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The full moon rises over the flank of Gunsight Peak in Glacier National Park on New Year’s Eve.
70 years ago
Jan. 2, 1948
Glacier Park ranger Horace Chadbourne counted 38 bighorn sheep in one herd at Many Glacier. The Park had an estimated 200 sheep at the time. They were nearly all wiped out in 1936 by a lung disease. The valley had about 125 sheep at the time, but after the illness, there were less than 30. The mountain goat population was estimated at 866.
60 years ago
Jan. 3, 1958
Frances June, a Great Northern Railroad employee was fined $500 for shooting an elk in Glacier National Park and then loading it up on a handcar. His hunting and fishing license were revoked for a year.
50 years ago
Jan. 5, 1968
Despite the cold, Flathead County had record employment, with 920 working on the Anaconda Aluminum Co. plant expansion alone. Artist Elmer Sprunger, who also worked as a draftsman and sign painter at AAC would have 16 of his paintings displayed at the Montana Historical Society in Helena.
40 years ago
Jan. 5, 1978
St. Mary had 40 inches of snow in 28 hours, with the total on the ground over five feet. East Glacier Park had 20 inches of new snow. Snow courses around the state had record readings from recent snowstorms.
30 years ago
Jan. 6, 1988
Tony Jorgenson of Columbia Falls was accidentally shot and killed by his brother, who was holding a .357 magnum pistol. The gun went off and the bullet hit the 14-year-old in the face, traveled down his neck and went into his shoulder blade.
20 years ago
Jan. 1, 1998
Wolf researcher Diane Boyd discovered that a grizzly bear had dug out a black bear from its den in a slash pile and had eaten it sometime in December. Salaried staff at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. were expected to take a $32 million profit sharing settlement from the company. The settlement offer came after employees sued, claiming the company had withheld profit sharing they were promised.
10 years ago
Jan. 3, 2007
About $866,000 was secured to do baseline environmental studies on the North Fork of the Flathead. The concern was proposed Canada mines north of the border could harm the waterway. One company had a plan to mine coal from hills surrounding Foisey Creek, which was one of the headwater streams of the North Fork. There was also concern about coal bed methane and gold mines.