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Carl Daniels, granddaughter Leslie Davall and sunflowers, Sept. 10, 1967.
70 years ago
June 11, 1948
Dr. James L. Dyson had written a 24-page booklet describing the loss of Glacier Park’s Grinnell Glacier, noting that from 1937 to 1946 it had lost volume each year equivalent to a 450-foot tall ice cube. Ninety families now lived in the Hungry Horse village. The Flathead Valley was having a heat wave, as the temperature reached 89 degrees. Columbia Falls stores were staying open until 9 p.m. Thursday evenings to better serve customers.
60 years ago
June 13, 1958
School District 6 was planning on abandoning the Apgar School in Glacier National Park. The one-room school had only seven students and the district decided to bus them to West Glacier. Today the school is a gift shop. Once it was abandoned, the school would be sold and the land would revert back to the Apgar family heirs.
50 years ago
June 14, 1968
A grizzly bear ransacked the lookout at Kah Mountain. It walked up the steps, tore the door off, bit through the refrigerator and scattered dry goods that were stored in the lookout all over the place, including flour and oatmeal. The Flathead Tunnel had punched through Elk Mountain. The tunnel was necessary as the railroad mainline had to be re-routed because of the Libby Dam. The tunnel is seven miles long.
40 years ago
June 15, 1978
Two men were killed in a plane crash just north of the city limits. Cliff Greenland, 40, and William Warinner, 44, of Pine, Colorado died when their Piper Super Cub went down. Greenland was a local sculptor. The two men died at the scene. The crash was still under investigation, but witnesses said it looped around and then went almost straight into the ground. Columbia Falls would soon have a Pizza Hut. It was set to open in about a week on Highway 40.
30 years ago
June 15, 1988
A helicopter carrying supplies into Granite Park chalet nearly crashed when the supply sling came untied and flew up into the tail rotor. Pilot Jim Kruger was able to land the craft safely, however. The helicopter received about $20,000 in damage to the rear rotor, however. Kruger had to drop the supplies away from the chalet, but crews were able to recovery them.
20 years ago
June 11, 1998
Two of three grizzly bears suspected of killing hiker Craig Dahl had been killed by Glacier Park rangers. The bears had killed Dahl in May. DNA evidence at the scene linked the bears to Dahl’s death in the Two Medicine drainage. A new post office for West Glacier was set to go out to bid.
10 years ago
June 12, 2008
Columbia Falls saw heavy snowfall, though it didn’t stick around long and city crews were filling up the city pool with water hoping for warmer days ahead. Haylie Peacock, 9, had read 92 books over the school year, averaging two to three books a week.