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70 years ago

Aug. 20, 1948

About 300 school desks that were used for schools when the Fort Peck Dam was built had been sold to School District 6 to serve students whose parents were working on the Hungry Horse Dam. The district paid just $400 for the desks. A 5 pound 11 ounce rainbow trout had been caught at Red Eagle Lake by Ranger Adolph Opalka. That was dressed weight, too.

60 years ago

Aug. 22, 1958

The Coal Creek Fire in Glacier National Park was considered under control. It was about 1,500 to 2,000 acres and at the time was the largest in 22 years. Rain, a host of men and borate drops from aircraft all helped quell the blaze. “Fire is a totally destructive force,” a photo caption read at the time. That fire today would be considered modest in size compared to what Glacier has seen in the past 20 years.

50 years ago

Aug. 22, 1968

Bids for the diversion ditch for the yet to be built Cedar Creek Dam were expected soon. The ditch itself would be paid for by federal funds. The dam itself was expected to go to bid in the spring. The dam would create a 52-acre lake and would be about half of the city’s water supply. The overflow ditch, which still exists today, runs from the dam along Teakettle Mountain to the Flathead River. The dam was built not just for water supply, but to control water flow into Cedar Creek, which used to flood the city.

40 years ago

Aug. 24, 1978

Doug Peacock reported seeing 10 grizzlies without incident on the walk down from Huckleberry Lookout in Glacier National Park. In other grizzly news, a couple ran into a sow with a cub on the Cracker Lake Trail. The cub, or as the story put it, smaller bear, nipped the woman in the side as she fell down. The man laid on top of the woman and they both played dead. The bears left them alone and they hiked back. A Band-Aid took care of her cut.

30 years ago

Aug. 24, 1988

Kelly Road resident Mary Lance was lucky to be alive. Lance was on the phone when lightning struck her house, went down the phone line and out of her foot. She suffered a few burns, but was OK. With the phone out, she had to get into her car and drive to the Bad Rock Fire Department because her house had a fire from the strike. Firefighters were able to stop it before it did much damage — about $1,000 to the house. Don Hummel, the major concessionaire in Glacier National Park for 21 years, died at the age of 80 of prostate cancer.

20 years ago

Aug. 24, 1998

Eric Josef Von Ranson, 32, of New York, New York, was recovering from injuries he received after he went over a backcountry waterfall near Red Gap Pass in the backcountry of Glacier Park. He broke his hip and had other injuries after he fell about 40 feet. Another man, Brian Nelson, died at the same spot the year before.

10 years ago

Aug. 21, 2008

Only about a dozen or so people would show up for Glacier Park’s first listening session on ideas on how best to celebrate Glacier’s 100th birthday, which was coming up in a couple of years. Birthday bashes for parks weren’t cheap, the story noted. Mesa Verde had spent $450,000 on its birthday celebration, with various events in and around the park.