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InsideLocal Stories, Local Authors, Maps, Events, and Business Features!
Fall / Winter 2012/2013
Shop Local Businesses that Make this Valley the Last Best Place
Shop Local Businesses!The Flathead Valley is unlike any other place in the world. By choosing to support locally owned
businesses, you help to maintain our community’s diversity and distinctive flavor. This Go Local Flathead!
shopping guide has been cooperatively produced by the businesses featured in this publication. The goals
of this guide are to encourage education and awareness about the benefits of buying local, encouraging
community support of locally owned businesses, and to increase support for local business owners in
their stewardship of our community.
One-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of the Flathead Valley. A
growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs
and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of- a-kind
businesses and distinctive character. Here in the Flathead Valley – preserving our distinctive community
character also helps to support and benefit our tourism businesses.
Benefits of Buying Local:
It keeps dollars in our economy. Of every $1.00 spent at a local business $.45 is reinvested
locally. For every $1.00 spent at a non-local business only 15 cents is reinvested locally.
It makes us unique. There’s no place like the Flathead! Homegrown businesses are part of
what makes us special.
It creates local jobs. Local businesses are the best at creating higher-paying jobs for our
neighbors.
It helps the environment. Buying locally saves transportation fuel. Plus you get products that
you know are safe and well made, because our neighbors stand behind them.
It nurtures our community. Studies show that local businesses donate to community causes
at more than twice the rate of chains.
It supports local farms and helps preserve the Flathead Landscape. In the 1950’s, we in
Montana grew 70% of our food. Today, we grow only about 13% of the food we eat.
The goal of this guide is to support local business owners in their stewardship of our community and
in turn to encourage our community to support these businesses. This guide recognizes the value of all
businesses in the community, but it is beyond the scope and scale of this publication to include businesses
with national/international corporate structures.
Best Wishes for Winter Fun in the Flathead,
From Your Local Business CommunityEmail us at [email protected] or call us at 756-8993
— 2 —
Index of Businesses
AcknowledgementsA special Thank You to the volunteers who helped with this issue and without whom this publication couldn’t happen:
Patty Basko, Gail Bonawitz, Kris Bruninga, B.J. Carlson, Jeanne Carlson, Susannah Casey, Sharon DeMeester, Ruby Dynneson,
Rose Gilberg, Donna Harrison, Brace Hayden, Cathy McDevitt, Loraine Measure, Marilyn Reynolds, Sharon Schiltz
and the staff of Citizens for a Better Flathead – Mayre Flowers, Chris Jolly, Sherry Parmater, and Karen Reeves.
Cover Photo: Layout & Graphics: Bonnie Bushman & Sharon DeMeester
BigforkDINE & UNWINDShowTyme ..........................................................8Taco Mexico ......................................................10
EXPERIENCEBrett Thuma Gallery ...........................................7Persimmon Art Gallery ........................................9
INDULGEBigfork Beauty Shop .........................................11
SERVICEPartners West Realty ............................................8
SHOPFlathead Video Hollywood to Go ........................8Jug Tree ...............................................................9Kehoe’s Agate Shop .............................................9Merry Gems ........................................................7Neal Brown’s Mojo Chocolates ............................9Roma’s Gourmet Kitchen Store .........................11
Columbia Falls/West GlacierDINE & UNWINDMy Sweetie Pies Bake Shop ...............................15
EXPERIENCESwan Mountain Snowmobiling .........................15
SERVICEMontana Photo Co. ..........................................14
Western Building Center ...................................53
SHOPBad Rock Books ................................................14Hungry Horse Liquor Store ...............................14The Montana House..........................................17
STAYBelton Chalet ....................................................17Izaak Walton Inn ...............................................42
KalispellCONSERVEGround Source Systems .....................................23
COOKMountain Valley Foods .....................................37Withey’s Health Foods ......................................21
DINE & UNWINDBonelli’s Bistro ..................................................51Cafe Max Soup Co. ...........................................70Ceres Bakery .....................................................50Hop’s Downtown Grill ......................................22Jagz ...................................................................26Janelli’s Deli ......................................................45Norm’s News ....................................................25
EXPERIENCEKalispell Downtown Association inside back cover
Montana Frameworks ........................................52Museum at Central School ................................33Noice Studio & Gallery .....................................35Paint Metal and Mud .................inside front cover Think Local .......................................................80
INDULGEGreat Karma....................................................40, 41Shamrocks Tattoo and Body Piercing ....................36Shorty’s Barber Shop.. .......................................20
SERVICE Able Body Collision Repair ...............................46Airworks............................................................39Alpine Interiors .................................................20Centennial Timber Frames ................................29Critter Coral Pet Grooming ..............................28Evergreen Compounding Pharmacy ..................24Flathead Travel Service ......................................26Insty-Prints........................................................31Kalispell Montessori Elementary School ............51Lowitz Custom Shoppe .....................................24M and C Tire ....................................................20Martin Electric ..................................................46McGarvey, Heberling, Sullivan & McGarvey, PC .. 35Montana Tile and Marble .................................35Paper Chase Copy Center..................................54Saverud Paint Shop ...........................................27Virtual Circuit I.T. ............................................45Western Building Center ...................................53
SHOP222 Main Street ................................................52Beckman’s Fine Furnishings ...............................28Bikology ............................................................20Bookworks ........................................................68Buckskin Clothier .............................................36Camas Creek Yarn .............................................51Cobblestone Moon ............................................45Coins & Carats .................................................27Fawn Boutique ..................................................33Flowers By Hansen ............................................50Imagination Station ...........................................73J2 Office Products .............................................49Machallie G’s Boot Boutique .............................47Powder Horn Trading Co. .................................22Rocky Mountain Outfitter ................................27Snappy Sport Senter ..........................................44The Strawberry Patch ........................................24Western Outdoor ..............................................25Wheaton’s..........................................................29Wheeler Jewelry ................................................29
STAYAero Inn ............................................................33
Lakeside/SomersDINE & UNWINDSomers Bay Café ...............................................58
Tamarack Brewing Company ............................43
EXPERIENCEBlacktail Mountain Ski Resort ...........................58
SHOPLakeside Ski & Sports .......................................59
CONSERVE
Aeon Renewable Energy ....................................74
COOKThird Street Market ...........................................76
DINE & UNWINDAmazing Crepes ................................................75Cafe Max Soup Co. ...........................................70Jersey Boys Pizzeria ............................................68Sally’s Bakery & Deli .........................................72The Green Tea House ........................................65
EXPERIENCEHeart of Whitefish ................... outside back coverStumptown Art Studio ......................................67Whitefish Pottery ..............................................74
GROWTerrapin Farm ...................................................71
INDULGE 33 Baker Hair & Body Salon .............................69Copperleaf Chocolat Company .........................73Kettle Care ........................................................65Sage & Cedar ....................................................71Vital Natural Balance ........................................72
SERVICEBohemian Grange Hall ......................................70Flathead Travel Service ......................................26Western Building Center ...................................53
SHOPBookworks ........................................................68Copperleaf Consignment Clothing ...................73Crystal Winters .................................................67Don K Subaru .....................................................4Ethos Paris - The Eco Boutique .........................75Imagination Station ...........................................73Nelson’s Ace Hardware ......................................63Northwind Shirt Company ...............................67Rocks & Things.................................................72Voyageur Booksellers .........................................73
Flathead Valley
Citizens for a Better Flathead ................................77Flathead Electric Cooperative ............................38The WasteNot Project ........................................60
— 3 —
Bigfork 5
Columbia Falls / West Glacier 13
Kalispell 19
Lakeside/Somers 57
Whitefish 61
Inside This IssueFlathead Fall/Winter Community Events. .........................78
Nordic Skiing
by Dave Hadden ............................................................12
Independent Businesses Deliver by Stacy Mitchell ............................................................18
Our Common Ground National Parks and Conservation ....................................32
Raven by Laura A. Munson .......................................................34
Bone Eaters by Douglas H. Chadwick ................................................55
Business in the Crown of the Continent National Parks and Conservation ....................................64
Local Whitefish Businesses Working Together by Ian Collin ..................................................................66
GOOD FOR BUSINESS — GOOD FOR COMMUNITY Merry Gems
by Karen Reeves ................................................................6Belton Chalet
by Karen Reeves ..............................................................16
Insty Prints by Mayre Flowers ............................................................30
J2 Office Products by Karen Reeves ..............................................................48
Nelson’s Ace Hardware
by Karen Reeves ..............................................................62
WHAT THE LOCALS THINK: BRAG ADSBigfork Brett Thuma Gallery .......................................................7
Flathead Video ................................................................8
Persimmon Art Gallery ...................................................9
Roma’s Gourmet Kitchen Store .....................................11
Taco Mexico ..................................................................10
Columbia Falls Izaak Walton Inn...........................................................14
Swan Mountain Snowmobiling .....................................15
Kalispell Critter Corral Pet Grooming .........................................28
Evergreen Compounding Pharmacy ..............................24
Hops .............................................................................22
Jagz ...............................................................................26
Machallie G’s Boot Boutique.........................................46
Montana Frameworks & Gallery ...................................52
Powder Horn Trading ....................................................52
Whitefish Aeon Renewable Energy ................................................74
Amazing Crêpes ............................................................75
Cafe Max Soup Co. .......................................................70
Don K Subaru ...............................................................68
Imagination Station ......................................................73
Sally’s Bakery & Deli .....................................................72
— 4 —
Safe travels begin atDon K Subaru.
6219 HWY. 93 SOUTH | WHITEFISH | 862-2571 | www.DonKsubaru.comJust 10 Minutes North Of Reserve On Hwy. 93
SUBARUStop in and meet our friendly, professional sales team:Justin Boylan, Rod Kuntz, Jon Grubb and Dirk Erekson.
