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Jim Matson gives away a new bike to Lance Dauber of Hungry Horse as part of an A&W promotion in May, 1972. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
May 20, 1949
About 10,000 beetles imported from Australia were unleashed on patches of goatweed in the pastures of the Blankenship Ranch. The hope was the beetles would eat down the weeds. The Forest Service had plans to do more research at the Coram Experimental Forest. The 7,000-plus acre Forest was established in 1925, but didn’t see much use during the war years. The Rocky Mountain Riders was the name of the new saddle club in Columbia Falls. The Riders are still active today.
60 years ago
May 22, 1959
Columbia Falls High School would graduate 52 seniors. F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber was the successful bidder for a timber sale up Canyon Creek for 4 million board feet of lumber. Park plows were at Logan Pass, again. They had made it to the pass the week before, but bad weather had set in and they had to re-plow their way back to the pass again. Glacier Park entrance fees were $2 for two weeks or $4 for the season.
50 years ago
May 23, 1969
It was estimated that Glacier National Park visitors brought about $11.6 million to the local economy. A rainless spring meant that Canyon Creek saw a 35 acre fire. The fire was under control and was started by a careless fisherman.
40 years ago
May 24, 1979
Gas prices were expected to climb to $1 a gallon by the summer, but gas supplies were in pretty good shape. Right now, gas prices were 78 to 79 cents per gallon, but no lead gas was 87 cents for “full service gas.” The days of full service gas are long gone, of course.
30 years ago
May 24, 1989
Gov. Stan Stephens was on hand to turn the first shovelful of dirt for the new Flathead Valley Community College Campus. The new college, according to the story, “was in a field north of Kalispell.” The construction included four new buildings off Highway 93. About 300 people attended the groundbreaking event. Folks were flocking to the woods in North Fork in the post Red Bench fire to pick morel mushrooms.
20 years ago
May 20, 1999
Biologists Diane Boyd and Tom Meier trapped and collared three wolves in the North Fork region of Glacier National Park. The collaring was significant because it once again gave contact to the South Camas Pack, which roamed at the time from Apgar to Kintla Lake. The pack had about five wolves total.
10 years ago
May 21, 2009
Glacier National Park was going to add an “osprey cam” to its website. The camera was trained on an osprey next near the St. Mary Visitor Center. Today there is no osprey camera, as the birds still nest in the area, but not where the camera can see them.