No headline

70 years ago

Nov. 19, 1948

Hungry Horse, Martin City and Coram were to get their own telephone switchboards by the end of the month. Previously, the lines went through Columbia Falls. Three experienced operators were needed to run the lines, the story said. A bid to build a fence all the way around Lion Lake in Hungry Horse was postponed. If built, the wooden fence would have been 6,310 feet long. The story didn’t say why the lake needed a fence around it.

60 years ago

Nov. 21, 1958

Editor Mel Ruder took a ride on the USS Nautilus nuclear submarine in the Atlantic Ocean. “Imagine refueling a logging truck or the family car just once in 136,000 miles,” Ruder remarked in the story, which included a 19-photo spread of the submarine, both inside and out.

50 years ago

Nov. 22, 1968

The 15,000-plus acre Jewel Basin was being considered for wilderness designation. The Forest Service was proposing motorized use restrictions and because it had thin soils and horse restrictions as well.

40 years ago

Nov. 23, 1978

The LaSalle Road from the Blue Moon to the airport was set to become a four-lane highway after five years of waiting for state funds to become available. Today, the road is U.S. Highway 2 and is five lanes. The Spotted Bear Ranger Station was putting in a new power plant by diverting water from Bruce-Addition Creek near the station. The station was spending about $40,000 a year to run diesel generators. The small dam was expected to save money, provided it worked.

30 years ago

Nov. 23, 1988

While it rained in the valley, Big Mountain had seen enough snow to have a Thanksgiving Day opener with about 50 percent of the lifts operational.

20 years ago

Nov. 19, 1998

Susan Nicosia was chosen from a slate of applicants to serve on the Columbia Falls City Council. Nicosia took the spot of Doug Karper, who resigned. Today, Nicosia is city manager and Karper is back on the council. Jack Therrien reflected on his 31 years as a pharmacist in Columbia Falls. The sign that graced his pharmacy was a local landmark for decades. Therrien ran a pharmacy and liquor store out of the same shop, which caught the eye of Tonight Show host Jay Leno, who made a comedy bit out of it.

10 years ago

Nov. 20, 2008

Author John Fraley and Pete Darling were able to track down Lena Cunningham’s grave marker in Woodlawn Cemetery. Cunningham was murdered in 1894.