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70 years ago

Oct. 17, 1947

They were drilling for oil up the North Fork, mostly in British Columbia just north of the border. “Canadian, English, Pacific coast and Iowa corn money flowed in the North Fork, but no oil of commercial quantity flowed out,” the story noted. Five hundred and seventy-five hunters had headed up the South Fork to hunt elk. That was the number that had crossed at the check station at Hungry Horse Creek.

60 years ago

Oct. 18, 1957

The Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce wrote a letter supporting the Spruce Park Dam, which would have made a 2,000-plus acre lake in what is now the Great Bear Wilderness. The dam was never built, but there was significant debate on where dams should be built at the time. Spruce Park was one, Libby Dam another and the Paradise dam would have made a second reservoir below what was the Kerr Dam on Flathead Lake. Libby Dam, the story noted, was least controversial.

50 years ago

Oct. 20, 1967

They were using 7,780 tons of steel in the expansion of the Anaconda Aluminum Co. plant, building four 1,080-foot long buildings as well as a crane bay, a rectifier, and a new casting facility. Employment at the plant was about 1,200. Employees got an 8 cents an hour pay raise and the base wage at the plant was $2.65 per hour. Enrollment was up at the high school — about 640 students now attended.

40 years ago

Oct. 20, 1977

John Conner, who lived about a mile up the North Fork from Columbia Falls reported that the family dog had been killed by a mountain lion. The dog and the lion got in a fight. Mrs. Conner got her shotgun after hearing a commotion outside, but the lion was gone and the dog was dead and partially eaten. A live trap was set to try catch the lion. The Conners were concerned about their children, ages 5 and 7, playing outside.

Glacier Park trail crew workers got a pay raise to $5.29 an hour.

30 years ago

Oct. 21, 1987

A sniper shot at a Glacier Park pickup as it drove the Going-to-the-Sun Road near Logan Creek. Earl Armstrong was returning from St. Mary when the shot hit the truck. He was unhurt. There was a report that another car may have been shot at — it had a flat tire and about two weeks earlier, someone shot and killed a white-tailed buck near the West Entrance.

20 years ago

Oct. 16, 1997

Tragedy struck Columbia Falls as LeRoy Rabidue was killed in a house fire on Tamarack Lane. Rabidue, 82, was found lying on his bed by Wayne Poil, who lived in another house on the property. Poil entered the burning house with a towel wrapped around his head to rescue the elderly man, but he had already succumbed to smoke inhalation. Matt Truszkowski was presumed dead in Glacier National Park after he went missing July 5. He was attempting a solo climb of Sinopah Mountain and never returned. His remains were later found in 2006 and the Park surmised he was likely killed by a grizzly bear.

10 years ago

Oct. 18, 2007

Commander Ryan Zinke, a retired Navy Seal, announced he was returning home to Whitefish after 753 parachute jumps, 1,373 combat dives, 360 combat patrols and was responsible or part of the killing and/or capture of 72 members of Al-Queada, the terrorist group. Zinke said his medical record was 141 pages long and he’d attended 23 funerals of special operations personnel during his career.