Heritage Days wrap-up

An interesting and good Heritage Day Committee meeting was conducted by Matt McConville, president. One of the purposes was to discuss the events' successes, disappointments and general opinions.

Good comments concerned the cleaner Columbia Falls uptown areas Sunday morning after the festivities.

There was general agreement regarding good response to parade's noon starting time. It had been stated that throwing candy from floats would not be permitted and violators would be pulled from the parade. This did not happen. However, it was suggested that the Night of Lights Parade, Friday, Dec. 1, should carry the same stipulation, although this is not Heritage Days project. Another feasible idea would be to have a porta potty near the parade lineup. Sometimes that hour can be long.

Saturday night's dance was discussed in suggestions received from several interested residents. Ideas included more lights if the dance is held in the same location behind the Bandit Bar in the future. Proposals included blocking off Nucleus Avenue between Third and Fifth Streets as done during daytime hours. This is not a possibility as it is a state highway.

Main desires seemed to be street dances appropriate for families as conducted years ago. One idea went so far as to suggest an oldtime barn dance type event, with senior citizens sponsoring it. Incidentally, this idea was not mine, but could have a potential for North Valley Senior Citizens, Inc., members with their Senior Center and adjacent parking lots.

There was a little dismay because some of the venders did not appear although they had registered. It was noted the $25 fee paid by venders and organization booths is used to finance garbage containers and porta potties.

The public is invited to attend the next Heritage Days Committee meeting, Tuesday, Sept. 12. Matt and Janet McConville, president and vice president, may be contacted by calling 270-5967.

My week continued with a family reunion starting at the Lost Prairie sky diving boogie. Joel Atkinson, grandson, observed his 25th birthday, Aug. 4, with party hosted by his mother, Gail Shay Linne, Eagle River, AK. We were there when Joel made his first sky dive and he is now an instructor with more than 1,200 jumps to his credit. Cheering him on were Becky Shay, Laurel; Janet and Jerry Townsend, Baker; Tim and Gwen Shay, Columbia Falls, Laurie Shay and KC Haak, Kalispell, and Joel's brother, Wade Atkinson, Seattle. Brynn and Aaron Shay, Columbia Falls, were unable to attend the boogie. Howard, Connie and Rachel Shay, Sandpoint, could not attend the family reunion.

Sounds similar to the locals I disliked in early issues of the Hungry Horse News.

Becky and I spent an interesting day in Browning where she went to interview Elouise Cobell for the Billings Gazette. Cobell has spent the past 10 years leading the largest Indian lawsuit against the United States in history. It was coincidental that just the day before Becky's interview Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., pulled back legislation that could have ended the lawsuit.

The bill called for an $8 billion settlement, which had been reduced from original figures as high as $ 237 billion.

Becky wrote that had the bill moved forward it would have settled the class action lawsuit that seeks an historical accounting and trust fund reform for money accounts belonging to 500,000 landowners. The bill had been scheduled to go through the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to be worked out before going to the Senate, she explained.

I did not accompany Becky to Eloise Cobell's office as I do not like listeners when I interview for stories.

We visited the Blackfeet Heritage Center and Art Gallery. We learned about the Blackfoot Papers by Adolf Hungry-Wolf. This is described as a lifetime of research on the Blackfoot Confederacy in four volumes.

An old teepee burner at the solid waste area enticed us. I told Becky about the old days when teepee burners were used at most mills. GASP was the name of a local active ladies organization to help eliminate pollution. Initials stood for Gals Against Smoke and Pollution. They did not like teepee burners and spent hours visiting area mills, including the stud mill at Eureka, in their efforts to abolish them.

Mel Ruder was adopted into the Blackfeet Tribe and named Spotted Calf. Larry Stem had worked on the Hungry Horse News but was at the Daily Inter Lake at that time. We worked together on news stories. We did not want to be ignored, so Larry came up with Spreading Bull for his name and I was dubbed Squatting Squaw.

I really do not think Mel was aware of our great sense of humor.

Gladys Shay is a longtime resident and columnist for the Hungry Horse News.