History comes alive at Miracle of America Museum
VIETNAM VETERAN Henry Pieper of Pablo gears up to drive three girls around The Miracle of Museum’s Live History Days on Saturday, July 21 in a 1963 Ford Jeep. (Ashley Fox/Lake County Leader)
ELIJAH CAMEL, 17, of Pablo, rides a tank at Live History Days in Polson at The Miracle of America Museum Saturday, July 21. Camel volunteered at the event, showing visitors how different equipment once worked. (Ashley Fox/Lake County Leader)
An old green military tank weaved its way around a fairly narrow path, its driver watching out for pedestrians and other vehicles.
Sawdust billowed as a man cut aged logs, demonstrating how an old saw works.
As mutiple pieces of equipment from history came to life in the late morning sun Saturday, Gil Mangels, owner of The Miracle of America Museum in Polson, stopped to talk with everyone he saw, making sure they were seeing how everything worked, once upon a time.
Live History Days has been offered for a full three decades, giving patrons and tourists a glimpse at history in motion.
“We wanted to show how things work,” Mangels said.
Some of the equipment needs tuned through the years, and finding ethanol-free fuel as well is expensive.
“It’s a lot of fun. People have a lot of fun,” he said.
On the biggest weekend of the year, Mangels stopped a family wearing Philadelphia garb, asking how they heard of the museum.
One man replied that they were driving cross-country, and “googled” things to do, which led them to Live History Days.
Helping to bring the day to life, Mangels has friends who volunteer throughout the day.
Vietnam War veteran Henry Pieper of Pablo was one of the volunteers, along with his family, helping Mangels.
Driving an M151-A1 1963 Ford Army issue Jeep with a deactivated machine gun, Pieper pointed out various points of interest along the “tour” of different buildings around the property.
Pieper, who’s known Mangels for as long as he can remember, said the annual event is something he looks forward to, as well as driving the Jeep for his friend in parades and other outings.
Live History Days have been hosted by The Miracle of America Museum for 30 years, according to Mangels.
The idea of the event came about “many years ago, we wanted to show how the things worked,” Mangels explained.
Over the course of the years, he said that many people who knew how to use and demonstrate some of the machines have passed away, making the event sometimes challenging.
“It takes a lot to get things tuned up,” he said, adding that volunteers help to make the annual event happen.