Skranaks commit to hanging wreaths, reiterates need for new home for decorations

The new owners of Managhan’s pledged Dec. 20 to continue helping hang Libby’s holiday wreaths, but said they could no longer store the Christmas decorations.

Speaking before Libby City Council, Matt Skranak said his inability to stow the bulky adornments owed to lack of space, but that would not preclude Managhan’s employees from aiding with the annual tradition.

“Going forward, we still want to be involved in the wreath program,” he said. “We still want to put them up. We just can’t store them.”

Skranak’s remarks came two weeks after Gail Burger of Hotel Libby and Libby Area Business Association warned Libby City Council that a new home for the wreaths was needed. At the time, Burger said Managhan’s, which took on the wreaths under former owner Mark Managhan, no longer planned on storing the wreaths.

She urged the panel to take the lead in finding a new home for the city-owned decorations.

“I thought if we brought it up now, we’ve got plenty of time to figure it out,” she said.

Skranak this week told city councilors that lack of space did not equate disinterest. He chalked the disparity up to a miscommunication between himself and Burger. But he took umbrage with The Western News for reporting on Burger’s call to action.

“I’m embarrassed that I’m here right now in this situation,” he said. “I’m saddened at the article. At the end of the day, words do matter and how they’re written matter.”

The purchase of Managhan’s omitted the furniture store’s warehouse, Skranak said. They are renting several spaces in and around Libby for their inventory, he said. Even his home has turned into temporary storage space.

“Our garage is not our garage, it is a storage unit,” Skranak said.

Finding a new home for the decorations is the latest challenge associated with Libby’s holiday wreaths. The adornments were in such bad shape a few years ago that city officials planned on permanently shelving them. In 2019, officials deemed the labor that went into repairing and maintaining the wreaths cost prohibitive.

Enter Managhan’s. The former owners offered to take on the refurbishment effort with little fanfare that year.

Skranak told city councilors he hoped a new home for the wreaths is found. Though they will no longer stay with Managhan’s, he reiterated he was happy to lend the city a hand in raising them each year.

“We’re community driven,” Skranak said. “We’re here for Libby. If that means hanging wreaths or taking them down, we’re here.”