Author Archives: Kass Hardy

About Kass Hardy

Hi! I am the Centennial Coordinator for Glacier National Park! As the 10th national park to be designated, we are commemorating our 100th anniversary this year. Come join us as we celebrate the rich history of preservation, while inspiring personal connections and engaging future stewards. For more information on Glacier's Centennial, please visit: www.glaciercentennial.org

Glacier Centennial November eNews!

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November 15, 2009
November eNews

Check out our November newsletter!

Highlights for November and upcoming Highlights for December include:

  • 100 Years, 100 Stories: A View Inside Glacier National Park will be ready December 1, 2009! A special reception is being hosted at the Glacier Association and Glacier National Park Fund Office in Columbia Falls on December 12, 2009 from 11 am- 3 pm.
  • Columbia Falls is hosting a Glacier Centennial Night of Lights– 1910 style on December 4, 2009.
  • Whitefish is hosting a Glacier Centennial Christmas Stroll on December 11, 2009.
  • The Belton Chalet will kick off the New Years on December 31, 2009 with a Belton Centennial evening– including circa 1900 music, food, and flare!
  • Several centennial partners have launched eStores with centennial commemorative products!

As a reminder– details for all of the activities can be found on the Glacier Centennial calendar. In addition, there are CLICKABLE LINKS throughout the eNewsletter!

We hope to see many of you at upcoming activities!

Behind the Scenes of Glacier’s Anniversary Story Book

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November 23, 2009
100 Years, 100 Stories: A View Inside Glacier National Park

As you know, our commemorative story book is on schedule for a December 1st release through the Glacier Association. I thought it might be interesting to share some insights of how this book came to be and share some photos from our press check. It’s powerful to watch a project of this magnitude come together.

It all started with a conversation in the carpool to work from Whitefish. We often share stories of our weekend adventures on Monday mornings. We share, we laugh, and recollect old times. I thought to myself, gosh- what a neat idea this would be for the centennial.

Well, the project launched in December 2008 with a call for stories, poems, and photos. Over a four month window we received over 200 stories from individuals located all over the country and from several other countries.

Through the Centennial Program, we pulled together a selection committee and a ‘light-editing’ committee. These folks read as the stories streamed in, keeping in mind the guidelines for submitting a story, our mission: Celebrate the rich history of preservation, Inspire personal connections and partnerships, and Engage future stewards.

We selected 100 stories that captured ‘A View Inside Glacier National Park.’ First time visitors or visitor experiences was the most popular recurring theme. We have stories from land owners and people who grew up beneath these peaks. We selected stories from employees who work here year round and stories from seasonals. And we chose stories that aspired to make a toast to the park’s 100th birthday– all the while helping us move into the second century of Glacier.

Step 4 was to design the layout and cover. Glacier National Park Interpretive Specialist Bill Hayden assisted greatly in this task. We moved files around, saved them centrally, and worked on three separate computers. We hung proofs on the walls of headquarters, we changed colors and leading, and we mounted quotes on a historic backdrop (among a million other things!!!)

The final stretch was working with the printers. Signing off on proofs and learning about the production: matte vs. gloss, 50 lb vs. 80 lb weight paper, stitched vs. perfect binding.

We are anxious to share the book with everyone! We hope you can join the Glacier Association and Glacier National Park at the unveiling reception on December 12, 2009 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at their new office in Columbia Falls, 402 9th Street West.

Enjoy!
Kass Hardy
Centennial Coordinator

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September 25, 2009
Glacier National Park Invites Students to Celebrate, Inspire, and Engage Through Art for a Postcard Contest
Glacier National Park’s Education Program and the Glacier Association are again sponsoring a postcard contest for K-12 students. As Glacier approaches its 100th anniverary, the focus for this year’s contest relates to the Centennial themes of “Celebrate, Inspire, and Engage.“ In particular, to “engagement“ as the next 100 years of Glacier’s future depends on the participation of today’s youth in helping to protect and preserve park resources.

