Museum board seeks presentation on Zuul

The H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum Board discussed its Summer Series presentations including Clack Museum Director Emily Mayer giving a presentation on the Faber School and trying to get a paleontologist to talk about the one of the region’s newest — and oldest — famous residents.

Board Chair Lela Patera said the board is working with David Evans, the curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Royal Ontario Museum, to try to have him give a talk about dinosaurs.

Evans and fellow paleontologist Victoria Arbour lead the team that found Zuul, a newly discovered species of the armored ankylosaurus dinosaur, near Havre.

The dinosaur, a 20-foot-long plant eater with spikes on its body and a massive club on its tail, was given the name Zuul — Zuul curivastator, or Zuul destroyer of shins, for the club on its tail — due to a resemblance to the ugly dog-like creature Zuul in the 1984 film “Ghostbusters.”

The extremely well-preserved dinosaur was taken to the Royal Ontario Museum, although Patera said it is now on a world tour, with the first stop reported to be in Japan.

Patera also said she is still working finding out when the museum would be able to receive a casting of the fossil, hopefully before Evans, or one of his assistants, gives a presentation.

“Hopefully, we will have one of those ugly faces in the museum,” she said.

She said she has not had an update yet from board member David Sageser about getting a Clack Museum-specific logo for the Montana Dinosaur Trail, in which they have discussed incorporating Zuul. Sageser could not attend Monday’s meeting, but Patera said he is continuing to work on it and will update the board.

The board discussed during its May meeting having Zuul-themed merchandise for sale in the museum gift shop, as well.

Mayer said her presentation focused on the Faber School — a one-room country school from more than a century ago in the Bear Paw Mountains that was moved to the Great Northern Fairgrounds — will be during Festival Days.

H. Earl and Margaret Turner Clack Memorial Museum Foundation President Elaine Morse said work is continuing on the future Havre History Center, the future home of the museum on the 10 Block of Fifth Avenue.

She said a team will work on the building Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

Morse said that, with the closure of Griggs Printing and the departure of Jim Griggs, who sold the building to the foundation, the foundation is having issues with insurance.

Morse said the rates are going up from $2,000 a year to $6,000 a year due to the building being unoccupied.

She said the foundation is working with other insurance companies to find if it can obtain a lower rate.

She said Bear Paw Development Corp.’s Brownfield Program is continuing to work on finding funding for the foundation to use to clean up asbestos and lead paint in the building.

The board also set a date to clean up the Faber School in conjunction with board member Eli Salaphich roofing the museum’s Homestead Shack, also on the fairgrounds.

Salapich said he plans to roof the building the weekend of Aug. 2-4, and the board voted to help with that and clean the schoolhouse Saturday, Aug. 3.

Patera said the farm equipment the museum has on the fairgrounds also has to be inventoried, and a date set for a public meeting for the board to draft a memorandum of understanding with the Great Northern Fair Board about use and care of the museum’s items on the fairgrounds.

The board also voted unanimously to approve its Nomination Committee’s recommendation for its officers. Committee member Judi Dritshulas said the nominations were for Patera as president, Sageser as vice president and Kathy Shrauger secretary.

With no other nominations made, the board approved those recommendations.