VIPThe
Experience!BUY A NEW SUBARU FROM DON “K” SUBARU AND BE A VIP CUSTOMER: FREE OIL CHANGES, TIRE ROTATIONS,
CAR WASHING, AND COURTESY/LOANER CARS
JOHN SIMPSONSALES MGR.
1 EPA-estimated hwy fuel economy for 2013 Subaru Legacy 2.5i CVT models. Actual mileage may vary.
With road-gripping Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and 32 MPG,1
you can take the 2013 Subaru Legacy anywhere. Where it takes you is another story.
Bigfork
To Polson To Polson
To Kalispell
To Evergreen
Bigfork
Swan Highway
Flathead Lake
35
35
8382
83Holt Dr.
Holt Dr.
Hol
t Dr.
Hanging Rock Dr.
Chapman Hill Rd
To Polson
To Kalispell
35
35
Holt Dr.
Grand Dr.
Elec
tric
Ave
.
Osb
orn
Ave
.
Bridge St.
Commerce St.
Stage Ridge Rd.
N
— 6 —
Good For Business - Good For Community
Merry Gems
Next time you’re in Bigfork,
step over the fantastical
threshold at 469 Electric
Avenue and into Merry Gems. You’ll
be greeted by an explosion of color.
Sixteen years ago Mary Jo Naive, a
seamstress, restaurateur, and mother
of a young son, opened this marvelous
store that appeals to kids of all ages.
The clothing displayed is definitely
sized for youngsters, but there are toys and books and
even headwear that will fit the young at heart.
Mary Jo grew up sewing. At 15 she got her first job
stitching bathing suits in her hometown of San Diego.
She learned costume design at the University of Montana,
worked in the costume shop of the Bigfork Summer
Playhouse, and then began creating custom wedding
attire. Oh yeah, her resume also includes five years as a
very hands-on owner of the restaurant, Seastar (where
Showthyme is today). Managing an old bank building
as a lively dining spot and art gallery gave her advanced
training in running a business.
In 1996 Merry Gems opened. It was hard to find fun
clothes for children back then and so Mary Jo made the
entire inventory for the store for the first two years. To
shop there was the absolute epitome of buying local. The
rigors of being the sole proprietor of a business meant
she had less time to do all the sewing. Slowly she added
garments from U.S. and European manufacturers. Still,
Mary Jo misses being
directly involved with
the creation of the
clothing and looks
forward to someone
else taking over the
business so she can
devote more time to
design. Many of her
suppliers have folded
over the last eight
years so her search is
ongoing for well-made, quality items.
She also makes certain there are
things available in all price ranges. She
continues to make some of the items
she sells in the store and has expanded
to include toys and books as well. The
fantasy corner has fairy dresses and
wings, pirate hats and snaky Medusa
helmets.
Over the years she has developed
a very loyal clientele. People know where to come for a
special gift or a quality outfit. The joys of the business
include developing real connections with families,
watching them grow, and knowing what items would
suit them.
More joy comes from being in a small town. As
Mary Jo says, “I adore living in a small town, knowing
everybody, the valley networking together – that doesn’t
exist in a lot of the rest of the world. I love that.” It also
means being involved
with the community.
Mary Jo is vice chair of
the Bigfork Center for
the Performing Arts and
very active in the Bigfork
Chamber of Commerce.
She remembers being
exhausted after all the
work associated with the
4th of July and coming
to the store to find out
the street had been
anonymously “Yarn-
Bombed” - a dozen light
poles were suddenly sporting unique, crocheted jackets.
It instantly put a smile on her face.
It’s great to have a store that has made an art form out
of selection and display. It makes you feel young again
when you react to the kaleidoscope of color. It makes you
glad you live in a small town with a special presence and
unique style.
Bigfork 7
BR E T T TH U M A GA L L E RY
Autumn on the North Fork
“Brett’s art is great - he really understands the ecosystems behind the art. He is actually interested in the complexities of wildlife and habitats. Anyone who loves the outdoors should love his art”
Tim Manley, Columbia Falls, MT
SHOP LOCAL AND BRING THE BIG OUTDOORS INSIDE
Brett Thuma Gallery
Bigfork8
“Flathead Video is a very friendly place with great customer service, a great selection of movies, and so convenient. And it’s not just movies, they have good food and groceries”
— Leona Maneval, Bigfork
SHOP LOCAL AND HAVE FUN WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Don’t waste time driving around thevalley looking for homes.
(406) 837-2575www.PartnersWestRealty.com
104 Jewel Basin CourtBigfork, MT 59911
Email [email protected]@partnerswestrealty.com
Rose & Don Schwennesen
Call us... We’re LOCAL. We drove around yesterday!
Bigfork 9
Neal Brown’s Mojo Chocolates
and the occasional Cordial.All made with premium chocolate from
Kehoe’s AGATE SHOP
Since 1932
Custom Jewelry | Agates Montana Sapphires| Treasures
Precious Stones |and Engagement
C J l | A
1020 Holt Dr. Bigfork, MT 59911 406.837.4467 | [email protected]
www.facebook.com/kehoesagateshop
SHOP LOCAL TO SEE HOW FAR IMAGINATION CAN TAKE YOU
Persimmon Art Gallery
“I really love this shop - lots of color and whimsy, unique jewelry and ceramics.”
Amy Manley, Mesa, AZ
Bigfork10
GO LOCAL FOR FAR AWAY FLAVORS
Taco Mexico
“This is the best Mexican food in the valley — it’s true Mexican and just delicious.”
Wyatt and Mary Thompson, Bigfork, MT
Taco MexicoAuthentic Mexican
Lunch & DinnerMon - Sat. 11-8pm
406-837-5030
8275 Hwy 35 #3Bigfork, MT 59911Daily Specials!
The businesses featured in this guide meet the following criteria:o The business is privately held (not publicly traded).
o More than 50% of the owners or members of the entity/business are Montana residents.
o Their business is registered as a domestic entity with the State of Montana with no corporate or
national headquarters outside of Montana.
o They have substantial control over their choice of name, the look of their business, purchasing,
operating, and marketing decisions.
o They pay all their own marketing, rent and other business expenses (without assistance from, or
payment to, a corporate headquarters).
If your business meets these criteria then you should be in the next edition of the Go Local Flathead guide which goes to print twice a year, late Spring and early Fall!
email us at [email protected]
This criteria is similar to that used by other Buy Local Campaigns in Montana and across the nation.
See www.amiba.net or www.livingeconomies.org
Are You a Local Business?
ENCOURAGE LOCAL PROSPERITY
A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.
Bigfork 11
SHOP LOCAL TO PREPARE THE PERFECT MEAL
OR SELECT THE PERFECT GIFT
Roma’s Gourmet Kitchen Store
“Roma’s has the most remarkable cookware ever. And lovely, unusual items that make nice gifts. They are always so pleasant here too.”
Marcy Deets, Creston, MT
Amber Rae McCoard
Lead Stylist/Manager
837-4304
Gel Nails & Many Products
— 12 —
Nordic Skiing Gets on Track with Community Volunteers
Imagine yourself sliding along on cross-country skis on the
high, groomed trails of the Blacktail Mountain Nordic
Ski Trails west of Lakeside. On a clear, cold winter day
you can see the distant peaks of Glacier Park, the Mission
Mountains north to south, the Swan Mountains, and most
of Flathead Lake.
Now imagine you’re on the
trails of the Bigfork Community
Nordic Center just a few miles
north of Bigfork. You’ll be
cruising along the forested trails
at the base of the Swan Range
catching glimpses of snowy
Kraus Basin and Mount Aeneas.
You’ll have the trail to yourself
for a bit, and then you’ll pass
someone coming the other
way. You’ll exchange a friendly
hello and continue striding on.
Or maybe you’ll stop and visit,
after all the other person will likely be a friend.
Groomed cross-country skiing has finally come of
age in the Flathead Valley. Residents and visitors now
have a number of areas to ski that did not exist even
several years ago.
The Glacier Nordic Ski Club took the lead years ago in
Whitefish establishing the ski trails at the Whitefish Golf
Club. However, groomed skiing was limited pretty much
to Whitefish or the Izaak Walton Inn at Essex. Skiers from
more distant parts of the valley had to travel a considerable
distance to enjoy their winter sport.
All that changed with the development of cross-country
skiing at Blacktail and Bigfork and elsewhere. Now the
entire valley has a smorgasbord of trails, including Herron
Park, Flathead Valley Community College, and the private
Stillwater Nordic.
Community volunteerism has made almost all of these
new ski areas possible. Because I am most familiar with the
North Shore Nordic Club’s (NSNC) efforts at Blacktail
and Bigfork, I want to share how volunteerism succeeded
in building these programs that enrich the entire valley.
The NSNC formed in 2004 working to re-open
Nordic ski trails near Bigfork that had lain dormant for
decades and that had never been fully developed. In 2007
the club decided to expand its operations to include the
Blacktail Mountain trails that were being groomed by the
County just once a week.
The Blacktail trails are
located at 5,000 feet and are the
highest ski trails in the valley.
With snow falling earlier and
lasting longer at that elevation,
the club saw the opportunity
to extend everyone’s ski season
at both ends. Within a few
short years the club acquired a
complete fleet of state-of-the-
art grooming equipment and
were grooming seven days a
week. The skiing public could
show up to ski knowing that the
course would be groomed and ready.
Volunteerism takes a dedicated core group. And
though the NSNC leadership has changed membership,
the dedication and results have remained rock solid. Our
mission since the start has been to “provide the highest
quality and consistent groomed Nordic skiing in the
Flathead Valley.”
It naturally helps that a LOT of people love cross-
country skiing. Combine the sport’s fan base with a
dedicated leadership and you have a potent combination
for success.
