406 woman august september 2009 by 406 Woman

altogether different

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2009

WOMAN

406

Complimentary

4  406 WOMAN

August/September 2009

FEATURES

GETAWAY

12 A THOUSAND WORDS Through a Livingston photographer's lens

73 OVANDO, MONTANA The good old days in a small town

22 ANIMAL RESCUER Feeding animals in Missoula and beyond

OUTDOOR WOMAN

30 WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE A Bigfork woman studies wolves 88 LIVE, LOVE AND RIDE HORSES Gentle training breeds true unity

ENTERTAINMENT 44 SAIL AWAY Maritime merriment in the Flathead

SPIRITS

42 WALLA WALLA WINE TOUR Washington wines 101

FOODS&FLAVORS 34 RISING SUN BISTRO Channeling French cuisine

ARTS&CULTURE 77 FINDING BALANCE Artist, wife and mother does it all

HISTORIC WOMAN EDUCATION 86 SPORTING WOMEN Red light women of Whitefish

18 HISTORY OF SCHOOL FINANCE Understanding education funding

COMMUNITY

HEALTH&WELLNESS

52 BUILT BY STUDENTS Thirteenth student-built house in Kalispell

54 BOOSTING METABOLISM Gain to lose

63 FUNDING THE FLATHEAD Whitefish organization lends a hand

71 HORMONES & MENOPAUSE Enjoying sex after menopause

FAMILY

79 HOT YOGA FOR EVERYONE The healing heat

29 GLACIER NATIONAL PARK FUND Behind the scenes

17 MOMMA AIN'T HAPPY Gardening with children

HOME&GARDEN 80 CUSTOM FIT An eclectic offering in Whitefish

82 CUTTING GARDEN Fresh cut flowers from your yard

GREEN LIVING

21 DISCOVERING MICROFIBER Chemical-free cleaning

Cover Model Sarah Nargi, M.D. is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, artist, wife and mother of two who lives and practices medicine in Whitefish. Hair & Styling by Danni Ashe Wardrobe courtesy of Danni Ashe & Fashion Finds Jewelry courtesty of Fashion Finds in Columbia Falls Make up & Cover Shot by Jenny Steven 6  406 WOMAN

64 GROWING UP GLACIER Sisters find callings in the outdoors

27 FEELING ALL YOUR FEELINGS Steps to emotional wellness

84 THE TRUTH ABOUT CHANGE Change as the only constant

SHOP TALK

40 A FRIEND IN FIXTURES Two decades of perfect fixtures 50 FINDING COMMON GROUND

Sisters share store's success

IN EVERY ISSUE

56 PROFESSIONAL PROFILES Bella Colour Salon Insty Prints Safeguard Inventory Services Medi-Lift Face & Body Solutions 33 Baker Hair n' Body Integrity Property Management Mountain West Bank Big Sky Designs New Image Concepts Aspen Insurance

90 SHOPPING NOTE: Although we take utmost care and consideration with our content, unfortunately, mistakes are inevitable. Please excuse the following oversight: In the photographs accompanying the June/July article, “Babes in the Bob,” Peggy Edgar and Laurie Siemens names are transposed.

from 406 WOMAN ACROSS OUR DESKS It’s our second issue with a new team, and here at 406 Woman, we're not only going strong but we’re growing stronger, too. With this issue, we’re holding steady with our higher page count (92!) and continuing our upward swing. Our team is expanding and so is our coverage area. In the following pages we’re pleased to introduce women

Publisher Cindy Gerrity cindy@montanasky.net

from not only the Flathead but also from Missoula (Karyn Moltzen, page 22) and Livingston (Audrey Hall, page 12).

Editor Olivia Koernig o.koernig@yahoo.com

Ultimately, our goal is to become an interactive statewide resource for all Montana women. But we recognize the strength of our out-of-state sisters as well. That’s why we’re proud to welcome a new columnist—Kandace Chapple—whose parenting column (page 17) will breathe a little humor into our

Business Manager Daley McDaniel daley@montanasky.net

pages. As usual, we welcome your feedback, suggestions and ideas. One of our columnists, life coach Dru

Chief Photographer Jenny Steven jenny@jstevenpro.com

Rafkin Jackman (page 84), even wants to tackle your life issues. So give us a flip, see what moves you and let us know.

Cheers,

Layout & Design Vanessa Gailey vanessa@bloomcreativellc.com

Cindy and Olivia

Contributing Designer/Photographer Sara Joy Pinnell ayourartisan@yahoo.com

6477 Hwy 93 S Suite 138, Whitefish, MT 59937 406-862-1545 info@406woman.com

Photography Intern Brent Steiner steinerbw@gmail.com

10  406 WOMAN

is a native of Bigfork. She owns and operates The Jug Tree, Bigfork’s Liquor and Wine Shop, in downtown Bigfork. Her father established the business in 1949. She is celebrating the store’s 60th anniversary this year! She is very active in her local community and also serves on the FVCC College Foundation Board and the board of the Glacier Symphony & Chorale. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling with her dog, Frankie.

Award winning photographer Jessica Lowry specializes in documentary, portrait and commercial photography. After earning a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia, she worked for several newspapers in the Southeast including The State in South Carolina and The Chattanooga Times Free Press in Tennessee. Now a freelance photographer based in Whitefish, her work has appeared in Montana Magazine, The Flathead Beacon and SkyWest Magazine. She is also available for weddings through her studio modwestphoto.com.

Artist, visionary, lover. Always in pursuit of passion in the art of photography, he is co-founder of angel-glass photography, a cooperation of artists seeking to reveal love, art and life in imagery. Based in the Flathead Valley, their work can be viewed at angel-glassphotography.com.

is the mother of two wonderful daughters, and the grandmother of Ahlwynn, her amazing five-year-old grandson. Her most important life discovery: All grandmothers are allowed to brag about their grandchildren! When she is not bragging about her grandson, she is working at her store, A-1 Vacuum, Sewing and Janitorial Supply. She loves exchanging information with her customers and believes that great ideas are made greater when shared. Responding to customer suggestions, she turned A-1 Vacuum into “A One Stop Cleaning Shop.”

Bed & Breakfast

on the Swan River 11 secluded acres a perfect getaway Special gatherings or corporate events Five unique rooms all with private bath call for your unique Montana getaway (406) 837-1153 www.riverbendlodgebigfork.com 406 WOMAN  11

A Thousand Words

12  406 WOMAN

by OLIVIA KOERNIG photos by AUDREY HALL

he wasn’t even supposed to be a photographer. She was supposed to be an architect. It was only at the end of her studies that Audrey Hall’s interest in photography took flight. And from then on, there was really no looking back. “I’ve always made things,” Hall said. “I drew. I wrote. My mother wanted me to go to art school, but I was always more practical. I mean, you can’t eat paint.” So Hall, who lives south of Livingston, settled on architecture, a discipline she found interesting and compelling, but with the added benefit of a realistic career possibility. “As well as my creativity, I have a sort of analytical, mathematical side,” Hall said. “I felt like architecture addressed both of those sides.” PORTRAIT OF SCOTLAND During her college years, Hall applied for and was awarded a Rotary scholarship, which took her to Scotland for a year-long study abroad program. In the year before she went, she took a few photography courses as electives—and she fell in love with it. “When I got to Scotland, although I enrolled in architecture, I talked my way into a dual study program, which isn’t really done there. They made an exception for me,” Hall said. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into.” It turned out she was getting herself into a position to study under Thomas Joshua Cooper, who was running the photography

406 WOMAN  13

PHOTOS: top left - Detail - Blacksmith at Fire Mountain Forge. Livingston, Montana. top right - Lucky Color Green - Stormy Fink, Barrel Racer, Team Roper, Break Away, Goat Tying and Pole Bending. Shepherd, Montana. bottom left - Modern Dust Bowl - woman in Santa Fe, New Mexico. page 12 -Singer/songwriter Jenny Rene’ from her upcoming CD Highway of Dreams.

school. Cooper had apprenticed under American photography master Minor White. And Hall was getting a life-changing education. “I don’t know why he even let me talk my way in,” Hall said. “Thomas Joshua Cooper was a large, gruff man, but an amazing teacher. It was a transformative experience.” CRASH COURSE After completing her degree in architecture at Montana State University, Hall pursued her career in photography. Since she wasn’t fully educated as a photographer, she learned along the way, a habit she carries with her today, more than 20 years later. “I tend to read a lot and take a lot of workshops,” Hall said. “I would say at least 10-20 percent of what I do every day is learning something new.” In the beginning, Hall was teaching herself about aperture and lighting and attention to light—its color and intensity—and how it relates to the subject, whether a building or person. Then she advanced to learning things like how aperture and depth of field affect a picture. “I learned to use the camera as a tool to express a kind of language,” Hall said. “Then layered on top of that is the art component and color and all that’s involved with photography as an artistic medium.” 14  406 WOMAN

DIGITAL DIARY Obviously, Hall got the hang of it. Then came the onslaught of digital photography, what Hall calls “a whole new game.” She began educating herself on software and computers and how to calibrate monitors and deal with hard drive crashes and backing up files. “It’s been exciting. Film is really limited and digital is virtually unlimited. It’s shocking what you can do,” Hall said. “It almost needs another name—not just photography.” The digital era has affected the business aspect of Hall’s photography as well. In the old days, she mailed out a portfolio when she was seeking work. Then she’d turn the film into prints and deliver them. Today, Hall

PHOTOS: top left - The Werner Quartet brave a Montana winter for their 2008 concert series. Springhill, Montana. right -The Jeni Fleming acoustic trio for their CD Once Around the Sun. Paradise Valley, Montana. bottom left -Converging Tracks from the 2009 exhibition gelatinsilver series Fast Break. Wilsall, Montana.

works with editors all over the country, many of whom she’s never met or even spoken to over the phone. “They email me specs, I do the job and then I don’t see anything until publication,” she said. “I’ve been hired strictly off my website, which I find sort of bizarre.” NAME DROPPING Among her credits, Hall counts The New York Times, Big Sky Journal, Montana Living, Mountain Living, Architectural Digest and Victoria, as well as others. She’s worked with PBS’ Frontier House and Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin on Conservation Nation as well as several independent films. She’s also worked on books and ad campaigns. “It feels like every year is sort of different with what I do,” Hall said. “The last decade I’ve been covering a lot of travel, art and cuisine. I tend to 406 WOMAN  15

School Funding, Part I

History of School Finance in Montana

by BARB RILEY chool funding has been a major hot button across Montana for over 25 years. Before you can understand the conflicts, you need some background on the history of school finance in Montana. •The Montana Constitution, adopted in 1972, established key guarantees for a basic system of free quality public elementary and secondary schools. The Education Trust Fund, with 25 percent of the revenues generated from public lands, was established for the long-term needs of schools. Authority for budgets and financial needs was controlled by the local board of trustees, and through levies (permissive and voted). This allowed local districts to levy upon themselves any funding amounts the local community felt was important to provide for educational opportunities for children. i.e., local control. •In 1973, collective bargaining for public employees became law (the first union contracts). •Also in 1973, Congress passed the Rehabilitation Act, providing for enforceable rights for children with disabilities educated in public schools. Public education systems must serve ALL children eligible to attend school. This marked the first of many unfunded federal mandates. •In 1974, MT Supreme Court holds that Montana’s system of funding public education is constitutionally sound. This was the first major challenge to the state’s system of school funding. •In 1979, Congress passes the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and promises to fund the mandates imposed by the new law at 40 percent of projected costs. This would require special program development for every special needs child in a district, without exception. To date, this Act has never been funded as proposed, creating major funding imbalances in future years. •1986-1990 State of Montana faces tough times and dissolves and appropriates the education trust fund of approximately $80 million. •1986-1993 Lawsuit filed by coalition of schools, focused on the equality of educational opportunity; District court held the system unconstitutional, 1988; upheld by Supreme Court in 1989, holding that the state’s failure to adequately fund the foundation program forced an excessive reliance on permissive levies and denied equality of educational opportunity to each student. The Legislature ultimately passed House Bill 667 in 1993, under which school districts have operated ever since. It’s important to note, at this point, how the new funding mechanism under HB667 works. The new funding formula is supposed to balance (make equal) the amount of money each school district receives on a per student served basis. For instance, a school district in Havre receives the same amount per student as Darby, as does Kalispell, or Outlook. A quirk in the formula, which has never been rationalized, is that the per-student allocation is based on a decrement factor with a sliding scale, so the amount a district receives for student number 100 in an elementary district is less than the amount you receive for student number 1. (I will explore this in the next article, School Funding Part II – Revenues: Who Pays.) A second part of the formula is for physical plant maintenance (infrastructure). These payments, known as a Basic Entitlement, are distributed by elementary and high school districts, not by the number of buildings in a district. To make sure there is ‘equalization’ between districts, the new formula establishes a minimum and maximum budget that a district must operate under. Restrictions were placed on how much a local community can approve through voted levies for programs, regardless of the need or desire. 18  406 WOMAN

