Miss Montana aims for Polson Saturday

Airplane and World War II history buffs, as well as supporters of the North Lake County Library, are in for a treat Saturday when Miss Montana, a restored Douglas C-47 lands at the Polson Airport around 2:30 p.m. The plane, along with pilot and author Bryan Douglass, are in town for a library fundraiser that coincides with the county’s centennial celebration.

Two representatives of the North Lake County Library Foundation – Cindy Willis and Nancy Armistead – had a booth at the Courthouse Art Festival last Saturday, where they were attired as Women’s Army Corps members. The duo sold tickets to Saturday’s event, which includes a tour of the plane, a silent auction, and an opportunity to meet Douglass, author of “Every Reason to Fail: The Unlikely Story of Miss Montana and the D-Day Squadron.”

According to Armistead, proceeds will help the library meet its fundraising goal of around $2.2 million to support the major renovation currently underway.

“The community has been wonderful about contributing,” said Armistead. “We think we’re going to make it and this event will certainly help.”

The foundation sponsored a similar fundraiser last year with author Mark Sullivan. “That was very successful so we were interested in having another – something with a little bit different flavor,” Armistead said. “I think the plane has sort of hit upon that.”

The idea of bringing Miss Montana to town was hatched last winter when Willis met Douglass while both were visiting Patagonia, Ariz., and asked if Miss Montana could be flown to Polson from its home at the Museum of Mountain Flying in Missoula. They’ve been working out logistics ever since.

The aircraft (the military version of the DC-3 passenger plane) was built during World War II but completed after the war ended, so it was used instead as a cargo plane and for civilian transport and aerial firefighting efforts. It’s the same airplane that flew 15 smokejumpers to Mann Gulch near Helena on Aug. 5, 1949; of those, 12 died in or from the blaze, as did one member of the ground crew.

After spending 18 years at the museum, the plane was restored in time to be flown to France for the commemoration of the Battle of Normandy in 2019, along with a fleet of other historic war birds. “We sort of look at this mission as finishing what she was built for," Douglass told CBS News at the time.

Because the fundraiser coincides with Lake County’s Centennial Celebration, the foundation board recruited Nila Anderson of Anderson Broadcasting to impersonate the pin-up girl painted on Miss Montana’s nose, while Carol Lynn Lapotka will portray Rosie the Riveter in the centennial parade at 11 a.m.

Willis is the daughter of a naval aviator, who received the Navy Cross, and Armistead’s father earned a Bronze Star for landing in Normandy on day-two of the invasion.

“It’s a real connection for me to see this plane,” she said. “I’d like more people to understand the sacrifices that were made in Normandy.”

She also hopes people understand that good libraries require commitment too. “We want people to contribute to our libraries in the same way people back in World War II contributed to that cause.”

The plane is slated to land at 2:30 p.m. barring any weather challenges or mechanical difficulties, and the ticketed event is from 4-6:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the library, temporarily located in the Methodist Church on 16th Ave. E., online at polsonlibraryfoundation.org or at the event.