Trails get cleared in a day by teams of 20 to 40
volunteers that would take days or a lot of money to hire
out. Grants get written and – more importantly - funded
by state and private granting agencies because the club can
demonstrate broad citizen and business support.
Volunteers remain the core of the club and Nordic
skiing’s future in the Flathead Valley. If you want to
help out, get more information on our trails, or make a
financial donation, please visit the NSNC website at www.
northshorenordic.org.
By Dave Hadden
Photo courtesy of Dave Hadden
Columbia Falls/ West Glacier
N
Railroad St
2nd St
3rd St
4thSt
5th St 5th St
6th St
7th St
8th St
11th St
4th
Ave
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5th
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1st A
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Nuc
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Bills Ln
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B St
C St
2
2
To Kalispell
To Glacier National Park
Coram
West Glacier
Glacier National ParkWest Entrance
2
2
To Columbia Falls
To Essex,East Glacier & Browning
Columbia Falls/West Glacier14
“We love to come here when Glacier gets too crowded. It’s a pleasant drive and a nice place with good food.”
SHOP LOCAL TO GET OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Izaak Walton Inn
Hungry HorseLiquor Store
8970 Hwy. 2387-5506
“specializing in all locally distilled spirits”
Montana Photo Co.
Call for your Old Time Photo ShootAvailable for Events and Location Shoots
406-892-0178Columbia Falls, MT 59912
C ll f Old Ti P
New!Stage Coach &
Outdoor Settings
Portraits & Gift Certificatesare Great Ideas
for the Holiday Season
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
—Albert Einstein
Columbia Falls/West Glacier 15
EXPERIENCE THE BEST OF MONTANAEXPERIENCE THE BEST OF MONTANAGlacier Country’s Premier Snowmobile Outfitter
Guided Trips and Rentals(406) 387-4203 ~ www.glaciersnowmobile.com ~ Half Day and Full Day Tours/Rentals
SWAN
MOUNTAIN SNOWMOBILING
GLACIER COUNTRY, MONTANA
Covering more locations and trails than any other outfitter!
GO LOCAL, GO FAST, GO DEEP AND GO OUTSIDE
“Absolutely wonderful family business!! We hadn’t even been on the sleds
I had booked a longer tour. Can’t wait to go back!!”
—Jennifer Felix, Seattle
— 16 —
The Belton Chalet was built
the same year that Glacier
became a National Park,
1910. It was one of the attractions
built by the Great Northern
Railway to lure the wealthy away
from Europe, onto their trains, and
into the scenic wonders of the West.
Built to resemble a Swiss chalet,
the Belton was the first of many hotels and chalets built
around and in the new park by the railroad company. For
a long time it was a glorious place to stay but even before
WWII it began to fall into disrepair. Time and the winter
snows took their toll.
Some of the buildings were slated for demolition
during a Highway 2 construction project in the 1970s.
Porches and pillars on the restaurant building were torn
off. The Luding family, operators of Sperry and Granite
Park Chalets, was able to halt further destruction by
getting the buildings on the National Historic Register but
they couldn’t begin any restoration.
Enter Cas Still and Andy Baxter. They have been
fascinated by historic buildings for years and became
curious about the Belton when they would drive by to
spend family Christmases skiing at the Izaak Walton Inn.
At that time they weren’t even aware of the hotel behind the
structure sitting near the highway — all the overgrown trees
and shrubbery had hidden the other buildings. In 1997
Cas and Andy bought the moldering property and began
a years-long labor and money intensive reconstruction
project. Hiring loads of local
craftsmen, foundations were
buttressed or built, porches
replaced, and roofs reinforced
and re-shingled. Photos from
the National Park archives were
studied to ensure accuracy.
Whenever possible the original
woodwork, fixtures, and glass
were saved. Brand new electrical
wiring and plumbing were
added to all the buildings. They
Good For Business - Good For Community
Belton Chalet
reopened the buildings in stages, first
the restaurant and then the lodging.
All of this culminated in the property
being honored by the National
Trust for Historic Preservation and
designated a National Historic
Landmark in 2000.
Though loyal to the beauty of the
original Chalet some changes were
made. No longer do guests have to share a bathroom down
the hall. Each room in the hotel now has its own sink,
shower, and toilet. Most recently they have added wi-fi in
the rooms. There are still no TVs or telephones to distract
you but the lobby has a roaring fireplace and an upright
piano, there is strategic seating for mountain viewing or
stargazing, and just across the river there are more than a
million acres of Glacier National Park to roam.
The Chalet
complex boasts the
25-room hotel, three
large, fully-equipped
cottages available year
round, and a high
caliber restaurant
and taproom. Locally
grown ingredients are used as much as possible in the dining
room. Throughout the year there are evening events when
local beers or wines are paired with special menu items.
Local artists and musicians provide art and entertainment
at the Chalet and restaurant.
The Belton Chalet makes a great winter retreat. The
entire hotel can be reserved for a wedding or a conference.
It is the perfect place for family or friends to spend a
weekend together exploring the quiet side of Glacier Park
by day and nestling by the cottage fireplace by night.
The architectural history of Montana is very brief.
The townsite of Kalispell wasn’t platted until 1891.
Though there were many log and frame buildings
constructed by the turn of the twentieth century, few
have survived. The Belton was one of the early gems.
Join in the history and enjoy this great gift from the
Still/Baxters to the Flathead.
Columbia Falls/West Glacier 17
The HistoricBelton ChaletINCOMPARABLE MONTANA HOSPITALITY
West Glacier12575 Highway 2 East
(406) 888-5000www.beltonchalet.com
Belton Grill Dining Room & Tap Room Open
Dec 14th to March 31stTap Room opens at 3:00pm
Dining Room opens at 5:00pm7 days a week
Come-as-you-are Fine Diningfeaturing Montana grown foods,
Winter Lodging2 cottages with three bedrooms
Adobe House/3 bedrooms, Full kitchen Concierge
SPECIAL EVENTSWeddings ~ Reunions ~ Private Parties
— 18 —
This is from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a
Choosing a locally owned store generates almost four
times as much economic benefit for the surrounding
region as shopping at a chain, a new study has concluded.
The analysis also found that eating at a local restaurant
produces more than twice the local economic impact of
dining at a chain restaurant.
The research firm Civic Economics analyzed data
from fifteen independent retailers and seven independent
restaurants, all located in Salt Lake City, and compared
their impact on the local economy with four chain retail
stores (Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, Office Max, and
Target) and three national restaurant chains (Darden,
McDonald’s, and P.F. Chang’s).
The study found that the local retailers return an
average of 52 percent of their revenue to the local economy,
compared with just 14 percent for the chain retailers.
Similarly, the local restaurants re-circulate an average of 79
percent of their revenue locally, compared
to 30 percent for the chain eateries.
What accounts for the difference? In
a handy graphic, Civic Economics shows
the breakdown. Independent businesses
spend much more on local labor. They
also procure more goods for resale locally
and rely much more heavily on local
providers for services like accounting and
printing. This means that much of the
money a customer spends at a local store
or restaurant is re-spent within the local
economy, supporting other businesses and
jobs.
Chains have little need for local goods
and services, and keep local labor costs to a
minimum. Most of the revenue that these
stores and restaurants capture leaves the
community. This study was sponsored by
Local First Utah. “Most of us have a natural sense that
local businesses are good for communities,” said Betsy
Burton, who co-chairs the organization’s board and owns
the King’s English Bookstore. “And studies in other parts
of the country have borne this out… Now we have hard
evidence right here in our own city that consumers can
have a huge impact on the local economy, just by shifting
some of their purchases to local businesses.”
The study is part of a nationwide research project
being conducted by Civic Economics in partnership with
the American Booksellers Association. Other communities
where a similar data analysis is underway include Bainbridge
Island, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; Las Vegas, New
Mexico; Louisville, Kentucky; Milwaukee, Wisconsin;
Pleasanton, California; and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Author, Stacy Mitchell is a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, where she directs initiatives on independent business and community banking. She is the author of Big-Box Swindle and also produces a popular monthly newsletter, the Hometown Advantage Bulletin. She lives in Portland, Maine.
Independent Businesses Deliver Bigger Economic Benefit, Study Finds
By Stacy Mitchell
Kalispell
8th Ave E
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1st Ave W
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Montana St.Railroad St.
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Neveda St.Wyoming St.Wyoming St.Utah St.
Colorado St.
California St.Oregon St.
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idia
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Main St
Sunset Blvd
IdahoTo
EvergreenTo
Libby
Kalispell
Center Mall
Kalispell Regional Medical Center
Meridian Rd
Heritage WayNorthridge Dr.Commons Way
Sunnyview Ln
Conway Dr.
Cla
rem
ont S
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BurnsWay
To Kalispell
To Columbia
Falls
To Bigfork
Evergreen La S
alle
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35Cottonwood Dr.
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Kalispell20
Wallcovering Installation and Removal
Custom Interior/Exterior Painting & Staining
Serving the Flathead since 1999
Over 25 years experience
Timely, Trustworthy and Reliable
Fully Insured
Mark Mazur
406-756-2518www.alpineinteriorsmt.com
Kalispell 21
Hours: Mon-Sat 9am to 6pm
1231 South Main Street
Kalispell, MT 59901
406-755-5260
Gift Certificates Available
Phone & Mail Orders
Welcome!
Kalispell22
GO LOCAL AND EAT, DRINK & BE MERRY
“We’ve been coming here from the very beginning. The food is fabulous, the owners are fabulous — it’s the best. It’s your neighborhood pub and Doug Day is your personal chef.”
