New members join museum board

The H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum Board introduced two new members in Dona Woods and Jeanne Gingery at its monthly meeting Monday, where members discussed staffing, upcoming events and donations.

Board Chair David Sageser said they are still looking for people to staff the museum and Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump and it seems like no one is applying.

Board member Lela Patera said she knows some people who may be interested in working at the museum and the board members briefly discussed people they think might be available, but they had trouble coming up with people who could cover Saturdays.

H. Earl and Margaret Turner Clack Memorial Museum Foundation Board President Elaine Morse said if they can’t find anyone she might be able to cover it.

Morse said they also recently got a shipment of copies of “Montana’s Benton Road” for the museum’s gift shop.

The board also discussed some items offered to the museum as donations, with Woods presenting one of her father’s paychecks from back in the days of the Great Northern Railroad, which the board accepted.

They also discussed accepting a more than 100-year old porcelain doll.

Patera said it doesn’t have a specific history, but board members said they can probably work it into a display, and if not, it is valuable enough that they may be able to use it for fundraising, so there’s no reason not to take it.

On the subject of fundraising they also accepted a donation of a high-quality quilt that they could use for that purpose.

Board members also discussed setting up a new display of an old telephone switchboard, which Patera said has garnered interest in the community.

They also talked about providing prices to Glasgow Public Schools for Buffalo Jump tours, which they wanted to work into the coming year’s budget, and specifics for sandblasting the museum’s caboose at the Great Northern Fairgrounds.

Morse also talked about the museum’s Hands On History event April 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line.

She said the last she heard they have 17 events that day with instructors teaching young people about how things were made in the past.

She said these events will allow young people to build things that they can take home and it’s shaping up to be a great day.

She also said a local nurses’ association had offered to make a display of old medical equipment but she wasn’t sure if that was appropriate for the event.

Morse said food for the volunteers has been taken care of, but the event still needs more people, especially for April 28 at 6 p.m. for setting up at the club.

During the meeting she also said one of the foundation’s longtime board members, who handled a lot of their social media presence, has taken a position at AmeriCorps and will be leaving the board soon.

Before the meeting ended Sageser said he was recently contacted by someone from digital marketing firm Swiftkurrent, which is subcontracting with the state to get footage of local areas for the Montana Tourism Board, and they were asking for permission to film at the museum and jump for the state’s tourism website.

Sageser said this will come at no expense to the museum but Swiftkurrent can’t discuss specifics until the board grants permission, which the board did.

However, before granting that permission, Patera said it seems like when they grant permissions like this they never seem to get follow ups from the people they approve, which she would like to see change.

The next meeting of the board will be May 12 at 6 p.m.