Historical group presents an inside look at museum
Part of a display on an oak roll-top bankers desk and chair at the "Kalispell: Montana's Eden" exhibit at the Northwest Montana History Museum in Kalispell on Thursday, June 23. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
The Northwest Montana Westerners, a local historical group, wraps up the year Monday, Nov. 20, with an inside look at the workings of the Northwest Montana History Museum. The presentation will conclude with a tour of the museum.
Former Northwest Montana History Museum director Jacob Thomas will describe the campaign to preserve the 1892 Kalispell Central School building, which is where the museum is now housed. Saving the building from being demolished hinged on a single-vote majority by the Kalispell City Council.
He will also talk about the business of running the museum and the activities that go on behind the scenes. A cadre of volunteers is busy organizing, cataloging and securing the museum's many items and documents. They are also instrumental in preparing the exhibits, such as the rotating “Ten Things” that greets visitors near the front door.
The museum also has a replica historic classroom, where children from local schools get to experience firsthand what education was like in 1895. And its rooms and grounds are also available for local events, including weddings.
Thomas was museum director for five years until he decided to not spend his nights worrying about the museum's fussy mechanical system and periodic disasters. He now works for Applied Materials in Kalispell. His wife, Brit, is the director of the Conrad Mansion Museum.
The presentation starts at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Northwest Montana History Museum, at 124 2nd Ave. East in Kalispell. Cost is $5 for the general public, with members and youths under 16 admitted free.
Following Monday's presentation, the Northwest Montana Westerners will take two months off. Its monthly programs will resume in February.