— P. J. Rismon & Paul Beckley, Kalispell
Montana’s Best BurgersAmerican Kobe Beef, Swan River Elk,
Mission Mountain Buffalo, Spring Brook Ranch Yak, Big Timber Sweetgrass Ranch Lamb
Kalispell 23
©2011 WaterFurnace is a registered trademark of WaterFurnace International, Inc. *Based on ARI13256-1 (GLHP - Part Load Ratings)
Wouldn’t it be nice to set the temperature of your house based more on comfort and less on your bank account? As the temperatures drop and the price of fossil fuels skyrocket, homeowners around the world are finding that a WaterFurnace geothermal system is a smart way to reduce your carbon footprint and utility bills at the same time. WaterFurnace units use the clean, renewable energy in your own backyard to provide savings up to 70% on heating, cooling and hot water. It’s good for the environment, great for your budget and thanks to a 30% federal tax credit, now’s the best time to act. Contact Ground Source Systems today for more information.
WATERFURNACE UNITS QUALIFY FOR A 30% FEDERAL TAX CREDIT
visit us at waterfurnace.com
Keeping Western Montana Green Since 1990
(406) 755-2665www.groundsourcesystemsinc.com
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Kalispell24
SHOP LOCAL WHERE CUSTOMERS BECOME FRIENDS
“They treat you like a customer should be treated - as a person not a number.
— Bob Joy, Kalispell, MTMarcia TrenkleLori DeLong
Kalispell, MT 59901
Kalispell 25
Kalispell26
"Unique & Upscale Dining Experience"Fine Dining...Montana Style
406-755-5303
GO LOCAL AND DINE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY
“Jagz has excellent food and wonderful service. It’s such a nice place. They have lots of diversity on the menu and great specials. We especially like the busboys since one is our son.”
— Larry & Lisa Timchak, Kalispell
“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,Sing like there’s nobody listening,And live like it’s heaven on earth.”
—William W. Purkey
Kalispell 27
GOLD, SILVER, COINS and JEWELRYYour Trusted Bullion Specialists For Over 21 Years
Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 5:30
Kalispell28
Critter Corral Pet Grooming is happy to be celebrating their 16th year in business!
Christie Becker—owner 406-756-5883
Pet supplies and toys
food
harnesses
Services include
glands upon request)
holidays!
environment
Up to date facility to accommodate your pet’s needs.
while effectively cleaning the coat of dirt.
accommodate the older dog’s needs.
keep your pet healthy and cool.
SHOP LOCAL WITH YOUR VERY BEST FRIEND
“They are absolutely wonderful here, very personable, they treat us like family. They always get us in. I can’t
does as good a job. I wish they could travel with us.”— Sarabelle & Shelley Ward, Columbia Falls
Kalispell 29
257-5808Hours M-F 10-6; Sat. 10-5
wheatoncycle.com
— 30 —
Good For Business - Good For Community
Insty Prints
When your experience of
shopping locally leaves you
with a grin and a warm overall
happy feeling, you know you’ve found a
special business that has won you over as
a loyal customer. Think of the local stores
where you shop, and chances are, if you
have been around the Flathead for a
while, Insty-Prints of Kalispell will be on
your list of businesses that causes you to
leave happy. If you haven’t yet used their
services, you’re in for a smile and some homegrown quality
service you won’t forget.
Located on Main Street, in the heart of downtown
Kalispell, Insty-Prints has been in business at the same
location for 25+ years. Judy Larson and Tamara Williams
have worked in the store since opening day and purchased
the store over 14 years ago. Judy settled into the management
side of the business; leaving behind a much-loved period
of her life where she traveled the western rodeo circuit as a
barrel racer. Tamara came with a degree in computer science
and arrived when the current business owners had bought
their first computer. Today she has helped that business
become totally immersed in the latest technology.
Judy and Tamara quickly became best friends. The kind
of rock-solid friends that can handle the challenges of being
business partners making tough decisions, and meeting the
time-stretching challenges of being working moms. Raising
kids and being actively involved in the community and their
children’s lives has always been a top priority. Downstairs at
Insty-Prints is a post covered with the measurements of the
kids and pets of the people who have worked at this family-
friendly business over the years!
As their website rightfully boasts, the staff at Insty-Prints
has a can-do attitude. “If you can think it, we can do it!”
Not only does Insty-Prints offer full offset & digital print
services, creative design and brand development, direct mail
services, and customized promotional products; they have
expanded to also offer marketing consulting services.
In today’s saturated online communications world
where emails often get deleted without ever being read,
Tamara points out that having a well-designed hard-copy
message or promotional piece can
often get through more effectively
than the swirling flood of online
messaging. So if you are looking
for new outreach ideas to take your
business to a higher level, Tamara
and the staff at Insty-Prints have
the statistics, expertise and time to
help you.
Insty-Prints’ customer-pleasing
ways have brought them customer
loyalty and new business in these economically-challenging
times. Tamara and Judy have been touched to find that while
some of the small businesses they work with have found it
necessary to leave the area, they are still bringing in print
jobs. Particularly for construction work in places like the
North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields, businesses are going online
for the services they have long used at Insty-Prints. Now
they are benefiting from their shipping services as well. And
with prices going up and off the charts in these boomtown
areas, these loyal customers have let others in these areas
know what great service and prices they can get, with quick
delivery, from a well-loved local business in Kalispell.
For businesses in the valley who aren’t located in
Kalispell, Insty-Prints provides quick valley-wide free
delivery services. Judy and Tamara are also owners of the
Insty-Prints shop in Polson.
As in many locally-owned businesses, community service
is a cornerstone of the Insty-Prints business philosophy.
They have long offered to print 50 posters for free for a wide
variety of nonprofit community
events. Both Judy and Tamara
have played leadership roles in
downtown Kalispell working
on various committees to keep
Kalispell the unique and friendly
place it is. Along with their
staff, they are active in their
kids’ schools and many other
community efforts, which just
reinforces those good feelings
you get about the good people at
Insty-Prints.
Kalispell 31
— 32 —
Our Common GroundWhy do you choose to liveand work in the Crown of theContinent? That’s the question
we asked Chambers of
Commerce across the region.
This “word tree” represents
your most frequent answers;
the larger the word, the more
times it was used to describe
why this area is a great place
to do business. These, then, are
the true jewels of the Crown—
the values we hold in common,
the shared treasures that make
us unique, and the roots of both
our lifestyle and our livelihood
by National Parks and Conservation (NPCA), Natural Roots of Economic Success
. For
Across the western United States, our research finds that protecting
public lands is good for the economy. If someone has a ten-minute drive
to a trout stream after work, that is a big draw. National parks, wilderness
areas, national forests, and other public lands play into our quality of life,
and high-quality jobs are following. “Between 2000 and 2010, Montana
added new jobs and real personal income at twice the national rate—and
per-capita income grew more than four times faster than in the U.S. as a
whole. Montana illustrates that investing in public lands is investing in
economic strength.Chris Mehl
Headwaters Economics
Kalispell 33
ELEGANT MEETING ROOMSFor Rent — Reasonable Rates
1830 Highway 93 South, Kalispell, MTFor Reservations USA & Canada
755-37981-800-843-6114
www.aeroinn.com
Locally Owned 219 Main St, Kalispell 257-6656 fawnboutique.com
— 34 —
Raven
I know a woman who frequently finds hearts. In rocks,
in the dish suds, in the shape of manure clods. She’ll
say, “Laura! Come here.” And I’ll know that I am about
to see some mystical arrangement of two curves, cleavage,
and a point.
I know another woman who claims that whenever she
begins a trip – in her car, on horseback, by foot, a hawk
flies right across her path. “That’s how I know we are going
to be safe,” she says.
I know a man who says that when he was a boy, his
father told him that there was a magic place in the forest
where there was a circle of trees. And if he could find it,
and stand in the very center of the circle, he would get any
wish he could dream up. So he was always walking around
in the woods behind his house
in northern California, in search
of the Circle of Trees. He never
found it. But now, as a man, in
northwest Montana, he says that
he cannot take a walk in the
woods without coming upon a
perfect circle of trees.
“Do your wishes come
true?” I asked him.
“I’ve never made a wish there, actually. I just figure
that the circle is, in itself, the proof that wishes can come
true.”
I knew a girl when I was young, who was on the
lookout for stones with perfect rings around them.
“They’re good luck, “ she’d say, squatting on the banks of
Trout Lake in northern Wisconsin. She would pick them
up faster than it took for me to imagine how a ring in a
rock could have power; never mind believe in it. I wanted
to believe – her bucket filling up with all that luck.
For a while it was blue sea glass. On the beaches of
Lake Michigan. Green, white, and amber were abundant.
Blue was hard to find. But not for me. Red was almost
impossible, but I’d find red too. Then someone said, “Do
you know what that is? It’s broken glass. It’s litter. Pollution.
How can you find that beautiful?” So I stopped looking.
Still, on beaches, I find blue sea glass. Put it in my pocket.
Don’t tell anybody.
By Laura A. Munson
My daughter finds X’s in the sky. From airplanes.
“Look, Mama. Another X. Isn’t it beuuuuuuuuuuuuutiful?”
I don’t tell her that it’s exhaust from an airplane. She can
find beauty wherever she wants.
Now, for me, it is the raven. Always a raven with
audible winging, coming out of nowhere as if it is the same
one, following me, flushing at my presence, performing
its fly-by. It halts me. Reminds me to breathe deeply; say
thanks.
My husband finds faces in coals. Usually late-night,
around a campfire, when the fire has burned down and
everyone else has gone to bed, and it’s just us. He is silent,
staring. I know what he is doing. I leave him to his faces. I
have never seen them. He says I look too hard.
I apologize to the coals. I assume I have not
looked hard enough. I assume I should be the sort
to see every design in all of Creation.
But I hear the winging; the raven being released
into the night. So close I could reach up and let it
skim my fingertips.
