Heritage Museum to open May 30

When the Heritage Museum opens May 30, it will mark the 38th year of volunteers struggling to keep the history, culture and heritage of the Libby area alive for future generations.

The museum sits quietly alongside Highway 2 at the south end of town, with a tall pole marking the entrance. The grounds are filled with artifacts, from early agricultural equipment to logging implements, mining tools and an old Shea locomotive being patiently refurbished in an on-site workhouse.

Don Smart and August Hardgrove help maintain the outdoor exhibits and the grounds. The exhibits include old logging trucks and heavy equipment and even an old mine separator. Other items on display include relics of Libby’s past, such as an old gas station that originally sat on First Street, before it was moved to the bottom of Whiskey Hill and eventually found its way, fully restored, to the museum grounds.

In a shed near the rear of the property, John Schneider and Ben Wurz have been busy restoring old Model Ts. One is in a pretty sad state of disrepair, but another is nearing completion. Schneider, who heads up the Model T volunteers, said he hopes to have it fully working by opening day.

“The engine hasn’t run since the 1930s,” Schneider said. “But we’re hoping to have it running for the opening.”

Closer to the indoor museum, other antique farm implements and even an old sod-roofed building donated from the Forest Service sit in a dilapidated state, awaiting their turn to be restored to their former glory.

“We just need more volunteers to help with things around here,” said Laurie Mari, the museum’s Exhibits Chair. “It takes a village to do everything that we need done around here, a village and then some.”

The interior of the museum paints a vivid picture of the area’s rich culture and heritage. It includes the natural history of the area, with exhibits featuring the various wildlife species native to the region.

A stuffed eagle, osprey, bears, fish, sheep, deer and other animal species present a look at the splendor of wildlife in and around Libby.

In one corner of the museum a display is built to resemble an old newspaper office, complete with a linotype press that was used to produce early editions of The Western News. A side-by-side display compares an early Forest Service office to a more modern one, complete with an antique pamphlet of rules and regulations from days gone by to a full bookcase of regulations in the modern office.

Other displays reflect the mining, timber and railroad traditions so richly steeped in Libby’s history. An upstairs gallery features rotating displays. This year’s rotation will include a quilt exhibit in June, local art in July and a photography display in August.

The opening day ceremonies will kick off at 10 a.m. on May 30 and the museum will stay open until 5 p.m. Smokey Bear will be visiting the museum and joining the celebration.

Patty Rambo, a certified trainer, will be on-site all day to teach traditional Native American games in the museum yard. She will teach games such as ring the stick, doubleball and stone people. The games are both entertaining and educational, used to teach the life skills necessary for survival in the native cultures of the area.

Retired Forest Service archeologist Becky Timmons will also be on hand. Timmons will give a presentation about the various types of fire lookouts on the Kootenai National Forest and their histories. Timmons’ presentation begins at 10:30 a.m. 

The Kootenai Muzzleloaders will set up camp on the museum grounds and demonstrate their skills and handmade crafts including gun-building, weaving and thread spinning.

Local historian Jeff Gruber will be grilling up hamburgers and hot dogs in the Sylvanite cookhouse for visitors. Seating will be available inside and out on the grounds during the opening day festivities.

The Heritage Museum will be open seven days a week from May 30 until August 31 and is operated completely by volunteers. Board member Susan Castaneda helps coordinate the volunteers on the site and said the museum is always looking for help.

“It’s hard, sometimes, to find people willing to give time,” she said. “But we need people to help us keep this culture and heritage alive.”