By Timothy Behuniak EBS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
BOZEMAN – In 1964, on a
Thursday afternoon, an emboldened Marguerite Kirk jumped in her car, drove down
to a construction site and placed herself between a bulldozer and a building.
At 4 foot 9 inches tall, Kirk—after
whom Kirk Hill and Kirk Park in Bozeman are named —stood no match for the
rugged workers and metal machinery. But she refused to move.
After a heated discussion and threats of arrest, Kirk,construction workers and the property owner made an agreement: if she could move the building off the site by 7 a.m. the following Monday, Bozeman’s first Catholic church would be saved, and in her ownership. If not, the church had a date with demolition.
Immediately, Kirk got on the phone with Montana Power, the predecessor of NorthWestern Energy. They agreed to raise all the power lines on Main Street so that the church could be cut, braced, and carried on two flatbed trucks through the middle of town to its new and current home at 1524 West Main Street.
Nicholas Harris, great nephew
of Marguerite, was 10 years old at the time. While the church was being moved,
he helped dig a new foundation and pour concrete. It hardened just in time for
the building to be set and settled on Sunday night. The White Chapel was now in
the family’s possession.
“In those days, there were
about three or four thousand people in town,” Harris said. “Very few people had
cell phones or televisions, so it was a major form of entertainment … the
catholic church was literally going down Main Street. Everyone was cheering it
on.”
Since then, the White Chapel
has seen many enterprises, from the Country Bookshelf to a hair salon. More
recently, Harris, also the great, great grandson of Henry Kirk, an 1872 Bozeman
homesteader in, renovated the original church.
Harris is an architect and
owner of the property which includes the White Chapel, Roost Fried Chicken,
Feed Café and Saffron Table. For many years, he has worked to restore all these
original structures. “I feel like it’s my calling to bring new life into these
old buildings,” he said.
Although the architect
usually has a plan or idea of what his renovations will lead to, his restoration
of the White Chapel, which was originally built in the late 1800s, fell into a
different mold.
“I started to work on this
without a specific goal in mind of what it should be, which is kind of the
spiritual part of the effort,” said Harris. “What I felt was that [the
building] was a ‘wise, old lady’ that has witnessed births, deaths, marriages,
families and community. It had fallen away from that when it moved here and
formed into other businesses, but I have an instinct to bring it back to its
original calling of being a gathering place for community members in Bozeman.”
In order to do this, Harris
has added new doors, windows, electric, plumbing, insulation, a small wood
stove, bathroom and kitchenette, and more. “I pretty much gutted it while
trying to be true to its original character and bringing in modern
conveniences,” Harris said. “I tried to get the best of both worlds.”
Now, a new gathering for
community members will occur at the White Chapel, one centered on art.
The Paul Harris Art Exhibit, “Pairs:
Seeing Doubles,” will run from April 25-28.
featuring work from local artists, as well as from the late Paul Harris,
Nicholas’ father.
Paul Harris, a sculptor and
illustrator who passed away last year in May, earned his B.A. and Master of
Fine Arts degrees from the University of New Mexico. According to a biography
on his website, Paul Harris had an award-winning, life-long career in the arts,
teaching at several universities around the country, including New York
University, Montana State University and the San Francisco Art Institute, and
had his work shown globally, from Montana to Germany.
Behind the exhibition title
lies a unique theme. The artwork will be displayed in pairs, exploring the
relationship between two different works of art by the same artist and in the
same medium, as well as the thought process which created them. This will allow
gallery visitors to take a closer look at the art, and to compare the works in
a new light.
“What I really want to do is
pay homage to my father and do this show that honored him and his close
friends,” said the artist’s son, Nicholas. “Some pieces will be for sale, but
they won’t have price tags on them. I’m not trying to make it a commercial
gallery. It’s more to celebrate my dad and the building coming back into
use.”
The exhibit’s reception is on April 25 from 6 p.m. to
8 p.m. and will also be open for visitation from April 26-28 from 3-8 p.m.