Breathe. Thank you. I take a stick and poke
into the coals, collapsing
the faces I haven’t seen for
whatever reason. I do not
And still, there is the raven. And I wonder: are these
things offered? Or are they beckoned?
——————
is the author of and a proponent of being
responsible for your own happiness. Check out her website,
,
Kalispell 35
(406) 755-5321
McGarvey, Heberling, Sullivan & McGarvey, PCYour Advocates for Health, Safety and a Clean Environment
Kalispell36
Elaine Snyder was inducted into Montana’s Circle of American Masters by Montana Arts Council in January 2009 as a Buckskin Tailor
Studio Visits By Appointment Only 406-755-0767
Make a MemoryWe’re Here for You
SNAPPY SPORT SENTER
www.snappysportsenter.com
Kalispell 45
.. st Ave EN Kalispell, MT [email protected] us on
YarnPhotographyCustom Childrens ClothingCreative Classes (all ages)Vintage DecorInterior Inspiration Pieces
It’s Like Shopping on
© Shilo Bradley Photography
406-755-3750
Cleverly Disguised as a Cenex Station
at 3 Mile & North MeridianKalispell, Montana
Catering for
All Occasions
Kalispell46
“FLATHEAD’S FIRSTENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
BODY SHOP”
406-752-1125
755-5803Martin FulsaasP.O. Box 9403
KalispellMontana
59904
Electrical WorkAll types, Martin Electric has been
serving the Flathead Valley since 1987
Commercial Lighting Upgrades
Less Maintenance — Longer Lamp Life
F.E.C. Rebate Reduces Costs NOW! (for a limited time)
Better Color Accuracy
“I’m a 7th generation Montana girl. We’re frontier people and rooted in originality. Machallie G’s catches that Montana free spirit with edge and whimsy. I love the place.”
—Wendy Bumgarner, Kalispell, MT
SHOP LOCAL AND FLAUNT FRONTIER FASHION FLAIR Machallie G’s Boot Boutique
Kalispell 47
227 Main StKalispell
257-7777
— 48 —
Good For Business - Good For Community
J2 Office Products
Do you think free home delivery is something you
only get for pizza nowadays? Do you think a
homegrown local store just can’t compete with the
prices of a national chain store? Think again.
If you live anywhere in the Flathead Valley, you
can shop for high quality, competitively-priced office
supplies for your business or home by simply phoning,
faxing, or going online to J2 Office Products in Kalispell
(J2op.com). Walk-ins are welcome too, by the way. They
offer over 25,000 products from thumbtacks to professional
furniture, and J2’s prices are dependably less than those
stores whose names you may be more familiar with. J2
even has a spot on its website that lets you compare prices
— just type in J2saves.
J2 is a locally owned family company with deep roots
in office products and equipment. John Flink and his wife,
Jennifer, are the owners and the inspiration of the J2 name.
John grew up in the office supply business, as did
his five siblings. Their father opened a store in
Butte in 1962 and the whole family pitched in.
John bought Bob Blake’s Office Supply in 1995.
They have maintained the store on the corner of
Hwy 93 N. and Sunset Blvd. ever since.
From the outside there is a quiet, professional
air about the J2 establishment. Montana
hospitality takes over when
you step inside. Employees
are quick to help you find
what you need. Take a spin
around the display room in
one of their scores of office
chairs. Find out which one
is the most comfortable
and configures best to
your lower back. While you are there visit the copier
showroom. When you are considering a major purchase
for an important piece of business equipment it is nice to
be able to test-drive a variety of machines. It is even better
to be able to talk with a knowledgeable sales person. And
best of all is realizing that J2 will provide thorough training
for you and your staff and then be there for any needed
service or repair.
If you’re a start-up business
or moving to a new space or
have just slowly realized that
your business has outgrown
its current configuration, J2
can provide space planning
and design services. They have
a very dedicated sales, service,
and delivery staff — many
of whom have been with the
company since it started —
and they can help you with any
office decisions you need to make.
A lot of the sales at J2 take place by phone, fax, or online.
The staff puts the order together and the order gets picked
up or, more likely, delivered. As John says, “Most small
and medium-sized businesses tend to be understaffed and
overworked and J2 aims
to make the supplies-
side simple.” When you
need something just call
and it will be delivered
the same day or the next,
and the delivery is free.
It would help us all
to stop and think about
how we shop, and to
remember money we spend locally just may
come back to us. Locally-owned businesses
hire local support staff. They buy cars, tires,
gas, meals, hardware, and services from other
local businesses. At J2 Office Products, John
encourages all his employees to be involved
with their communities — Rotary, Lions, etc.
He gives them time off to participate and helps pay their
dues. In addition, J2 donates to over 40 local charities.
So the next time you think about buying something over
the internet from a faraway business or at one of the Big
Box stores think about all the advantages you and your
neighbors can enjoy when you shop at locally-owned
stores. With J2 Office Products you’ll also be saving money
and time.
Kalispell 49
Kalispell50
In Historic Downtown Kalispell
318 Main Street
Your Neighborhood Bakery
Check us out on w tr
Sweet Potato Sticky Buns, Croissants,Danish, Scones, Cinnamon Rolls,
Sliced Bread, Challah, Burger Buns,Baguettes, Ciabatta, Focaccia and mor
Monday-Friday7am-6pmSaturday
8am-3pm
406-755-8552Artisan Breads Fine Espresso
Delectable Pastries
Christmas Cookies
Holiday Breads
Your Main Street Floristsince 1943
SHOP LOCALGifts & Home Decor Like us on Facebook
(406) 752-1313128 Main Street
BY HANSEN
Kalispell 51
ITALIAN MEDITERRANEANBreakfast LunchEspresso Pastries
Gluten Free !
Mon - Sat 8am - 3pm38 1st Ave E. Kalispell 406-257-8669
Kalispell52
SHOP LOCAL AND FIND OUT WHAT THE LOCALS CREATE
“We’re proud to have this caliber of store on our Main Street. Jake is a craftsman and he also has a great variety of local and regional artwork on display.”
—Bill Goodman, Kalispell, MT
Great Finds for
you to take home!
Classic and vintage
furniture, costume,
vintage and fine
jewelry, new brand
name purses and
vintage purses,
rugs from around
the world, antiques
and unusual pieces,
crystal and glassware,
china, vintage and
fine linens-holiday
decor and gifts!
A thirty year collection
of treasures!
222 Main StreetK a l i sp e l l
Hours 11:00a.m. - 5:30p.m.
Tuesday, Friday and Saturday ONLY
SHOP LOCAL AND FIND ONE-OF-A -KIND ITEMS
“I’ve found a lot of great pieces here over the years. I collect guns, spurs, and horse head stalls. The stalls are hand hitched horse hair, no two are ever alike, they are real art. Beautiful.”
—Ken Galbreath, Babb, MT
Kalispell 53
Kalispell54
“….That bond that ties me to Montana is woven of
many strands. But before all else, it involves my personal
feelings, as a citizen of the state, for its beauty, history and
people. For you who are not of Montana, let me try to tell
you why the bond is inseparable, insofar as I am concerned.
Let me try to explain to you why Montanans who are
outside of Montana are always homesick for Montana.
To me, Montana is a symphony.
It is a symphony of color. It is painted by a thousand
different plants and shrubs which set the hills ablaze —
each with its own kind of inner fire -- during spring and
summer.
Montana is the intense blue of the Big Sky reflected
in the deep blue of mountain lakes and the ice-blue of the
tumbling streams. It is the solid white of billowing clouds
and the haze-white of snow on a hundred mountain peaks.
It is the infinite themes of green in mile after mile on farm-
rich valleys and in millions of acres of forests……..
Indeed, the virtues of Montana’s space, clean air
and clean water, scenery and unparalleled recreation
opportunities are becoming better known and look ever
more inviting to the rest of the nation….
In short, Montanans have room to live, to breathe
and, above all, to think - to think with a breadth of view
which goes to the far horizon and beyond. Vast and empty
space and high mountains may isolate a population, but
they open the minds of a people. The minds of Montanans
dwell not only upon community and state, but upon the
nation and the world and on the essential unity of all. And
this sense of unity is buttressed by the harsh uncertainties
of an all-powerful environment which has taught us to
draw together in a mutual concern for one another and to
be hospitable to all who come from afar….”
As customers, we will
collectively spend a large portion
of our annual shopping budget
between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31. We invite you to shift those dollars to locally owned, independent businesses. Based on studies of
similar efforts, this will likely
generate 2-3 times as much
economic activity in the Flathead than if you had
spent your money at a national chain
Let’s build an annual tradition that strengthens
local economies, expands employment, nurtures a
sense of community, and provides a more relaxed,
fun, and rewarding gift-buying experience.
Learn more about the impacts of shopping
locally at
http://www.ilsr.org/initiatives/independent-business/ http://www.amiba.net/ www.http://bealocalist.org/
Montana Is A Symphony
Support Your Local, Independent Merchants
Your Extended Office
7 E Oregon St. Kalispell, MTPh: 752-4944 Fax: 752-4955
[email protected]/paperchasecopycenter
Come in, we are here to help you
— 55 —
By Douglas H. Chadwick Photos Courtesy of Dale Pedersen
Bone Eaters
Our big log box trap stood between frozen lakes
among peaks striped sideways by cliff bands
and vertically by icefalls and fresh avalanche
tracks. Though built in the shelter of giant, old spruce,
the trap was nearly smothered by snow. The winds that
roared down off the surrounding slopes kept driving
more in through the branches. It was uncompromising
winter backcountry, fiercely beautiful, harsh, and
hungry. When a wolverine that lived there went into
the trap, a beaver carcass weighing maybe fifteen
pounds hung inside for bait. We arrived a few hours
later, peered in, and, as usual, had to jump back to keep
from losing pieces of our face. The only hard evidence
that the beaver had ever existed were its incisors, the
long chisel-like front teeth the big rodent once used for
woodcutting. Every other part had vanished inside our
prisoner, which had chewed halfway through the thick
logs as well in a fury to be free.