ADDITIONAL KEY EVENTS SINCE 1993

•1990 — present: Invention/integration of technology to the educational process, which has changed every aspect of the education system, and not necessarily for the more efficient. •January, 2002: The No Child Left Behind Act was passed into law. This law mandates that every child, regardless of ability/disability, will meet proficiency standards in reading and math by 2014, and that all students will graduate from an accredited high school (no dropouts). The details behind this law are too numerous to cover in this article; however, this law created an unprecedented intrusion of the federal government into public education in the U.S., and again, has insufficient funding to meet the demands under the new mandates. •1991 – 2005: State funding under HB667 starts to fall behind inflation, while property taxes grow beyond inflation. These are key issues with HB667—since no inflationary factor was built into the formula leading to disparity in funding to schools, forcing reliance on local levies, if available, or budget cuts, regardless of need. •2001 – Present: Lawsuit filed by a coalition of school districts, schoolrelated associations and parents (MT Quality Education Coalition, i.e. MQEC) claiming inadequate funding of public education under Article X of the MT Constitution. District court ruled in favor of MQEC in 2004; MT Supreme Court upheld the order in 2005. The litigation is ongoing as the State disputes the rulings. This court order required the legislature to (1) define what a ‘basic system of free quality public elementary and secondary schools’ is; (2) assess the needs of all schools in the state, using educational relevant factors from the new definition; and (3) develop and fund the system adequately, and make it self-executing and include a mechanism for annual inflationary adjustments. The changes in society since 1972 are evident. Technology enhancements have moved us from a self-sufficient, independent nation to a competitive, global marketplace. The expectations and demands on a K-12 public education system have become the focal point for producing graduates who are well-rounded, critical thinkers with the skills to be productive members of society.

In the next issue, I will review the sources of revenue related to school funding, and how the amount of money allocated to education on your annual property tax statement is distributed.

Barb Riley Montana School Board Association’s President, has served on the Columbia Falls School Board since 1995, and has held numerous officer positions. In 2008, Barb was elected to serve at the national level on the National School Boards Association (NSBA) Policy and Resolutions Committee. Barb owns a real estate company based in the Meadow Lake Golf Community in Columbia Falls, as well as an accounting and business services company. She and her husband Russ have two married daughters and one granddaughter.

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green living:

Discovering

MICROFIBER H

by FRAN TABOR

e had us in stitches. I was attending the “appreciation social” at an ISSA (International Sanitary Supply Association) meeting in New Orleans. The gentleman talking was describing a past ISSA convention in the Far East: “There I was on the convention floor, surrounded by Koreans whose one English word was ‘Microfiber!’ My business partner thought it was funny until he tried to escape down the hall to use the facilities. He found himself chased by several more Koreans waving cloths in the air, yelling a sing-song language interspersed with cries of ‘Microfiber!’” It was the first time I had heard the term “microfiber,” but not my first encounter with the product. My first encounter was years earlier. A customer was excited about her new $20 Swedish cloth she had just bought from a friend. At that time, our local restaurants had just raised the price of their coffee to a scandalous 50 cents, and she was bragging about a $20 cleaning rag. My thought? “Twenty bucks for a rag? Not my idea of a friend.” I was wrong. Those $20 Swedish cloths were high-grade microfiber. People weren’t paying $20 for a cleaning rag; they were paying $20 to make their work easier, to reduce harmful chemical exposure, to save time. The cloths did as advertised, though few understood why. Now I was in New Orleans, spending my hard-earned money and precious time learning about the latest and greatest in cleaning—and laughing with other microfiber-newbies at the stories. The next day I marathon-walked the convention floor, dazzled by the many extravagant displays. I almost overlooked a tiny, unadorned booth filled with cloths and strange flat mops when I overheard the seller say, “These cloths, with plain water, will remover over 75 percent of the germs.” Seventy-five percent? If what he said was true, those ordinary looking rags would qualify as a sanitizer. “What kind of chemical is built into your rags?” a man asked. “No chemical,” was the answer. “Just the way they are made. The fibers used to make them are so small they scoop up micro-organisms better than ordinary cotton scoops up dirt.” The man inquiring looked as skeptical as I felt. He asked, “Can you prove it?” The surprising answer? “Yes.” The Microfiber salesman was Ted Hagberg, president, CEO and

chief bottle washer of HAGCO industries. He has been involved with microfiber since the early 1970s. He had copies of European research, diagrams and complete explanations for what made his microfiber and those Swedish cloths work. He showed us what made some microfiber better than others. “Look at the label, if it doesn’t say what it’s made of, assume the worst. The best microfiber is made with polyamide; next best, nylon. A single micro-strand of microfiber will have sharp edges. It can be anything from a flat ribbon shape, to full of pleat-like edges. The strands are then twisted into yarn, which is then woven into cloth. The strands are so fine that one square inch of ultra microfiber contains over 18 miles of weaved material.” He introduced me to many different weaves of microfiber, each with its own application. Since it cleans best with little water, microfiber is perfect for wood floors. Over the years, new variations have been developed, and Hagberg kept abreast of all of them, making him an excellent learning resource. A few years ago, he called me up, super excited: “Guess what my wife’s favorite use of microfiber is?” “Dusting?” I guessed. “Washing her face!” he exclaimed. “No smell, no soap, just thorough, gentle cleaning. Try it, you’ll love it.” Again, he was right. But microfiber does more than save elbow grease and slow facial aging. It saves lives. For the past 30 years, stay-at-home moms have had a higher cancer rate than their workforce sisters. The main culprit? Increased exposure to cleaning products. But microfiber can be used with plain water. If a cleaning chemical is needed, it can be diluted with water, again reducing chemical exposure. Microfiber has changed much of my old cleaning advice. Now I, too, have been known to chase people yelling “Microfiber! Microfiber!” 406 WOMAN  21

SAVING THOSE WHO HAVE NO VOICES:

Animal Rescuer

Karyn Moltzen

by JERI RAFTER and OLIVIA KOERNIG photos by JERI RAFTER and SABRINA HUANG

t could’ve begun with Sweetie Pie, but more likely Jake. Then Ashes. Tuna came along a few months later. Before long, Karyn Moltzen of Missoula had earned a moniker of her own. “My neighbors called me the cat lady,” she recalls. She was living in Phoenix at the time. One day, sweltering under the cloudless sky and carrying out heavy bags of trash to the alley behind her apartment, she heard a thin and meek meow. It was the sound of hunger. She looked for the cat, but could not find it. The next day she was lying beside the pool, sunbathing. Out of the tall, uncut grass, a small kitten bounded towards her. She could hear its cries intensify as it neared. The animal was bony, weak and covered in motor oil. She scooped the kitty up in her arms and immediately set out knocking door-to-door in her complex looking for its owner. “That thing’s been out in the parking lot for three days,” a neighbor told her at his door, “And the management don’t want nobody feeding him.” Moltzen named the kitten Jake. He lay by the food bowl for three days straight, incapable of doing anything but eating and sleeping because he had suffered so much starvation. She fed him every two hours, slowly nursing him back to health. “These animals can’t go get a job or go to the food bank,” Moltzen 406 WOMAN  23

full-time hours. Still, AniMeal’s greatest struggle is not in recruiting people to help clean out litter boxes or to work at low cost spay and neuter clinics or deliver food. It’s securing adequate funding. It’s paying for the electricity, buying the paper to print fliers, covering the costs involved with adoption, supplying the gas to get the food to places like Troy, Libby, Hamilton, Kalispell and Whitefish. “This has been one of our hardest years,” Moltzen said. “We are hanging on by our fingernails. There have been requests I’ve had to turn down.”

ACCOLADES & RECOGNITION

Although the work’s not lucrative, she has earned fans and recognition, including a 2007 nomination for Animal Planet’s Hero of the Year Award. Moltzen placed seventh in the nation from among 10,000 nominees. A woman whom she had met only once nominated her. The nomination form read: “Karyn’s dedication to feeding the animals of Missoula has inspired many to help, myself included… individuals come forward to donate food, toys, kitty litter and the like to AniMeals, saving many animals that would have otherwise suffered from hunger and neglect. Karyn is my hero. She has managed to accomplish that which I had never thought possible...” She also was recently honored on an episode of DirecTV’s Hometown Heroes anchored by Joan Lunden. A crew of cameras followed her around for two full days as she brought food to a shelter in Polson and hosted AniMania, an annual event for dogs involving games, socializing, lunch and a beer garden for the humans. “I never wanted this to be about me,” Molzten said. “Then I realized I had to come out of the shadows—that these cats and dogs would be starving otherwise. And I can’t say no when it comes to an animal.”

WATCH To watch Moltzen’s DirecTV’s program segment, visit: http://www.youtube.com/animeals

or catch it by visiting www.animeals.com. To donate by phone or for more information, contact AniMeals at 406-721-4710.

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Improve Your Relationships by

FEELING ALL YOUR

Feelings

by MARGY STEVENS, LCPC

OUR EMOTIONAL HEALTH AFFECTS EVERY RELATIONSHIP WE HAVE. When I understand and manage my emotionality better, my life runs more smoothly. Understanding how I feel gives me more control over my reactivity. The good news is that we can learn to change our emotional responses and our relationships can become closer and more fulfilling.

SO WHAT IS EMOTIONAL HEALTH?

It is believed that the more intelligent we are about our emotions, the more successful we will be in our interactions with the world. In Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence (1995) he defines emotional intelligence as “being concerned with effectively understanding oneself and others, relating well to people, and adapting to and coping with the immediate surroundings to be more successful in dealing with environmental demands.” It is important to understand the emotional lens through which you view most interactions. When stress hits, what happens? The real skill is to manage yourself better when things aren’t going so well. In these trying economic times, it seems important that we must present our best self in order to secure our future. If I were to ask you right now what you are feeling, what word would you use? At the end of this article that feeling may have changed. It is possible to feel many emotions at once which can lead to confusion or anxiety. Getting into the habit of naming our feelings out loud helps those around us know where we stand. Being aware of our feelings in the moment allows us to be honest with ourselves and react more appropriately. How proficient are you at describing, understanding and processing your emotions?

CAN WE CONTROL OUR EMOTIONS?

Therapist Terrance Real tells a story about a man who believes he cannot control his anger. While driving to an important job interview, the man is stopped for speeding. He is angry and yet controls that anger and acts appropriately with the policeman so he can arrive at his interview on time. Most of us can control our temper when needed. Our emotional reactions are not etched in stone and we don’t have to be controlled by them. Managing our emotions is about feeling our emotions when they occur and choosing a healthy response.

WHERE DO WE LEARN HOW TO ACT EMOTIONALLY?

Often generations of families/cultures teach us what is appropriate and what is not. Was it safe to express your emotions in your family, school, or with your friends? Which ones? How do people learn to express joy, confusion, frustration, or sadness? Many people have tempers and in some family cultures, angry outbursts are tolerated, or even expected. People display other “normal” behaviors when they check out, don’t deal, or put up walls. People may “correct” the yelling behavior that they have

Being aware of our feelings in the moment allows us to be honest with ourselves and react more appropriately. witnessed, by never yelling in their marriage. Yet, they may adopt another way of dealing, like avoiding conflict, which can be just as damaging to their current relationship Learning that anger is usually about fear or self-protection really changed my life. When people express anger at the economy right now, I would guess they are more scared or fearful as their financial realities have changed. Not being able to pay the bills can be scary, and the pain we feel may get expressed as anger. Instead of being curious about our feelings, we often isolate and/or rage at the people we care about the most. Some may feel shame, embarrassment and regret for decisions that they made in a good economy that may not feel so smart with the recent changes. When we keep an emotion, like shame, in the dark, it festers and grows like mold. When we shine light on the emotion by talking about it, it decreases the potency of that painful emotion. People report feeling lighter after sharing uncomfortable feelings, so this is actually a time to connect with how we feel, to start talking about our feelings and to become more emotionally healthy. Historically boys have learned at a young age not to show feelings of weakness and sometimes anger is the only “acceptable” emotion allowed. Terrance Real addresses the issue of men and their anger in his book, I Don’t Want to Talk About It. Anger for women looks very different since most girls were not encouraged to express anger as explained in Harriet Lerner’s The Dance of Anger. How many of us were taught not to cry because crying is a 406 WOMAN  27

Feeling all Your Feelings continued

sign of weakness? Sometimes a good cry will help us more than stuffing or pretending everything is fine. Feeling emotions can be tough work and there is nothing “weak” about getting emotionally healthy. When we identify the sources of our emotional training and track the patterns we have adopted we can begin to change our reactions. How do we start feeling our feelings so that disappointment doesn’t move straight to anger? Sometimes our joy feels like guilt because others are not as happy, so we say something selfdeprecating, diminishing our feelings of joy. Why would we consciously choose to not feel joy? How many of us numb ourselves with substances, dangerous activities, or self-destructive behavior? If we are willing to start getting curious and look at our emotional processes, we will affect change in our lives.

