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70 years ago
June 13, 1947
The first clearing for the Hungry Horse Dam and reservoir was expected to start July 1. Crews were building access roads. Employment at the project was 302. With World War II over, Glacier was expecting that bears would go back to begging for handouts along the Sun Road. The bruins foraged on their own during the war years, the story noted. Feeding bears in Glacier today is illegal.
60 years ago
June 14, 1957
“Cindy” and “Butch,” two orphan moose calves, were being committed to the state animal orphanage near Helena. They were orphaned in Glacier Park, but the Park didn’t have the facilities to take care of them. The two orphans were found in the lawn of an Apgar home and were believed to be abandoned. Today wildlife experts say it’s best to leave young wildlife alone — they’re rarely abandoned. Prospects for an Akimina-Kishinena were growing dim. The proposed highway would connect Waterton and Glacier national Parks via the North Fork. The road was never built.
50 years ago
June 16, 1967
Thirty percent of the trout caught in Glacier Park were cutthroat, according to voluntary creel surveys. Twenty-seven percent were brook trout. Arctic grayling were the least common fish at 4 percent. But Elizabeth Lake was very productive, with 1.1 fish per hour caught — 61 percent of those were grayling. Swiftcurrent Creek was also very productive, with 1.46 fish caught per hour — 94 percent were brook trout. The Belly River area was the most productive fishing area of all.
40 years ago
June 13, 1977
Anaconda Aluminum Co. talked about its plans to drastically reduce admissions at its plant here. It was a $40 million project and two new dry scrubbers designed to reduce fluoride emissions were expected to be operational by January. At the time, the plant employed about 1,100 workers. It began operation on Aug. 15, 1955.
30 years ago
June 17, 1987
A fire at Pat Johnson’s home on Fourth Avenue West burned his garage and a car, truck, and motorcycle inside. Firefighters stopped the blaze before it got to the house. The fire also consumed woodworking equipment and special woods. The cause of the blaze was listed as accidental. In a close 3-2 vote, Columbia Falls council passed a street maintenance tax. At the time, the tax was expected to raise $78,000 for snow removal, gravel and other street maintenance.
20 years ago
June 12, 1997
Cass Still and Andy Baxter finalized their purchase of the Belton Chalet from Lanny Luding. The couple had plans to restore the historic structure. They expected the project would take four to five years to complete. Game herds were hit hard by the tough winter, so Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks had plans to adjust the deer hunting season to bucks only in the fall.
10 years ago
June 14, 2007
The Montana Wilderness Association had a big shake-up in staff. Nine of the 11 Flathead board members resigned, claiming the organization had abandoned its grassroots efforts. Staffers Cesar Hernandez and Dave Hadden also left the organization.
Montana contractors were miffed that they didn’t qualify in bidding for reconstruction of Going-to-the-Sun Road. Bidders had to have done a contract that included masonry and stonework and exceeded $7 million. Morgen and Oswood of Great Falls had worked on the road, but the contract was just short — $6.8 million.