I’m part of a band of volunteers with a wolverine
research project in Glacier National Park. We help pack
bait into a scattering of traps, tag captured animals with
transmitters, and roam the mountainsides to track their
movements with radio receivers. We do this because
wolverines, the largest land-dwelling members of the
weasel family, have become alarmingly scarce in the lower
48 states. Glacier, an all-too-rare stronghold, offers the
opportunity to gather sorely needed information about
reproduction and survival. We also do this because we
think the wolverine is cool—the toughest 25-to-30-
pound blur of constant motion to ever drive a grizzly
off a carcass. Above all we do this to be in the park.
Where larger predators feed on hoofed animals,
they usually leave the massive skulls and leg bones
intact. Wolverines won’t. They’ll come in and crack
them to pieces. They don’t do it solely to get at the
marrow inside. They eat the bone too. One of the other
volunteers, Dan Savage, a veterinarian from Kalispell,
performs autopsies on the dead wolverines we recover
from time to time. Slice by slice, he reveals notably big
hearts, big lungs, big thyroid glands, and big stomach.
The stomachs are inevitably packed with shards of
bone. They feel like bags of gravel. Hard as bone may
be, it is a living tissue with blood, lipids (fats), and other
nutrients within its mineralized structure. Wolverines
rely heavily on that fact as they devour and then slowly
digest the skeletal scaffolding of other mammals to get
through the leanest months.
During a wolverine study in a different area, a guy
lifted the trap lid a crack and shined a metal flashlight
inside for a better look, and the captive bit it out of
his hand. Crunch. Gulp. The flashlight was never seen
again. It went off with the wolverine when the animal
was turned loose. After hearing the story, we liked to
imagine the hunter roaming at night, its most active
time. We pictured it covering mile after mile in that
inexhaustible wolverine lope, making sharp detours,
marking tree roots and trunks, weaving in an out of
cubbyholes, and generally driving its nose through
the terrain until it caught a fresh scent. Then it would
— 56 —
“Calling a creature after one of the
seven cardinal sins – gluttony – seems
a little over the top for our era”
suddenly stop and open its mouth wide, and rays of
light would come out to sweep across the forest floor.
Any animal lucky enough to escape would spend the
rest of its life re-telling the tale of how it was once half-
blinded by unholy beams that shot from a wolverine’s
bone-mincing jaws.
One of the most common names for the wolverine
used to be the glutton, and early scientists named it, gulo, which means the same thing. But the label isn’t
quite as much in fashion now. Calling a creature after
one of the seven cardinal sins – gluttony – seems a little
over the top for our era, when we’re trying to move
beyond old prejudices against predators. Eliminated
from the lower 48 states by the middle of the 20th
century, wolverines returned to a few portions of the
West from Canada after the use of poisons was reined
in. Since then, however, with developments, roads,
and snowmobile-serviced traplines continuing to
spread through previously remote areas, the species has
fared so poorly that it is under formal consideration
for listing as endangered. It doesn’t need a name that
makes it even easier for people to rationalize wiping out
its kind. Again.
A wolverine will dine on anything from fish,
frogs, and birds’ eggs to mountain goats and moose,
including remains so old and rotten they’ve practically
turned to soup. It eats fast, and it can pack an awful lot
into its opposite-of-queasy stomach. It will often carry
gobbets of meat and gristle away from a carcass to cache
somewhere for later, which makes it appear as though
even more was eaten in one sitting. These traits come
with being a modest-size hunter-scavenger in a tough,
toothy neighborhood, where opportunities can be few
and far between. You’d better make the most of each
one before somebody bigger shows up and claims what’s
left. Acting like a glutton? What the hell is a wolverine
supposed to be doing? Picking at its food? Taking a
demure portion and politely passing on seconds? And
just who in a nation with a self-inflicted epidemic of
obesity – where citizens define their self-worth by the
amount of conspicuously expensive stuff they hoard,
and together consume a quarter of the world’s shrinking
resources – is calling whom gluttonous?
Was that a cheap shot? I couldn’t help myself.
Maybe hanging out around wolverines has made me
too ready to pounce on a soft underbelly. Wolverines
do what they have to do to survive among an array of
competitors in the northern mountains and forests.
That makes them all kinds of things: constant travelers
with enormous territories, scalers of trees and soaring
cliffs, surprisingly fast swimmers, powerful hunters,
and peerless scavengers; bold, agile, indomitably wild
perpetual motion machines and, yes, dispose-alls. They
are gluttons – wonderful gluttons. But they are not the glutton.
The Wolverine Way.
This essay was originally published in the Whitefish
Review,
and words.
Lakeside/Somers
N
Forest Hill Road
Scho
ol
Add
ition
Rd
Somers
To Kalispell
To Lakeside
To Bigfork
Flathead Lake
Lakeside
Stoner Loop
Bla
ckta
il R
d
Ben Williams Ln
Flathead Lake
Adams St.
To Kalispell
To Polson
Lakeside/Somers58
Serving Breakfast & Lunch
Somers Bay CafeLocated in Beautiful Downtown Somers
857-2660Available for Private Evening Events
Full Beverage License
RE-POWERING THE FLATHEADis a community
driven project that
sprang from a desire
to understand the
role energy plays
in shaping the
local economy,
community, and
e n v i r o n m e n t .
The result of the
first three years of
the Re‐Powering
the Flathead Project is this: a local guide to
understanding energy issues – how much we use,
where it comes from, what are the costs, and what
opportunities exist to improve energy use and the
economy. Learn more and download the report at
http://repoweringtheflathead.org/
Lakeside/Somers 59
— 60 —
Learn what you can recycle locally in addition to:Paper, cardboard, #1 & #2 plastics, and aluminum & steel cans
Visit www.wastenotproject.org or call us at 756-8993
Motor Oil
Appliances
Oil-based Paint
Brush & Yard Waste
Antifreeze
Building Materials
Thermostats
Ink Cartridges
Packing Materials
Propane Tanks
Glass
Cars
RechargeableBatteries
All Metals
FluorescentLight Bulbs
Now You Can Safely Dispose of Unwanted Medicines 24 hours a Day.Help Keep Our Water Clean and Help Put a Stop to Drug Abuse.
Computers & Electronics
Whitefish
N
O’B
rien
Ave
Mile
s A
ve
Kal
ispe
ll A
ve
Col
umbi
a A
ve
Som
ers
Ave
Park
Ave
Pine
Ave
Lupf
er A
ve
Bak
er A
veB
aker
Ave
Cen
tral
Ave
Spok
ane
Ave
To Kalispell
To Eureka
Resort
E. 2nd St
3rd St
4thSt
5th St
6th St
7th St7th St
8th St
9th St
10th StRiversideAve.
W.13th St
W.15th St
1st St 1st St
Railway St
Depot St
— 62 —
Good For Business - Good For Community
Nelson’s Ace Hardware
Stand in Nelson’s Ace Hardware in downtown
Whitefish sometime soon if you haven’t already.
You’ll hear conversations in all directions. Some of
it is just folks catching up with the friends they found
on aisle 3 or back in the plumbing department. A lot of
discussion, however, is folks asking questions of the folks
who work there. “What kind of fittings should I use on
this PVC septic pipe?” “How do I fix the hole that the kids
kicked into the living room wall?” “Do you have any of
those thingys that go on the end of the whaddya call it?”
With expertise in a wide variety of fields and a mountain
of patience, the staff will explain or recommend solutions
to anyone who asks. As owners Rick and Marilyn Nelson
put it, “Every person who walks in the door has a problem.
Our job is to fix it.”
Folks have been shopping at Nelson’s Hardware for
a long time. Rick’s parents opened
the store in 1948 in a 2,500 sq.
ft. space adjacent to the current
building. Rick remembers growing
up at the store, working part time in
high school, and finally becoming a
full time employee in the late ‘60s.
Throughout the years Nelson’s has
tried adding a larger line of electronics
and a bigger garden center but the
bottom line is that hardware is the most important aspect
of the business and that is what they focus on.
Nelson’s has more than 40,000 different items for sale –
not counting all the separate
kinds of nuts and bolts – in
less than 5,000 square feet of
space. Marilyn laughs that
when she first started doing
inventory for the store she
was surprised to find that
they stocked items that she
had been buying elsewhere.
Twice a week they get half
a semi-load of merchandise
shipped in. This all takes
place right in the heart of
Whitefish. In
ways it seems
like Nelson’s
is the anchor
store of
Central Ave.
Everybody in
town shops
there.
With so many items in the store they now work on a
perpetual inventory system. There is much effort involved
in keeping the store shelves full. They have a staff of 15
for the floor to assist customers and another 5 in the
back to keep up with the stocking and moving of all that
merchandise.
And it is still a very family involved business. Rick
and Marilyn, of course, are familiar
faces at the store. Their children and/
or their children’s spouses are also
learning the ropes. All of them are
very community minded. Nelson’s
Hardware has literally donated tons
of merchandise to a wide variety
of local organizations through the
years. In addition, they donate 5 –
8% of their profits to the Whitefish
Community Foundation which provides cash support for
many of the programs that make Whitefish special. They
also roll up their sleeves and volunteer for The Whitefish
Trail, Heart of Whitefish, and Whitefish Shines.
During the recession they are very proud of the fact
that despite a downturn in business they didn’t lay off a
single employee. They value and respect their incredibly
diverse staff: John is a retired Lt. Colonel who worked
in the nuclear weapons division in the Army; Gregg was
a sound engineer who traveled the country with famous
musicians; and Ric A., retired from CFAC, now crafts
custom bows on the side. If you have a question there is
definitely someone in the store with the answer.
