Yesterdays: A look back at history
Whitey the pony knew how to open doors and would let himself into the Hamilton residence on Highway 2 between West Glacier and Coram. Here, Frank Hamilton leads the pony out of the house in December, 1964. The pony also knew how to turn on the garden hose to get a drink, though he never shut it off. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
Oct. 15, 1948
The state had taken over Highway 40, which, at 9.076 miles long, was considered the shortest state highway in Montana. Susan Davis, 6, of Apgar told a bear tale: Her mother thought she had fallen out of bed. But it wasn’t the youngster, it was a bear on the back porch and it had eaten all the butter.
60 years ago
Oct. 17, 1958
They were signing oil leases in Columbia Falls, but the pay was poor. The leases were only 25 cents an acre and the royalty if oil was found was 12.5 percent. But the story noted they were a long way from drilling — there were still a host of tests to be done, and alas, Columbia Falls never became an oil town.
50 years ago
Oct. 18, 1968
Crews broke ground on a new Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls. Gov. Tim Babcock was on hand for a ceremony. The Columbia Falls High School student body favored Richard Nixon over Hubert Humphrey in a mock election. A new bridge over the Middle Fork at Essex was to open. It replaced the bridge that was washed out in the ‘64 flood.
40 years ago
Oct. 19, 1978
A photo featured Tom Huntsinger of Columbia Falls in a wet suit. Huntsinger dove into the Middle Fork of the Flathead and retrieved snagging hooks left behind on the rocks during snagging season. Huntsinger and his wife, Barbara had two bucketfuls of the weighed treble hooks. Congress approved the bill that created the Great Bear Wilderness in the closing hours of the 95th Congress.
30 years ago
Oct. 19, 1988
A massive Montana Wilderness bill, which would have designated, among other areas, much of the Swan Front as wilderness, had passed the House and was off to the Senate. The bill would have created 1.4 million acres of new wilderness in the state. It would pass the Senate, but then be vetoed by President Ronald Reagan in the waning days of his administration.
20 years ago
Oct. 15, 1998
Congressman Rick Hill had secured $1 million to further look at options for rebuilding the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National park. The park originally had plans to shut down either the east or west side to Logan Pass when construction occurred, but businesses that relied on Glacier said that would have detrimental impacts.
10 years ago
Oct. 16, 2008
There was a big welcome home for Marine Sgt. Mike Kamerer who did tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Dave Cochrane of Columbia Falls beat cancer and the odds to bag a big bull moose up the North Fork. Cochrane not only survived the disease, but he also had been trying to get a moose tag for 17 years.