Dare to care,   

 a campaign to raise funds for the Matthew Eccles Archive at the Northwest Montana Historical Society.

From caring comes courage to participate in life.

Confirmation that action is taken is achieved through observation in physical reality, stories told and images examined.

At the Museum at Central School we protect historical artifacts, record and tell stories and curate images which convey the history of the people and events in Northwest Montana.

In our times when the planet, our resources and inhabitants appear to be suffering from a lack of caring we support the efforts to communicate our needs with the means at our disposal.

The receipt of 1000 photographic glass plates by the photographer Matthew Eccles from the early 1900’s permits us to show the various faces of caring. Participation in a wedding, the raising of a barn, and a ferry boat ride on Flathead Lake remind us of the ways that people cared through participation in their community. When we share duties and benefits we assure our survival.

The images, so generously donated to the museum, need preservation, archiving and preparation for publication. Receiving the funds to purchase appropriate technology and services to handle these delicate records of old is the purpose of this call for contribution.

The initial funding will permit us to start the process. Creating attention through art and history, will result in a vibrant involvement by our community in building an environment that assures us of creativity, productivity and recreation.

Dare to care is the result of seeing anew, that action taken by our ancestors was done with courage and concern for others. Being reminded of our history is the spark that calls us forth to apply creativity and caring in the construction of our lives, raising our children and dreaming of a better tomorrow.

Thank you for your consideration and contribution.

Photographs challenge us to ask better questions and to look at old pictures in a new way. Old pictures morph into new images which become the source of our energetic life, the support for our creativity and a joyful connection to our community.

William Bernard Brooks, Curator of Photographs, Museum at Central School, Kalispell, MT