Executive Board of Directors

Gil Mangels, President

Cathleen Wilde, VP; Mel Adams, VP

Nancy Pray, Secretary

Joanne Mangels, Treasurer

Gracia Normandeau Jones

Kendall Dupuis Mike Maddy

Stan Cohen Ned Wilde

Advisory Board of Directors

Jim Pomajevich

A Non-Profit 501(c) (3) Corporation • 81-0437386

36094 Memory Lane Polson, MT 59860 406-883-6804

www.miracleofamericamuseum.org

info@miracleofamericamuseum.org

October 2011

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

Visitors from all 50 States

and 44 countries

enjoy MOAM

Summer finally came and brought more visitors to

the Museum. To date we've had all 50 states, 44

international countries and seven Canadian Provinces,

with a very respectable head count. The only complaint

we had was that we should paint some of our buildings.

However, the complainer didn't want to donate the

paint or offer to help prepare and/or paint.

We received a small grant from

Greater

Polson

Community Foundation

to assist with painting the

Paul Bunyan cabin next spring. Volunteers have been

harder to come by this year. We have some youth doing

community service, but they are usually only short

term and not very dependable. Some folks really want

to help, but distance, transportation, health and

employment issues have taken a toll.

FEATURED DONOR

Beulah Stipe

  donated her Centennial collection

of 70 Barbie dolls portraying fashions from Montana

Statehood 1889 through the Centennial. It won "Best

of the Show" at the 1989 Sanders Co. Fair. The

1889 purple velvet dress sports a bustle, a style that

has thankfully never returned.

The 1890 "Knickerbocker" bicycle

outfit was

thought to indecently show a lot of leg. What would

they have thought of the bicycle riding outfit of

1990?

1911 features a straight skirt slit up the side

daringly to mid calf, showing pantaloons! Other dress

styles include those worn by Beulah's grandmother

for her wedding in 1894, her mother in the 1920s and

her daughter's in the late 60s and 70s; plus those

featured in family photos and catalogs.

Brenda and Dave Bosley

 - framed 1950s Scouting

picture of Nathan Hale;

John Dark and Dave Marshall

- Scrap iron;

Marvin Douma - 7

Schnitzmeyer Panoramic

photos;

David Ferguson -

1900 inlaid Mother of Pearl

decorated Arabian Camel musket and a Model 94

Winchester Carbine 25-35 w/ box of shells and

scabbard;

Don Greytak -

Sketch of train engine at the Havre

Train Station;

Lonnie Haack

- 1950s Security State savings bank;

Charley Horstman -

29 hardback books 1928-50s;

MISCELLANEOUS DONATIONS

Polson, Montana

Newsletter layout courtesy of

Carmine Mowbray of

Howard Hudson

- Antique tacklebox, fishing

supplies, 1943 foot locker w/ vintage menswear,

several pair children's shoes incl. Wee Walkers in

orig. box, and numerous misc. household items;

Gabriel Jensen

- 68 old VHS tapes;

Lester Johnson -

Opera glasses and a carpenters

chest full of tools;

Irene Mc Allister -

1821 Hat "Conformateur" - a

device for fitting hats to each person's unique head

(heads are not uniformly round).

Everyone should

see something like this once in their life!

Hal Roys-

Patent Leather oxfords for BSA

Scoutmaster;

Ted Riebe -

Nuclear (NBC) test kits 1970-1987 (old

and new style);

Ken Smith -

1950s Betty Crocker iron;

Gale Warren

and Cindy Beebe

(daughter)- Home

Built tractor;

Debbie Wilson -

Blue Angels posters, hand riveter

for leather repair;

Virginia Nelson

- Mementoes of Polson schools,

Lake Co Fair, local businesses and Scouting;

Martin Schaer

- 1963 Ford Unicab pickup; other

items;

Carl Skabronski -

a former classmate of Gil -

delivered items from both his daughters and their

spouses when he made his annual visit;

Luke and Kelli Stirred

- Antique books, Manuals,

Cast iron mailbox, Edison cylinder records, Misc

tools and kitchen utensils;

Jill and Jerome Sweezy

- 2 WWII mess kits, WWII

food canister, 1900s scale gauge, handcuffs w/case,

label machine, Utsonds Locker hand meat tenderizer,

assorted tools and a metronome;

Lulu Stock

- Darling pink girls dress circa 1950,

Misc household, sewing and banking items;

Jean Swanson -

Collectibles incl. black

memorabilia, celluloid items, glass and porcelain

items, sheet music and stereopticon cards;

Maureen Theiler

- 2008 Campaign memorabilia and

autograph of Hillary Clinton,

Cobalt souvenir bottles,

1976 Democratic convention delegate and WWII 96

th

Infantry "Deadeyes";

David Wolf

- Fresno slip- an early day dirt mover;

Kay and Bob Summerlin

--

three 4 ft. glass showcases.

