Museum board seeks restitution from suspected attempted burglar

Security was an issue discussed Monday during the H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum Board meeting, as board Chair Lela Patera said that Sunday an unidentified man attempted to break into the museum.

The suspect failed to successfully break into the museum and only ended up damaging the door lock mechanism, she said, adding that the board is filing charges and asking for restitution. The museum is working with Havre Police Department, which has charged the suspect. The board is now considering adding security cameras to the new location.

Petera said some miscommunication seems to be occuring between the Great Northern Fair Board and the museum board over who owns the Great Northern Railway caboose displayed at the fairgrounds.

The fair board discussed at its meeting last month that it had planned to use the caboose, but was told it belonged to the museum board. The fair board also talked about the museum board taking care of farm equipment they store on the fairgrounds.

The museum board has paperwork that proves it has ownership of the caboose, Patera said. Board members said they would not mind sharing the caboose with the fair board, if it kept the caboose in good condition.  

Museum manager Emily Mayer said she has begun preparing for the summer rush. The museum had just received new shirts to sell in the gift shop, she said, adding that she also wants to reprint “The Wahkpa Chu’gn Archaeological Site” but needs to get permission from former Buffalo Jump managers John and Anna Brumley to reprint the book.

The museum has begun receiving an influx of calls for tours of the Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump north of the Holiday Village, Mayer said. A bus tour group that consists of 20-30 seniors is planned, and a Harlem school group tour is expected in May. The museum is also working with a Hilldale Colony school group on organizing a possible tour, she said.

In preparation for the busy summer season, the museum board is working with the Hill County commissioners office to post job openings that need filled quickly, Mayer said, she added, that the commissioners and the museum have had some confusion about who is posting the help-wanted ads.

Mayer said they have begun planning for Hands on History and Digging Up History, which will both take place Saturday, April 13, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Digging up history will take place in an empty lot north of the Verizon building on the Holiday Village parking lot. The museum is still working on the schedule for Living History and is considering making it a weekend event.

In preparation for the influx of tourists, the museum board is considering introducing a passport that visitors would get stamped at different locations throughout Havre.

“The passport would remind tourists that there’s more places to visit,” Mayer said.

Patera said that work is continuing on the future site of the Clack Museum. A Montana State University-Northern plumbing class assisted in remodeling work of the new museum building, the former location of Griggs Printing on the 10 Block of Fifth Avenue.

The next museum board meeting will be Monday, April 8, at 6 p.m. in the Conference Room of Havre Inn and Suites.