 

The purpose of the poscard contest is to promote learning and stewardship of Glacier National Park through the creation of messages from local students to future Glacier National Park visitors. First place winning entries in each category will be made into postcards to be given to the visiting public at Glacier Association bookstores throughout the park.

Winners will be announced by the end of November. The first place winning entry in each category will receive a Glacier Association gift certificate for $25 and be made into a free postcard to be handed out at Association sales areas. The second place winner will receive a $15 gift certificate. Third place and honorable mention entries in each category will receive a book from the Association.

The Glacier Association is a non-profit cooperating association of the National Park Service. Glacier Association helps to support Glacier National Park’s educational, interpretive, cultural and scientific program needs.

For complete details, see: The 2009 postcard contest.

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2nd Glacier Centennial FVCC Lecture

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September 23, 2009
Setting the Stage- Describing the Crown Region

It was another successful evening for the Flathead Valley Community College, the hosts of the second Centennial Crown of the Continent Lecture Series.  Presented by Geography Department Chairman Dr. Jim Byrne of the University of Lethbridge, Byrne was tasked with establishing the broader geographical elements that help define the Crown of the Continent.

His canadian spontaneity brought many laughs to the room as he quickly moved into a serious notion regarding the Crown of the Continent’s responsibility in being the headwaters for most of our continent’s watershed. Through graphs and images, Jim illustrated how the region’s water moves west via the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean, south via the Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico, and north via the St. Mary River to Hudson Bay. Byrne explained that the St. Mary drainage is extraordinarily vital to Alberta’s agriculture economy, as many of the other drainages have dried up or are not available throughout the growing season.

He concluded his perspective of the Crown with a case study focusing on Lake Winnipeg. He and his students at the University of Lethbridge are developing a feature film on the pollution pouring into our vast bodies of water. 

Join us for the next centennial lecture:

When: Sept 29, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Description: Defining the Ecology of the Crown of the Continent

This lecture will focus on the unique collision of four major climatic zones, the characteristics and diversity of flora and fauna in the Crown of the Continent, and what distinguishes the Crown of the Continent from neighboring and global ecosystems.

Speaker: Dr. Chris Servheen

For more information about Glacier’s Centennial, please visit: www.glaciercentennial.org

Glacier Centennial: First Peoples, Two Countries, Three Voices

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September 16, 2009
First Peoples, Two Countries, Three Voices
Flathead Valley Community College in partnership with the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) kicked off their Crown of the Continent Centennial Lecture Series last night.

The evening consisted of a conversation with leaders of the Blackfoot Confederacy, Salish-Pend Oreille, and the Kootenai/Ktnuxa nations. Speakers included Herman Many Guns from the Piikani Blackfoot Tribes, Tony Incashola from the Salish Tribes, and Vernon Finley from the Kootenai Tribes.  

Herman Many Guns commenced the conversation with a traditional prayer, a perfect opening to what followed. The dialogue spanned a great deal of wisdom and story telling. Values of each culture were shared- such as that of Vernan Finely’s grandmother’s teaching of the importance of using our five senses to Tony Incashola’s comments on remembering where we all come from.

It was acknowledged by each of the tribes that this was an ideal space for such a series– the location is known as the Village Center to the Kootenai peoples. It happens to be the center of the Crown of the Continent National Geographic Geotourism Map, as well.

The lecture ended with wise words encouraging all people to work together to protect these resources and the special culture that exists here in the Crown of the Continent. Each tribal member expressed their gratitude for their invitation to the table. Vernon regarded that it is not of their interest that such an event exists– instead it is the interest of each of the audience members that the conversation has taken place, suggesting that it is up to us to continue the discussion.

 

 
Join us on Monday for the second lecture:
Sep 21, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Setting the Stage- Describing the Crown Region
Speaker: Dr. Jim Byrne
Flathead Valley Community College Continuing Education Center
For more information on Glacier’s Centennial, please visit www.glaciercentennial.org