Locally owned, locally involved, Nelson’s is a place
where you can learn “Who’s Your Neighbor?” and what
sort of thingamajig you need to stop that infernal drip.
Whitefish 63
Nelson’s Hardware
We’ve got you covered.
— 64 —
Many of us choose to live and
work here because of the Crown
of the Continent’s world-class
landscapes—places such as Waterton-
Glacier International Peace Park and
Flathead Lake. We are fortunate to have
inherited small, friendly communities
set in a spectacular natural environment
alive with recreational opportunities—
hunting and fishing, clean water,
wildlife, and scenic beauty. As economic
development professionals, we know
these quality-of-life advantages are key to
our region’s economic future. To be sure, our fine schools, hospitals,
airports, and roads are critical—and
continued investment in this traditional
infrastructure, and in new assets such as fiber optics and wireless
service, remains essential to our economic success. But guess
what? Everyone else, everywhere else, is marketing that same
“bricks and mortar” infrastructure.
The Crown’s unique appeal has emerged as one of our
most important economic assets. These are “footloose” times—
new technologies and global economic shifts have enabled
employers, employees,
and entrepreneurs to
choose where to put
down roots. As we
consult with business
owners and investors
looking to relocate,
we hear that quality
of life is as key to their
decisions as are tax
rates, labor costs, and
broadband networks.
The Crown of the
Continent has an
“X-factor” that cannot
be bought, built, nor
duplicated anywhere
else in the world. Our
See Business in the Crown of the Continent from a New Angle
“natural infrastructure” is in high demand
and limited supply—it is what sets us apart.
It’s who we are, it’s how we make our living,
and it’s our unique strength in today’s
economy.
Our natural amenities and smalltown
character are every bit as critical to our
economic future as are our roads, hospitals,
schools and airports. As with all types of
infrastructure, this Rocky Mountain setting
requires care, attention and investment.
To fully capitalize on our exceptional
lifestyle means maintaining and enhancing
these invaluable assets—ensuring that
our wildlands stay wild, our rivers flow
clean, and our communities sustain their
traditional roots even as we move into
a new economy. This is not a matter of
implementing expensive economic development programs—
this is simply safeguarding and leveraging the unique wealth we
have inherited.
Such investments in our natural capital represent a down-
payment on our shared economic future. They are essential
to building our region’s unique “Pathway to Prosperity,” a
route that will continue to attract the investment needed for
diversifying our entrepreneurial strength.
Liz MarchiInnovate Montana and
Frontier Angels
Sarah ConverseSweet Grass Development
Rob GayCommunity Futures
East Kootenay
James Van LeeuwenVentus Development Services
Conservation (NPCA), . For the
Whitefish 65
If you, or a business you know, repairs shoes, camping equipment, sports equip-ment, clothing, household appliances, garage doors, signs, picture frames, bicycles,
tools, luggage and purses, furniture, light fixtures, or other such items the WasteNot Project is eager to incorporate this infor-mation into a new guide for the Flathead called Fix It Local. Call us at 756-8993 or email
us your suggestions so we can include them. [email protected]
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITEREPAIR-PERSON?
— 66 —
Spring 2013 will mark the 10th anniversary of the Downtown Whitefish Farmers Market. Each Tuesday evening, from May thru September, the north end
of Central Avenue and Depot Square become a beehive of activity with live music, local farmers, artisan bakers, craftspeople, food vendors and hundreds- even thousands- of locals and visitors.
The market has become one of the most successful projects of the non-profit, volunteer organization, The Heart of Whitefish (HoW). Formed in 2003, HoW’s focus is to promote the economic health and vitality of the downtown business district, and promote sound planning and development for the benefit of all Whitefish residents. HoW membership consists of business owners and property owners within the downtown business district; residents and businesses outside the district may become associate members.
In addition to the Farmers Market, HoW was instrumental in sponsoring, with the City of Whitefish, the Downtown Master Plan adopted by the Whitefish City Council in 2006. Between 2008 and 2012, the City completed several major Catalyst Projects from the Master Plan, which have resulted in an economic windfall for downtown business. These projects include: the infrastructure and streetscape improvements to Central Avenue and the adjacent side streets; the reconstruction of Second Street/ Highway 93 through downtown; the purchase of Depot Park; and the landscaped parking lot at Second & Spokane.
HoW is ecstatic to have played a role in helping the City win a $3.5 million federal T.I.G.E.R. Grant, to fund the Second Street/Highway 93 portion of the downtown revitalization project. Whitefish was one of forty-one communities nationwide to receive this grant, among over 1,000 applicants. The City received this grant in large part thanks to the City’s Downtown Master Plan.
All of these projects created valuable construction jobs for local contractors and consultants, throughout an extremely challenging economic cycle. Additionally, these projects
have catalyzed a wave of private reinvestment in downtown property, resulting in over $8 million of new construction and renovations in downtown.
Another visible project of HoW, is the downtown flower barrels and hanging flower baskets. Since 2003, HoW has funded the planting and maintenance of flowers and evergreens on street corners throughout downtown. More recently, HoW purchased 29 hanging baskets mounted on the new decorative street lights installed as part of the infrastructure improvement project, and 2012 has seen the addition 26 hanging baskets as part of the Second Street/Highway 93 project. HoW will continue to fund the planting of 45 of
the barrels and baskets, with the support of member contributions. The City of Whitefish Parks Department will fund, and HoW will coordinate the planting of the 26 hanging baskets along Second Street.
HoW’s most recent project, with the assistance of a grant from the Kramer Family Foundation, and in collaboration with the Whitefish Convention &
Visitor Bureau and Whitefish Mountain Resort, and the City; is the design of a comprehensive wayfinding signage and direction plan for downtown and the surrounding area. These signs and maps will complement downtown and provide an integrated wayfinding system to help pedestrians, automobiles and bicyclists discover all of Whitefish’s amenities. The design has been approved by the City Council and fabrication and installation are planned for Spring 2013.
The Buy Local campaign is a perfect fit for The Heart of Whitefish and in the coming year HoW will continue to expand its efforts to encourage this campaign. We believe the success of the Downtown Farmers’ Market, and the success of the locally-owned, unique retail shops in downtown Whitefish, are integral to the economic health and vitality of Whitefish. In an increasingly homogenized world, one-of-a-kind businesses will preserve our distinctive community character, which helps to support and benefit our tourism businesses as well.
Local Businesses Working Together Make Whitefish A Popular Place to Shop and Invest
By Ian Collins
Whitefish 67
Purveyors of the Eclectic Since 1979A Way Cool Place to Shop!
Stocking Stuffers Galore
Montanagarmentsand gifts,
since 1976.
Take backa memory
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer
yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know
what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go...”
Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Whitefish68
SHOP LOCAL & DRIVE NORTHWEST MONTANA’S
FAVORITE CAR
“I love Subaru. This dealership has always been nice, fair, and honest. Justin in service is awesome.”
— Yolande Reynolds, Kila, MT
Dine in/Carry out /Delivery
550 East 1st St.
(406) 862-2212www.jerseyboyspizzeria.net
Whitefish 69
Whitefish70
Available to rent forMeetings
Family Reunions
Rehearsal Dinners
Small Weddings
Classes
Holiday Get Togethers
125 Blanchard Lake Rd.
GO LOCAL AND GET GREAT SOUP
and is now, after a month, the last before we leave — with lots of visits in-between. We think its great.
—Ron & Nalini Helmuth, Albuquerque, NM
Whitefish 71
214 Central Ave. Whitefish, Mt 59937 www.sageandcedar.com (406) 862-9411
Certified Organic Vegetables From the Farm...
shares
Whitefish72
Open Daily
237 Central Avenue
406-863-9788
Nancy O’Brien
ZYTO.com
GO LOCAL AND THEN GO HIKING
“Everything is fresh and delicious and the staff is so pleasant. They even made our lunches today for the trail.”— Sandy & Mark Dubinsky, Worchester, MA
Whitefish 73
SHOP LOCAL AND GET MORE THAN YOU BARGAINED FOR
“The store is full of very unique toys so I wound up getting my son three instead of one! The toys I bought are made out of solid wood so I know they will last.”
—Veronica & Cameron Grady, Las Vegas, NV
Whitefish74
SHOP LOCAL AND SAVE BIG ON ENERGY
Aeon
“Jeff Arcel is very knowledgable about alternative power—wind, hydro, solar. We save a bundle on our power bill every month. And our customers love to see our wind
—Dan Scheffer,
Renewable Energy Systems that work in Montana!
Aeon Renewable Energy
Call us today for a FREE Consultation(406) 250-7853
Solar Heat & Hot Water Solar Electricity Wind Energy Systems
it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in
another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?
—J.B. Priestley
Whitefish 75
SHOP LOCAL TO FEEL SPECIAL
“I work from home and so it is my special treat to come downtown and have an Amazing Crepe. I just love the atmosphere here. I get the gluten-free buckwheat crepes - delicious.”
Whitefish76
THIRD STREET MARKETA Complete Shopping Market
WHOLESOME FOOD
QUALITY VITAMINS
ORGANIC PRODUCE
PET FOOD
COSMETICS
Ric & Dawn Blair, Owners244 Spokane Avenue
Whitefish, Montana 59937
406-862-5054
Kittredge, writer, professor, and resident of Montana.
Whitefish Review: You’ve written a lot about the
west. What role do writers play in shaping the myth
and realities of western and mountain culture?
William Kittredge: “The myth is changing
rapidly. Cowboy culture is mostly a museum culture,
a ghost town culture. We have ideas about taking
care of the world that we didn’t have back then and
these ideas are acted out – in my home country the
creeks are less contaminated, the riparian areas have
been restored, cows are off the mountains. This change
of mind has to some degree been driven by writers.
