Secrets of a Historic House Museum

I work for a historic house museum…it is as cool as it sounds. The basic information of The Moss Mansion can be found with a general google search. It is a single family home built in the early 1900s by P.B Moss. This man helped build Billings, MT into what it is today. You could even go on a tour of the home and learn so much more. However, there are a couple things you would never know unless you spent some quality time within the home.

We do not have secret passageways…but I guarantee there is plenty of  other details you have never noticed.

When you walk into the Moss Mansion it can be overwhelming. The intricate details on the walls, ceilings, floors, furniture can be a lot to take in. There is just so much to look at that people often miss the small details throughout the house. Things such as lizards carved into the doorknobs. A bathroom sink painted with gold on the bottom of it. Old man wind’s face carved into wood, tucked into the side of a china hutch. My suggestion? Keep coming back. You will always find something new!

We are completely self-funded.

People see big, huge fancy mansion, and assume a lot about money. They think the family must have left money to upkeep the estate, that we receive money from the state or city, or that we have secret stash of gold. The truth of the matter is that we are 100% self-funded. What does that mean? It means every cent of our budget comes from hard work from staff, board members and volunteers. We generate our revenue through tours, rentals, amazing events, and a handful of grants. It is never easy, but it is always fun.

A lot of our collection is never put-on display, and it is the most interesting items.

We have a whole collection of objects located on the third floor in a climate-controlled room we have named the vault. Most of these objects are original to the Moss family. Items such as clothing, photographs, schoolwork, even journals and business logs. These items are some of the most precious in our collection, because they give us a peak at the Moss family and their personalities. The Moss women were quite witty and funny, and very smart. The Moss men were trouble makers, but very kind. Everyone who knew them loved them.

The third floor is not as cool as it sounds…mostly

The third floor of the Moss Mansion has always been off limits to the public, for a multitude of reasons. People often try to bribe us to see it. When people are not allowed to see something, they always want to. The third floor is actually a little…underwhelming…it is just work and office space, where we keep all our collection items, and where we store a lot of seasonal event items. While that sounds very mundane there is a cool aspect of this floor. There is a ladder that goes into an attic space above. For a long while they were pulling stuff out of there. They found little toy boats, tiles from the roof, old screen doors. All of that has been taken out and replaced with insulation. However, what does remain is all the signatures from the Moss children. They wrote their name in chalk all over the beams of the attic. Within this attic is another ladder that leads you to the roof. Fun fact about the roof…it’s flat!

Yup…There are Ghosties, but they are friendly

The Moss has a lot of wild ghost stories associated with it. Talks of a little girl giggling on the staircase, hearing doors open and close, footsteps when no one is there. The list could go on. We have been investigated by the Montana Paranormal Society on more than one occasion, and they caught quite a few cool EVPs.  They saw figures pass in the night, and more than one investigator had some great personal experiences. However, no one has ever had a bad supernatural experience in the Mansion. All have been harmless and in passing. More than once students have sworn someone got into their selfie with them. Ghosts are just like us, they are just still trying to enjoy the house. Though I would not complain if they scared people occasionally.

Bonus Secret: History is cool, and so is the staff.

When people think Historic House Museum staff their minds immediately go to older grey haired cranky cat ladies telling you to not breath on anything. Now I am not going to say we aren’t cat ladies (seriously…we have wanted a Moss cat for years) but we aren’t old, and we aren’t cranky. We are just a group of people who love our job and love the Mansion we work in. It is like our second home, and we make ourselves at home. We often prank each other, some of us lay on the floor when we need a brain break, and we have piles of snacks and drinks to get us through our workday. We dress up for every occasion, often wear slippers when in our offices, and have to walk down four flights of stairs just to use the restroom.  Think all this sounds awesome? You should probably volunteer. Trust us…we are fun to hang out with.

Local Nonprofits Unite to Offer Free Support for Grief and Loss

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone in different ways; caregivers, patients and families alike are all experiencing new types of stress, grief and loss. This complicated grief has inspired many members of the community to develop new programs that are designed to meet this need. Here is a sampling of some of the free virtual support groups available in your area.

https://www.partnersinhomecare.org/events/

1. Continuing Bonds: Virtual Community Workshop

2. COVID-19 Support Group – For Healthcare Workers

3. Virtual Bereavement Support Group

Will The Housing Market Crash?

