By Ben Long
Two names emerge over and over in the genesis of Flathead Audubon, two friends who were jocular, mischievous, and above all, champions of birds, nature, and the Flathead Valley: Jack Whitney and Elmer Sprunger. Both men grew up in the Bigfork area in the early twentieth century. Both were World War II veterans,
Jack serving in the Navy in the Aleutian Islands, and Elmer serving in the Army in the Hawaiian Islands. After
the war, both returned to their beloved Bigfork and the Flathead Valley in the midst of a post-war economic
boom. True patriots, they worked to protect the America they had defended by speaking out as conservationists. That included organizing the Bigfork Bird Club, the predecessor of the Flathead Audubon Society.
Each man was an artist in his own right. Jack worked in the woods and built fine log homes. He had big, strong hands that mastered creating items out of wood. He was also a consummate outdoorsman, hunting with bows and arrows he crafted from scratch. He had more mountain goats in the Pope & Young Records (a record book for archers) than anyone else. He would hunt them with simple, homemade tools, hiking from his home in Bigfork to the goat rocks “with only a sandwich and a book of matches,” hauling his prize home on his back.
Elmer was an artist with pen and paints. For much of his career, he worked for the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. as a resident graphic designer, painting signs and creating safety posters. Eventually, he traded that job to work as a fine artist, painting wildlife scenes inspired by his beloved Swan Range. Elmer produced twenty years of political cartoons for the weekly Bigfork Eagle newspaper. He loved needling U.S. Forest Service or Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks authorities when he thought they had failed their conservation missions, often testing the limits of their official senses of humor.
Elmer designed the original Pileated Woodpecker logo that long served as the emblem of the Flathead Audubon
Society. Its first public appearance was on the masthead of the May 1979 Accipiter Express newsletter. Elmer’s
artwork also gained national recognition, including being honored at the Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Jack and his wife, Ursula, and Elmer and his wife, Marie, loved birds. According to a 2003 Pileated Post article
by Robin Maggadino, the Whitneys had a blue grouse so tame it would peck sunflower seeds from Jack’s lips.
Together, Jack and Elmer were a team that goaded and encouraged each other. While they both knew tragedy,
having each lost a young daughter, they were also known for their laughter and good humor. Jack often crafted the frames for Elmer’s paintings, which can still be found for sale on the internet.
Jack and Elmer helped champion many causes, including the creation of the Jewel Basin Hiking Area. They were stalwart conservationists, especially committed to defending wild country in the Swan Valley. In 1995, Friends of the Wild Swan created a hiking trail to honor the two men near Point Pleasant campground in the Swan Valley. The Sprunger-Whitney Nature Trail is a two-mile interpretive hiking trail that is an excellent place
to bird and explore the old-growth, riparian forest along the Swan River.
Jack and Elmer’s conservation achievements and dedication to each other and the natural wonders of the Flathead Valley are a reminder of the power of friendship.