Tony Stewart has given NIC and the community much of his time and talent during his 38 years as a political science instructor, but perhaps his most valuable gift to NIC and all of North Idaho came after his retirement in May.
Stewart donated the hard copies of every taping of the “NIC Public Forum” to Molstead Library. Stewart was host of the program for more than 36 years. The television logs include the guests, topics and airdates for the more than 1,800 television shows. Stewart also founded the “NIC Popcorn Forum” in 1970.
“The NIC TV “Public Forum” is leaving the air as the second-longest running PBS TV program in America,” Stewart said “My favorite part of the TV series was the extraordinary information and knowledge that we all acquired from our many outstanding guests on a wide range of issues. It was like attending class for the 36 and a half years of the TV program.”
According to Stewart, the “Public Forum” went on the air in the fall of 1972 under the production of himself and the late Pat Richards, a former NIC communications instructor, and will continue to air on KSPS until December of 2008.The Public Forum will be canceled after its last airing.
The NIC TV “Public Forum” aired on Idaho Public TV every Saturday at 7 am Pacific Standard time and 8 a.m. Mountain time and again at 6:30 p.m. The program is also aired in Spokane at 9:30 am Sunday. The program reaches an audience in all of Idaho, parts of six other Pacific Northwest states and all of Canada.
In addition, Stewart gave his collection of Popcorn Forum folders to the library. This collection includes 38 folders, one for each year the forum was held, that contain information on guests, topics and panelists for each symposium.
“The folders include many letters from local residents and their comments about the Popcorn Forum as well as photos of presenters,” Stewart said. “Especially the Chautauqua performers.”
The folders contain items such as an “Open Letter to Humanity,” which was written by Buckminster Fuller during his visit to NIC as a Popcorn Forum presenter on April 12, 1982.
Fuller was an architect and inventor known to have dedicated much of his life to the concept that individuals alone can improve humanity as a whole. The folders also include landscape sketches by artist and member of the Japanese royal family Kazan Hoshina as well as the 1991 Popcorn Forum presentation by John Morris, producer of the famous 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 30-city Paul McCartney and Wings Over Europe Tour.
Stewart said that during his more than 36 years of hosting the Public Forum he learned something and was inspired by every guest.
“My simple creed is to attempt in some small way to make this a better world than we found it at the time of our birth and to be judged by how we treat those in life who have not had the great opportunities that we enjoy,” Stewart said “Another way to state it is in Biblical terms: “We will be judged by how we treat the least fortunate among us.”
The “Public Forum” and Popcorn Forum folders will be available to the community in Molstead Library’s special collections section along with a human rights collection donated by Stewart in honor of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations’ 25-year anniversary in 2005.
“The staff of NIC’s Molstead Library is delighted that Tony Stewart has donated additional “Public Forum” and Popcorn Forum materials to the library,” said NIC Public Services Librarian Denise Clark.
Stewart has no plans to return to the classroom but said he might at some time in the future give lectures at colleges and universities in connection with his human rights work. Some future projects of Stewart’s include doing quarterly PBS TV specials for KSPS TV (PBS) in Spokane. KSPS will announce the airdates, but Stewart said there should be a special every three months. He will also continue with his human rights work, including some consulting with a national human rights organization.
“I found teaching an extraordinarily rewarding occupation. I was honored and privileged to instruct over 12,000 students in my career at NIC and one year at Washington State University,” Stewart said. “It is very satisfying to observe the intellectual growth of students and follow their future success stories. Although I will miss the classroom, there comes a time to take on other challenges.”
