CM Logo

 

Mansion Monthly

August 2014

40 years gift to city

Greetings from the Mansion!

For many folks, the month of August means that summer is coming to a close.  Visits to the lake, boat rides, swimming and other water sports will soon become vacation memories.  However, one of the places you can still visit beyond the traditional vacation season is the Conrad Mansion.  Tours of this elegant historic home continue until October 15th.  The Mansion is open Tuesday through Sunday with the first tour beginning at 10 am and the last tour starting at 4 p.m.  Reservations are not required.    

 

In December, the Mansion celebrates a 40-year milestone.  The city of Kalispell agreed to accept ownership of this historic home from Alicia Conrad Campbell, Mr. Conrad's youngest daughter.  Community support over the years has allowed us to mark this anniversary. We are grateful for your continued support!

Gennifer, Margot & the Mansion Staff

                              

 

The Mansion Continues to Make News!

  
The Spring/Summer 2014 edition of the Local Guide to Flathead Businesses contains a full page article featuring the Mansion's upcoming 40th anniversary.  The 600-word article can be found on page 30.  Click here.



The Mansion staff is grateful to the Local Guide's editorial staff for including the Mansion in their publication.  The Mansion continues to draw visitors from around the world who contribute to the overall economy of the local community.
 
 
"A Glimpse at Downton Abbey Era Fashions at the Conrad Mansion 1912-1923" 

Clothing Exhibit Continues through October 15


       
Above are two items worn in bed by fashionable ladies in the 1920s.  The bed  jacket,  a short robe worn to cover the nightgown, was used if a woman was receiving guests while in bed.  This example features silk and Battenburg lace with a satin ribbon.  A bed or boudoir cap was used to cover messy hair before dressing or to protect a hairstyle.  This frilly cap is silk and lace with ribbon flowers and bow trim.

The white cotton nightgown with ribbon rose trim, pictured  below, is typical of the period.   


These boudoir clothing items, part of this season's historic clothing exhibit, are on display in the Mansion's Violet Bedroom.

For specific details on this wonderful clothing exhibit, including pictures of Downton Abbey characters wearing similar clothing styles, click here.  

 

Volunteer Teresa Knutson coordinates the historic clothing exhibit assisted by Sarah Safford.  Thank you both!     

 
Back in the day - The Bathing Suit  

During the early 1900s, visiting oceanside beaches were popular activities. Men enjoyed swimming, surf bathing and diving.  Women, on the other hand, only romped through the waves; their bathing suits were clumsy and burdensome.  Conservative women favored the black or navy blue knee-length, puffed sleeve wool outfits, often decorated with a nautical trim.  In contrast,  brightly colored or striped bathing suits were all the rage at fashionable sea-shore resorts. The vintage postcard at the beginning of this newsletter features a stylish bathing beauty who also sports coordinating slippers and cap. 


This black wool bathing suit is on display in the Antique Bedroom.  It may have been worn by the petite Alicia Conrad who would have been in her teens when the suit was in fashion.  The suit originally had a skirt which attached to buttons at the waist and could be removed when wading.

The 1908 Sears catalogue features three different bathing suit styles.  The description reads: "These bathing suits can also be used as gymnasium suits.  We would advise that you purchase your supply of bathing suits, slippers, caps, etc. as early in the season as possible, thus taking advantage by being prepared for the bathing season as soon as it starts."   A timeless advertising axiom! 
BSA Venture Crew 2293 Community Service Benefits the Conrad Mansion

Thank you!


  

Thanks to the Boy Scouts of America Venture Crew 2933 and the Kalispell Elks Lodge, the Mansion's annual 4th of July Ice Cream Social sported 70 refurbished, glistening white chairs for its guests. The crew took on the job of restoring the aging folding chairs used by the Mansion for its indoor and outdoor events.

 

Scouts Isiah Barnett, Sarah Hepner, Jessica Greene and Kian Saadi, under the direction of Sam Montayne, Claudia Hepner, Alan Hepner and Kari Saadi, sanded, painted and tightened the joints of 70 chairs. The brushes and other supplies needed were provided by the Kalispell Elks Lodge while the paint was donated by Columbia Paint and Coatings. Chuck Olson Real Estate loaned the use of his office building's basement to complete the painting since the day selected for the project was cool and rainy.

 

During the Ice Cream Social, Flathead High School Braves scooped ice cream, donated by Norm's News, for hundreds of visitors.

A Trivia Question...
 

How many out-of-town bus tours  have already visited or are on the calendar to visit the Mansion during the 2014 season?

