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Montana State University teachers at the Half Moon mill, Sept. 17, 1949. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
Jan. 28, 1949
Both the city council and the Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce supported the construction of the Glacier View dam, which would have dammed the North Fork of the Flathead and inundated about 20,000 acres of Glacier National Park. Bowling leagues had started at the new GSM recreation hall in Hungry Horse.
60 years ago
Jan. 29, 1959
Front page featured a photo spread of skater M.E. Boyles showing kids how to skate on the Columbia Falls Lions Club skating rink in town. Boyles was a retired conductor for the Great Northern Railway. Another spread featured the new governor’s mansion in Helena.
50 years ago
Jan. 31, 1969
Lake McDonald had completely frozen over, the park reported. Rocky Mountain sheep were spotted on Teakettle Mountain. Fifteen sheep had been planted on the mountain from the National Bison Range the previous year.
40 years ago
Feb. 1, 1979
A couple of kids who were skipping school set the historic Hoerner barn on fire in Columbia Falls. The old barn used to be at the end of Fourth Avenue West. The two youths set hay on fire inside the barn, making it practically impossible to put out. Radio station KJJR was nearly set to go on the air, said owner Benny Bee.
30 years ago
Feb. 1, 1989
In East Glacier, temperatures dropped 75 degrees in just a few hours and winds gusted to 114 mph. Temperatures went from 50 on Monday afternoon to 25 below by Tuesday morning. The high winds blew 10 empty freight trains off the tracks near Cut Bank.
20 years ago
Jan. 28, 1999
Jared Trenerry and Cassie Smith made a wrong turn while skiing in Glacier National Park. They were going to ski up the Camas Road and down the Inside North Fork Road, but made a wrong turn and ended up going north on the Inside Road. Then it got dark. They made a small fire to keep warm and park rangers found them via snowmobile.
10 years ago
Jan. 29, 2009
Foreclosures in the housing market were creating a buyer’s market in Columbia Falls, with homes on the market well below the $200,000 mark. Real estate agent Bill Dakin predicted it could take eight to 10 years for a glut in lots to be absorbed, which is just about what has happened today.