Executive Board of Directors

Gil Mangels, President

Cathleen Wilde, VP

Mel Adams, VP

Joanne Mangels, Secretary

Gracia Normandeau Jones

Kendall Dupuis

Mike Maddy

Stan Cohen

Donna Maddux

Nancy Pray

Ned Wilde

Advisory Board of Directors

Paul Bonelli

Jim Pomajevich

QUARTERLY REPORT

SUMMER GREETINGS

! We've had a busy spring; and

summer looks to be busy too. Since January our visitors have

come from 48 states, four provinces and 17 other countries.

States we have yet to host this year are Hawaii and New

Hampshire. Visitation rates

exceed

last year. Our visitor count is

up

also. We've enjoyed visits from toddlers to the charming Red

Hat ladies. One visitor yesterday was using the displays to teach

two grandchildren the blessings of freedom - we hope others will,

too.

Several businesses in the area are recommending us which is

excellent advertising. We have appeared in more and more travel

magazines and certainly the internet has changed the way visitors

find us. Interestingly they often say, "We saw you first on the

internet and then the Hansens or the KOA recommended you.

They weren't kidding . . . this place really is great!"

A N o n - P r o f i t 5 0 1 ( c ) ( 3 ) C o r p o r a t i o n • 8 1 - 0 4 3 7 3 8 6

36094 Memory Lane Polson, MT 59860 406-883-6804 www.miracleofamericamuseum.org • info@miracleofamericamuseum.org

June 2009

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

Gary Cooper

, Gil's uncle from Las Vegas,

tracked down in Ohio a 1914 Model T touring car

that was purchased new by their mutual great

uncle. The elder Cooper bought it new and

immediately turned it into a pickup by removing the

back of the body and replacing it with a wooden

box. In 1988, Gary purchased this family heirloom.

He drove it to shows and meets around Las Vegas.

This winter he called Gil and asked if we would like

it for the museum. You know what the answer to

that was!

To get it here, Gary had a friend trailer it to St.

George. Then

Ned Wilde

, new Board member,

went to St. George and trailered it to his folks' place

in Orem, UT. Finally Gil went to Orem, where he

took all the grandchildren, great grandchildren and

neighbor children for rides and then trailered it

home. It was heartwarming to have a "family

vehicle" of that age come home.

Right: 1914 Model T comfortably at home at Miracle

of America Museum

In the family since 1914 new purchase

manual, building material, Harley Davidson

motorcycle phone, and an ultrasonic mouse repeller.

Fred Plummer Estate:

AC tractor w/ factory-installed

loader and misc. items and rummage sale items to

be used for fund raiser for MOAM.

Krystal Hanson

,

his daughter, also donated $50 in memory of Fred.

Neil Olson

intercepted several boxes headed for the

dump. They included numerous Boy Scout items

from the 1940's through the 1960's including an

Eagle Pin and a Silver Beaver w/ribbon. Apparently

the grandchildren didn't realize the significance of

their grandfather 's contribution to scouting. A lucky

retrieval to honor Scouter Paul Loendorf!

An impressive array of Boy Scout patches and

badges including the revered Eagle Badge, now on

display at Miracle of America Museum

Bob Skans:

WW1 footlocker; Antique newspapers

Larry Stockill:

WW II field gear; hunting/camping

pack boxes and camping gear

Raleigh MacNeil:

Elk rack - An atypical 7 x 9

He shot this big elk many years ago in the

Bitterroot Valley. He said, "It was so tough it took

3 years to eat it!"

Richard Barron:

Doctors bag and policeman

wind whirligig

Bert and Grace Poloson:

Phil Timm's first radio

headset, Grace's father's 1906 Medical book,

railroad spike hammer and misc.

Greg at Odyssey Auto Glass

: Windshield for

WW II ambulance

Jan Russell:

Beautiful brass bicycle lamp and

misc. ephemera

Lynn Weaver:

Antique eyeglasses and Harvard

classics.

Howard Hudson:

1943 Air Corps recruiting and

cadet training booklet, 1962 aircraft recognition

A huge salute of thanks to our

Life Members:

Bert and Grace Poloson

Family Memberships:

Andrew and Mary Ann Cooper

Lester Johnson

Andrew and Dianne Speer

Roy and Lara Kelly

Newsletter layout courtesy of

Carmine Mowbray of

M I S C E L L A N E O U S D O N A T I O N S

CONDOLENCES

Don Iverson,

collector extraordinaire from

Portland, Ore recently succumbed to cancer.

He would sell to Gil things that others had tried

to get for years. He was a wealth of knowledge

on vintage motorcycles and racing. Gil will

miss him.

