History makes a capital trip

"You’re going to spend hours in there,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said as he waved toward the main gallery at the new Montana Heritage Center in Helena. He mentioned a favorite among the items on display: a 1950s Chevy — stuck in gumbo. 

As Montanans, we’ve been there. 

The centerpiece exhibit mixes the universal and the particular as it makes a grand tour of our state’s people, including 13 sovereign nations and immigrants, and a land of incomparable beauty and industry. The emphasis is on immersive and interactive as visitors loop through Montana history from the Ice Age to now, including a virtual trip down a 1920s Butte mine shaft and language lessons from tribal members. 

The entrance to the exhibit starts how we do: with feet touching the ground, and a display of the variety of shoes that represent ourselves, many eras, and connection to place. 

The Dec. 2 ribbon-cutting marked the completion of the 70,000-square-foot addition to the renovated 95,000-square-foot Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building of the 1950s. 

Additional dignitaries showed Montana spirit on this snowy afternoon, tipped off with a blessing by Montana Historical Society trustee Steve Lozar, a former tribal councilman from Polson. 

We heard from Dennis Washington, who traced the arc of his success from when he and his wife lived on her teacher’s salary while he built a construction business. 

“Every news story at that time predicted I would go broke,” he said. “I almost did!” Acknowledging the value adds of opportunity, luck and mentoring, Washington expanded into mining, dams, railroads and aviation and does business worldwide. As the lead contributor to the heritage center, he shows a soft spot for his home state and culture.  

He also took an active role in the exhibits, bringing in people from Paramount and Netflix to boost visuals for the Homeland Gallery. 

Another principal donor, Norm Asbjornson, followed. Rebuffing help, he made a careful, nail-biting two-cane trundle to the podium. When he got there, he boomed, “As you can see, I am grateful to be here.”

Asbjornson also told his Montana story, from growing up in Winifred (population 200) to attending Montana State, where he planned to put himself through school shoveling snow. He struggled as a student, but it was the dry winter of his sophomore year that really did him in. Without money to continue school, he joined the military and went to Korea.  

He came back ready to complete his studies under the GI Bill, then entered the HVAC industry. Soon after, he had his breakthrough idea that the only consideration to that point in the industry had been price, but he thought quality could count, too. The market agreed. 

With purchase of a small, stagnant HVAC firm in Oklahoma, Asbjornson created a company that is the preferred supplier for data centers and major chain retailers and restaurants.  

“I grew up giving,” Asbjornson said, to explain his interest in the heritage center. “I like the virtues of giving.”  

I love these stories of grit, ingenuity and philanthropy because they show the can-do, charitable attitude many Montanans have.

It took 20 years and $107 million to bring about the Montana Heritage Center. Admission is free for all. 

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