History Museum Legacy Awards ceremony coming April 8
On Saturday, April 8, The History Museum in Great Falls will host its annual Legacy Awards to honor businesses, organizations, and individuals that have helped shape, promote, and preserve the rich history of Cascade County and North Central Montana.
The Legacy Awards presentation is one of The History Museum’s most important fundraising events of the year and will include both a brunch and a vote by all museum members to select two new officers to serve on The History Museum’s Board of Directors.
Attendees will have the opportunity to bid on a variety of silent auction items to support the Cascade County Historical Society’s and The History Museum’s preservation work.
The following businesses and individuals will be honored at the 2023 Legacy Awards.
Commercial Business Award: O’Haire Motor Inn was the idea of businessmen brothers Bill and Edgar O’Haire in the early 1960s. The modern building featured solid concrete construction to reduce energy use, a lounge window to show swimmers in the pool, and even a helicopter pad for easier transport for farmers and businesspeople. Current owner Sandra Thares continues family traditions and has been a community leader for decades with her three dynamic businesses: O’Haire Inn, Sip ’n’ Dip Lounge and Clark & Lewie’s Pub and Grille.
100 Years Award: Meadow Gold Dairy can trace its Great Falls history back to 1916 when the dairy products plant was built on the fringe of Great Falls’ commercial district at 3rd Ave South. Through name changes, periods of growth and modernization many things remain consistent, especially a commitment to quality local products in a historic building in the heart of our community.
Non-Profit Award: YWCA was founded in 1909 and met in the Valeria Library for a time and gave 12 young women official membership cards to start. Two years later they boasted 500 pledged memberships and offered training for typists and cooks, a cafeteria for working women to get a decent meal and a place where women could stay or rest and socialize before returning home. Their services continue to fulfill unique and urgent needs of community members.
Person of the Year Award: Gene Thayer is The History Museum’s 2023 Person of the Year. Thayer is recognized for his outsized contributions to making and preserving history in Cascade County. As a former Great Falls mayor, legislator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist he serves as a leader in our community where so many more have benefited from his vision of what Great Falls and Montana can be.
The History Museum’s Legacy Awards brunch and membership meeting will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 8, within a recreation of the historic Ozark Club at The History Museum, located at 422 2nd St. South. The Ozark Club was the star of Montana nightlife from the 1930s into the 1960s and earned a reputation as the best place between Chicago and the West for Jazz.
Admission to the Legacy Awards is free and open to the general public; however, museum staff suggest a $10 per person donation to help cover the museum’s costs. For more information contact The History Museum at 406-452-3462 or by email at info@greatfallshistorymuseum.org
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Great Falls History Museum to host 2023 Legacy Awards