Gary Corrigan

donated a nice antique grain

grinder and liked to attend our live history days.

He will no longer have to lug that heavy oxygen

tank around. Our condolences go out to both

families.

Thelma Mangels Sherba

, Gil's Aunt,

passed away after a lengthy illness. She and her

husband,

Howard

, were instrumental in helping

Gil appreciate historical sites and museums.

We Receive State Donation Status

MOAM recently applied and received admis-

sion to the 2009 State Employees Charitable

Giving Campaign, SECGC. The campaign is an

opportunity for state

employees to give

to the non-profit of

their choice using

payroll deduction.

The state verifies

the non-profit s

legitimacy and

disperses the

collections.

The State advised us to let all our donors,

supporters and volunteers and their friends know

we are a part of the SECGC. If you are a state

employee or acquainted with one, please

encourage any giving to benefit the MOAM. We

will be donating assorted gifts and passes to

weekly winners during the campaign.

Plum Creek

donated one unit of tongue &

groove siding.

Cesar Hernandez

donated four

days of carpentry assisted by Boy Scouts

Alex

Geiger

and

Ethan Roundy

who each donated

eight hours of carpentry labor. With this, some

leftover boards from previous projects, help from

Experience Works, and Working Innovations we

were able to partially set up a "Miller" Furniture

Store and a Dewey Lumber Co. Paint store.

They

will soon be ready for roofing and interior sheeting

if anyone has any extra plywood?

Fiddlesticks School of Music

held their

Spring Recital here and

Jeri Hulford

had a

Montana sapphire raffle to benefit the museum. It

was a very enjoyable evening and the raffle

proceeds totaled over $200. We are grateful for

the many ways everyone helps where they can.

Will Windham

donated some nice WW II

combat gear. Also thanks to

Jeannie

for serving

on our board and helping with Live History days as

a "soda jerk" over the past several years. We are

now in need of a new "soda jerk". Windhams are

relocating to Portland, Oregon. She saved us

quite a bit of freight when she was over there and

picked up an 1890's shaft drive (chainless) bicycle

Gil had previously purchased from Don Iverson.

Art Mangels

hauled a Humvee from Missoula;

MOAM acquired it through the state/federal surplus

program. It is a running 1985 original military

vehicle as used in Desert Storm and later. It was

one of our 6 entries in the Memorial Day parade.

Bert Smith:

6 good tires for WW11 amphibious

vehicle, inert 300# practice bomb, misc. hardware

and collectibles

John Swenson

: Usable scrap - iron, copper and

brass

Jane and Dave Swayne:

Miller Falls miter box w/

saw, Cherry pitter etc

Ian Tooth:

Miscellaneous old motorcycle parts

Harvey Kenitzer:

Smith welder

Dave Marshall:

Useable scrap iron

Roy and Vera (Butt) Millegan

made a memorial

donation for Walter and Phyllis Mangels.

Karen McIntire Lenz

first brought in a Doll-E-

Bathinette, and her family's floor polishing equipment

from the 30s and 40s (when it was done the hard

way!!) Later that day, she brought in some vintage

clothing which had been in her family. Especially

beautiful was a blouse her mother,

Mae,

had made.

Karen even had the pattern for it as well as a whole

box of vintage patterns. Sewing was a fine art in all

earlier generations and fancy clothes required the

expertise of an excellent seamstress. We are writing

a grant for a special case to display exceptional

pieces like these.

Jack Lingle

donated a 3 HP Fairbanks flywheel

engine/air compressor and air tank which was an

important part of Somers Lumber Co./Great Northern

Railroad history, They used a 6-cylinder w/10

diameter pistons in the power plant to generate

electricity for the mill and railroad tie plant. The large

180 HP was impossible to start by hand so it used

compressed air from several large tanks pumped up

by this compressor unit. The 3 HP was hand

cranked to start. Interestingly the Paul Bunyan

logging tow boat we have used the same exact type

engine and starting unit so this donation is extra

special.

M I S C E L L A N E O U S D O N A T I O N S

C O N T I N U E D

Non-Profit

Postage Paid

Polson, MT

59860

Permit #89

Miracle of America Museum

36094 Memory Lane

Polson, MT 59860

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

19

th

Annual

Live History Days!

Saturday and Sunday, July 18 & 19

Exhibits 10 am to 4 pm • Museum open 8 am to 8 pm

36094 Memory Lane, Polson • 883-6804

• Live demonstrations

• Barbershop haircuts for four bits!

• Rides: Vintage cars, Army vehicles, tractors,

miniature railroad and a railroad speeder

• Music: Old Time Fiddlers, accordions

• Photos • Blacksmith

• Food concessions by Leon 4-H Club

• Guest exhibits welcome!