Heritage Museum to open this weekend with celebration
Libby’s Heritage Museum will open its doors for another season with an opening day celebration from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday, June 4.
The celebration will be packed with exhibits and activities for the entire family, including gold panning, ham radio operation, food, face painting and fun for all. A special visitor, Smokey Bear, will be on-site from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
At 10 a.m. current and retired members of the Libby Volunteer Fire Department will discuss the department and exhibit their trucks and equipment.
At 10:30 a.m. Dr. Pat Neils will present “Dunn Creek Nell: The Life and Legend of Libby’s Very Own Wild West Woman.” The presentation will explore the life and times of this historical figure and try to sort the facts and fiction from his extensive research.
Everett Nelson will take center stage at 11:30 a.m. to discuss “The History of the J. Neils Boarding Houses and Mill Row.” Nelson will discuss the history of the row and the families who lived in and managed the houses.
The final scheduled presentation begins at 1 p.m., with Carlene Erlandson discussing the history of quilts. Using quilts from her own collection as well as a few from the museum, she will share her knowledge of quilt patterns and fabrics from the late 1880s to more current times.
In addition to the presentations, the celebration will feature a number of entertainment options, including live music from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. with Lee Tonner, Mike Powell, Carol Cady, Patty Leonard and Tim Harcourt. The Spinning Squares will square dance from 11 a.m. until noon. The live music will continue at noon, with God and Country, followed by the Libby High School jazz group, Back in 5, from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m. Pasture Pickin’ will round out the entertainment, beginning at 2 p.m.
Lunch will be served in the historic Sylvanite cookhouse, with Jeff Gruber grilling burgers, onions and hot dogs. There will be various home baked desserts available.
The Museum’s four Model T Fords will be out and about throughout the day. For $10, visitors have the opportunity to dress in vintage accessories and have their photo taken in a Model T. A raffle will be held that day to benefit the Model T Fund. The prize is a large framed photo of Upper Flower Creek by Kaya Hardgrove.
Volunteers will be on hand in the Shay shed from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. to show visitors the progress on the locomotive and discuss the museum’s plans for the future.
This year marks the opening of a new exhibit on the history of the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine and subsequent asbestos contamination. The highlight of the exhibit will be personal perspectives of a variety of people sharing their experiences through video-taped interviews. Clips of these interviews can be selected for viewing on touch-screen computers. Some of these people worked for W.R. Grace; some have asbestos-related disease or had family members who were affected. Others are the physicians who diagnosed and treated the illnesses. Still others just live and work here and have their own viewpoint. This exhibit was made possible through grants from Humanities Montana, the Center for Asbestos Related Disease, the Lincoln County Community Foundation and private donations.
Beginning opening day and continuing through the month of June, the Kootenai Valley Quilt Guild will display their beautiful quilts in the Tower Gallery. The gallery will house a changing exhibit throughout the summer with artwork from the Libby Fine Arts Group in July and photographs in August.
The Heritage Museum will be open Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Sundays, until Aug. 31. Admission is by donation.