Phillips County Museum opens on April 1, no foolin'

The staff at the Phillips County Museum, going into its 35th year, spent the winter getting items organized and some of the displays revamped, one of which featuring a World War I machine gun that was stuck in a far off corner.

"It is in our new military display," said PC Museum Curator Lori Taylor. "We found the machine gun in the corner and nobody knew it was here. We had a military display before, but the gun was what started me to change the display for this year."

Taylor said the paperwork on the machine gun says it was loaned from the American Legion, but other than that, not much is known about the weapon. The overhauled military display features items from many wars which the United States have fought in and is also the new home of a mounted American eagle that used to resides with the rest of the taxidermy in the museum and originally was displayed in the Edwards & McLellan Family Store in Malta and is from the Harold Lieb Family Collection.

"A lot of this stuff was in this display before, but we are trying to tell a story with them and get them organized," she said. "We try to change a couple of displays each year."

The display also highlights some of the military contributions made by women in times of war, including a uniform from the Military Order of the Cootie of the United States, a non-profit veteran service founded in New York City in 1920 and who during World War II provided entertainment for hospitalized troops and veterans.

"They worked out of the local VFW," said Taylor. "This uniform came from Harold Schmoeckel. Until we got this uniform, I didn't realize that (the Cootie bug emblem) is on some of the tables at our local VFW."

Some new items at the PC Museum this year include nearly two dozen plates with various scenes of Montana emblazed on them. Taylor said Gene Taylor had a friend stop by and visit while on a trip headed to Helena. The plates were in the friend's possession as she made her way to the state capital as she intended to donate the plates to the Montana Historical Society.

"She came over and saw our museum and thought that it was so spectacular that she decided to leave them here," Taylor said. "She gave us the whole set and they are mostly from the 1940's and 50's so that is really neat."

Another new exhibit this year features a silver, Great Northern Railroad Table Service donated by Robert, Elizabeth A. (Murdock), Jeff and Theresa Schlieve. The display tell the story of a time when dinning cars became popular on trains.

"We have had it for quite a while, but we haven't had it in this display," Taylor added.

Taylor said that while the museum was closed over the winter, volunteers donated many hours of their time to get things looking top notch for the spring opening. Taylor thanked Wilma Mavencamp, Rose Teske, Rosemary Veseth and Karla Sudbrack for all the time they spent volunteering.

"They did so much work on helping with the changing of displays," she said.

The PC Museum will open its doors on Friday, April 1 – no joke – and will be open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

"Stop in to see our new exhibits," Taylor encouraged. "We look forward to seeing you."