Jordan saying good-bye to museum

A few years back the Museum at Central School rented two of its rooms out for a Christmas party. One room had a bunch of loggers. The other room had a bunch of environmentalists.

But they both wanted a bar.

So museum director Gil Jordan had the bar put in the middle and the two had to share.

By the end of the night, the groups, which normally didn’t see eye-to-eye, were talking to one another.

That’s what the Central School Museum is all about, Jordan said in an interview recently. Sure, it showcases Northwest Montana’s history, but it also brings people together.

“We’re proud of the fact that we’re a nonpartisan organization,” he said.

Jordan has been at the helm of the museum for the past 13 years. At 71, he will retire in March, after a fruitful tenure that has seen museum membership double since he started in 2005 from about 400 members to 800 members today.

When Jordan started he had zero museum experience. A native of Southern California, he has a master’s degree in theater from the University of California, Los Angeles. He’s acted in 60-plus plays, directed dozens more and was the technical director of the LaMirada Civic Theater. He had a $1 million budget and 40 employees.

But he was tired of the crowds and the scene so he looked to Montana for relief.

He and his wife, Kimberly Pinter bought 40 acres in Coram in 1978, paid it off and built their own log home, moving here permanently in the early 1980s.

Jordan’s form became a familiar site to anyone driving U.S. Highway 2 to West Glacier. He’s an avid runner — has raced in 35 marathons. And he often runs along the highway. His last marathon was the Boston Marathon.

Running is a passion.

“That’s one of the things I’ll be doing a lot more of,” when he retires, he said. He wants to get back into marathon shape, run 25 to 35 miles a week.

Running clears his mind, helps him cope.

“It’s the only way I can do this work,” he said. “It’s a stressful and demanding job.”

He’s taken flak for some of his decisions over the years. One in particular was when he let a group that denied the Holocaust use one of the museum’s rooms for a meeting.

Jordan said it was the right thing to do. The museum is a public place, owned by the city of Kalispell. Unless a group is proposing to violently overthrow the government, they have a right to assemble, he noted.

Human rights groups opposed his decision.

Jordan is a self-described environmentalist and conservationist. But he’s also fiscally conservative. When he first arrived at the museum, it was deep in debt, having financed a book project. But it also had a $50,000 reserve fund. So he used the reserve to pay off the debt and get the museum back in the black.

Jordan is also a longtime member of the Coram-West Glacier Volunteer Fire Department and he was the coach of the Whitefish debate team for seven years, helping lead the team to its only state championship a few years ago.

Jordan knew nothing about debate when he took the job. They hired him on the spot, so he went to the library, read a couple of books on debate and was coaching the team when school got out that same day.

He was also social worker for 13 years — another job he started out with absolutely no experience. But his years in theater helped him work with a multitude of different and odd personalities, so he learned the ropes. By the time he was done, he was teaching state workshops on personality disorders.

Jordan’s advice for his successor?

“You have to have a thick skin, open mind and multi-task like crazy,” he said.

The museum is taking applicants until Jan. 13. Interested parties can learn more at www.yourmuseum.org.

Jordan said he wants to do more volunteer work with local conservation organizations in retirement. And there’s a new running trail along Highway 2 — as the Gateway to Glacier Trail was extended this fall from Coram to West Glacier. No more running in the ditch like the old days.

“I’m looking forward running on it,” he said.