The Whitefish Ski Heritage Museum kicks off summer with the reopening of the museum and a long-awaited new sign adorning the Wisconsin Avenue street front.

Beginning Thursday, June 25, the museum will be open Thursdays through Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. In early July, the schedule will expand to Wednesday through Saturday through Labor Day weekend.

The museum is operated by the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation in the historic Saddle Club cabin adjacent to the Stumptown Ice Den in Mountain Trails Park. The museum features a photographic exhibit portraying the history of skiing in the Flathead Valley, a Hall of Fame honoring the ski pioneers and local skiing legends, a life-size cutaway reproduction of the interior the Hellroaring ski cabin circa 1935 and a video library featuring rare footage of skiing in the valley and around Montana in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. Work is currently underway to add a 10th Mountain Division “Ski Troops” exhibit featuring the Flathead Valley men who served in this winter warfare unit in World War II, and to record the personal recollections of local skiing pioneers.

The museum has recently received two grants to help fund exhibit development. A grant from the Denver-based 10th Mountain Division Foundation will help fund a new multi-media exhibit honoring the 10th Mountain Division from World War II and celebrating its impact on skiing history in the United States and here in the Flathead Valley. The exhibit will commemorate the legacy of the 10th Mountain Division, the Montanans who served, and their heroic exploits in World War II and the post-war impact of its veterans in building and reshaping the ski and outdoor industry in America. A grant from the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau will help fund the First Descents project to record firsthand accounts of surviving early-day skiers and employees of the Big Mountain Resort.

Both grants require that matching funds and operating reserves be committed to support the allocation of grant funds. The campaign to raise these matching funds was recently launched.

“Clearly, raising the funds to provide a match for these grants is our highest priority,” Foundation Director Tim Hinderman said. “We are encouraged that there is abundant community support for documenting these important parts of our history and culture.”

For information about donating to the Matching Funds Campaign, contact Hinderman at 406-885-2730 or tim.hinderman@fvsef.org.

As a nonprofit organization relying solely on volunteers, the foundation is always seeking new members interested in being a part of documenting and disseminating this chapter in the history of the region. The foundation is also seeking old chairs from the chair lifts of the past, including Original Chair One, Chair 3 and Chair 4. For more information, to volunteer or if you know of old chairs in storage somewhere, contact Hinderman.

Located on Wisconsin Avenue on the way to Whitefish Mountain Resort, the Ski Heritage Museum’s log structure is provided through a long-term lease with the city of Whitefish. Whitefish Mountain Resort has donated numerous photographs and artifacts from the original ski area. The Stumptown Historical Society has generously provided funding for the building renovation and the “History in Photos” exhibit. Other critical funding was generated through participation in the Great Fish Challenge organized by the Whitefish Community Foundation.

Annual memberships to the Ski Heritage Center are now available. For information on membership levels and benefits, visit fvsef.org/ski-museum.