 

  1.  10  

 

2.  14

 

3.  17

 

Look for the answer in

September's Newsletter.  

 

************* 

 

JULY ANSWER:   

 

Four (4) weddings  

were held on the Mansion grounds during July 2014

Current  Exhibit ...  
 

******  


Upcoming Events ...   

Nooks and Crannies Tours
September 22
October 13
first tour at 3 pm
last tour at 6 pm
(Tickets on sale now!)

*****


Ghosts Tours
October 3 & 4

******

Introducing 
New Guides  
Nancy Helgath
Nancy writes: Whitefish was our home for over thirty years, when the two kids left home it was time to down size and thus we moved to Juniper Bend Dr. in Kalispell, we are on the golf course with a beautiful view of the mountains and the Stillwater River runs below us..what more could we ask?
 

In the early 70's we would drive by the mansion and felt sad to see such a once beautiful old place, with a trailer in back, in such disarray and hoped that someday it could be brought back to the days when the Conrads lived there.  So when it began to come back to life with the help of so many and Sam Bibler and his crew we kept close tags on it and watched it develop into the stately and proud place it is today.  I am very happy and proud to be a part of the mansion today.  

 

For 27 years I taught at Central School in Whitefish, I really did love to teach, but as the years passed and my workload increased (I taught English and Lit.) mounds of papers to correct  and seeing about 120 different students a day, I thought it was now time to hang it up...but, I still miss it. In all the years we lived in Whitefish we took advantage of down hill skiing, cross country, hiking, boating etc. until we decided a few years ago to spend 5 months in the winter down in Green Valley, Arizona.

 

We still play golf and are members (after 25 years) at the Whitefish golf course, where we have been grandfathered in.  

*****  

Stephanie Woodland 

"My name is Stephanie and I am going to be a sophomore at Flathead in the fall. I simply love to learn, the arts, and volunteering. In addition, I really enjoy planning and organizing events and projects. After high school, I would like to go to college, and later med school with the intention of becoming a medical researcher with an organization such as the United Nations World Health Organization. I decided to look into being a guide at the mansion because I adore history and meeting new people, so this job fit perfectly. Plus, the extra practice in public speaking can never hurt! Thus far, I have thoroughly enjoyed being a guide and hope to return as a guide in coming summers!"

*****  


Become a Member
 
Individual and Business members of the Conrad Mansion Museum receive...

*Unlimited Free Admission
*10% Discount in Gift Shop
(except consignment items)
*Discounts on Special Events
*Subscription to Newsletter
*Special Invitation to our Annual Member Appreciation Party

You can make a difference!
 
Please consider providing a donation or a lasting personal legacy that will positively impact future generations.  

You can support educational programs, support publications utilizing our documents, and help with brick & mortar projects to maintain the home.
 
As a 501(c)(3) corporation, any contribution to the Museum is tax deductible.
 
Give us a call at 406-755-2166 or visit our website for more information.
At Your Service
  
Executive Director: Gennifer Sauter
Assistant Manager: Margot Jaumotte
Office Admin: Mary Lou Lumpkin
Media Coordinator: Mary Miers
Maintenance: Tisch Haas
Gardener: Dave Leger
Guide & Gift Shop Staff:
Cindy Connor
Sharon Pearson
Michelle Morgan
Virginia Swan
Mary Meister
Karissa White
Janae Barron
Alexa Lamers
Shalom Baer
Nancy Helgath
Stephanie Woodland

Board Of Directors:
Sue Corrigan, President
Vanessa Ceravolo, Vice-President
Everit Sliter, Treasurer
Catherine Weber, Secretary
Mark Norley
Teri Iwersen
Beth Collier
Gary Havens
Rita Fitzsimmons
Chris Vick, Family Representative
Diane Queen Miller
Celeste Pace
Katharine Thompson

Regular Volunteers:
Heather Houseworth
Debra Johnson
Teresa Knutson
Marilyn Reynolds
Sarah Safford
Lana Bowers
Marlene Strand
Miriam Emerson

Where is this in the Mansion?

 

 

 There are so many unique items and features of the Mansion!     

 

Do you know where this is? Drop us an email if you know.  Answer will be in next month's newsletter.

 

 

The image depicted last month is the ornate lower half of the door brace found on the upper portion of the Mansion's front-entry Dutch door.

 

 

Conrad Mansion Museum
330 Woodland Avenue
Kalispell, MT  59901

406-755-2166

Small outside pic