Page 7 - Flathead Beacon // 1.22.13

FLATHEADBEACON.COM SPECIAL FEATURE JANUARY 22, 2014 | 7

The Father of the Whiteish Winter Carnival

READER Civic leader, Winter Carnival creator and tireless

POLL
Big Mountain promoter Norm Kurtz dies at 86

FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Originally from Seattle, Kurtz worked WWII and later as a marine during the
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon
as a reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelli- Korean War.
Absent from this year’s Whiteish
gencer before moving to Whiteish with He was instrumental in bringing the
Do the President’s Proposed Winter Carnival is Norm Kurtz, the pa- his wife, Carolee.
irst time-share condominiums in Mon-
NSA ‘Reforms’ Go Far Enough?
triarch of Stumptown, afably nicknamed He immediately saw the potential in tana with the Alpinglow Inn, and was ac-
“Mr. Whiteish,” and the architect of the Whiteish as a destination town, and be- tively involved in the Montana Board of
boisterous, month-long hibernal jubilee, came a tireless promoter, focusing his Tourism and the Montana Ski Area Op-
the blueprint for which he sketched on a energy on the Great Northern Railway to erators Association.

bar napkin in 1959.
bring visitors to town.
He also served on the Glacier Park In-
Kurtz, who helped deine and promote On one promotional trip to Minne- ternational Airport board and worked to
Whiteish and Big Mountain, died Jan. 10 sota, Kurtz attended the St. Paul Winter bring in lights from Canada in the early
at the age of 86, leaving behind an immu- Carnival and realized the potential for days of Big Mountain. This connection
table legacy as a tireless advocate of the lo- such a festival in Whiteish.
with Canadian lights brought in more
cal ski area and his beloved community.
“That was in 1959 and he and about tourism through the creation of “ski
23% YES 77% NO In 1955, Kurtz started work at Big 11 other guys, they called themselves the weeks,” wherein visitors traveled to the
Mountain as a sort of factotum, working Dirty Dozen, they wrote it out their ideas Flathead Valley for vacation packages.
TOTAL VOTES: 115
as handyman, snow reporter, bartending on a bar napkin,” Duf says. “That’s how He wrote a book, titled “Chair One,”
at The Northern Rocky Chalet (now Hell- they came up with the legend of Ullr and and helped start the S.N.O.W Bus, which
roaring Saloon) and eventually serving as the Whiteish Winter Carnival Royalty. was originally called the W.A.R.T. —
president and general manager.
Norm is the guy who created all that.”
Whiteish Area Rapid Transit.
“Normy could do any job on that Through the years, Kurt served as “He sure left his footprint in this val-
Do You Play the Lottery?
mountain,” says longtime friend Dale Whiteish Winter Carnival chairman, ley,” Duf said.
Duf. “He just loved being up there and be- prime minster and king.
[email protected]

ing part of the community.”
Kurtz was also a veteran, serving in

Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton, to Serve as

Grand Marshal in Carnival Parade
40% YES 60% NO

TOTAL VOTES: 101
Organizers say Newton’s wife conirmed the Las Vegas

Is the $1.1 Trillion Budget Bill performer would attend Feb. 8 event
Being Debated in Congress a
Good Compromise?
Newton, 71, began performing as a ticle, Newton owns a second home on or
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
child in the 1950s and appeared on the near Flathead Lake.

Whiteish Winter Carnival organiz-
Grand Ole Opry. That eventually led to him In the days and weeks prior to last
ers have conirmed that veteran Las Ve- to Las Vegas, where a hotel booked him to year’s Whiteish Winter Carnival, rumors
gas performer Wayne Newton will serve sing while he was still in high school. Since were rampant that actor Johnny Depp
as the parade’s grand marshal. According then, he has hosted thousands of shows on would be the parade’s Grand Marshall but
to carnival board chair Paul Johannsen, The Strip. He has also appeared in numer- that turned out to be untrue. Johannsen
Newton’s wife conirmed via email that ous movies and television shows.
said that is not the case with Newton.
39YES 61NO the longtime entertainer, known around “He’s had a connection to the Flathead “This is real,” he said. “We’ve extended
% %
TOTAL VOTES: 82
the world as Mr. Las Vegas, would lead the Valley for a long time and through a friend an invitation to him to all of the events.”
parade on Feb. 8.
of his wife we were able to get a hold of [email protected]
“She said he would be honored (to be him,” Johannsen said.
Grand Marshal),” Johannsen said.
According to a 2011 Las Vegas Sun ar-
ONLINE POLL RESULTS ARE NOT SCIENTIFIC

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