Bruington signs on as new museum manager

The future of Havre's past has a new man at the reins.

Last week was the first for the new manager of the the H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum, John Bruington.

The position was vacant for less than a month, after former manager John Gilbert resigned at the beginning of August.

In the interim, Museum Board Chair Judi Dritshulas met with Havre-Hill County Library Director Bonnie Williamson, Hill County Commissioner Jeff LaVoi and Hill County Personnel Director Emily Mayer to interview four of the seven applicants for the position before selecting Bruington.

Dritshulas said she was most impressed with his existing background in similar capacities in the region.

"He had this experience at Fort Laramie and with a strong historical background, " Dritshulas said. "We thought we could put that to good use. "

Bruington, who is a part-time pastor at First Presbyterian Church here in Havre and a columnist on the Havre Daily News' Church page, said that this position represents a great convergence of his personal interest in history and will supplement his work at the church.

"Given my love of history both as a scholar and as a guide, re-enactor and historical interpreter over the years, when the part-time position at the museum came up, it looked like a perfect fit for me, " Bruington said.

At Monday night's museum board meeting, Bruington hit the ground running, offering input on several discussions and throwing out his own ideas, including authoring a second column for the Havre Daily News about local history.

Many of his ideas or contributions were clarified as "something to think about down the road. " With this new perspective, Havre will have to see where the state of local history ends up.