Much like its owner, The Miracle of America Museum in Polson looks tough and weathered on the outside but is a wealth of knowledge on U.S. history.

Gil Mangels, owner and operator of the museum, can be found on his U.S. 93 property in the main building or in the machine shop, adding more exhibits.

The museum, a sprawling complex packed to the rafters (literally) with Americana, has been referred to by locals as the Smithsonian of the west, albeit with a little more rust on some of the exhibits.

Mangels’ seasonal exhibit, “Think Snow,” is a perfect example.

With military rescue tractors from the 10th Mountain Division, a 1943 motor toboggan and antique Glacier National Park snowcats, Mangels has assembled a living history of how the United States has handled snow for more than a century.

Mangels has been assembling pieces for his museum nearly that long.

“I’ve been collecting for all my life,” Mangels said.

Children 2 to 12 pay $2 for entry while it costs those 13 and older $5 to get in. Mangels uses the money to keep up the nonprofit museum. The museum’s winter hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Special tour visits are available “by chance of appointment.”

The 71-year old Mangels founded the museum with his wife, Joanne, in 1984. Joanne died in 2012 but Mangels continues their passion for teaching America’s past as the museum turns 30.

Mangels can be gruff until asked about something in his collection.

Then his eyes light up and he will proudly tell where and when he got the item, along with its history before it arrived with him.

That’s how he knows everything about the Eliason motor toboggan that is part of his “Think Snow” collection.

As one of just eight of the first factory-built snowmobiles (it’s a toboggan with an Indian Scout 45-cubic-inch mounted on top and painted cherry red) left in existence, it is a rare piece of history, brought even closer to home by its personal history. The Eliason was used by the U.S. Forest Service in Lincoln, Mont., where it could bring supplies or hurt men through the forest.

Other snow-beaters include a Ford Model-A retrofitted as a snowmobile used to deliver mail in Birdseye, Mont., an authentic one-horse open sleigh, hockey and figure skating gear from before the 1950s and a special machine that was used for decades to cut blocks of ice from Lake Mary Ronan.

The actual “Think Snow” show was Jan. 9. Mangels showed a video of the snow machines in action on frozen Lake Mary Ronan in his auditorium.

The event may be over, but catch the owner at a less busy time and people can possibly get guided tours for the real experience.

Besides his “Think Snow” exhibit, Mangels’ several buildings over several acres include dozens of motorcycles, armored cars from World War II, loaned equipment from the Edison Labs, an exhibit in honor of the Second Amendment (there are quite a few firearms in the museum), a Boy Scout section and equipment from every major American conflict since the Civil War.

But what inspired this Polson native’s interest in history is less grand than his museum.

“When I was about 3 years old I was playing in Skidoo Bay and I found a strange rock. I didn’t know what it was, but I put it in my pocket,” Mangels said. “I showed it to my mother and she told me it was an Indian arrowhead. It was amazing to me that even though I didn’t know what it was, I knew it was important.”

He has had several offers over the years from interested parties to buy the Miracle of America Museum, but he said he just laughs and turns them down. The collection would fetch a pretty penny to larger museums, but Mangels would rather keep it for the people of Polson.

The next exhibit is “Be My Valentine” and is an important date for the man who married the love of his life on Feb. 14, 1965.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.