Heritage Museum announces upcoming fundraiser events
Submitted by
Sherry Turner
The Heritage Museum receives $2,000 donation for the Roof Fund, presented by Rich Hutter (center) Owner of Napa Auto Parts in Libby to Don Smart (left) and Sherry Turner (right). Museum Vice-president Turner presents Hutter with Napa Auto Parts’ Museum membership certificate. Photo courtesy of the Heritage Museum.
The Heritage Museum recently received $2,000 in donations, from Rich Hutter Owner of NAPA Auto Parts in Libby, for the Museum’s roof replacement project! In response to the Museum’s annual membership letter and request for roof donations, Rich send the Museum a check for $1,000 for the roof. However, when board members Don Smart, and Sherry Turner arrived at NAPA last week to take a photo with Rich, he surprised them with a second check for $1,000! Dale Sabine happened to be in the NAPA store at the time and he and his wife Tammi gave Museum Board Treasurer Don Smart $150 in cash for the roof project!
The Heritage Museum has two roof fundraisers scheduled in May on the Museum grounds at 34067 US Hwy 2 in Libby with a goal to raise $50,000 for the project. (1) The Vintage & Collectibles Sale on Friday and Saturday, May 6-7, 2022, from 10a-5p. The Museum building will be open both days and, in the yard, there will be vintage treasures, antiques, and collectibles offered for sale by vendors as well as some offered by the Museum. (2) The Museum’s Annual Opening Day Celebration on Saturday May 21, 2022, from 10a-4p; there will be vendors outdoors, food, entertainment, and other activities.
The Museum’s unique rustic 12-sided log building is now listed on the Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. To date the Museum has been awarded 6 grants and received local donations for a total of $268,475 to help pay for the $405,415 total roof replacement project:
- Montana Historic Preservation grant $229,690;
- Lincoln County Community Foundation (LCCF) grant $2,000;
- Siefert Family through LCCF grant $700;
- Flathead Electric “Roundup for Safety” grant $7,500;
- Whitefish Community Foundation $2,500; and
- Americana Corner Fund at Donors Trust $7,000.
- Local business and individual donations $19,085.
One additional federal grant of $86,438 was applied for but awards have not yet been announced. The roof project is expected to start May 23 and be completed in 4-6 weeks, depending upon the weather. The building will remain open to the public 7-days a week during roof construction.
Please send an email to heritagemuseum@frontier.com or call (406) 293-7521 and leave a message if you are interested in helping with this very important community fundraising effort.
Background: The Museum’s roof has been leaking for the last 2 years. Condensation and poor insulation caused the 47-year-old wooden roof framework to rot. The roof must be replaced down to the tongue and groove boards which rest upon the whole log rafters you see inside the museum when you look up. So far, no permanent damage has occurred to the local historical artifacts or exhibits inside the building, but it’s feared it will only be a matter of time before permanent damage occurs.
Visitors to the Museum state they are pleasantly surprised to find such a “hidden gem” in rural northwest Montana. Libby community volunteers built and have maintained the Museum for nearly 50 years; there are no paid employees.
Museum Board meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the 3rd Monday of each month at the Museum Cookhouse. The next meeting will be Monday April 18. The public is invited to attend.
CPMC’s Laboratory
Collaborates with FVCC
Submitted by
Paula Collins
Cabinet Peaks Medical Center and Flathead Community College are teaming up to help educate and train employees for the Laboratory Department. The two are working together to train Medical Lab Technicians to help prepare for upcoming retirements in the department.Cassidi Jabobson, Phlebotomist at CPMC, is the first recipient to start the pilot lead program in the area. The normally 2 ½ year program is condensed to 42 weeks of online learning combined with full clinical rotations at CPMC. Generally, students must travel to complete the clinical portion, but this fully remote opportunity allows them to be completed close to home. Roger Riddle, CPMC Lab Manager, explained “This is such a great opportunity for Cassidi and the community. It gives us the ability to train and hire people who are a part of the community and invested in it. I am thrilled to help facilitate the program. I certainly hope that it becomes a means to give those in our community an opportunity for a career here at the hospital.” He stated, “Cassidi is a first-class candidate and the perfect choice to test the program.”
Upon completion of the program, Cassidi will graduate with an Associate’s Degree and will test for her Medical Lab Technician license. Cassidi, who was trained at CPMC as a phlebotomist, stated “I am very thankful for the opportunity to finish my college education that will end in a career.”
For more information on the CPMC Laboratory or this new technology, call 283-7090.