Executive Board of Directors

Gil Mangels, President

Cathleen Wilde, VP

Mel Adams, VP

Nancy Pray, secretary

Joanne Mangels, Treasurer

Gracia Normandeau Jones

Kendall Dupuis

Mike Maddy

Stan Cohen

Ned Wilde

Advisory Board of Directors

Jim Pomajevich

Are you interested?

A Non-Profit 501(c) (3) Corporation • 81-0437386

36094 Memory Lane Polson, MT 59860 406-883-6804

www.miracleofamericamuseum.org

•

info@miracleofamericamuseum.org

June-July-August 2011 QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

48 States and

worldwide visitors

come in spite of rains

Spring has come a little late this year. With so

much rain and cold weather, visitors ask if we are

going to relaunch the Paul Bunyan - however we

have had no flooding here. Our prayers go out to folks

in other parts of the country who have experienced

floods, tornados, fires and the various infirmities of

life. The museum has done well in spite of the

depressing weather and depressed general economy.

Canadian currency is presently near par with the US

dollar and that means more Canadian visitors are

visiting. So far in 2011 we have had visitors from 48

states, 18 International countries and seven Canadian

Provinces.

Several schools and daycares have

visited this spring. According to one

teacher, her students voted on whether

to come here or a trip to Missoula and

we won hands down. Children like it so

much they often bring their parents and

siblings back.

A favorite attraction is the barrel

train pulled by a rare one-cylinder

tractor.

Kara, of Bishop Sign Works

donated the smily face decal for the

barrel front which the children are sure

is Thomas The Train. We've loaned this

to Boys & Girls clubs and it is busy all

day long, usually two kids per car.

Barrel train

pleases kids;

Really gets around!

A huge salute of thanks to our

New and Renewing Members:

Life Memberships:

George and Brenda Brimhall,

Bert and Grace Poloson

Family Memberships:

Tamara Fisher

Chuck and Penny Jarecki

Andrew and Diane Speer

Sustaining Memberships

First Interstate Bank

Glacier Bank

Bud Mangels

Mimi and Irv Milheim

Moody's Market

Carmine Mowbray

Joy Skaggs

Western State Ins.

Whitefish Credit Union

MISCELLANEOUS DONATIONS

Ken Bales

- 20-pound gas tailoring iron

(ironing all day really built muscles) see below;

Bob Skans

- three 1930s radiator shells,

Dodge, Durant and Chevy;

Howard Hudson

brought in a circa 1950s

pair of Wee Walker shoes in their original box,

and a Wayne Newton Record w/dust jacket.

Wayne (Mr. Las Vegas) and his daughter Lauren

were our first museum visitors of 2011;

Charley Kosker and Joe Shields

- a large, rare

and beautiful sea turtle shell;

Leroy Lau

- Advertising matchbooks from early

Polson businesses and a poster circa late 40s for an

Arlee dance - 50 cent admission and 25 cent supper;

Gary Riebe -

Raised letter sign machine,

24"x24" paper cutter and lots of letters and materials

with which to make signs.

Theresa Oakland

- who is moving, wondered if

we could utilize a working 1939 GE refrigerator in

our soda fountain area. It is the first year GE had the

refrigeration unit under the refrigerator instead of on

top (Monitor) and it fits perfectly in that area to chill

water, juice and cheese snacks. Dick Schulz & his

driver, Jerry, of

Schulz Refrigeration

picked up and

delivered the heavy unit.

Frank Heberling

- Household utensils and a rare

plug tobacco cutter, pictured below.

Polson, Montana

Newsletter layout courtesy of

Carmine Mowbray of

Can You Help?

We need another small building (say 8x10 to

12x24) to display a functional shoe shop. If you

have such a building that is solid enough to move,

and you wish to donate, please let us know.

In Sympathy

We offer our sympathy and prayers to the families of

Dorothy Tode, Jewel Stonehocker, Tom Funke and

Wendell Burrowes. Dorothy and her husband Chuck,

were Lifetime Members. Jewel and her husband,

George, donated numerous items of local significance.

Tom Funke's photo and flight bag are on display in our

"Four generations of Funkes" display in our military

section. Wendell was always helpful with restoring our

antique cars.

