A warm coat, good books and a film festival
Charles W. Flynn of toasty-warm Yuma, Ariz., agreed to speak at a historic meeting in Great Falls later this week on one condition.
“If you can get me a coat, I’ll come,” Flynn told City-County Historic Preservation Officer Ellen Sievert of Great Falls.
It seems Flynn doesn’t need a cold-weather coat in the Arizona desert.
Enter downtown men’s clothier Ike Kaufman, who quickly said, “Oh, we can fix him right up,” Sievert related.
“Great Falls is such an accommodating community,” Sievert added. Fortunately, weather in Great Falls is expected to turn cold Friday, so Flynn should be able to make good use of the donated coat.
Flynn once was a legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. Ed Koch, who went on to become mayor of New York. Flynn also worked for Mayor Koch, and became the Big Apple’s deputy commissioner for finance and administration in 1979.
These days, Flynn is executive director of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area and also manages a $100 million riverfront development program in Yuma, which like Great Falls, has a big river running through it. It’s the Colorado River for Yuma, and the Missouri River for Great Falls.
Flynn talks Friday evening in an event that begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m. at the Civic Center, 2 Park Drive S. More than 50 people already had signed up to attend late last week. The event is free, but registration is required. Register through today by calling 455-8414 or by sending an email to tbaber@greatfallsmt.net. A second part of the event begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
“We’re getting a really good, broad group of people,” Sievert said.
Sievert is excited about the chance that parts of northcentral Montana could become Montana’s first national heritage area; there are 49 across the nation. The effort in northcentral Montana has just begun, but Sievert admits it won’t be easy to put all the pieces together.
“Butte has been working on it for more than 20 years,” Sievert said.
Backers say a national heritage area designation would draw more tourists. The closest national heritage area to Montana is in the Dakotas, according to Sievert.
Good books
In last week’s column, I asked readers if they had any suggestions of books to read for those four people who began sitting in a Subaru on Saturday for Lord knows how long in order to win a $23,000 car. The marathon began at 11 a.m. Saturday at Bennett Motors; no one knows how long it will last.
With time on their hands, contestants could polish off some good books. Here are several suggestions from Great Falls residents:
• Jane Putnam recommended “The Monuments Men,” by Robert M. Edsel. This book tells about Americans trying to rescue classic art in Europe during World War II; it was made into a film starring George Clooney last year.
• Gail Mader suggested “Tears of Rage,” written by “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh with Susan Schindehette, about the murder of Walsh’s son, and the eventual apprehension of his killer.
• Art Taft’s idea was “War and Peace,” by Leo Tolstoy. At nearly 1,300 pages, this classic about Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Russia in 1812 would take plenty of time to finish.
Film festival
Gerald Bickel of Great Falls says a short film he directed was accepted to the western Montana 2015 Flathead Lake International Cinemafest, which took place over the weekend in Polson. An award ceremony was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Sunday, but results were not immediately available. Results will be posted on the Tribune’s website at gftrib.com when they become available.
Richard Ecke writes a weekly column on city life. Reach him at 406-791-1465, by email at recke@greatfallstribune.com, or follow him @GFTrib_REcke on Twitter.