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70 years ago

March 14, 1947

Glacier Park naturalist M.E. Beatty was writing the first mile-by-mile guide to the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The guide looked to describe the geology, wildlife and other features along the highway. It was the first of its kind designed for vacationers.

The Park Mercantile on Nucleus Avenue was being expanded, with groceries on one side and clothing and other goods on the side. The Mercantile was owned by E.J. Marantette and his son, Jim. It also had rented lockers.

60 years ago

March 15, 1957

There was a front page piece on the 1900 Columbia Falls baseball team winning the championship over Kalispell. “It was a real good game. There was a fight at least every inning. Kalispell fans resorted to every mean and low down trick they could think of. They crowded in on the side-lines and kicked dust into the faces of the Columbia Falls players.”

Kalispell recruited players from across the state, too, but they still lost, 2-1.

50 years ago

March 17, 1967

The best elk count in years was noted on the west side of Glacier National Park. Rangers counted 287 elk in the Belton Hills and another 100 elk on Apgar Mountain. The School District 6 board approved a base wage of $5,400 annually for teachers with a bachelor’s degree and no experience. Cloud seeding was terminated as it was expected that the Hungry Horse Reservoir would fill to capacity. It wasn’t clear whether the seeding was working anyway.

40 years ago

March 17, 1977

Voters were considering an $883,722 School District 6 mill levy — the largest request in school history. The Trapline Boxers split the bill with the Garden City Boxing Club in matches held at the Columbia Falls gym. Both teams won eight matches. Top boxer for the night was Tony Whittaker of Columbia Falls.

30 years ago

March 18, 1987

Flathead County commissioners were opposed to a bill sponsored by Kalispell lawmaker John Harp that would cut the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co,’s tax bill by $900,000, while Columbia Falls supporters noted the company provided good paying jobs and was important to the city’s economy. The company was paying about $2.4 million a year in property taxes.

20 years ago

March 13, 1997 Glacier National Park told county commissioners that there were no seats available on its planning team. The Park encouraged county input, but commissioners wouldn’t get a representative at the table. The Park was working on its general management plan. The park claimed that having commissioners on the team violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The Wildkat volleyball team qualified for the state A tournament in Belgrade. The Kats were looking to defend their state title, but would fall short, losing to Lewistown and Havre in the tourney.

10 years ago

March 15, 2007

The Bush Administration warned Canadian officials not to go forward with a coal mine in the Flathead Valley north of Glacier National Park. Bush joined Montana Sen. Max Baucus in opposition to the mine. Baucus had been opposing Canadian mining in the Flathead for decades. Jill Taber, Columbia Falls’ lone cobbler, retired after 20 years of running a shop in the city.