Bigfork shows spirit of volunteerism

Letter from the editor

I visited Flathead Lake Lodge two days in a row this week and each time I was impressed by what I saw.

It wasn't the beauty of the buildings and land, though the lodge is quite incredible. It was the number of people inside and what they were doing.

On Friday, dozens of volunteers gathered at the lodge to pack boxes to send to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The tables in the lodge were covered with piles of toiletry items such as toothpaste, deodorant and lotion; food like chips and jerky; and entertainment in the form of crossword puzzles, notebooks and Would You Rather? games.

The volunteers had a well regimented system to get all of these items crammed into 20 boxes so that four military units currently serving in war zones could have some encouragement this holiday season.

The following day, the same room was packed with more than 100 Bigfork Elves eating breakfast before they began their Christmas preparations of bulb twisting and tree cutting.

I was told the first call for Elves usually brings in about 60 people. Saturday brought out nearly double that amount. And these were people from all over, some as far as Hawaii, and of all ages.

What I witnessed through these two events was a spirit of volunteerism in Bigfork. It could have been easier and warmer for those individuals to stay in bed Saturday morning at 8 a.m. or to go get coffee Friday afternoon instead. But, they didn't.

These people are often behind the scenes and unrecognized, but they should also be our local heroes. They strive to step out and help make the world around them a little brighter, whether it's through the Christmas lights we will all be admiring in downtown Bigfork in another week or a new toothbrush for a tired soldier in Iraq.

And for that they should be commended.

-Jasmine Linabary