Jim

Burrowes

, his son, donated a 1971

Arctic Cat Panther 292 snowmobile, a battery charger

and miscellaneous automotive tools in his father's

memory.

FEATURED DONERS-

THE

KASTELLA FAMILY

had been in a Nazi supply warehouse as they are in

never-used condition. They include a complete

helmet, canteen, cup, rare Shako police hat, belts

with buckles and a Luftwaffe bread bag. In used

condition are the KAR 98 Standard German

infantry rifle, Luftwaffe tunic, and hat, and Nazi

paper" jubilation" flags for parades. The latter

were very important for parade viewers as anyone

not showing allegiance to the Nazi party or

"Heiling" Hitler would be sentenced to a labor

camp or shot.

WWII Nazi Spoils of War added to collection

Ettie, (Mrs. Norman Kastella) and most of her

six daughters donated Norman's uniform and

Ettie's "sweetheart" jewelry pin. Norm was a tech

Sgt. In the Army Engineers. They tried to capture

enemy bridges before the Nazis could blow them

up. If they couldn't do that they repaired them

and/or set up pontoon bridges so the Allies could

keep advancing.

Most GIs brought home souvenirs (spoils of

war). Norm was no exception. Some of the items

Timely, Knowledgeable Assistance

While leaving for the Memorial Day Parade, one

of the four vehicles we entered, the Freedom Truck

quit running. Evidently, ethanol in the gas had ruined

the fuel pump diaphragm.

Hal Houghton, of Classic

Preservation

donated a new one and the truck is

purring again. Please check out his website to see if he

could be of service getting your antique or classic car

back on the road:

www.classicpreservation.com

Gil's newest sculpture rings out

Gil has completed "Ring Out Wild Bells," a

sculpture made of a piano harp, scrap iron and

various cylinders, creating an amazing array of bell

tones

The bell ringers pictured at right are Shane and

Lealyn Feightner, son and granddaughter of Gil's

good friend and black powder shooter during Live

History Days, the late Russell Feightner.

Non-Profit

Postage Paid

Polson, MT

59860

Permit #89

Miracle of America Museum

36094 Memory Lane

Polson, MT 59860

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Membership

Membership to the Miracle of America

Museum is tax-deductible and allows you free

admission, newsletters and 10% discount in our

gift shop.

We really appreciate our supporters who

remember to send donations.

A star beside your name on the address label

means this may be the last newsletter you receive

unless we hear from you. If you wish to remain

on our mailing list, please let us know.

Family membership: $25 to $99

Annual Sustaining: $100 to $199

Corporate Sustaining: $200 to $999

Lifetime: $1000 or above

Thank you very much for your support

They say only two things in life are

certain: death and taxes. Well, that means we

can't always guarantee who will show up and

be an exhibitor at our annual event. Death,

illness and employment issues have affected

the ranks of our "regulars." At least two

of our most faithful demonstrators had to

move out-of-state to obtain jobs.

Live History Days will take place

anyway. Confirmed for both days -

Lord willing - are ice cream treats at

the fountain; rides on two trains and

two or three Army rigs, spinners and

a wood carver; the

popular "Country

Combo" of fiddlers,

pickers, singers and

accordionist will entertain

Saturday afternoon for your listening and

dancing pleasure. See the sawmill in action;

the jet trainer cockpit will be open for viewing

and photo ops.

The steam train and a steam tractor will

probably be fired up. Watch the tennis ball

cannon, blacksmith shop, some of our whirling

flywheel engines and historic movies in the

meeting room. We hope to have a reader in the

one-room schoolhouse.

Join the fun! Sell your wares!

Be part of history!

We welcome new exhibitors and volunteers!

Vendors must have a direct link to things

historical i.e. soap making, broom making,

pottery, beading, etc. Call to check.

Demonstrators may sell their handmade wares.

One of our favorite demonstrations was a

broom maker who was just passing through and

visiting relatives. He almost sold out.

Persons interested in driving or

operating items in the museum

collection should contact Gil well in

advance, for orientation and

familiarization. Call us at 883-6264.

LIVE HISTORY DAYS -

the

SHOW MUST GO ON!

Saturday and Sunday July 16 and 17