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Slow down; take a breath when an emotion comes up for you. And notice where you feel it in your body and what the sensation is. It could be a burning feeling in your gut, an inner smile, a flood of warmth, or maybe a shiver up your spine. By slowing down, we actually have a chance at identifying what we are feeling, where we are feeling it and what that sensation represents for us. If I can track my experience in my body, I am usually able to be more accurate with my response. Often people yell when they are really scared. If they could have checked in internally before reacting, they may have been able to identify the fear and name it. If someone tells me they are afraid, instead of yelling at me, I am going to have a very different reaction. Start talking to people about your inner experience and create changes in your interactions with others. And remember, emotional health begins with our ability to manage our own emotions, not others'. Making conscious intentional choices, instead of just reacting, will improve your relationships.

Margy Stevens, MA, MAT, LCPC is a licensed

psychotherapist and trained teacher who combines her graduate training, life experience and love of learning to empower others to identify their issues and begin their own healing process. She maintains a private practice in both Kalispell and Columbia Falls and lives in Whitefish with her husband, Rob. Margy Stevens can be reached at 406-261-4885.

THE

‘fun’ IN

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK FUND HERE ARE A FEW OF THE INTERESTING PROGRAMS THE GNP FUND OFFERS: Citizen Science Program: As a costeffective strategy to collect data and perform research in the park, this program enlists the help of everyday citizens. Recent studies have involved pika, wolverines and even grizzly bears. Friday hikes: Every Friday in August, a staff member from the GNP Fund will host a hike in the park. On occasion, rangers and researchers may even join. The current hike schedule is available online or by emailing the GNP Fund at Kelly@glacierfund.org. Native Plant Nursery: This program is always using volunteers to plant and help keep the nursery going. Its goal is to replant native species into the park, restoring its ecosystem. From local greenhouses to local green thumbs and even greenbacks, a collaborative effort keeps this program afloat.

by OLIVIA KOERNIG photos courtesy of GNPF

ith around two million visitors to Glacier National Park annually, somebody’s got to watch its back. That somebody is the Glacier National Park Fund, located in Columbia Falls, endorsed by the National Park Service and headed by executive director Jane Ratzlaff. “We fund in four basic areas,” Ratzlaff said. “Preserve, discover, research and celebrate.” PRESERVE. This covers things like trail rehabilitation and preserving park structures, like lookouts, backcountry structures, etc. For example, the only winter school program for places like Cut Bank took place in a circa-1913 ranger cabin. But it had to be closed about a year and a half ago due to a bug infestation. The GNP Fund raised money to restore the station and get it reopened, which meant those kids no longer had to miss out. DISCOVER. This covers the educational side of Glacier. From free ranger-led field trips impacting about 7,000 kids a year to an education specialist working on curriculum, it all falls under this category. This portion is also used to fund kiosks and interpretive displays throughout the park, all of which are aimed at explaining the importance of preservation. RESEARCH. This ensures that management decisions in the park will be based in sound research versus guessing. This area also makes sure the balance between visitors, wildlife and plants is maintained or restored where it needs to be. Part of this includes establishing an inventory baseline of the number of animals in the park. Once known, issues like climate change in the park and its effects, if any, can be better understood. CELEBRATE. This covers things like next year’s centennial celebration as well as other legacy projects. The centennial celebration will take place September 1619, 2010. The GNP Fund will be promoting not only Glacier but the entire region in the coming months, enticing visitors to come experience the West in the way early travelers coming in on the railroad may have. “We talk a lot about the park and one of the things we like to say is that creating Glacier was only the first step,” Ratzlaff said. “Preserving and protecting it takes the work of each generation. It’s such a place of balance and connecting with nature and it needs to be preserved.” The GNP Fund operates using grants and a small endowment, but its primary support comes from individuals. Ratzlaff said donations of all sizes are collected through donation boxes at various locations inside the park, the GNP Fund website and even through the mail. The Glacier Park state license plate also provides revenue. Since its creation, it’s consistently been the top seller of Montana’s nearly 90 different license plates. “People fall in love with Glacier,” Ratzlaff explained. Although GNP Fund works daily to protect and preserve the park, there’s a heavy emphasis on using the park as well. “We really take the angle of the visitor experience,” Ratzlaff said. “We have no intention of locking it up.” For more information on the GNP Fund, visit www. glacierfund.org, call 892-3250, or stop by 402 9th Street West in Columbia Falls. 406 WOMAN  29

where the wild things are A Bigfork woman’s wolf research in Glacier

W e set out early one summer morning on a narrow path toward Covey Meadow in the North Fork area of Glacier National Park. We’ve walked only a few steps when we see our first sign of wolves: fresh scat. Cristina Eisenberg, a research scientist from Bigfork, turns to face us. She seems pleased. “This is quite fresh,” she tells us. “There are definitely wolves in the area.” With heightened awareness, we survey the aspen 30  406 WOMAN

stands and lodgepole groves surrounding us. We are half-hoping to spot the animal responsible for the droppings, to spy a set of eyes looking back at us through the trees or glimpse a lean body loping among the brush. Instead the stillness of the morning meets our gaze, and we continue through the Indian paintbrush and wild rose bushes as the forest gives way to meadow. In spite of our misplaced eagerness at the prospect of seeing a wolf, and in spite of Eisenberg’s backpack stuffed with telemetry gear used to track radio-collared wolves, it’s not why we’re here. Not exactly. Certainly the activity of the wolves in this area, the Kintla pack—one of two wolf packs in Glacier Park, interests us. But the real reason we’re here is to observe and participate in a day of field work with Eisenberg, who is studying the delicate balance and interconnection between wolves, elk and aspen in Glacier. “Some species by their very presence change everything within an ecosystem. They’re called a keystone species,” Eisenberg said. “Their influence is so powerful that they change things like how many birds and butterflies there are. Wolves are that way. For instance, when everything else is constant, there are twice as many birds in wolf habitat.” ROMANCE WITH WOLVES Eisenberg’s fascination with wolves began in 1997 on her property southeast of Bigfork. She and her family heard wolves howling at night. But when she spoke to local wildlife managers about it, they told her she was mistaken. Since her daughters were quite young, before they went out to play, Eisenberg took them out to track—to make sure no grizzly bears or mountain lions were nearby. One day, while out tracking, they found wolf tracks. “I went to talk to the forest service about it,” she said. “They didn’t believe me.” At that time, wolves were not believed to be in the Flathead anymore. They’d been hunted or chased out of the area in the preceding decades. And although wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park in 1995, no such reintroduction ever took place in the Flathead Valley or Glacier National Park.

by OLIVIA

KOERNIG photos by BRENT STEINER & courtesy of CRISTINA EISENBERG

“One wet, beautiful July morning, I was gardening in one of my perennial beds,” Eisenberg said. “All of the sudden, this explosive sound from the forest interrupted the quiet. It was a whitetail deer running like I’d never seen a deer run before. It was as though it was running for its life.” As she and her daughter watched, two wolves emerged from the forest, coming within 20 feet of them. As they passed, one of the wolves turned and locked eyes with Eisenberg. “We were stunned, and thought, ‘Did that really happen?’” she said. “So we followed their tracks and found a clump of wolf hair on a barbed wire fence.” THE STORY BEGINS Once wolf presence was undeniably confirmed on her property, Eisenberg noticed something peculiar about her land. When she first bought the property in the mid-1990s, deer had grazed the meadows down to almost nothing. By 2002, the forest had filled back in. What changed? Eisenberg believes the wolves came back. “Wolves, or any keystone predator, change the way their primary prey behaves,” Eisenberg explained. “Without wolves, the deer and elk act like livestock because they’re not afraid. They’ll just stand around and eat all day, eating plants and trees—songbird and butterfly habitat—until they’re dead.” The influence of a keystone predator on its prey’s behavior is known as the ecology of fear. The idea is that with a predator nearby, prey become more skittish. Rather than grazing all day in open meadows, ungulates like deer and elk must constantly eat and run, or risk being eaten themselves. “Without wolves controlling the elk population, they’ll decimate an ecosystem,” Eisenberg said. This is the crux of her research project, a study of the interrelationships among humans, wolves, elk and aspen in the Crown of the Continent ecosystem. Her work is part of her dissertation to earn her Ph.D. from Oregon State University in forestry and wildlife. A book she wrote about her work, The Wolf ’s Tooth: Keystone Predators, Trophic Cascades, and Biodiversity, will be released next April. And while the petite brunette doesn’t look like one to laugh in

What but the wolf’s tooth whittled so fine The fleet limbs of the antelope? What but fear winged the birds, and hunger Jewelled with such eyes the great goshawk’s head? —Robinson Jeffers the face of danger, her project is said to be among the most dangerous research her college has conducted. “We’ve had many, many bear encounters,” Eisenberg said. “We’ve found ourselves in the midst of 1,200 angry, stampeding elk. Women my age aren’t usually doing this type of work. There are a lot of safety issues.” 406 WOMAN  31

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Eisenberg and field techs Carissa Michaud and Matt Urmson

Bonnie Sammons, volunteer behave when their mom and dad are gone,” she said. “But it’s important to manage troublemaking wolves. A big mistake is to romanticize wolves.” DAY’S WORK Every so often, Eisenberg raises her telemetry gear into the air, turning to the right then left. The wolves she collared are not around today. “Just because I’m not picking up their signals doesn’t mean wolves aren’t nearby,” she said. “Only ten percent of the wolves in my study area wear radio-collars.” For today, Eisenberg and her team of field technicians are not worrying about wolf hunts. They’re focused on the task at hand. They survey the landscape, counting aspen in the meadow as well as hawthorn, willow and other plants. They’re counting the number of plants, documenting their height and noting tooth marks. Although they take only a sample, it’s thought to be representative of the entire area. I’m told the day’s work is comparable to that of a firefighter in terms of physical demand. After all, Eisenberg and crew go where wolves go. And at the end of the day, she heads home to her husband and daughters in Bigfork. “It’s very intense work,” she said. “And I love doing it.” 406 WOMAN  33

IN THE KITCHEN:

Rising Sun Bistro

MONTANA SOUL

by STEVEN TRENT SMITH Bistro photos by JENNY STEVEN 34  406 WOMAN

f you’re a descendent of the famous seventeenth century French dramatist Jean Racine, you probably have a natural inclination for all things French. At least Sally Truscheit does. When she was two years old her father propped her on his knee, opened up the encyclopedia, turned to the entry on Racine and showed the picture to her. Sally’s appetite for France was whetted. But it wasn’t until she was 30 years old that she made her first trip to the “homeland.” Settling in Kansas City in the 1980s, Sally joined with three other women to buy her father’s restaurant, the wellrespected Log Cabin. In 1991, when her daughter Jennifer Griffith was asked to be an au pair for a French family, Sally told her she had to go to college instead. So Sally took the job and fulfilled a longtime dream to live in France. “I dropped Jen off at college, drove straight to the Boston airport and flew to Europe,” she said. She spent much of the next 10 years in Normandy, raising six kids, and having a love affair with la vie France. In 1995, the Log Cabin partnership sold out. After traveling for a few months with Peggy Kirby, the two went to work for McGonigle’s Market, a Kansas City fixture for gourmets. Since 2005, Sally and Peggy have been owners of the Rising Sun Bistro in Whitefish. They toyed with the idea of changing the name to something more French, but they decided against it because, as Sally said, “My father was born in Rising Sun, Maryland.” It seemed like a good omen. In spite of its name, they’ve made their little restaurant as French as can be. The walls are adorned with objets and art from the old country. Monsieur Racine has a place of honor in one corner. The overall feel is comfy and cozy and altogether inviting, homey, you might say. And it should feel homey. After all, the building the restaurant is in was once home to longtime Whitefish

