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PHONE: (406)258-4657 [EMAIL REDACTED] FAX: (406)258-4903 M I S S O U L A H I S T O R I C P R E S E R V A T I O N O F F I C E 435 RYMAN MISSOULA, MONTANA 59802-4292 Call for Participation Help Restore the Bear Cage Greenough Park June 20, 2009 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Missoula, Montana An historic preservation technology demonstration will be held on June 20, 2009, in Greenough Park to begin restoring the 104-yearold stone Bear Cage. The Bear Cage was built in 1905, shortly after the founding of Greenough Park. It is built of Rattlesnake Creek cobbles, some as big as watermelons, with a concrete roof that is strengthened by steel rails (of the railroad variety). The Bear Cage itself is octagonal in shape, about 15 feet in diameter, with two small dens in the hillside, and an open framed steel door. Bears were kept in the Bear Cage ---PAGE BREAK--- PHONE: (406)258-4657 [EMAIL REDACTED] FAX: (406)258-4903 from 1905 to the mid 1930’s. It is located about 200 yards north of the Vine Street entrance to the park. There appear to be multiple stories about the Bear Cage: The Greenough family kept bears in the Bear Cage and took them to University of Montana, then known as Montana State University, football games and other sporting events. The bear was the mascot of early UM athletics – a real Monty. After the bears were gone, local children used to scare their friends by telling them there was still a bear in the cage – a kind of “bogey bear” story. Any other stories about the Bear Cage or the bears are welcome, and will be collected for interpretation. One purpose of the restoration is to demonstrate traditional masonry technology that used hydraulic lime. Hydraulic lime has construction roots that go back nearly 3,000 years, to the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Syrians, when limestone was cooked to produce a very efficient binder for concrete, mortar, plaster, lime putty and lime wash. Because of the nature of the material, there is renewed interest today in the “green” use of hydraulic lime, which is also known as “slaked lime”. Hydraulic lime, water and sand as a mortar mix actually capture CO2 to harden back to a limestone-like substance. Historically, there were lime kilns around the Missoula Valley, and there was one up north in the Rattlesnake Valley, near the Mt. Jumbo saddle. The lime kilns cooked limestone to form hydraulic lime, for use as mortar for stone structures and other masonry. This technique was traditional all over western Montana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The restoration project will begin Saturday, June 20, at 10 a.m., and all are welcome to participate. We will need help cleaning up, prepping the site, carrying water and sand, and carrying mortar. Two masons will be helping the restoration Setting stone and directing participants will be Missoula craftsmen Solomon Marting and Scott Loken. Ken Duce, local historic architect, will be managing the mortar mixing. This project is made possible with funding from Preserve America, through a grant from the Montana State Historic Preservation Office to the Missoula Office of Planning and Grants. Sponsors include the Missoula Historic Preservation Commission, the Greenough Park Advisory Board and City of Missoula Parks and Recreation. We encourage you to participate in the Bear Cage Restoration. If you want to work with the stones and mix mortar, please wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants and sturdy footwear. This is a construction project. For more information, contact Philip Maechling, Missoula Histoic Preservation Office, OPG, 435 Ryman, or call [PHONE REDACTED]. ---PAGE BREAK--- PHONE: (406)258-4657 [EMAIL REDACTED] FAX: (406)258-4903