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Noted Glacier Park historian Jack Holterman and his "wolf dog" in September 1987.
70 years ago
April 15, 1949
Eight men from the fish and game department issued a report saying that the elk herd had wintered surprisingly well near the headwaters of the Flathead River along the continental divide. It was reported that there were 3,000 elk up the North Fork and 1,000 in the Middle Fork. Discussion continued concerning changing the name of the Belton community to West Glacier. The new name was believed to have more appeal to vacationers and there had been some trouble with the town’s mail being delivered to Belton Missouri or North Dakota. The gasoline motor finally invaded Glacier Nation Park’s trail system as motorized wheelbarrows were used to haul materials to repair the trails.
60 years ago
April 17, 1959
Installation of a barker and chipper had begun at Plum Creek Lumber Co. It was the first such installation in Flathead County. Elwyn Mateka was installed as new commander of VFW Post 5650, succeeding Fred Fowler. Bids were called to install bleachers, backstops and scoreboards at the new Columbia Falls High School gymnasium.
50 years ago
April 18, 1969
Former Columbia Falls athlete Mike Lyngstad set a new University of Montana record in the javelin with a toss of 251 feet, 1 inch at a meet at Eastern Washington State College. It was the third longest throw in the nation in 1969. Project superintendent E.B. Myhre and Arno W Rinck of the Hungry Horse Chamber of Commerce were on hand as U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Regional Director Harold T. Nelson presented the Hungry Horse Project with an award of merit for error-free performance in 1968.
40 years ago
April 19, 1979
The mountain pine beetle epidemic in Glacier National Park was reported to be getting worse. The beetles had infested 164,00 acres in Glacier National Park and had spread into 78,500 acres in the Flathead National Forest. Plum Creek Lumber Co. announced it had purchased four other lumber companies in Kalispell. The purchase price was not disclosed. Two men accused of murdering North Fork resident Roy Cooper were put under 24-hour guard as they awaited arraignment in district court.
30 years ago
April 19, 1989
Mayor Colleen Allison broke a 3-3 tie vote for Columbia Falls to fund a full-time mayor’s position for the city. The decision on cost would come later in 1989. Glacier National Park Maintenance Chief Keith Fellbaum ended his 26-year career with the National Park Service after disagreements with then park Superintendent Gil Lusk. In the previous year the park had also lost its chief ranger, chief naturalist and assistant superintendent. An estimated crowd of 1,100 watched the Columbia Falls boxing team defeat Whitefish in the first of two spring boxing smokers at the high school gymnasium.
20 years ago
April 15, 1999
Glacier National Park announced it had been given an $8.7 million budget for the year, up from $8.48 million in 1998. The park said it would use increase to fund salary increases across the board. The park also unveiled the newest addition to its road crew, a brand new RSS-1250 rotary snowblower. The new $280,000 piece of machinery could move twice as much snow as the park’s previous model.
10 years ago
April 16, 2009
Due to economic constraints on the community, the School District 6 board voted unanimously to cancel its planned district mill levy elections. The money was planned to have gone towards a project shortfall in the district’s 2009-2010 budget. Both the Two Medicine and Many Glacier Roads in the park had been plowed and it was reported could be open by the weekend.