Cheri Thompson and Ruthie Mizner-Welch visit while sitting on a sofa Hide-A-Bed that came from the Thompson family ranch east of Alberton, Montana. Kroehler Manufacturing applied for the first patent for the Hide-A-Bed in 1915. It has been in the Thompson family for more than 100 years and now belongs to the Seeley Lake Historical Society.
The second room in the cabin is the bedroom. It is complete with baby cradle, beds, toys, trunk, stove, dresser, bookcase and books. Nearly everything is numbered. Visitors can find the corresponding number in the Maloney Cabin Guide. The guide says who donated the item and, in some cases, shares stories about the item's history.
Steve Thompson ready for Sunday dinner to be served at the dining room table set for four. The Maloney Cabin literally has everything but the kitchen sink. The Thompsons are donating the double sink which is cast iron and weighs 250 pounds. It will be installed below the window and the dining room table moved into the center of the room.
Seeley Lake Historical Society Board Member Tom Browder and Tom Donich received their Lifetime Membership plaques. This is a new program with a $1,000 investment. Board member Cheri Thompson designed the plaques and they were made by Vorteque in Missoula.
Hostess treats were served because not only were they COVID friendly in their packaging, Hostess cupcakes were invented in 1919. Cheri Thompson said they included the Apple Fruit Pie because "we always serve some kind of apple treat at our annual meeting."
SEELEY LAKE – "We could live in here," said Seeley Lake Historical Society Board Member Cheri Thompson about the nearly fully furnished Maloney Cabin. "I think it has come out very well."
The Historical Society hosted a "Cabin Warming" Sunday, Oct. 25 at the Seeley Lake Historical Museum grounds to showcase all of the 100-year-old items that fill the restored Maloney Cabin. All items were donated to the Historical Society for display. There is also a Maloney Cabin Guide providing information about who donated the numbered items and stories about many of them.
Attendees were given an annual report from the Historical Society. They also watched a movie about the last river log drive in Idaho produced by Potlatch Corporation in the 1970s.
Lee Dick donated the 100-year old Maloney Cabin to the Seeley Lake Historical Society in 2016. The cabin was originally located along Seeley Creek, east of Highway 83 in the Maloney complex. Several years ago, the cabin was moved to property on Morrell Creek Drive. The Historical Society hosted a grand opening of the cabin Oct. 27, 2019.
In the last year, Thompson chinked the inside of the cabin at 10 feet an hour.
"It has been a labor of love," said Thompson.
Steve and Cheri Thompson also furnished the cabin with 1920-era specific items, many of which they donated themselves.
"It gets to go into an appropriate location so others can enjoy it," said Steve Thompson.
In addition to the work on the cabin, the Historical Society redid the Maclean exhibit in the Museum to reach out to a broader audience. There is an overview for those that would like a quick look and a much more detailed book for those that have more time and interest in the Maclean family.
The Visitors Center returned to the Historical Museum this year and was staffed by the Historical Society this summer after receiving a grant from Glacier County. They displayed business and non-profit information and had a small gift shop. Thompson said business owners and non-profit boards are invited to contact the Historical Society to share their information in the Visitors' Center.
At the meeting Tom Browder and Tom Donich were inducted as the first Lifetime Members of the Historical Society. Board member Patt Donich said that the board came up with the idea for the $1,000 lifetime memberships to help people so they didn't need to pay annual dues and it would financially support the Historical Society.
"We don't want it to be a hardship for anyone but for anyone that has lots of extra money laying around, it would really help the Historical Society," said Donich to which everyone in the room laughed.
Next year, the Historical Society looks forward to finishing the outside chinking on the Maloney cabin and will be moving in an outhouse and shed that will be filled with tools of the 1920s to complete the "Maloney Campus." They also hope to make some infrastructure upgrades to the Barn if funding is available and replace the tipi poles that were broken in the wind.
The Museum and Visitors Center is open 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. seven days a week or by appointment by emailing slhistory@blackfoot.net or call 677-2990.
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