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First graders from teacher Kathleen Lavalle's class with presents they made for their mothers. From left is Martha Ladenberg, Kirk Chistman and Druesedow, Dec. 14, 1959. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
Dec. 9, 1949
Front page story featured Columbia Falls native Gene Kelleher, a Navy sailor who went missing in April in Hawaii and hadn’t been seen since. Kelleher was the grandson of Lydia Comeau. (The same family as Comeau Pass in Glacier National Park.) The state was going to sell nearly 10,000 acres of land it owned in Glacier National Park to the Park Service. Most of the land was up the North Fork, but some was in Nyack and the state was considering selling the timber, which caused a stir with wildlife groups. The state then withdrew that idea.
60 years ago
Dec. 11, 1959
A logger accidentally killed a black bear cub when he cut down a Douglas Fir tree near Columbia falls. He was sawing the tree into lengths when he sawed into a cub. The mother and her other cub were able to escape. The sawyer hadn’t realized the bears were in the tree.
50 years ago
Dec. 12, 1969
Glacier Park Superintendent William Briggle was encouraging winter use of the Park, including snowmobiling. The Park was now plowing the Sun Road to Lake McDonald Lodge and snowmobiles were allowed in Many Glacier, Cut Bank, Two Medicine and the Sun Road on the east side to Jackson Glacier Overlook.
40 years ago
Dec. 13, 1979
Front page photo featured the bloody legs of Allen Becker who was shot with a shotgun at Junction Gas in Columbia Heights. Two men from Ronan were arrested and charged in the shooting. The men were shooting at people along Highway 2 as they drove. Several other people were shot at. The story did not give a motive for the shootings.
30 years ago
Dec. 14, 1989
Someone was spiking trees in a timber sale between Whitefish Lake and Olney, and leaving note behind warning that the trees had been spiked. The spikes were about 10 inches long and had cryptic messages like “Our act was a personal blow for the freedom of all men and women.” Environmentalists said they weren’t behind the spiking.
20 years ago
Dec. 9, 1999
John Dove of Michigan was named the new Columbia Falls city manager. He replaced Myrt Webb, who resigned in late July. Dove’s salary was about $45,000 at the time.
10 years ago
Dec. 10, 2009
Columbia Falls said it was interested in having a convict pre-release center in the city limits. A private company was looking to build a center south of Kalispell, but it brought opposition. Then they looked at Evergreen, and now, Columbia Falls. The center was never built.