No headline
Lydia Comeau, center, with great grandchildren Linda Clark, 2 and Michael Connor, 3. She turned 90 Dec. 18, 1950. In 1899 she and Dennis Comeau were married and homesteaded on the north end of Lake McDonald. She was the cook for the group escorted by Dr. Lyman Sperry, who was guided to what is now Sperry Glacier. Dennis died in 1907. Comeau Pass is named after Dennis. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
Dec. 5, 1947
The Hungry Horse News would no longer be created next to the state liquor store. It was moving into its new 24-by-48-foot building at the end of Nucleus Avenue, where it continues to reside today. The newspaper had been produced next to the liquor store up the street for the past 15 months. Grandma Martin, who had lived in the valley since 1886, had seen the doe and fawn chased from the meadows and forests to make way for the first buildings in the valley. She saw the start of Columbia Falls, Whitefish, the rise and fall of Demersville, Kalispell and now she was watching Martin City grow into a new town. Martin City was established in 1906 by Gaspard Martin, and his son Adolph. Gaspard was her husband. They moved here from Ontario Canada and came to the Flathead from Missoula in a covered wagon.
60 years ago
Dec. 6, 1957
A pesky beaver was finally removed the city’s Cedar Creek Reservoir, which was the town’s water supply. Howard Greene and Don Lunsford tried to blow up the beaver lodge, but the critter just rebuilt it. They then used a steel pole and a chlorine solution to drive it from the lodge. When it swam out, they shot it.
50 years ago
Dec. 8, 1967
The sale of Plum Creek Timber Co. to Northern Pacific Railway was to go before district court judge. The railway bid $5.9 million for the company and a half interest in Royal Logging. Another bid of $6 million from Dunham Lumber Co. — a group of citizens, was also submitted.
40 years ago
Dec. 8, 1977
The state was suing the City of Columbia Falls for letting raw sewage run into the Flathead River. The city, however, noted it had to make repairs to its treatment plant and there was no other way to fix it without letting some sewage go into the river untreated. An elk whose foot got caught in its own antlers died in St. Mary. The elk was found by district ranger Bob Frauson on the Red Eagle Lake Trail.
30 years ago
Dec. 9, 1987
A skunk was stinking up the Glacier National Park headquarters area. It had sprayed several dogs and was also found in one employee’s garage. The Forest Service was handing out fines left and right as it caught people crashing gates across Forest Service Roads. The fines were ranging about $100 per incident.
20 years ago
Dec. 4, 1997
Glacier Park facilities Chief John Kilpatrick said he was surprised that the Park had such poor heavy equipment. He said the Park could use about $2 million in equipment to maintain its roads. He was urging the population to lobby for more funding for the equipment, noting it would help get the Sun Road open earlier. The Park had 350 pieces of motorized equipment and most of it was more than a decade old.
10 years ago
Dec. 6, 2007
Great Falls native Cory Schearer won a contest to design a logo for Glacier National Park’s centennial in 2010. He received $3,000 for the winning logo. About 100 firms submitted designs.