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Gov. to sign bill naming Bardanouve Wing of Capitol

Gov. Brian Schweitzer is scheduled to sign a bill into law Thursday naming a wing of the Capitol after a legendary Hi-Line legislator.

At 11 a. m. Schweitzer will sign a bill sponsored by Sen. Dave Wanzenreid, D-Missoula, naming the first floor of the east wing of the Capitol after Harlem Rep. Francis Bardanouve.

His wife, Venus Bardanouve, said this morning that her husband, who died in 2002, would have downplayed the honor and said that he didn't deserve it.

"Others have felt his contributions were worthy of this, " she said.

Libby Kuntz of Harlem, Bardanouve's daughter, said the 36-year representative — who served 20 years as chair of the House Appropriations Committee — had many friends in Havre and on the Hi-Line.

"We want them to know they are welcome to attend, " Kuntz said.

She added that the family appreciates the work done by many renaming the wing, including Wanzenreid, former head analyst of the Legislative Fiscal Division Terry Cohea, and former Great Falls Tribune reporter Tom Kotynski.

Bardanouve was born in 1917, and grew up working on the family farm and ranch near Harlem.

In 1958 he was elected to the House, and is credited with inspiring and mentoring many legislators — in the House and in the Senate — in his 36 years serving as a state lawmaker.

Bardanouve was considered a social liberal and fiscal conservative, always pushing to help state residents while maintaining a solidly balanced budget. He is credited with reforming the state's institutions for people with mental illnesses and people with disabilities. He also helped create the modern form of Montana government, including creation of the three nonpartisan services providing information and advice to the Legislature, including the Fiscal Division.

Those legislative services are housed in the wing being named in Bardanouve's honor.

Bardanouve retired from the Legislature in 1994, although he remained active in politics.

Bardanouve died in 2002. He was still active in his family farming and ranching operation near Harlem throughout his life.

In 2002, the Harlem Post Office was named after Bardanouve. The retired representative lived long enough to see U. S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, who served with the Harlem legislator in the state House, sponsor the bill to rename the Post Office.

Venus Bardanouve said several members of the Bardanouve family will be at the event Thursday.

"It's going to be memorable for all of us, " she said.

Kuntz said Francis Bardanouve had many close friends in the region and in Helena.

"Francis was always a gentleman and had friends on both sides of the aisle, " she said.

She added that her father had almost a photographic memory and was a self-educated man.

"He was a financial genius, but he was just a very far-thinking man, "Kuntz added. "He was always concerned about the future of Montana."

He was very proud of his work reforming the state institutions, she said. Having grown up with a severe speech impediment due to a cleft lip and palate — Kuntz said that, as a child and young man, his friends and family had to order for him in restaurants — that work was one of his greatest achievements.

Bardanouve used to take a sleeping bag and camp out at state institutions over weekends to see what the conditions really were like.

As a self-educated man, he also was proud that Montana State University in Bozeman awarding him an honorary doctorate, the same day that Venus Bardanouve received one.

"It was kind of a special thing, " Kuntz said. "He was always a great supporter of education, as much as was fiscally responsible."

That fiscal responsibility also was legendary.

"That was something I heard a lot, Francis held the purse-strings of Montana, " Kuntz said.

The honor Thursday would have meant a lot to her father, she said, although he never sought attention and was generally self-deprecating.

"He really cared about future generations and what he would leave behind, " she said. "It's just in honor of a real gentleman and statesman. "

 

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