Never too old to learn a new word

Ovando Museum hosted five local citizens June 25 for recognition of being Nonagenarians, people 90-99 years old. Irene Weaver, her sister Norma Hughes, Whitey (Charles)Whitehead, Jack Hooker and Peggy Wittrock were the honorees.

About 30 family, friends and community members attended. The honorees shared stories and memories from years past.

"The purpose of the event was to recognize, admire and appreciate the wisdom from their experiences of life," said Barb McNally, Museum board member. "It was kind of a kick-off event for the seasonal opening of the museum Memorial Day Weekend."

The honorees led a variety of lifestyles from Roman riding (also known as trick riding), wrangling wild horses and outfitting, World War II flying bombers and ranchers. A display board exhibits short biographies and photos of the honorees.

"It was a fun, fun afternoon. I really enjoyed every minute of it," said Irene Weaver. "It was nice of Cindy (Poett) to get the ball rolling."

Many of the honorees have lived in the Blackfoot Valley for up to 70 years.

"It was interesting to hear about the changes around Ovando," said Terry Sheppard, Museum board member.

"It was quite an honor for the honorees with an interesting display," said Wanda (Weaver) Anderson. "I hope people take the time to go to the museum and read the histories."

Yearly the museum board selects a topic to honor with a display. Other topics have included local ranch and school history. The display will be up until the Museum closes after Labor Day. Summer hours are 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. weekends, or by appointment.

In other Ovando Museum news, Ed Townsend, of Kalispell, father of Angela Townsend author of "The Pathway of Life," visited the Museum April 26. He presented a copy of the book to the museum and will bring more copies for the museum to sell later this summer. Some of the stories and photos will be on display at the museum.

During his visit, Townsend shared a brief history about the Sperry family and Fannie Sperry Steele, 1913 Women's Saddle Bronc World Champion. After retiring from rodeo, Steele and her husband retired to be outfitters and guides as well as raise horses at their ranch on Arrastra Creek, east of Ovando. She was the first woman licensed to be an outfitter/guide in Montana.