35  406 WOMAN

resident, Ted Lund. For years he ran a nursery from his 3.3-acre property. And the legacy of Ted’s tenure lives on in the form of Rising Sun’s kitchen garden, from which Sally, Peggy, and their evening chef, Beth Dix, harvest herbs on a daily basis. The menu covers reflect the French influence, adorned with images of the Eiffel Tower and fleurs de lis. As one would expect from a bistro, classic steak frites is offered (tender flatiron steak and crisp French fries), but the menu encompasses pan-Mediterranean cuisine, with dishes from Spain, Italy and North Africa, as well as France. While I was chatting with Sally, Peggy, and Jen, some delicious plates of food were brought out from the kitchen. First up was a homemade pesto, with a dipping sauce of extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Fresh French bread accompanied as the medium for dipping. The basil was fresh from Whitefish’s Terrapin Farms. This was followed by a spinach salad with jicama, fig vinaigrette and fresh strawberries. It was a fine blend of flavors, enhanced by the unusual fig dressing. A cheese platter arrived next, with fruit and homemade crostini. Cheese courses are rare at Flathead restaurants, so it was truly refreshing to see this offering at Rising Sun. We then tried pepper and garlic chicken wings. They were good and spicy, with a touch of lemongrass in the flavors. I could have popped these all afternoon. Then came prawns with fresh asparagus and a curried potato cake, mango salsa, and Dijon cream. Trés bon! The final plate was stuffed pork chops with blue cheese and bacon. The 36  406 WOMAN

combination of flavors was really well done. By now I was pretty full, and my notes were getting a bit messy. Of particular interest, Rising Sun is a member of the Slow Food Movement. This group was founded back in the late 1980s by Italian Carlo Petrini. Over the ensuing decades Slow Food has inched its way into 130 countries and now counts over 100,000 members. The ideals behind the movement are simple: to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world. Rising Sun has already sponsored two Slow Food dinners, using as many local products as they could. If you’d like to know more about the organization check out www.slowfood.com. Rising Sun Bistro serves breakfast, lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. They’ve also added “Bistro Apres-Midi” – a selection of lighter dishes for late afternoon consumption. Call them for more information about their schedule and menus. Au revoir!

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A FRIEND in the fixture business photos by BRENT STEINER

electing your bathroom or kitchen fixtures at Faucets n’ Fixtures is like shopping with a trusted friend: a knowledgeable and friendly ally is there to help you put together your look. And that’s a good thing, considering how overwhelming picking the perfect fixtures and selecting the right finishes can be. Judy Bolla and Stacy Hughes have over 20 years of experience. Sue Salsbury rounds out the team with project oversight and bookkeeping. These ladies are knowledgeable and seasoned, and they understand construction schedules. “Stacy, Sue and I are a company that cares about our customers and their projects. I think a lot of our customers would say they feel like friends, not just customers. And that’s a big difference from the big-box stores, where the salesperson who waits on you today may not be there tomorrow,” says Judy Bolla, matriarch of Faucets n’ Fixtures. In 1987, when Judy opened Faucets n’ Fixtures, better quality plumbing made its debut in the Flathead Valley. She met with representatives from the top companies and negotiated deep discounts. In the past 20 years, the best discounts from virtually almost all of the better architectural plumbing and decorative hardware companies have been awarded to Faucets n’ Fixtures. What this means to Faucets n’ Fixtures’ clients is better quality for fewer dollars. What sets Faucets n’ Fixtures apart is that it is a direct buying showroom. Faucets n’ Fixtures is a family-owned business that provides the

40  406 WOMAN

gamut of bathroom and kitchen fixtures for every type of home and every type of style. “Our main focus is customer service,” says Stacy. “We want our customers’ experience to be extraordinary. Our company’s mission statement is ‘We take pride in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.’” Judy and Stacy use the latest paint, woodworking and surface trends and pair faucets, sinks and showers that work well together. In addition to a wide selection of traditional fixtures, the showroom also features some of the newest and hottest products on the market. The store also offer a wide selection of eco-friendly products. Spa-like and European luxury products are also popular. Faucets n’ Fixtures deals in not only plumbing; they complete all of your hardware needs, cabinet hardware, bath accessories and door hardware.

Walla Walla, Washington by DONNA LAWSON of the Jug Tree photos by BRENT STEINER

on’t have time to take a week’s vacation but still want to get away? The next time you have two or more days to explore, think about going over to Walla Walla, Washington. It’s just three hours away from Spokane and if you haven’t been there, you are in for a wine lover’s treat. Having just returned from a fabulous long weekend there, I wanted to share some of my wonderful wine tasting experience. Your Walla Walla wine tour could start at any one of the 90 wineries in the area. Driving in from US Highway 12, the wineries start to appear on your left. Whether you stop first at Woodward Canyon, L’Ecole No 41 (in an updated old schoolhouse), or Reininger’s Winery, with their new tasting room and the coolest grapevine bar ever, you will enjoy your tasting experience. As the road meanders down to the town of Walla Walla, you see wine-tasting rooms, outdoor cafés and acclaimed restaurants. There are more 17 tasting rooms in the downtown area alone, all within walking distance of each other. 42  406 WOMAN

A couple of my favorites tasting rooms downtown were Sleight of Hand Cellars and Flying Trout Wines, both of which available here in Montana. Be sure and pick up the Wine & Dine Downtown Guide—it will help you sip through all the fine wines that downtown has to offer. The restaurant guide is great, too. We had a wonderful meal at the Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen and their wine savvy wait staff offered us wonderful suggestions for our wine pairings. Thank you, Luanna! Once you have survived the downtown experience, then it’s off to the airport area, where several wineries have their tasting rooms and wineries in old barracks. Check out Tamarack Cellars, SYZYGY, and Dunham—just to name a few. Remember, though, that a lot of the wineries are small productions, so if you like something, buy it onsite as it might only be available at the tasting rooms. Past the airport area on Mill Creek Road are two more of my favorite wineries: K Vintners and Walla Walla Vintners. Charles Smith, the owner and winemaker at K Vintners is truly a force to be reckoned with—just like his wines. His awardwinning syrahs are big, dense and complex, just like his personality and hair! Your taste buds will pop. Down the road and up the hill is a great barn that houses Walla Walla Vintners. Winemakers Gordy Venneri and Myles Anderson have been crafting exceptional Walla Walla red varietals for over 12 years, and in my book, they are a winning team. Their tasting room is only open on Saturdays, though, so plan ahead for this rewarding visit. Just when you think you can’t possibly taste any more wine (just kidding, who has really ever thought that?), you discover the

south end of Walla Walla¸ where the likes of Amavi Cellars, Pepperbridge Winery and Saviah Cellars reside, along with several more. Rich Funk, the owner and winemaker of Saviah has a Montana background, having grown up in Libby. He references our great state through his wine names, like Big Sky Cuvee and Stillwater Chardonnay, among others. His winery is in a delightful area with a patio in the back for enjoying the views and sipping wines. He took us on a tour of the grape growing areas up by Seven Hills and the views were amazing. Walla Walla is home to more than 1,000 acres of grapes grown by local wineries, but if you make the trip in the summer, you will also see, on the side of the highways, Walla Walla onion stands, cherries and later in the fall, their apples. In fact, apples there are trained to grow like grapes, so it makes for easier harvesting. Who would have thought?!? So get out your calendars, check out Walla Walla Chamber’s website for more information and lodging accommodations,

fill up the tank and head west to this unique and historic town where you can taste and wine and dine. It’s definitely a taste worth the trip. But if you can’t wait and want to try some of these wines now, stop by the Jug Tree in Bigfork. We will be glad to show you our selection of Walla Walla favorites.

sail away

rom the back deck of her home on Lion Mountain, Missy Laughlin gazed across the glass of Whitefish Lake one day; her eyes climbed the craggy faces of the Flathead mountain range before affixing themselves to the plumes of white clouds navigating a sky so blue it could only be Montana. In that moment, held rapt by the surrealistic surroundings of a Flathead afternoon, two words bobbed to the surface of Laughlin’s mind—words seldom associated with Montana but oddly befitting all the same: “Sail away…” Laughlin and her partner Marsha Gifford own the event planning agency 44  406 WOMAN

A NAUTICAL NIGHT— I Do, I Do Events, which is based in Whitefish. The duo are on an endless quest to create original gatherings as well as improving upon proven traditions. So while some may be satisfied with the customary Western theme, Laughlin and Gifford sought to craft a Nautical-inspired evening that set their guests adrift on a whimsical voyage celebrating the area’s great waters with an unexpected twist. “Whitefish has so much more to offer than just Western,” Laughlin said. “We thought Nautical would work.” First the two brainstormed and came up with a detailed plan for the evening.

Although they wanted a spontaneous environment, the vets know that behind the most laid-back event is a web of meticulously laid plans. “Whether a large wedding, birthday bash or family reunion,” Gifford said, “we always have a detailed plan in place so the party appears effortless and transports the guests to a special place.” Believing the invitation is the first step to set the stage for a fun event, Laughlin and Gifford hand-delivered message-ina-bottle invitations. Rolled-up white and maritime blue paper was slipped inside a clear plastic bottle along with micro

MONTANA STYLE

by OLIVIA KOERNIG photos by BRENT STEINER AND JENNY STEVEN

seashells, a sprinkling of white sand and sparkling beads. “The style of invitation is very important and should evoke excitement about the party,” Laughlin said. Next came selecting the menu, which was refined several times before the final decision was eventually made. The challenge was selecting the appropriate fare to reflect not only the nautical theme but also the summer season. They settled on a three-course meal accompanied by signature I Do, I Do blue cocktails and a dessert medley. Passed hors d’oeuvres were gazpacho

shooters and spicy egg and cheese squares followed by a salad course consisting of a fruit cup and an endive salad boat with walnut vinaigrette. The main course was marinated salmon with corn relish, seaweed salad and a summer shrimp roll with Asian-influenced dipping sauces. “Then we embarked on rental items—table linens, china, glassware, flowers, candles and all kinds of nautical decorations,” Gifford said. To define the dining space on the expansive deck, the two erected a popup canopy and draped the inside with white gauze secured with blue ribbons,

reminiscent of flapping flags, windblown sails and ships’ telltales. The outside dining table was draped with a sparkling blue tablecloth reminiscent of the sea at night. Antique glass crystals dangled above the table fashioned after a wind chime chandelier. Using a mix of items on-hand and new purchases, the ladies used live gold fish, coral, gold-foilwrapped candy coins, sea shells and beads to round out the décor. The night of the party, Laughlin and Gifford donned horizontal-striped threequarter-length-sleeve tops and white capri pants. The guests dressed similarly 406 WOMAN  45

with some of the men wearing ascots and some of the women draping sweaters over their shoulders. Jimmy Buffett supplied the perfect laidback music to complement the evening’s seafaring vibe. The guest list included old friends and new—the women always like to invite at least one or two “new” people to keep the crowd from falling into predictable patterns of conversation. Upon arrival, each guest was greeted with a signature cocktail to encourage mingling and further the casual atmosphere. Want to recreate the festivities for your own friends within your own space? Laughlin and Gifford recommend following in their footsteps, beginning with a detailed plan. Feeling overwhelmed by the scope of the entire project? Host the party with one or two friends so everyone’s skills are best utilized. Or outsource what ails you and keep only the most joyful tasks for yourself. If the entire party seems too much to get a handle on, call I Do, I Do and let them do what they do best. 46  406 WOMAN

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FINDING COMMON GROUND Accents

Budget Blinds

by OLIVIA KOERNIG photos by BRENT STEINER

Vickie Cockrell and Cheryl Hatton

sk them about their roles at Accents and Budget Blinds, in the Qdoba building in Kalispell, and sisters Vicki Cockrell and Cheryl Hatton offer differing perspectives. While Hatton describes herself as the resident “flunky,” Cockrell claims her younger sister is actually “the most important person in the business.” As their mother probably learned a long time ago, when these two each give you their side of the story, the truth likely falls somewhere in between. Cockrell’s first business venture was opening a restaurant in 1978. The Interlude was located downtown. Neither woman knew very much about the restaurant business. Rather, they saw running their own business as their ticket to spend more time with their families. “I burned my hands taking the soup out of the oven, but that’s as close as 50  406 WOMAN

