New Director Digs Into History At Ravalli County Museum
With less than a month on the job, Michelle Nowling is already deep into the local history that is expertly preserved and presented at the Ravalli County Museum. The former Ravalli County Courthouse has been a museum since the construction of the current courthouse just to the east of the building. And the collections have grown substantially since the days of the first director Erma Owings.
Nowling is Montana native, growing up in Philipsburg and attending Montana State University in Bozeman. She picked up a graduate degree in Museum Studies in Virginia, where she also dug deep into Civil War history. Upon arriving in Hamilton, she started an intense study of the valley s history. When we talked this week, she was looking at Nez Perce history, getting ready for a Native American exhibit that will be coming this year.
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Tamar Stanley Retires from Ravalli County Museum
Last week, retiring Ravalli County Museum Director Tamar Stanley helped explain a repair and improvement list at the museum building to the Ravalli County Commissioners. She also told them that this was her last visit to their offices as director, since she is retiring.
Stanley has been the director of the museum at South 3rd and Bedford for 13 years and has overseen hundreds of exhibits, public lectures and kids activities. She told KLYQ that during those years there were 230 exhibits, 188 lectures and 288 kids modules. Along with that, the museum has continued to enlarge its collections, including such unique objects as the Grantsdale School bell, Hamilton s Montana Cafe neon sign, and, most recently, a glacial erratic boulder from the ice age s Glacial Lake Missoula.
Ravalli County Museum Repair Projects Planned
The Ravalli County Museum houses many old artifacts. In fact, the building itself could be considered an old artifact. Over 120 years ago, it was the county courthouse and became the museum when the current courthouse was built next door. The years have taken their toll on the brick building. Monday, the Ravalli County Commissioners received an update on improvement projects that are in the museum s future.
The wiring in the building is what concerns the officials most of all. An electrical problem in the Lewis and Clark Gallery needs to be repaired, along with safety work on much of the first floor wiring. Elsewhere, pipes leading to and from the boiler that heats the building require some attention, too. The boiler, itself, is in good condition. The list about about 20 items include both safety issues and cosmetic issues. Of course, as Museum Director Tamar Stanley told KLYQ, the safety issues have priority and the commissioners will