The current housing market seems to be a hot conversation topic around Montana right now. It is well known that there is a high demand with a very low supply of housing. Housing prices have increased considerably which can be explained by the law of supply and demand. When there is a shortage of supply and an increase in demand, prices increase.

According to InfoSparks provided by MLS, Missoula’s median sales price in January of 2020 was $325,000. Whereas in August of 2020, the median sales price was $365,000.  The median days on market for Missoula in January 2020 was 53 days. In August it had decreased exponentially down to a median of 9 days. The parameters included all ranges of prices, property types, years built, square footage, bedrooms, and bathrooms with each data point being one month of collected data. The significance of this data is that while houses are selling at a much quicker rate in August than they were in January, they are also selling for a lot more money. This can indicate that multiple offers are received, and many buyers are willing to pay inflated prices to obtain their dream homes. Interest rates have also recently hit new historical lows.

The question at hand is, “Will we see a housing market crash in Montana in the near future?” No one can say for certain as the future cannot be guaranteed. However, we can take similar events from past years and predict an outcome. The market crash of 2008 was caused by an influx of buyers and shortage of sellers combined with historically low interest rates in 2007. Unfortunately, buyers then purchased real estate at an inflated market value which is not sustainable. This ultimately led to a crash in the market which translates into foreclosures.

The data presented above is mirrored to the economy of 2007. Now, we have to add in the fact that a pandemic is present. If the pandemic continues, will more people lose their jobs? There are many factors that could contribute to an economic downturn in 2020. Some examples could include the presidential election outcome, consumer spending changes, and global market changes due to the pandemic. In heading months, Montana may see an economic crash.

Bryanna Deschamps

University of Montana

Bears are Scary

Yeah that’s right. Bears are terrifying. That’s the blog.

I am so sick and tired of this Winnie the Poo sounding, “Man, I hope we see a bear on this hike” having bullshit I hear every time I go into the woods with my friends. Sure, seeing a little black bear in the distance while you’re in your car on “Going to the Sun Road” gets the dopamines flowing. But when you’re actually in the woods without the protection of a massive metal cage on wheels while driving a road traveled by millions of visitors every year, spotting a bear is a whole different story. Bears are big and dangerous, wild animals that should be left alone to tend to their own business.

Let me just start with a brief history of notorious bear and human relationships.

  1. Short Faced Bear

Back in the olden days of 1.8 million years ago until only 11,000 years ago, an absolute beast of an an animal existed, deemed the Short Faced Bear. This freak of nature weighed a solid 2,500 lbs., had a height of about 12 feet standing up, and if you can recall early history, LIVED WHILE HUMANS DID. As people much smarter than me can speculate using geographic means, there was a bering land bridge that stretched from Russia’s North-Eastern point to Alaska’s Western coast, in which people who lived in Asia would use to travel in order to inhabit North America.

What they couldn’t count on was this ginormous tank, murder beast that literally could not be stopped by any means. Scientists say this bear was so deadly, that it prevented human migration entirely across the bridge for a period of time. Nobody was stopping to admire nature when they approached this thing; they either died trying to get past it or cut their losses and turned back to Russia. Just imagine, you freeze your nuts off in Asia for years while fighting Woolly Mammoths and Saber Tooth Tigers, so you decide to march 620 miles to possibly find something better, just to be met with a big hairy killing machine that prevents you from crossing.

No thanks. I’ll fight Manny from Ice Age any day of the week over the Short Faced Bear.

2. Hugh Glass

Alright the story of Hugh Glass is pretty insane. This guy was a frontiersman and fur trader who operated around Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota in the early 1800s. He had built himself quite the resume of badass activities, from being a pirate to living with the Pawnee Native American tribe. He was an expert navigator and survivalist who had taken on many dangerous missions across the Western United States, until his legendary encounter with a Grizzly in South Dakota. Upon running into a bear and two cubs, Glass prepared to be charged and was able to get one successful shot off from his musket as the bear began to maul the shit out of him. I mean, have you seen The Revenant? This bear comes back for seconds, then thirds “Oh don’t mind if I do”, just annihilating Glass before ultimately dying of the gunshot wound. This griz tears the guys scalp off, absolutely shreds the entire rest of his body and leaves his legs utterly useless.