I came to cooking,” Cockrell said. “Restaurants are a lot of work.” Soon after opening the restaurant, Cockrell’s eclectic taste sprung up as a gift shop inside the Interlude. Offering a smattering of import items representative of things Cockrell fell in love with during time spent in San Francisco, International Design was born. Eventually Vicki closed the restaurant and turned her focus to the gift shop. They moved up the street. Then across the street. And even in and out of the mall. Then, in 2005, the business joined Budget Blinds, which Cockrell’s son opened in the current location. But he’s no longer there. “We bought it from him and sent him to Bellingham, Wash.,” Cockrell said. Today, 31 years and six locations later, the little gift shop inside the restaurant is

still providing unique gifts inside Accents and Budget Blinds. What has remained constant over the years, the locations and the business transformations is two sisters and their dedication to the business and each other. Cockrell says: “I couldn’t have done it without her.” While Cockrell owns the store, the women act as partners. In addition to supporting each other, the women’s differences serve as strengths in the business. “Vicki is the unique one—I’m very traditional,” Hatton says. “When she first started bringing in ethnic pieces, I went to market with her and rolled my eyes.” Today, the imported giftware is partly what sets Accents and International Design apart from other gift stores. While you’ll be hard-pressed to find

Burn Fat by Boosting Metabolism

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862-2444

a hobby that forces you to be more active—start a garden, join a hiking club, meet a friend to walk your dogs. If it’s something you enjoy, it will be interesting which may keep you committed. Eat More Often. About 60 percent of my female clients who want to lose fat are not eating enough calories and not eating at regular intervals. You should be eating at least five times per day. This doesn’t mean five big meals a day. Simply having a lean source of protein and a fruit and/or vegetables in each of these meals will help your body increase its metabolism and keep your energy level high. Gain Muscle. That’s right gain muscle. The one thing that most women are least interested in. Gaining. But by adding just five pounds of lean muscle you can boost your body’s fat burning ability by nearly 100 calories per day. An extra five pounds of muscle is not going to turn you into a hulking female bodybuilder. In fact most women don’t even notice a change on the scale because they are losing fat at the same time. Including 2-3 weight training sessions per week have you there in no time. Age isn’t as big of a factor as most women believe when it comes to losing fat. If you’re willing to put in the time and hard work you can get great results at any age. If you’d like a sample fat burning workout, stop by The Wave and talk to one of our Personal Trainers, for professional advice and personalized fat burning exercise programs.

Sam Glauber – National Strength and Conditioning Association – Certified Personal Trainer. Sam is a Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor at The Wave Aquatic & Fitness Center in Whitefish, Montana.

752-8489

222 Main Street Kalispell, MT

PROFESSIONAL As women who live in Montana, many of us herald the merits of buying local, whether it’s at the farmer’s market or our neighborhood hardware store. But even more than that, it’s nice to be able to recognize the people behind the businesses that are getting our money, and to know that, like us, they’ve invested in our community. According to Civic Economics’ Andersonville Study of Retail Economics in October 2004, every $100 spent at a nationwide chain results in $43 of local economic activity. On the flip side, every $100 spent at a locally-owned business results in $68 of local economic activity. And more money in the community means more jobs. On that note, we proudly introduce a few of the women doing business in a neighborhood near you.

Meet Carolyn Sellards, Bella Colour Salon Nothing Short

arolyn Sellards, a stylist at Bella Colour Salon in Kalispell is something of a hair fairy godmother. She takes the hair you have and turns it into the hair you want. And while she doesn’t use magic, the results are nothing short of magnificent. Certified to apply Great Lengths 100 percent human hair extensions—the Hollywood standard— Carolyn has been doing extensions for years. As each new application technique hit the market, she sought out training and perfected each method. The newest process is a cold fusion application, and Carolyn may be the only stylist in Montana who does it. Unlike outdated application methods, Carolyn is trained to use the latest cold

fusion attachment that utilizes ultrasonic wavelengths in the keratin bonding process. “Since no heat is involved, it’s healthier for hair,” she said. “This technique also creates a flat attachment that feels more comfortable and is more natural looking.” And while the name Great Lengths conjures up visions of flowing mermaid locks, Carolyn notes that extensions are often used to add fullness as well. “Some women experience thinning hair with menopause. Women of all ages have dealt with badly damaged hair,” Carolyn said. “Great Lengths extensions combat both and can recapture that fullness and thickness they’re used to.” For your free consultation, call Carolyn at Bella Colour Salon at 756-2352.

BELLA COLOUR SALON, 38 1ST AVE E #B, KALISPELL MT • 406.756.2352

Meet Tamara & Judy, Insty Prints Customer

that

Can’t Be Copied

hile we offer competitive pricing and innovative design services, we believe our premium customer service is what keeps customers coming

back again and again. And our customers agree. We receive a lot of positive feedback about our customers’ experiences at our stores. Hand-penned thank-you notes and brief calls of appreciation let us know that our team is consistently overshooting the customer service mark. It is this team—our lifeblood—that makes our stores click. Our customer service specialists and production team do whatever it takes to not only meet deadlines but to treat each customer with the respect they deserve.

INSTY PRINTS, 131 MAIN ST, KALISPELL MT 56  406 WOMAN

Insty-Prints appreciates that people’s time is often their most valuable commodity, so we work to make their printing experience efficient and effortless. We also realize that our customers often just don’t have the time to come to us. That’s why we created a full-time pick-up and delivery position to help save our customers time and money. If you or your company needs a quality product, outstanding customer service and the knowledge that you are appreciated, Insty-Prints is here to serve you for all your printing needs. Visit www.instyprints.com.

406.752.8812 • 49504 HWY 93, POLSON, MT 406.883.3778

Meet Lin, Safeguard Inventory Service The Price

and

Mind

afeguard Inventory Service offers you protection and peace of mind by providing detailed documentation of all your belongings before disaster strikes. When you are distressed, you’ll want to be able to document your losses. This list will detail the contents of your home or business. If you are able, you may want to walk through any damaged areas with your list to review and ensure that no items are missed. You’ll also need to estimate how much that item would cost to replace, not how much it may have cost you when you first bought it. The more information you have about your damaged possessions, including the make and model or a description of the item, generally the faster your claim can be settled. We provide photos of your home or business both before and after the disaster. The digital images and comprehensive reports provided by Safeguard Inventory Service will facilitate the claims process and guarantee that no items are forgotten.

Your comprehensive inventory report will ensure that you are treated fairly by insurance companies should you ever need to file a claim. Insurance companies and financial planners highly recommend having a detailed inventory to ensure that claims are processed quickly and accurately. Please visit our website at www. safeguardinventoryservice.com for further details. Then contact me at 406-471-7910 for your free quote.

Cr pes Espresso Salads Daily Specials

SAFEGUARD INVENTORY SERVICES • 406.471.7910 WWW.SAFEGUARDINVENTORYSERVICE.COM

Meet Holly, Medi-Lift The Anti-Aging

Wand

ith clients coming from the Flathead as well as places like California, Texas and Hawaii, Medi-Lift Spa offers powerful, potent and unique treatments and products. “My clients appreciate the valet-like convenience— we’re right off the highway and our doorstep is literally just steps from your car,” says owner Holly Clandfield, RN. “And although our services are administered with clinical precision, our day spa atmosphere is beautiful, nurturing and inviting. To help skin recover from the drying effects of the summer heat, Holly suggests a two-pronged approach: the new Derm Renewal Peel followed up with the Algomask. The Derm Renewal Peel provides deep exfoliation combining a patented complex of glycolic and lactic acids with arginine. The gentle procedure promotes a brighter,

more radiant complexion and skin renewal. The Algomask is a cooling thermo-corrective mask that grants intensive hydrating due to seaweed extracts and a regenerating organic silicone. It’s ideal for dehydrated, sensitive and acne-prone skin. Clients report soothed skin, reduced redness and instant radiance. “Over time, these treatments will tighten facial skin, even out skin tone and erase age spots,” Holly says. “It’s such a joy to offer the glowing, polished complexion we see on so many celebrities without the invasive procedures and harsh chemicals.” For painless, non-invasive, anti-aging treatments with dramatic, immediate results, call Medi-Lift for a consultation. You have nothing to lose—except maybe a few years off your face. Visit www.mediliftspa.com.

Open Daily 7:30AM - 6:00 PM 123 Central Avenue Whitefish, Montana amazingcrepes.com

406.862.6002

MEDI-LIFT FACE & BODY SOLUTIONS, 7993 HWY 35, #C, BIGFORK • 406.837.FACE 406 WOMAN  57

Meet Donna, 33 Baker A Change

will do you

n the ever evolving cosmetology industry, can you trust a stylist whose hair never changes? Donna Schumacher from 33 Baker Salon & Spa says maybe not. “If your hairdresser has looked the same for the past several years, maybe it’s time to change hairdressers,” she says. “We pride ourselves on continued education— reading and staying on top of current trends. Beyond that, we’re willing to apply the new knowledge, first by practicing on each other. We get out of our box and challenge ourselves.” Back from an international hair show in Vancouver, Canada, Donna and her staff are waiting to transition your hair into

fall. Some people find their bleached-out summer color looking washed out come fall. Enter 33 Baker. “We learned the upcoming styles and updated cutting techniques,” Donna said.

“Plus we previewed the new shades of color that will be popular this fall.” When the weather turns cooler, Donna recommends adding depth back into hair color. In addition, she suggests a deep conditioning treatment to combat the sun’s drying effects. While chocolate was last year’s hue, this fall we’ll see more neutral shades, which have a more natural appearance. And since 33 Baker uses non-ammonia-based color products, damage is minimal or nonexistent. To help you achieve the salon look at home, a full line of styling products with coaching on optimal usage is also available.

33 BAKER HAIR N’ BODY, 33 BAKER, WHITEFISH, MT • 406.862.9633

Property

Meet Kristine & Tracy, Integrity Property Management without

Surprises

ith the abundance of rental property in the Flathead, it’s easy to see how property management agencies could find themselves echoing Frankenstein’s sentiment, crying, “I’ve created a monster.” But after a little more than a year in business, we’ve lived and learned. Now we’re fine tuning our focus. To handle growth and continue offering the individualized management services our clients and tenants have come to expect, we’re moving out of vacation rentals. Shifting into long-term only management will allow us to maintain the efficiency and dedication we believe is necessary to succeed. Call us anal-retentive, predictable, or boring, but at Integrity Property Management, we don’t like surprises. That’s why every move-in and move-out

is conducted in exactly the same fashion—with a detailed walk-through and checklist. Additionally, with extensive property photos on our website, we’re able to attract the out-of-region renter before they ever set foot in the Flathead. Our online maintenance request form guarantees we can address issues immediately. Online financial statements constantly update property owners constantly on their property’s status. For tenants, our lengthy list of commercial and residential properties means we can get you into the property you need at a price you can afford. For owners, what we proved is priceless—peace of mind. For tenants and owners, don’t be surprised if your experience at Integrity is exceptional. In fact, expect it.

INTEGRITY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT INC, 37 5TH ST EAST, SUITE 103, KALISPELL, MT • 406.755.6336

Meet Billie, Mountain West Bank Mortgage

hold on tight

ere we go! The mortgage roller coaster is up and running. Rates are still holding at a historic low, but the industry itself is tightening up with stricter guidelines and criteria. Historically, almost anyone with a pulse could qualify for a mortgage loan, which is a main cause of the predicament currently facing our industry. But we are quickly moving back toward requiring a down payment, an excellent credit score and proof of income in order to approve mortgage loans. Another guideline change limits the amount of equity a borrower can borrow against. In the past, one could borrower

up to, if not more than, 100 percent of the value of their home. Now, with most areas considered a “declining market,” some folks are upside down in their home’s loanto-value ratio and are stuck between a rock and a hard spot. But new guidelines guard against this dilemma, allowing a maximum 85 percent loan-to-value ratio on any cashout refinance, not to mention requiring a credit score of at least 620. While to some this may sound like bad news, there is still money available for home loans, and now is the time to buy. So, for all you first-time home buyers— get shopping! Bring your questions to Mountain West Bank.

Enjoy a cup of coffee while we discuss your lending needs.