The West used to be very cold-hearted. Now there’s
much more concern about taking care of each other
and the world. Writers articulate ideas and examine
complexities and thus make a difference.”
Whitefish Review
— 77 —
WHAT WOULD A SUSTAINABLE FLATHEAD LOOK LIKE TO YOU?
we asked around and these are some of the things we learned:
Working since 1992 to Keep the Flathead Special Forever! Our mission is to foster informed and active citizen participation in the decisions shaping
Special Forever. We believe in the power of collaboration and consensus building, and we
believe that there is always much good to be done and that there are many opportunities to work together toward our shared objectives. Call us at 756-8993 to share ideas and to learn how you can get involved. Visit our Facebook page to learn more and to view a short video called “Future Shots” that documents the community’s response to our question: “What would a
Flathead Fall/Winter Community Events
BigforkNovember22 Turkey Trot, 3 mile walk/run, Swan River Trail, 10 a.m.
23-25 “The Nutcracker Ballet,” Northwest Ballet Co., Bigfork
Center for the Performing Arts
December7 Handel’s Messiah, Glacier Symphony and Chorale,
Blessed Pope John Paul II Catholic Church, 7:30 p.m.
8 Annual Magical Holiday Parade, Electric Avenue,
6:00 p.m.
8 “A Touch of Christmas” Concert, Brach Thomson and
Friends, Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts,
7:30 p.m.
8, 15, 22 Christmas in Bigfork Carriage Rides and Santa, Electric
Avenue, 2-5 p.m.
January1 17th Annual Polar Bear Plunge, The Raven at Woods Bay,
2:00 p.m.
February2 Spam-A-Rama, Garden Bar, 2:00 p.m.
13 Champagne and Chocolate, place and time TBA
14 Valentine’s Day in Bigfork, Downtown
15-17 “Airport 1904,” Bigfork Community Players, Bigfork
22-24 Center for the Performing Arts
23 Bigfork’s Brewfest, Downtown, 3-7p.m.
March 31 Easter Egg Hunt, Elementary School
April12-14 “West,” Bigfork Community Players, Bigfork Center
19-21 for the Performing Arts
26 The Taste of Bigfork, Downtown Bigfork
Columbia Falls/ West GlacierDecember7 Night of Lights Parade, downtown Columbia Falls,
6:30 p.m.
8-9 Women’s Ski Weekend, Izaak Walton Inn
9 Rotary Santa’s Brunch, Discovery Square, 9 a.m.-noon
15 Kick Out the Kinks, free day of x-c skiing, Izaak Walton
Inn
February15 Valentine dinner and lodging, Belton Chalet
KalispellNovember15 Glacier Symphony and Chorale Soloist Spotlight, the
Alpine Ballroom, 7:00 p.m.
18 Beethoven’s 9th “Ode to Joy,” Glacier Symphony and
Chorale, Flathead HS Performance Hall, 3:00 p.m.
23-25 Artists and Craftsmen of the Flathead Christmas Show,
Expo Building at the Fairgrounds
23 Christmas City of the North Parade, Main Street, 6:00 p.m.
26-28 Christmas Tours at the Conrad Mansion, 11:00 a.m.,
1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m.
December1-23 Christmas Tours, Conrad Mansion, 11:00 a.m.,
1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., reservations recommended
7 Art Walk and Holiday Stroll, Downtown Kalispell, 5:00-9:00 p.m.
8-9 Glacier Classic Winter Series Barrel Racing, Majestic Valley Arena, 7:30 p.m.
9 Handel’s “Messiah,” Glacier Symphony and Chorale, Flathead HS Performance Hall, 3:00 p.m.
13 Senior Tour and Tea Day, Hockaday Museum of Art, 10:00 a.m.
13 Children’s Christmas Event, Conrad Mansion, reservations required
14-15 Winter Rodeo Series, Majestic Valley Arena, 7:00 p.m.
31 First Night Flathead, Downtown Kalispell, 2:00 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
January4 First Friday, Downtown Kalispell, 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
5-6 Glacier Classic Winter Series Brand Barrel Racing,
Majestic Valley Arena, 11:00 a.m.
11-12 &, Winter Rodeo Series, Majestic Valley Arena, 7:00 p.m.
25-26
12 Celebrate Wedding and Travel Showcase, Kalispell
Center Mall
20 “Peter and the Wolf,” Glacier Symphony Winter Family
Concert, Flathead HS Performance Hall, 3:00 p.m.
February2-3 Glacier Classic Winter Series Brand Barrel Racing,
Majestic Valley Arena, 11:00 a.m.
8-9 “So In Love,” Glacier Chamber Singers, Alpine
Ballroom, 7:30 p.m.
8 A Chocolate Affair, Downtown Kalispell, 5:00-9:00 p.m.
8-9, 22-23 Winter Rodeo Series, Majestic Valley Arena, 7:00 p.m.
PBR Rocky Mountain Bullriding Event, Majestic Valley
Arena, 7:00 p.m.
15-17 Montana Sportman’s Expo, Flathead County Fairgrounds
21 Glacier Symphony Soloist Spotlight, With Ana Vidovic,
Alpine Ballroom, 7:00 p.m.
24 Guitar Virtuoso and Beethoven’s “Eroica,” Glacier
Symphony and Chorale, Flathead HS Performance Hall,
3:00 p.m.
March1-2, 15-16 Winter Rodeo Series, Majestic Valley Arena, 7:00 p.m.
17 “The Pirates of Penzance,” Glacier Symphony and
Chorale, Flathead HS Performance Hall, 3:00 p.m.
17 St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Downtown, 4:00 p.m.
21 Loud at the Library 4!, Flathead County Library, 5:30-
8:30 p.m.
22-24 High School and Junior Rodeo, Majestic Valley Arena.
28 Glacier Symphony Soloist Spotlight, Maestro Jazz Night,
Alpine Ballroom, 7:00 p.m.
April27 Primakov Plays Scriabin, Glacier Symphony, Flathead
HS Performance Hall, 7:30 p.m.
28 Primakov Plays Scriabin, Glacier Symphony, Flathead
HS Performance Hall, 3:00 p.m.
Somers/LakesideDecember1 Holidayfest at the Lakeside Elementary School Gym,
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
WhitefishNovember30 “Seussical the Musical,” Whitefish Theater Company,
O’Shaughnessy Center, 7:30 p.m.
December1,7,8, “Seussical, the Musical,” 7:30 p.m.
14,15
2,9,16 “Seussical, the Musical,” 4:00 p.m.
7 Christmas Stroll, Downtown Whitefish, 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
8 Handel’s “Messiah,” Glacier Symphony and Chorale,
Whitefish Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m.
17-18 “Yuletide Affair 9,” Alpine Theatre Project, Whitefish
Performing Arts Center, 7:00 p.m.
January4 Winter Carnival Merry Maker, Moose Lodge,
6:00-9:00 p.m.
19 Carnival Torchlight Procession and Coronation of King
Ullr and Queen of the Snows, 1st and Central
19 “Peter and the Wolf,” Glacier Symphony and Chorale,
Whitefish Performing Arts Center
23 “Biloxi Blues,” MT. Repertory Theatre, Whitefish
Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m.
February1 Winter Carnival Parade “Pirates on Parade,” 2nd St. to
Central Avenue, 3:00 p.m.
22-23 “Charlotte’s Web,” Whitefish Theatre Co.,
O’Shaughnessy Center, 7:30 p.m.
23 Guitar Virtuoso and Beethoven’s “Eroica,” Glacier
Symphony and Chorale, Whitefish Performing Arts
Center
24 “Charlotte’s Web,” Whitefish Theatre Co.,
O’Shaughnessy Center, 4:00 p.m.
March16, 17 “The Pirates of Penzance,” Glacier Symphony and
Chorale, Whitefish Performing Arts Center
April12-13, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Whitefish
19-20 Theatre Co., O’Shaughnessy Center, 7:30 p.m.
14, 21 “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Whitefish
Theatre Co., O’Shaughnessy Center, 4:00 p.m.
Ongoing Fall And Winter EventsBigforkPreschool Story Time, Bigfork Library, 10:00 a.m.
Columbia Falls/West GlacierPreschool Storytime, CF Library, Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m.
Afterschool Storytime, CF Library, Wednesdays, 3:00 p.m.
Local musicians Jam & Drum Circle, 1st Wednesdays, 7:00-11:00 p.m.
Trivia Night, Friday nights, Belton Chalet
Live Music, Saturday nights, Belton Chalet
KalispellFriends Book Club, Main Library, 2nd Tuesdays, 5:00 p.m.
Preschool Storytime, Tuesdays & Wednesdays, Main Library, 11:00 a.m.
Books and Babies, Library, Thursdays, 11:00 a.m.
Open Skate, Woodland Ice Center, thru 2/28, Sat. noon-2:45 p.m.;
Sun. 1:15-3:15 p.m.
Children’s Story Hour, WF Library, Thursdays, 11:00 a.m.
Culture and Art History Club, Stumptown Art Studio, 2nd
Tuesdays, 10:00 a.m.-noon.
History of Whitefish, Community Center, 3rd Tuesdays, 12:30 p.m.
Whitefish Book Discussion Club, last Wednesdays, WF Library, 7:00 p.m.
For details:
Kalispell—http://www.kalispellchamber.com
Bigfork—http://www.bigfork.org/bigfork-montana-event-
calendar.php
Columbia Falls—www.columbiafallschamber.com
Whitefish—http://whitefishareachamber.chambermaster.com/
events
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local Your family, friends and neighbors will thank you!
WHITEFISH
Did you know that for every dollar you spend at a local and independently-owned
business, about 45¢ stays local? In contrast, only 15¢ of each dollar recirculates in the
community when you buy from a corporate chain. Buy local. Buy independent.