C.W. Guthrie | The Pony Express, An Illustrated History
On April 3, 1860, a valiant team of riders was poised for an unprecedented feat: ferrying mail 2,000 miles across the continent in just 10 days. “History was made and legends born,” says Ninemile Valley author C.W. Guthrie in her new book, which explores the daring venture that concluded 19 months later with the completion of the transcontinental telegraph line.
She also chronicles the rise and demise of the Russell, Majors and Waddell freighting empire that financed and organized the Pony Express, and ultimately collapsed because of it.
The 80 riders who were hired for the job, says Guthrie, “were young, determined men with a strong sense of responsibility and a giant measure of grit ….”
Armed with only a Colt revolver, they straddled sturdy mustangs and galloped a grueling 75-100 miles, day or night, through all weather conditions and terrain, sometimes outrunning robbers and hostile Indians. And at the end of the ride, they had to be immediately ready to do it again.
The book’s publication coincides… Read more
Celebrating the life and music of Norton Buffalo
Harp maestro Norton Buffalo, who died last October at age 58 after battling lung and brain cancer, will be remembered in three area tribute concerts, July 1 at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Butte, July 2 at the Eagles in Kalispell and July 3 at the Panida Theater in Sandpoint, Idaho. Read more
Bigfork Summer Playhouse swings into 51st season
The Bigfork Summer Playhouse celebrated a half-century of professional summer theatre in 2009 with a new façade and an elegant expansion to its lobby. The menu for its 51st season mixes saucy humor with poignant musical fare in a repertory line-up that includes "Sugar Babies," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "All Shook Up." Read more
Close encounters with Montana Landscapes
The Holter Museum of Art in 2010, the centennial year of Glacier National Park, is taking a new look at Montanan’s relationships to landscape with a new exhibition, “Montana Landscape: The Eye of the Beholder,” featuring more than 70 contemporary Montana painters whose work ranges from watercolor to photo montage, from artists Monte Dolack to Sandra dal Pogetto, from Elizabeth Bass to Ted Waddell. Read more
Festival at Sandpoint: Eclectic season unfolds under the stars
The Festival at Sandpoint celebrates its 28th annual summer concert series, Aug. 5-15, with eight nights of eclectic music under the stars. The festival welcomes back some favorite artists who have performed to sell-out crowds over the past 10 years, including Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Keb’ Mo’, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Natalie MacMaster, as well as new musical guests Brandi Carlile and Michael Franti and Spearhead. Read more
Whitefish Mountain Resort expands zip-line tours
Whitefish Mountain Resort will open its Zip Line Tours and the Alpine Slide on June 18, with mountain biking, scenic lift rides, and Walk in the Treetops Tours set to open June 26. The resort's popular Zip Line Tour was new last summer. The expanded version includes two new zip lines, bringing the total to six and making an average tour about three hours long. Read more • (1) Comments
Storyhill | Shade of the Trees
You’re apt to enter a bit of a dream state with this collection of new folk tunes from the popular Bozeman duo of Chris Cunningham and John Hermanson, who are in the midst of a national tour to promote the new album and organizing their annual songwriting festival, known as Storyhill Fest, near Bozeman. Read more