MOUNTAIN WEST BANK, 44 W IDAHO, KALISPELL MT • 406.752.2265 EXT. 133 58  406 WOMAN

Meet Sherri, Big Sky Designs

Designing

Using

opposition

hen describing Sherri Dunnington’s approach at Big Sky Designs, a rash of seeming contradictions comes to mind: metro and mountains; dream and reality; inside and outside. But Sherri finds the link between them. Her design work becomes a celebration of the marriage of unlike concepts, living under one roof, happily ever after. “I’m a combination of eclectic, artistic and cultural,” she says, “But I also have this real balance with nature. It works so well in design because the obvious client here is not the local—they’re from the city.” Sherri captures the natural influences of the area while incorporating city influences for added comfort. The result is a space that honors the best of both worlds. By channeling mountain-metro inspiration and coupling it with intuition, keen eye for detail and meticulous organization, Sherri offers a full range of design services. She specializes in selecting finishes, providing furnishings, lighting, window treatments, artwork and accessories. Throughout consultation, budgeting, planning, selection, installation and completion phases, Sherri bridges the gap between the client and the dream. “When I walk into a space, it talks to me—it tells me what it wants,” Sherri says. “Then all the client has to do is continue the dialogue. Through listening and observation, the space takes on a life of its own and the dream is actualized.” BIG SKY DESIGNS 406.857.2555 • 619.253.0063 BIGSKYDESIGNS@LIVE.COM

406 WOMAN  59

reel sisters

GROWING UP GLACIER

by OLIVIA KOERNIG photos by JESSICA LOWRY childhood photos courtesy of HILARY HUTCHESON & WHITNEY LANGE 64  406 WOMAN

iving in the Flathead Valley, many people feel as if Glacier National Park is in their backyards. For two sisters from Columbia Falls, before they started elementary school, Glacier literally was in their backyard. Since their father worked in resource management for the park, they lived in government housing with their family. Today, as grown women with thriving careers centered on the outdoor lifestyle, Hilary Hutcheson and Whitney Lange prove you can take the girl out of the outdoors, but you can’t take the outdoors out of the girl. “Glacier is definitely my favorite place on earth,” Whitney said. “Even once we moved to Columbia Falls, we spent all of our weekends there doing lot of camping and hiking.”

Gently down the stream

PHOTOS: Whitney Lange (left) and Hilary Hutcheson (above) in Columbia Falls.

“There’s a great amount of healing done on the water,” Whitney said. And although she’s speaking about her work today with First Descents, a nonprofit organization that provides outdoor adventure therapy for adults with cancer, she could be talking about anyone. She could be talking about her sister; she could be talking about herself. While other teenagers found jobs in fast-food restaurants or babysitting for family friends, both Hilary and Whitney took a nontraditional route. Their teenage jobs were on the Flathead River. “I was 15 when I met Darwon Stoneman, who started Glacier Raft Company,” Hilary said. “During that time I helped out there and learned to tie knots and haul gear and mow lawns—whatever they needed.” After high school, Hilary spent summers guiding whitewater rafting and flyfishing trips. Whitney began working for Glacier Raft in high school and amassed eight years of fly-fishing and whitewater rafting experience by the time she graduated from college. “It was great to be on the river—in the heart of Glacier while making a little money,” Whitney said. “Then I got to the point where I asked myself, ‘Am I going to be a river bum forever?’ You either embrace the lifestyle of working seasonal

406 WOMAN  65

She was more fortunate than Whitney. Her first job after college, as bureau chief for KAJ in Kalispell, allowed her to continue working for Glacier Raft on the weekends. Plus, her day job allowed plenty of opportunities for outdoor connections as well. “My coverage area was all the way from the Canadian border to Missoula,” Hilary said. “I loved, loved, loved shooting video and writing and was glad to be in journalism, but what I loved most is that I was doing so many outdoor stories.” Although she loved her job, the corporate ladder called. She took a job in Portland, as a television news anchor for a Fox affiliate. Rewarding as it may have been, it made her realize how much she missed Montana. She and her husband had set out to Portland with a five-year plan— meaning after five years, they’d return to Montana. With only one year left in Oregon, Hilary left the news station and took a job as the public relations director with a public relations firm. “The reason I chose to work there was because of its outdoor focus,” Hilary said. “Then when it was time to come home, my husband and I started our own PR firm, Outside Media.” Hilary’s business is also outdoors- and sports-focused and operates an office in Columbia Falls and Portland. Clients include Klymit, which produces noble-gasinsulated outdoor gear; MazDog, a Montana-company that manufactures hunting enhancement gear; and KT Tape, which provides athletic tape to relieve sore muscles and aid in recovery; as well as others. “Anyone from Montana is very sensitive that people come here for the outdoors,”

Hilary said. “I think they want locals to succeed. Anywhere from recreation management to the service industry, there are so many opportunities for women in the outdoors.” In support of that notion, Hilary is a member of the Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition, www.oiwc.org, what she calls “a cool way for women to help other women in the outdoor industry.” She’s also member of the First Best Place Task Force, a group dedicated to revitalizing Columbia Falls while preserving and protecting its resources. As if that’s not enough, recently, she was part of a team who set a downriver paddling record as well. “We paddled two rafts 123 miles—from Schafer Meadows all the way to Flathead Lake—in 17 hours and 44 minutes,” Hilary said. “There’s no record of anyone ever doing it.”

Best of both worlds

As for Whitney, it was her tenure at Glacier Raft that led her to the career she has today—program director for First Descents. It was Stoneman who initially put Whitney in touch with First Descents. “It’s the best of both worlds,” Whitney said. “I found a career path that allows me to continue in my passion and love for the outdoors as well as share it with other people while utilizing my education and my business organizational experience.” Started by Kalispell native and professional kayaker Brad Ludden, First Descents operates nine different programs in six different states every summer. Three of those take place in Glacier. Most of the week-long programs feature whitewater 406 WOMAN  67

modern wedding & portrait photography 404-520-8855

modwest photo

www.modwestphoto.com

Hormonal Imbalance and Low Sex Drive Women: Hormones, Menopause & Sex, Part II by KIERSTEN ALTON

t some point in our lives almost all women will experience a loss of sexual desire. There are many reasons this may occur. The most basic cause of low sex drive is hormone imbalance, which comes in many forms. Progesterone, one of our sex hormones, is crucial to libido. During perimenopause, this hormone’s production is falling, which can result in a low sex drive. Other issues related to our hormones can make intercourse uncomfortable, such as vaginal dryness and thinning of the vaginal wall. This is usually related to decreasing estrogen levels. Estrogen replacement can correct this imbalance and restore health to these tissues. Vaginal Estriol works great for this problem. Both men and women need healthy testosterone levels to have a good libido. Testosterone replacement can help restore a healthy sex drive. Fatigue can also sap your energy and your interest in sex. Fatigue can be caused by poor nutrition or a hormone imbalance. Excess caffeine, too many carbohydrates and refined sugars or a lack of protein can cause low energy levels and decreased sex drive. Many women suffer from adrenal exhaustion. Your adrenals make adrenalin and cortisol. As your adrenals become more stressed, they steal your sex hormones (progesterone, estrogen and testosterone) to make more cortisol. The end result is a decrease in the hormones that fuel your sexual response. Adrenal exhaustion also can result in extreme fatigue and irritability. There are many other causes of low libido. Hysterectomies, prescription drugs and lower testosterone levels as we age can cause hormone imbalance as well. Our sexual identity may also be tied to how attractive we feel. Weight gain in menopause can make us feel undesirable and therefore less interested in sex. Balancing our hormones can help with all of these issues and help restore our sex drive. You can do something about each of these issues. There is no reason to give up on having a healthy and happy sex life. Bio-identical hormone replacement can help solve many of these problems. These hormones are made by a compounding pharmacy and are regulated by individual state boards of pharmacists and the FDA, much like regular prescription drugs. However, they are made from wild yams and are identical to the hormones produced by your ovaries. Bio-identical hormones have been available and used in the United States for over 20 years. There are many local doctors, nurse midwives, nurse practitioners and naturopaths who will prescribe bio-identical hormones. Women need to feel like it is okay to talk with their practitioner about their sex drive and know there are solutions available to help.

Kiersten Alton, RPH, is a pharmacist at Big Sky Specialty Compounding in Kalispell. She attended pharmacy school at the University of Texas in Austin where she learned about herbs, vitamins, homeopathics and how to make medicines from scratch (compounding). She helps patients reduce or eliminate medications and teaches classes on women’s hormones, environmental toxins, and nutritional and natural medicine for infants and toddlers. Recently Kiersten started an autism support group. For more information, e-mail Kalton@bigskycompounding.com.

Signs of Hormone Imbalance

Low libido Vaginal dryness and thinning Adrenal exhaustion Irritability Insomnia Mood swings Memory impairment Anxiety Dry skin

Symptoms of Menopause

Irregular periods Hot flashes Night or day sweats Problems sleeping Dry skin Decreased libido Mood swings Vaginal dryness Depression Osteoporosis Urinary incontinence Hair loss

406 WOMAN  71

ct Perfe y Ovando, a na a Getaw t n o M 59854 story and photos by OLIVIA KOERNIG For a weekend getaway steeped in old-fashioned charm yet seasoned by the progressive concept of resource conservation, look no farther than Ovando, Montana. In Powell County, Ovando sits in the heart of the Blackfoot Valley. Turn into town and take a step back in time where the past is ever-present. This concept is perhaps best illustrated by a remark on its tourism website: “In Ovando… location is known by the name of who owned the place before you.” So we’re off to Ovando, a.k.a, the Blackfoot Indians’ old bison hunting grounds.

The Drive

Heading south out of Kalispell, we drive past checkered farmlands and pastoral outbuildings before turning south on Montana Highway 83, known to locals as the Seeley-Swan. The sun splits the clouds draped above the Swan Mountains while cottonwoods, lodgepole and ponderosa pines flank the pavement. Dark green moss hangs from pine boughs like fur from a gorilla’s arm. As the highway winds deeper into the woods, bear grass erupts from the fields on either side of the highway, the snowy blooms shooting up like fountains. Finally, we hit the intersection of Montana Highway 200 and Montana Highway 83, known to locals as Clearwater Junction. You’ll know it by the gigantic heifer standing watch over Stoney’s Kwik Stop. Head east towards Helena for 15 miles. Turn right at the sign indicating Ovando, “jewel of the Blackfoot Valley.”

The Town

With 200 names on its “mailing list,” Ovando is home to about 60 year-round residents. Town consists of a few 100-year-old buildings which house a general store/inn, a café, a museum, a fly shop and a nonprofit conservation organization. A teepee and fire hall are the town’s newest structures. The teepee “took three of us about three tries” to erect, says local Howie Fly, who owns and operates the Stray Bullet Café with his wife Peggy. Heading in for some nosh, I’m joined by two distance cyclists decked out in racing garb while their bikes support gear-laden panniers. Although I’m intrigued and release a barrage of rapid fire inquiries, none of the Ovandans seem a bit surprised

to see them. It turns out, these two men are days behind some of their fellow racers in the self-supported Tour Divide. They’ve been riding together for days—all the way from Banff, Alberta, Canada. The race ends in Antelope Wells, New Mexico. One cyclist is from Austria, the other Florida. “I thought you were from the U.K.,” the surprised Floridian says to his companion. Earlier in the week, some speedier cyclists stayed overnight in Ovando. The new teepee offered an economical option. To sleep in the teepee in the middle of town Howie charges $5 a night. In the three weeks since erecting the teepee, he’d already collected $60. “It goes to the community fund,” he said.

