Children's book focuses on legend of Winter Carnival

Paul Coats has been enchanted by the legend of King Ullr and the Whitefish Winter Carnival since he moved here more than 30 years ago.

“I was intrigued by the legend of the Winter Carnival and the unique way a western town like Whitefish could have its own mythology,” he said.

His interest in the legend that created the Winter Carnival led him to write a children’s book, “Ullr and the Yeti — the Legend of the Whitefish Winter Carnival.”

“Part of my interest was in finding a way to bring kids into the carnival more,” he said.

As the book’s description says “Ullr and the Yeti” tells the story of how a banished Nordic god and his royal family arrived in early Whitefish and excited the whole town with fun, sparkle and some unexpected problems.

The book expands on the core legend of the Winter Carnival that centers around Ullr, who reigned over winter activities in the Nordic regions but was forgotten and so he came to the Flathead Valley to settle Big Mountain as home. Ullr and his Queen soon found their home was also the home of a fierce band of snowmen called Yetis, who kidnapped the queen. Ullr and his followers eventually prevailed to only live with an occasional skirmishes with the Yetis.

“Ullr and the Yeti” brings the story to life with fun rhythms and colorful line-drawing characters. Norm Kurtz, who first outlined the idea of a winter carnival and then with a group of friends created the event, is featured as a character in the book.

Coats works as a family nurse practitioner for the Neuroscience & Spine Institute, a department of Kalispell Regional Medical Center. He said some of his interest in the book is directly related to his interest in the brain.

“Everybody loves a good story,” he said. “The story of a place helps connect us to that place.”

The book was actually prompted by Coats interest in writing a musical about the legend of the carnival, but Nick Spear suggested he write a children’s book as a writing exercise. He spent a year writing the story and putting it to rhyme and also creating the illustrations for the book, and now says the musical idea has been put on hold because it would be a “huge undertaking.”

Patricia Ryan, who has designed the carnival button in recent years, colored the drawing for the book. Both have volunteered organizing events for carnival and also serving on the Winter Carnival Board of Directors.

“Ullr and the Yeti” is available at www.ullrandtheyeti.com, by email at ullrandtheyeti@gmail.com, or for sale through the Stumptown Historical Society at the Whitefish Museum.