Maggie Smith Hathaway, has already earned a spot in the Gallery of Outstanding Montanans. It is well past time for Emma Ingalls to join her, so I will submit a nomination on her behalf.

If you have your own suggestions, send them to Maggie Ordon of the Montana Historical Society. Nominations must include the name of the nominee, birth and death dates, Montana association, field of endeavor, specific contributions and achievements, any supporting documentation and additional information, name and contact for person making nomination, and date of nomination.

For more information or to submit a nominee, email Ordon at mordon@mt.gov or phone her at 406-444-4711. Nominations can also be mailed to Ordon at Montana Historical Society, P.O. Box 201201, Helena MT 59620-1201.The next two inductions will be made at the Capitol on March 9, 2017.