The Lodging

Beyond the teepee in the middle of town, the Blackfoot Mercantile and Inn offers room and board as well as gas and groceries. You could call it “the Fly’s old place,” as the Johnsons bought it earlier this year. Along with their three golden-haired daughters, Nord and Kim rent out five rooms, each themed after a historical person from the area. The middle daughter, Faith, clad in denim overalls accessorized with her precocious personality, shows us the rooms and offers us a limited lesson in Ovando history: Bessie Young, the first white woman born in Ovando, “wrote a journal, I think.” A carved wooden Indian chief stands guard outside the front door and all the books of Howard Copenhaver, the now-deceased local outfitter who chronicled his years guiding in the Bob Marshal wilderness, are for sale inside. Behind the cash register, a sizeable bear skin hangs across the wall. Call 793-5555 or visit www.blackfoot-inn.com for reservations. For a more luxurious experience, head out of town to the North Fork Crossing Lodge, run by Katie Boedecker. Primarily a fly-fishing lodge, guests are treated to guided float trips and casting lessons by day, gourmet meals and hospitality by night. Call (800) 858-3497 or visit www. prooutfitters.com for reservations. One particularly interesting feature at North Fork Crossing is its canvas wall tents, a row of wooden plankfloored tents outfitted with oversized luxuriously dressed custom made beds, electricity, heat and antique style dressers. The term “glamping,” or glamour camping, originated in the Blackfoot Valley. And although most 406 WOMAN  73

photo courtesy of Kathy Schoendoerfer to Ovando, which to a teenager from big city Missoula, was a fate worse than death. “I took over when my dad retired in 1997,” Cindy said. “There’s no place I’d rather be.” It’s a quiet afternoon at Trixi’s. Besides my companion and me, there is one man at the bar, a table of two older tourists and a black and white dog named Belle. “She just likes to hang out here,” Cindy said. “She knows how to open the door, so we can’t keep her out.” While the place is quiet now, Cindy tells us that live bands from Missoula who play there on Friday nights bring crowds from the surrounding area. “They literally spill out the door and dance outside on the lawn,” she said. “As the night wears on, the music gets louder. The kids love it.” Inside, the décor is much as Trixi left it. Tractor seat bar stools line the red vinyl sided bar. A collection of trophies, including a bald eagle and grizzly bear, take up residence there. Old photographs of Trixi in her prime line the walls. A jukebox waits to be called upon, and outside, dilapidated cabins, once rooms for let, sit beside the parking lot.

The Rest

see who has the key. Kitty corner from the Brand Bar and next door to the Stray Bullet is the office of the conservation effort known as the Blackfoot Challenge. It’s a landowner-based group that coordinates the protection and usage of the Blackfoot watershed. Since the 1970s, the group has been involved in responsible stewardship management and conservation. From weed management to stream restoration and water conservation, the Challenge seeks to preserve the “rural character and natural beauty” in the area. For further information, visit www. blackfootchallenge.org.

The end

At the end of the getaway, we head back to the Flathead and back to the 21st century. All the way, Howie’s lament echoes in my head: “More than 5,000 cars pass this way on the 200 every day, but nobody knows we’re here.” I can’t help thinking it’s a mixed blessing.

406.270.5457

viewmontana.com

Ovando is also home to the Brand Bar Museum, which has undergone a number of transformations in its lifetime, including a renovation underway now. In 1897, it was a saloon called the Bucket of Blood. Then it became the Double Diamond saloon and the Brand Bar saloon. Today, the museum houses all manner of area history. By late fall, the museum will be open weekends and by appointment. Want to visit during irregular hours? The museum is open then too—just ask around to

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Nothing to Wear? We can fix that! Unique clothing for anywhere and every occasion. Complimentary wardrobing and style consultations, color analysis, and makeup lessons.

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Arts Work:

Jennifer Li and her husband Nick Oberling at work in their home studio while their son Christopher plays nearby in the specially designed playroom area of the studio.

finding balance

text and photos by MARTI EBBERT KURTH

he issue of how to stay focused on doing your art is always a tricky one. For oil painter, Jennifer Li, the issue of staying focused is complicated by the fact that she has two young boys and a husband who also makes his living as an artist and they both paint together in a studio at their home. Not to imply that togetherness is not a good thing! But my experience of working at home in an office across the hall from my husband, who also works from our house, is that it can be challenging, especially when neither of us wants to do the dishes! Jennifer’s sunny disposition and easygoing manner provide her a balance that is crucial when dealing with the issues of choosing whether to spend time in the studio or picking up after the kids. “Sometimes I just have to shut off the housekeeping,” she says, admitting that it is not always easy. “It’s always ‘funner’ to fold laundry than sand (painting) frames because it’s sort of a mindless task,” she explains.But the reality for her and husband, Nick Oberling, is that frames are a necessary component of selling their work. Otherwise they would have to pay someone else to build and paint them. Painting has been part of Jennifer’s life for a long time. She grew up in Mill Valley, California with parents who encouraged her artistic talent. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in literature and then moved to New York City where she spent 20 years studying painting, later becoming a professional in 1990. Twelve of those years were at the Arts Students League of New York studying with the distinguished realist painters, Frank Mason and Harvey Dinnerstein. Her painting technique is grounded in the varnish mediums of the Dutch Golden Age and her work has been noted for its color and luminosity, its imaginative and evocative content and for the high quality of her technique. The New York Times has described her style as “straightforwardly beautiful” with an “element of the weird.” “I love realism but my paintings are distortions of reality,” she

Mozart in the Mountains Jennifer Li was commissioned by the Glacier Symphony to paint her impression of the weeklong Festival Amadeus, the classical music event held each summer in Whitefish. Giclee prints of this oil portrait are available for $100 and can be obtained by calling the GSC, 257-3241.

explains. “I have always been interested in painting the human figure. I don’t work from photographs, but rather invent people and faces to paint, much like a novelist creates a character. When I start painting a face will emerge, and sometimes it looks like someone familiar to me and sometimes not. People often tell me that there seems to be a subtext and they read mystery into my paintings.” So how do she and Nicholas find time to be painters with the distractions of parenthood? In the early days when the boys were under age five, they traded off time in the studio, and they had an ingenious playroom area set up in their studio space, with a baby gate to keep little fingers out of the oil paints and turpentine that is their stock in trade. “I think they were a bit less demanding because we were only a few steps away and they got a lot of art projects to work on,” she says laughing. Now that the boys are in school her painting schedule 406 WOMAN  77

The Heat is On by OLIVIA KOERNIG photos by LINDSEY JANE

s temperatures climb, it may not be the most appealing exercise, but on an intellectual level, it makes sense. ‘It’ is hot yoga. And while stepping out of the heat into an even hotter room may seem counterproductive, it’s easy to see how warmer bodies could translate into looser, more pliable muscles. At The Healing Sun hot yoga studio, located between Whitefish and Kalispell, poses are performed in a room heated to 105 degrees. In addition to the mind-clearing benefits of yoga, hot yoga is said to help the body shed toxins and impurities due to the profuse sweating. Some practitioners report clearer skin as well. Sam Rice, who runs the studio and teaches classes there, pays particular focus to alignment. After sustaining a yoga-induced injury early on her path, Rice became diligent about learning, performing and teaching yoga that works with the body rather than against it. “I focus on yoga that involves alignment and the biomechanics of yoga,” she says. “I provide a safe class with modifications to make sure no one ever gets hurt. I hear of people going to yoga and getting hurt. That should never happen. Yoga should be about relief not suffering.” Rice says her class strikes a balance between strength and flexibility, although she prefers the term “lengthening” to flexibility. And while her class is challenging, she said it’s appropriate for all levels of yoga practitioners. “You will definitely sweat,” she said. “But it’s not about folding into a pretzel.” Another key focus of yoga, in Rice’s mind, is preserving the body. Imagine your body as it is today and keeping it that way for the next 10 years—or more. That’s Rice’s aim. “If we can maintain our bodies how they are now for the rest of our lives,” she marvels, “we’ll be way ahead of the game.” While Rice said she became interested in yoga because of the physical benefits, she’s come to enjoy mental and emotional payoffs as well. And she’s not alone. One of her students finds hot yoga is the only way to combat the stress of planning a wedding. Rice herself found yoga to be the best medicine to guard against depression. “I love the path of yoga,” she said. “I didn’t know what I was doing with my life. I felt lost and was suffering

HOT YOGA FOR EVERY BODY

with possible depression. Yoga helped me work through all that.” Some people with autoimmune disorders find hot yoga brings a relief nothing else can. One such story is Sally Donovan, who founded The Healing Sun in January 2007. Donovan has fibromyalgia. And although she was always quite strong, over the years, she found her muscles losing flexibility. “My muscles stayed toned, but they got really sore,” she said. “I started doing yoga about 10 years ago. When I did yoga in a cold room, I’d get bound up again after class ended. I found hot yoga was really what I needed.” When she moved to the Valley in 2005, the closest hot yoga studio was in Missoula. So she looked into starting her own. At that time, there wasn’t much yoga of any kind in the Valley. Donovan felt the climate in northwestern Montana might lend itself to hot yoga more readily than warmer climates. And while she does notice a spike of attendance in the winter, she says her core group of students grows each year. Besides, with such a short summer, Donovan thinks Sam Rice most people in the Flathead are of Healing outside relishing the short window Sun of opportunity to play outside. Recently, tourists have been hearing about The Healing Sun. Surprisingly, many of the out-of-towners who come to class come from warmer climates like Texas and Arizona. With low introductory prices and classes tailored to each individual, Rice says trying hot yoga at The Healing Sun is really a can’t-lose opportunity. “It’s for everybody,” she said.

Custom Fit: Hunter & Co.

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PHOTOS: opposite page - Model home in The Homestead in Whitefish. left - Hunter Dominick. right - Heidi Tate, Hunter Dominick, and Jodi Shirkey at Hunter & Co in Whitefish.

ver since she was a little girl, Hunter Dominick, who owns Hunter & Co. in Whitefish, had her sights fixed on interior design. While other girls entertained notions of stardom as singers or actresses, Dominick imagined window treatments and meaningfully placed coffee tables. As a trained interior designer (rather than a decorator) Dominick knows what works and what doesn’t. From scale and size to function and fashion, she and her team possess the artistic and construction backgrounds and knowledge to create an inviting yet innovative space. And Dominick may even posses some genetic predisposition for the work. “I knew from the time I was five years old that this is what I wanted to do,” she says. “My father was an interior designer and we went to the same college.” While she came to Whitefish from Vail, Colorado more than eight years ago, Dominick grew up in Virginia. Every so often, her southern drawl peeks out from her otherwise unaccented speech. A glimpse of her genteel upbringing is also evident in the store in the form of a collection of tea towels and luxury bed linens to serving sets. “We carry Bella Notte bedding,” she says. “And if you saw a bed completely dressed in its bedding, you’d kind of want to just go to bed.” Although the luxury bedding exudes comfort, much of the rest of the showroom oozes sophistication and style. A faux twig chandelier hangs from the ceiling while an original oil painting of a cow’s head imagined in rainbow-hued brush strokes hangs

by OLIVIA KOERNIG photos by BRENT STEINER Homestead photo courtesy of HUNTER & CO. from the wall. A pinstriped crushed velvet sofa sits opposite two kilim-print and red oil-rubbed leather occasional chairs. Underfoot, evidence of Dominick’s “rug fetish” drapes the floor. But don’t let the building’s exterior or the floor samples fool you, this design store has an almost endless selection. Five years ago, Hunter & Co. moved to its current location, north of the viaduct on Wisconsin Ave., because it needed more space. So while the building looks small on the outside, once inside, it opens up and expands into a shop where one could get lost for an afternoon poking around corners. Similarly, a room devoted to fabric swatches and sample flip-books provides customers with a choose-your-own-adventure in furniture shopping. “We try to represent all our product lines in our floor room furniture,” Dominick says. “And we have one of the most extensive sample libraries in the valley.” Dominick says one myth she’s working to dispel is that Hunter & Co. is only for designers. Or that it’s only for the ultra-wealthy. She believes smaller budgets simply enhance the creative process. “Some of our greatest ideas come to us because we’re working creatively within a budget,” she says. Hunter and Co. deals heavily in lighting and window treatments and also offers a line of invitations and cards. From candles to catalogues, Dominick says her store is for those who want to break out from the mold. “Everything we do is custom,” she says. “If you’re looking for something slightly unexpected that your neighbor doesn’t have, look here.”

