Fundraiser celebrates Ninepipes Museum

The Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana gave Mission Valley residents a great reason to dress up in their finest togs Jan. 18. The museum’s annual “Black Tie Dinner” and auction fundraiser brought over 150 people to Allentown Restaurant in everything from crisp blue jeans and bolo ties to sparkly black gowns, to celebrate and donate for the bright future of the museum.

Diners were treated to an invocation by Tony Incashola, director of the Selis-Qlispe Culture Committee, and Patience Matt singing “Amazing Grace” in English and in Salish.

The keynote speaker, Bryce Andrews, author of “Down from the Mountain: The Life and Death of a Grizzly Bear,” spoke movingly about the beauty of the grizzly bear and the importance of protecting the species and its habitat into the future.

“The grizzly bear is a walking paradox of bulk and grace,” he said. “I am always humbled by its power.”

“The Mission Mountains,” Andrews said, “maintain every species that met Louis and Clark” on their journey through the region. “This is the southern end of the great northern wilderness.” He told of a grizzly that was being monitored with GPS that was travelling south but stopped when it looked over the development of the Missoula valley and turned around. Yet, the development in Mission Valley impacts them, too, with highway deaths and human interactions. “Right now they still move through the valley,” he said, “but there is more traffic and more trash.” He encouraged the audience to help “make their lives easier” in small ways, such as bear-proof trash cans and electric fencing on gardens, and in large ways, such as curbing subdivision and habitat loss.

“The last 200 years were disastrous for bears,” Andrews said. “It’s up to us to make the next 200 better. If we live well, there will be benefits far beyond this time and space.”

Jacob Baumann, the museum’s board president, was upbeat in his report on the museum’s affairs. In the past 10 years, he said, the museum has retired its debt thanks to the generosity of donors. It has a vibrant volunteer cadre that has added story talks, educational puppet shows, and maintains the nature trail. Money from the fundraiser will help with refurbishing the building’s logs and attending to safety and lighting needs.

The silent and live auctions included many pieces of locally made fine art, including “Post Creek Gang,” an original oil painting by artist (and museum board member) Jan Kauffman, and a handcrafted turquoise and sterling silver jewelry set by Native American artist Joshua Marceau. Donors bid generously. The “VIP Table” for a party of eight at next year’s Black Tie Dinner brought in $1,500.

For the ten years ahead, Baumann foresees bringing the museum up to industry code, including technology, and changing things like lighting and adding plexiglass to protect artifacts from degradation and damage. The board is working to establish an endowment for self-sustainable funding, and seeking to obtain museum accreditation.