If you love something, help it grow

The Missoula crew came ready to throw down. Pinball machines flashed in the background at the Dusty Star Saloon as the five visitors and some locals listened to organizer Toni Braig give the ground rules for the Flathead Flippers pinball tournament.

Braig, a Kalispell native, returned to the valley after time in Missoula and a breakup. She started organizing pinball tournaments this spring because she missed the scene, loves pinball and gathering people, and “I thought, This is gonna help.” 

After paying a $3 fee to enter the June event, we gave the machines a workout, playing in groups and smoothly winnowing to a winner, thanks to an app that sorted us among the assigned machines. Over the rounds of play, we learned our rivals’ styles and the games. In between, we shared tips such as where to find other good “pin” points in Western Montana and useful drink markers in the shape of flippers. 

At the core of Braig’s and the players’ motivation to join is passion for the game.  

“I thought I loved pinball, but not like these women do,” Braig said as she put on headphones for her turn. What’s she listen to? “ABBA’s ‘Mamma Mia,’” she said. “It gets me every time.” 

Taylor from Columbia Falls, who describes herself on Instagram as a “clown enthusiast,” smiled shyly as she stepped away for her turn. Fierce play ensued. 

Still, the Flathead was no match for the Garden City. After all the dings and clicks and the final Game Over on machines from Deadpool to John Wick, Gretchen from Missoula got top honors. I came in last, playing a foundational role. 

One of the Missoula women summed up two of her group: “Stacy’s all about mind games, Gretchen goes for the knees.” Despite the kneecapping, we all parted as friends excited to rematch. 

I can’t help but contrast Braig’s tiny, thriving exercise in community building with the current state of our library. A beloved free community resource suffers because a majority of its trustees recently voted to cut ties with the library’s traditional and successful fundraising partner, the Flathead County Library Foundation. The move puts a long-planned Kalispell branch at risk. 

It is the latest blow to the library, after efforts at censorship (have the book banners ever been the good guys?), an unnecessary name change, severed ties with other longtime partners, and constant controversy that frays a community and wastes funds and energy. 

If we loved our library like some do pinball, we’d prioritize its best interests. Instead of choosing to provoke, alienate and isolate, those who lead the library — and the county commissioners who appoint them — could show their support for it through words and deeds that encourage the sharing and pursuit of information, growth, learning and imagination. 

Full disclosure: I once put in my name for library trustee. I probably came in last in that, too.  

The Dusty Star recently added two more machines, so the venue is more ready than ever to host the next Flathead Flippers tournaments, at 12:30 p.m. Aug. 17 (coed) and Aug. 31 (women’s).  

When you build a community, it just gets better. 

Margaret E. Davis, executive director of the Northwest Montana History Museum, can be reached at mdavis@dailyinterlake.com.