Museum board discusses tepee problem

The tepee in front of the Holiday Village Mall will remain in place, even after it was discovered that someone had been staying in it, H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum Board Chair Judi Dritshulas said at the board’s monthly meeting Monday.

Havre Police reported last month that they found after being called by Holiday Village Mall management that someone had been residing in the tepee, owned by the Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump that is administered by the museum board.

Dritshulas said mall staff later told her that they had found 40 pounds of blankets in the teepee.

Nobody is living in the tepee now, she said this morning.

Dritshulas said during Monday’s meeting that mall manager Chandra Moomey sent her an email asking if the tepee is normally taken down in the winter. Dritshulas said that she told her the display is a permanent structure and cannot be taken down and then put up again.

Dritshulas said she will check when she gets the chance to make sure nobody is staying in the tepee, but doesn’t think anyone else will be camping out in it.

“I just think it was a one-time, freaky thing,” she said.

In other business, Dritshulas said the museum’s annual Dinosaur Christmas Party went well Saturday.

“I think we can call it a success,” Dritshulas said.

She said about 100 children attended the party.

The Dinosaur Christmas Party is held each year in the east end of the Holiday Village Mall outside the museum, where children make Christmas- and dinosaur-themed arts and crafts.

This year’s activities included cookie decorating, decorating salt Christmas ornaments and making beaded candy canes.

Board member Val Hickman said that she went through 80 ornaments this year.

Board Vice Chair Lela Patera said 150 cookies came in a box for cookie decorating and at the end of the two-hour event 50 were left.

Board member Alison Hecker said Corey Pierson, who makes balloon animals for children at community events, provided entertainment and was well-received by children.

“He just deserves to be applauded,” Hecker said. “I mean that line just never ended. It just kept going on and on.”

Patera said one man thanked her for holding the Dinosaur Christmas Party, with his only complaint that organizers needed to have more chairs at the event for parents and spectators to sit down.

“I said, ‘Well, I think we can handle that,’” Patera said.

In her H. Earl and Margaret Turner Clack Memorial Museum Foundation report, foundation President Elaine Morse said the foundation is looking for a new board member.

She said Tyler Smith has stepped down from his position on the board because his work on the Great Northern Fair board has consumed most of his time.

The foundation raises money for the operation of the museum and Wahkpa Chu’gn.

People interested in applying or learning more about the position should contact Dritshulas at 265-9516.

The board approved that the museum will be closed from Jan. 1 to Feb. 6.

For the past few years the museum has closed in January and into February when visitor traffic has traditionally been low so board members and volunteers can clean the museum, make needed repairs and alter displays.

Members agreed to meet every Saturday 9:30 a.m to 12:30 p.m. starting Jan. 6 to clean the museum and change displays.