Living History Day set for June 1

Fresh off of its last event, the board of Havre’s public museum is deep into the planning of its next major event, its participation in Havre’s annual Living History Day, slated this year for Saturday, June 1.

One planned event is being tweaked — another celebrity will join one of the H. Earl Clack Museum’s newest additions for Living History. Gary Wilson, who chaired the Clack Museum Board’s meeting in the absence of board chair Judi Dritshulas, said Dritshulas will spice up that event.

“It’s not just a tea party any more,” Wilson said.

The Living History events, organized by the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce’s Tourism Committee, is coming on the tails of the Clack Museum co-hosting with Rudyard’s Depot Museum the annual meeting of the Montana Dinosaur Trail association in April and the Havre museum hosting the annual conference of the Museums of Montana in March.

Wilson said that during the Living History events June 1, Dritshulas will portray Margaret Turner Clack, wife of early Havre businessman H. Earl Clack, during the “Tea with Lady Grace” event at the museum June 1.

“So, it’s not just sit and drink tea and look at the doll. She is actually going to portray Mrs. Clack,” he said.

He said members of the Clack family are providing Dritshulas with information to help her research her portrayal during the tea celebration.

The museum event highlights one of the newer additions to the museum, a 4-foot tall doll in period costume made by Havre dollmaker Bernice Pyette, called “Lady Grace.”

That doll is displayed next to a case displaying other Pyette dolls which represent prominent early Havre women.

The Tea with Lady Grace events are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. June 1.

The Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump archaeological site, located just north of the Holiday Village Mall near the museum itself, will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 1 as part of the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce’s Living History Day.

Fort Assinniboine, located southwest of Havre on U.S. Highway 87, will be open for tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during Living History, with live re-enactments planned during the day.

Havre Beneath the Streets will be giving tours, with live actors at the historical exhibits in that venue, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

North Central Montana Transit will provide a shuttle service for the events, with the first stop scheduled at Havre’s Town Square at 11 a.m.

Schedules will be available at each of the shuttle’s stops, Wahkpa Chu’gn, the Antique Show at the Great Northern Fairground, and Fort Assinniboine.