But guess what. Glass isn’t dying like this, he’s a former pirate of the Black Pearl for Godssakes. And this is what the movie doesn’t show, Glass could not use his legs at all so he -crawled- the entire 500 mile trip to his fort destination. He survived the ordeal and became a legend in his own right. Take a guess who would not be able to navigate, survive the elements, and crawl 500 miles to the next help station while bleeding relentlessly? Me. Or probably any normal human that lives in the 21st century, because that is WAY too hard. There’s no chance I’d survive that initial mauling even. Bears aren’t snuggly or graceful animals. They have giant knife hands along with pointy teeth and beady little dark killer eyes. Hugh Glass would certainly attest to that.

3. Timothy Treadwell

What if we were nice to the bears and wanted to treat them like one of our own? Maybe we try and bridge human society and bear society together? Sounds like a nice idea. Having a bear friend would be awesome, I bet he would know some pretty legit fishing spots at least. I know the University of Montana football team could certainly use a grizzly bear as a linebacker; he’d probably even become All League.

Timothy Treadwell thought similarly. The titled “Grizzly Man” thought he could cohabitate with bears in Alaska and they would learn to accept him as family. To the amusement of many, he was able to successfully do this for 13 consecutive summers. Each bear had a name and different personality, and they would all reside in the same area. He was never armed, and did not even carry as much as pepper spray. Unfortunately, this fairytale story came to a tragic halt in October of 2003 when he was mauled to death by a fully grown Alaskan Brown Bear.

Looks like we aren’t meant to live with bears after all.

To wrap it up:

No, I don’t want to see a bear in the wild, bro. We aren’t meant to mess with them. Sure it would be cool at a distance, if I’m in a bear resistant, protective unit. Bears will not wander over, lick you, and beg for some pets like a dog. Bears will literally rip your face off and walk away as if nothing happened. There is no other thing on the planet where it is recommended to carry a gun and pepper spray in-case you come into contact, and many people still want to have that BeAuTifuL and nATurAL encounter. That’s like saying you’d love to run into a serial killer on a jog because it would be so cool to see one, but hopefully it won’t attack.

No thanks. I’m totally good without meeting any bears in my travels.

Your Guide to Missoula, Montana

Mount Sentinel

Nestled in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Montana, Missoula is a hidden gem where urban lifestyle meets adventure. Completely surrounded by seven wilderness areas, this city is rich with culture and endless outdoor recreational activities. In no particular order, here are the 5 best things to do when visiting Missoula, MT.

 

#1 | FLOAT DOWN THE CLARK FORK RIVER

Clark Fork River Float
Clark Fork River

During the summer, floating down the Clark Fork River is one of the best ways to cool down and relax. Every day, hundreds of locals on tubes, paddleboards, and rafts pass through town enjoying the sunshine and clean air.

 

#2 | GRAB A DRINK AND PLAY SOME GAMES

Arcade at GILD Brewing
Arcade at GILD Brewing

GILD is a locally-owned brewpub that just so happens to have an awesome arcade in the basement. From pinball to board games, GILD has everything you need to start the night off right. Not to mention, they have some of the best-tasting beer and hard cider in town.

 

#3 | HIKE MOUNT SENTINEL

Mount Sentinel Trail
View on Mount Sentinel

Going for a hike on Mount Sentinel is a favorite for people visiting Missoula, and for good reason. As you gain elevation, you are able to see the entire city and the vast valley that lies below. In the distance, you can see the Rattlesnake Wilderness and Snowbowl Ski Area (shown above).

 

#4 | SHRED SOME POWDER AT SNOWBOWL

Montana Snowbowl
Montana Snowbowl

If you happen to visit Missoula in the winter, be sure to check out Snowbowl Ski Area. Conveniently located only 12 miles from Missoula, Snowbowl offers some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the West.

 

#5 | TRY YOUR LUCK AT FLY FISHING

Rainbow Trout
Rainbow Trout

It wouldn’t be a trip to Missoula without a fishing excursion in the mix. Missoula is world-renowned for its trout fishing streams, with a variety of different species to hook into. There is an impressive number of outfitters to choose from, so take your pick and get out there!