Right:

One of the cameras in

our ever-growing collection.

Watch for more detail as the

collection grows.

We salute our

Sustaining Members

Joy Skaggs

- via Pay Pal on internet!

Wes Sprunk

David Trexler

- Bynum, MT Two

Medicine Dinosaur Center

Bobby and Lisa Unser

Family Members

Wayne and Jennifer Daniels

Miska Draskoczy

Lester Johnson

Tim and Chanel Lake

Kathy Makushla Matthews

Wm. H and Joann Mc Dermott

Tom Needham

Andrea Normandeau

Carl Skabronski

Autumn visitors -

NW Woody Wagons,

Corvettes of Utah, Ford Skyliners

from OR and WA. The Fall

Cycle rally sponsored by Montana

Harley Davidson of Missoula and

Kalispell, barbeque and poker run was for Montana

Wounded Warriors. We were assisted by

Chuck

Lewis and Linda Sappington.

A few of the visiting Fords. Note Constitution Week sign

In Sympathy

Condolences to Ruth and family of Lyle

Baxter. He was a genuine, goodly man

and a great friend and helper of the

museum. We will miss him greatly.

Volunteers keep us going

Volunteers presently helping include

Carmine

Mowbray

who helps with the newsletter formatting

and photo shooting;

Steve Alexander

assisted

putting POLSON LAKESTER video on You Tube,

(see it at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=vhLB_d0Cy4U

,

David Bosley

often gives train

rides;

Jerry Walk

helped with ground

maintenance.

Roger and Marilyn Van Eram

have

helped at the desk and in the shop respectively.

Lee and Afton Moss

have helped at the desk

and inventoried a huge collection of cameras from

Guest Photo

Art

in Kalispell. The camera ages

range throughout the 1900s. Some of the more

unusual are on display now, all will eventually be

displayed. We will tell you more about them when

all the collection arrives.

The Home Built tractor donated by Gale Warren and

daughter Cindy Beebe.

Just some of the many Harleys visiting us during their

Wounded Warrior rally.

Join us this Halloween:

State Old Time Fiddlers Jam Sunday Oct 30 from 1 to 5pm.

Costumes optional. Enjoyment is guaranteed!

Pickin' in the Park Musicians again have Country Music Jams at the Museum between

1 and 4 every Saturday. If you play or sing country, bluegrass, hymns, accordion,

fiddle, guitar, whistle or play harmonica, please plan to join them. Singing along and

dancing are encouraged.

In spite of the difficult economy and partially

because of it, our Endowment fund needs to be

enlarged. Only the interest income is used each

year and the banks are presently not paying

much. The board is again asking that you please

consider donating the museum 1% to 5% of your

estate to the Miracle of America Museum

endowment fund. If enough folks choose this sort

of gifting it would help insure continued

preservation of our collections and displays for

your posterity to enjoy. If you agree, please

consider discussing this with your estate planner

or lawyer.

Membership

Thank you very much for your support

Non-Profit

Postage Paid

Polson, MT

59860

Permit #89

Miracle of America Museum

36094 Memory Lane

Polson, MT 59860

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

What IS this contraption? And what does it

have to do with the human head?

See inside, or come in to see the real thing!

Membership to the Miracle of America Museum

is tax-deductible and allows you free admission,

newsletters and 10% discount in our gift shop.

We really appreciate our supporters who

remember to send donations.

A star beside your name on the address label

means this may be the last newsletter you receive

unless we hear from you. If you wish to remain on

our mailing list, please let us know.

Family membership: $25 to $99

Annual Sustaining: $100 to $199

Corporate Sustaining: $200 to $999

Lifetime: $1000 or above