Seeley Lake Historical Society shares local treasures

HELENA – The Montana State Historical Society invited all museums in the state to come to the Capital Rotunda Jan. 16 to meet and greet with legislators and their staff. The Seeley Lake Historical Society was among 20 other organizations that participated

The purpose of the event was to showcase the range of museums and other historical organizations in the state and how they contribute to the Montana tourist experience and in turn the economy. The Seeley Lake Historical Society was the only group that brought an actual display.

The theme of the display was timber and recreation, two main drivers of Seeley Lake's development and economy over the past 130 years. Items that attracted the most attention included a portable mortician's table from the 1930's complete with skeleton; the typewriter on which Norman Maclean wrote his initial draft of "A River Runs Through It;" cowboy boots with a Double Arrow inlay worn by Jan Boissevain, one of the founders of Double Arrow Ranch along with the original guest registration book from the Double Arrow Lodge. 

"We had a lot of interesting things for people to look at," said Historical Society President Cheri Thompson. "The photos [of timber activities in the area and historical recreation] were of who we were in the past," said Thompson.

Thompson said the majority of the visitors they had were people that had come from the legislature, not the legislators.

"It worked well for us because we are looking for the people who travel around and want to come see the museum," said Thompson. "It was a great networking event."

Historical Society Vice President Tom Browder added in an email, "This event gave us the opportunity to remind these visitors that there is a fine historical museum to add to their list of activities on their next visit, and we hope to see expanded awareness and visitor traffic as a result of this show."