Liz Claiborne passed away yesterday, and from the national news reports, you would know little more than she was a famous fashion designer. But she did more than just design nice clothes; she tried to design the future as well, at least for this portion of the world called Montana.
Today's Helena Independent Record has some of the rest of the story:
Fashion designer Liz Claiborne was known by Montanans as a generous philanthropist who, along with husband Art Ortenberg, supported numerous charitable, civic and educational groups in the state.
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Claiborne and her husband owned a ranch near Helena and were active in the Montana community over the years.
‘‘Liz Claiborne loved her home in Montana, and Montanans who got to know her appreciated her dedication to this state,’’ said Sarah Elliott, spokeswoman for Gov. Brian Schweitzer. ‘‘Our prayers are with Art and the entire family.’’
Liz Claiborne and her husband Art Ortenburg ran a charitable foundation with wide ranging interests in Montana, including economic and community development, historical preservation and environmental protection.
In the 1990s, the foundation underwrote the development and publishing of several interesting reports on Montana's changing economy, (including Montana: People and the Economy, 1996) and how the increasing in-migration of people seeking the wide open spaces and the area's high environmental quality were changing the state. The reports encouraged Montanans to play to their strengths in small business development and the high quality of life available in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains, and not try to imitate large urban areas such as Seattle or Denver.
Liz Claiborne was a great supporter of many local environmental groups and encouraged the organizations to incorporate progressive economic ideas in their campaigns.
She was also involved in Montana democratic politics from time to time. I only met Ms. Claiborne once, in the fall of 1992, when Liz and her husband hosted a large fundraiser for our democratic candidate for governor, State Legislator Dorothy Bradley. The fundraiser was held at the couple's ranch north of the capital city on a high ridgetop in the pouring rain, but the hundreds of people that showed up had a great time despite the storms, seeking shelter under the large cook tent and in the ranch house.
It was a time of hope in Montana politics, that the dems could regain the governor's mansion and beat back the rising tide of right-wing conservatism that was growing in the state. The republican State Attorney General Marc Racicot ran an extremely negative campaign and narrowly beat Dorothy Bradley 51% to 49%, ushering in twelve more years of republican rule. We wouldn't feel that hope again until 2004 when Brian Schweitzer won the governorship.
Many famous and wealthy people (we call them the "glitterati") have moved to Montana, from David Letterman to Michael Dell. But few leave their rural mansions and try to make the state a better place. Liz Claiborne was one of the few.
