History club to host cowboy dance

The Columbia Falls Historical Society has moved its headquarters to a new location, club president Clarence Taber says. Talks on local history next year will be presented at the historical chapel at the Montana Veterans Home.

Taber said the club hopes to eventually establish an historical museum in the Old Main, which was built in 1896. The Old Main’s roof, cornices and windows have been refurbished or replaced in recent years, but the interior still needs a lot of work.

The Columbia Falls Historical Society was established about two years ago, Taber said. Wes Tintinger is credited with getting the ball rolling. Officers include Dorothy Downen, vice president, Nancy Huso, treasurer, and Vickie Reynolds, secretary.

Last year, the club produced an historical calendar and held presentations at the Teakettle Community Hall on Nucleus Avenue. Those presentations will continue at the Vets Home chapel next year, Taber said, with talks on Glacier National Park, mining, the Forest Service and fire lookouts.

“It’s been a lot of fun looking at people’s old photographs and talking to people who remember where businesses were and how Columbia Falls looked long ago,” Taber said.

As a fundraiser, the historical club will hold its first annual Cowboy Christmas Ball at the historical chapel at the Vets Home on Saturday, Dec. 29, from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Dance music will be played by The Mountain Meadow String Band with state champion fiddler Steven Stafford. Prizes will be offered for the most authentic 1800s-era costume.

“Ladies, please, long dresses, and men, come in old-time Western wear,” Taber said.

Tickets are $30 each or $50 couples, which includes an old-time photo, available at The Shops at Station 8. For more information, call 892-0178.