406 WOMAN  81

THE TRUTH ABOUT

Change

Change is inevitable, it always happens.

by DRU RAFKIN JACKMAN, ACC

don’t know about you, but when I hear the word “change” I get a little nervous and uncomfortable. My brain immediately starts churning out thoughts about how a change will affect me, what I might lose, and how hard it will be. Doubt, worry, fear. If you’ve read my contributor bio in the front of this magazine then you know that I worked in the television industry before becoming a Certified Coach. For 15 years I worked as a script supervisor where an integral part of the job is to be the one person on set who keeps track of changes in the script and makes certain everybody and every department is aware of those changes. So you’d think that after all that experience I must be the master of change. I was on top of it all and known for my ability to stay calm in the face of chaos. A new scene for five actors just 20 minutes before filming before a live audience? No problem, Dru’s got it covered. How did I do it? What was my secret? Every time a set of revision pages arrived I would simply think, “AGAIN? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Ah, yes the face of calm confidence. I knew change was coming because it was a part of my job, and yet it still unnerved me most of the time. Anyone doing research on the effects of change and stress on the body should

have had a blood pressure cuff attached to me 80 hours a week. I could have enjoyed my job more and allowed myself a lot less stress if I had only stopped to realize that this was not being done to me, but was simply part of the job. Instead, like a lot of us, I fought change professionally and personally. These days I see similarities with my clients and in our everyday lives. We schedule our days and hold our breath, hoping that things go smoothly. We pray that nothing gets in our way and that we will finally get ahead and be able to relax. I gave a talk recently, “Mastering Change,” and when I asked the women what their first response to change was, they said “frustrated, nervous and anxious.” One woman said she was instinctively excited by change, which I loved. But one out of 39 tells me that we need help and support in learning to face change in ways that are easier on our bodies, minds and loved ones. What you know about change will save you from the unnecessary doubt, worry and fear. Understanding the qualities of change makes it easier to show up in a way you can be proud of. It takes practice. It’s a new way of thinking for a lot of us. To begin,

there are a few things to know about change: Change is inevitable, it always happens. Everything in and around us changes constantly: our health, our mood, our perception of time, our physical condition, the weather, relationships, political and economic climates, etc. This awareness alone can bring some breathing room. Because change is always happening, it is predictable. Expect change. Think about that for a minute. If you can think of something that never, ever changes call me. Seriously. Then there’s the irony of change, we fear it and we crave it. The latter is evident when we realize that we are “stuck” or are ready for something new. Perhaps the most important factor to see is that we all experience a natural and normal phenomenon of pushback or resistance in response to change. It’s how we are wired, some aspect of our life alters and our brain immediately starts to deal with it in order to

the coach is in!

Send coaching issues to me and I will answer them in this column.

by email

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put “406 Woman” in the subject line and send to info@solutionsbydru.com.

by mail

send to Dru Jackman, ACC 406 Woman P.O. Box 741 Whitefish, MT 59937.

keep us safe. Now that you recognize the qualities of change, how might you respond the next time it comes along? This is going to take some practice so start visualizing your response in preparation. Here are a few techniques to help you start the process:

Identify your brain’s I’d-turn-backif-I-were-you reaction to change. What are your biggest challenges to addressing change? Being aware allows you to examine if your current ways are working for you.

Know your strengths. Take an inventory of your good qualities and keep them close. “When change occurs I am great at…”

Being present to the moment allows you to deal with change by responding rather than reacting. Practice being mindful—take a breath and just notice what’s happening in and around you.

Know that successful people expect change as well as the discomfort that comes with it. They use it as an opportunity to create something new.

Past experience does not have to be a predictor of future experience. You have a choice even if it doesn’t feel like it. The next time you find yourself reacting to change in a way you don’t like, ask yourself, “How would a person with my strengths respond to this?” The revisions are coming! How are you going to greet them?

Dru Rafkin Jackman is a

Certified Personal and Professional Development Coach who started Sane Solutions by Dru in 1998. In her former life, Dru was a script supervisor who worked in the “glamorous” world of television. And although she loved the camaraderie, teamwork and 80-hour weeks, she took a dare from friends and decided to follow her passion of supporting others. She lives in Whitefish with her husband. To contact her, please visit www. solutionsbydru.com.

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406 WOMAN  85

the life of

Whitefish Sporting Women by CHRISTINE HENSLEIGH

Many a young girl admired the fashionable ladies of Whitefish known as “sporting women,” much to the chagrin of their parents. These women of easy virtue had free money to spend on their appearance—and appearance could be critical to continued business. Their hats, skirts, dresses and especially their jewelry were the envy of any fashionable woman. Local dressmakers and milliners depended on the currency of these soiled doves to keep their trades alive. While there money was necessary to the trades of town, their presence was not always welcome within society. In fact, at least one local recalls their wanderings being restricted to the hours of 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., the time when society women were having tea. Despite their restricted appearance, commerce always finds a way. As Dorothy Johnson recalled in her book of essays, When You And I Were Young, Whitefish, “Their money was as legal currency as anybody’s, and their custom was important to some stores…When one of the girls came in to look around, the proprietors dropped everything and everybody to attend to (their) need for silk stockings or whatever.” “But the girls didn’t have much money. The madams did. Trust the executive type to get the gravy! Following an unwritten law, the madams did not sally forth in person and shock the people by flouncing along Central Avenue to visit the stores. They sent messages, describing what they’d like to look at. They shopped like royalty. The Queen of England doesn’t paw through merchandise in shops. Purveyors are glad to send stuff over on approval.” Jewelers, in particular, catered to the madams. Johnson wrote, “But the general population had no money to waste on Jewelry. The madams did. Besides, diamonds were a girl’s best friend, because she might have to leave town in too big a hurry to pull her stake out of the bank.” True to point, Whitefish’s long-lasting and successful madam, Ms. Julia Schraepfer, was known for her stunning collection of diamonds. While turn-of-the-century accounts paint the sporting life as a point of no return for most women, in Whitefish, it was not always the case. Many sporting girls married and became accepted into decent society. Some had families. Newspaper accounts relate situations where men and women (by this they meant, man and prostitute) had taken up a regular living situation without the blessing of a magistrate. For this infraction there was often a fine of $25, but usually the couple was forced to take vows as punishment for this crime. Certainly Whitefish was good to Julia. This

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live, love,

AND RIDE

HORSES

FINDING TRUE UNITY IN HORSEMANSHIP

One of the most wonderful experiences in life is the chemistry and relationship a well trained horse and its owner share. Finding an experienced horseman who is sensitive to the intricacies of both is paramount. Jennifer Ormerod of Bigfork specializes in teaching the horse and rider. Her natural, universal and commonsense theories originated from years working with famous horsemen like Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt and Buck Brannaman. Teaching and riding for the public for 20 years, Jennifer specializes in colt starting to give a solid lifetime foundation that makes the colt ready for all disciplines: Dressage, Cutting Horses, Jumping Horses, Reining Horses and Trail Horses. Demonstrating some of the top horsemen’s methods she learned firsthand, she never abuses the horse, instead offering patience and skilled techniques, along with respect, love and understanding for the horse. She knows the end result will be best for the horse and owner or even for future owners. Every horse deserves a chance to be useful and acceptable in our world, but if they are not trained correctly, this chance may be lost for that horse’s entire lifetime and can become a hindrance to its owners. She says, “It’s best for all concerned when the owner can communicate with their horse through knowledge and understanding of the horse’s nature and movement. This promotes mutual respect and trust. Brutal tactics can damage the trust a horse has in any human and will hinder the chances of having the horse become the best it can be, as well as hinder your chances when you really need to depend on that horse’s ability and trust in you.” Jennifer’s methods work with the horse to create “True Unity” between the horse and rider and make for a great relationship that will last. Jennifer started riding at age 10. By age 14, she began showing quarter horses. She also started riding Omoxy, which is barrel racing, pole bending, keyhole – games of speed. At that time, she saw some methods of horse training that she couldn’t abide by. Cruel techniques were used and she knew she could never embrace these tactics. She married and had a daughter. By the time Hailey was two, Jennifer rode with her in saddle nearly every day. By age four, Hailey was riding her own Quarter Horse. She attended a Buck Brannaman clinic and learned that Buck had a much different philosophy on working with horses. Once she saw Brannaman work she knew she had found the right road to travel that would shape her life for the future. It was a life changing experience for her. Jennifer now craved this new found method of ‘working with a horse’ not dominating it. She began 88  406 WOMAN

sponsoring and attending Brannaman’s clinics, which involved colt starting, horsemanship, ranch roping and cow working. Jennifer then attended every horsemanship clinic she could, soaking in the knowledge, techniques and skills directly from Dorrance, Hunt and Brannaman. At this time, her goal was to stay at home to be able to raise her daughter and work with people and their horses. With the knowledge and experience she had gained over the years and against all odds, Jennifer opened her own business teaching horsemanship and starting horses Crown Valley Horsemanship Center, in Acton, California, thrived from the beginning. Hailey helped with the horses and worked to keep the business running. Raising her daughter with horsemanship proved to be an incredible benefit, teaching her compassion and love, and embedding a strong work ethic and character. Now Jennifer was living her passion and fulfilling her dream that she never gave up on and worked so hard to attain. Her popularity, reputation and expertise

text & photos by TANYA L. HAUSS

FASHION FINDS

Even though they support you all day long, you still walk all over them. But I'm not talking about your man—I'm talking about shoes! Shoes can make ordinary jeans or a plain cocktail dress look amazing. They are the most important accessory to any outfit, the only accessory you truly need. Fashion Finds sells a large array of one-of-a-kind designer shoes without the high price tag, like Jimmy Choo and Salvatore Ferragamo, to Prada and Enzo Angiolini and many more. Forget diamonds, shoes are a girl's best friend!

MONTANA EXPRESSIONS

Scavenger art by artist Mark Orr reflects the high position the raven holds in our mythology and spirituality. The key the raven holds symbolizes the opening of doors and the welcoming of positive change into our lives. Open our door at Montana Expressions and you will find unique items just like this as well as custom furniture and lighting to enhance your living environment.

MONTANA EXPRESSIONS 123 MAIN STREET, KALISPELL, MT 406.756.8555

FASHION FINDS NUCLEUS & 6TH COLUMBIA FALLS, MT 406.249.8167

ROMAS For centuries, expert carvers in the mountains of Central

China have transformed gnarled stumps of Shan-Mu fir trees into works of art, like this Root Bowl. Each piece is finished with a food-safe lacquer that protects and magnifies the wood’s natural beauty. Use as a display piece, a basket for serving dry foods, or even a conversation piece. Find this rustic beauty in Bigfork at Roma’s, a shop especially for cooks featuring tools, accessories and gourmet treats.

ROMA'S 470 ELECTRIC AVENUE, BIGFORK, MT 406.837.2332

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GLOW

You work hard to be the Fabulous You. Reward yourself with sunless tanning and designer swimwear from Glow, featuring Vitamin A bikinis and must have NiKiBiKi tanks, Hanky Panky's, and fun, fashionable clothing. Glow also offers Mystic Tan tanning - totally UV-free and touch free - unlike any other tan under the sun. The Fabulous You deserves this much fun! GLOW, A LUXURY TANNING & FINE SWIMWEAR BOUTIQUE

22 LUPFER, WHITEFISH, MT 406.862.8220

living style

At Vann’s, ”green” is more than a paint color, it’s a

Live Green These days, the word “green” gets a lot of use. While there may be no single definition of this term that evokes energy efficiency and sustainability, Vann’s takes action to contribute its own meaning. Vann’s treats “green” as a lifestyle. A Vann’s Green Team manages paper and plastic recycling, and has coordinated a commuter challenge with a local alternative-transportation group to encourage low-impact transportation practices. Further, employees use a battery-powered hybrid vehicle for outof-town travel. Vann’s green lifestyle extends beyond the office, too. Vann’s carries a large selection of home electronics and appliances that meet or exceed federal

energy-efficiency guidelines, some of them in innovative ways. Take SubZero’s Built-In refrigerator series, for example. Unlike standard refrigerators, Sub-Zero BI models use a dual-compressor cooling system that isolates fridge and freezer compartments, allowing for enhanced temperature management that translates into dramatically reduced energy consumption. Built-In series refrigerators, in fact, consume less energy than a 100W light bulb. From its daily life behind the scenes, out onto the sales floor, and into your home, Vann’s seeks to cultivate its meaning of “green”: an environmentally responsible livingstyle.

Get inspired at: livingstyle.vanns.com

THE SUBZERO/WOLF LIVING KITCHEN SHOWROOM 3400 Laramie Drive Bozeman, Montana (406) 556-6600 Billings 2647 King Ave. W (406) 652-5100 91  406 WOMAN

Bozeman 3400 Laramie Dr. (406) 556-6600

Kalispell 2185 Hwy 2 East (406) 257-9530

Audio | Video | Appliances | Portable Hamilton 616 North 1st (406) 363-6410

Helena 2019 Cromwell-Dixon Ln (406) 442-4500

Missoula 3623 Brooks (406) 728-5151

photo by BRENT STEINER

Featuring Marrika Nakk Designs Antiques • Co-op Consignment • Eclectic Decor Upscale boutique of the finest jewelry, clothes, hats & fun accesssories Tina Terry Proprietress

REDNECK CHIC 3167 Hwy. 93 South , Kalispell • 755-5920