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Dismantling the Columbia Falls Town Hall in March, 1950. The building was built in 1909 and purchased by Bill Smith for $400, who moved it to Nucleus Avenue. The building had a bell tower. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
March 31, 1950
The Hungry Horse Dam project was preparing to pour concrete around the clock. It meant that about 150 more men would have jobs. Preliminary indications were that Columbia Falls would have a population of about 1,200 people, not including 200 that received city water, according to census takers. In 1940 it had 637 and Hungry Horse and Martin City didn’t exist.
60 years ago
April 1, 1960
Census takers were at work in Columbia Falls. Ann Mateka was counting folks on the east side and Beulah Loveall on the west side. The communities around Glacier National Park were gearing up for its golden anniversary on May 11. A special postmark was made for the Columbia Falls and Whitefish post offices.
50 years ago
April 3, 1970
The Montana Wilderness Association was forming a chapter in the Flathead. Dr. Loren Kreck was the temporary chairman. There was concern that the Bob Marshall Wilderness was getting polluted, with too many planes, stock and people using it. Designated outfitter camps in the Bob at the time were being overused, the story noted.
40 years ago
April 3, 1980
Jerry Forsyth’s scheme to kill his wife was revealed on in a front page story. Forsyth, according to Doug Richards, allegedly first tried to kill his wife Karen, by overdosing her on sleeping pills. That didn’t work, so he allegedly shot her in the head with a .22. The couple owned Skyline Bowl in Kalispell. Forysth allegedly wanted Karen dead so he could take off with his girlfriend. The idea was to make the murder look like a robbery, Richard said.
30 years ago
April 5, 1990
Melanie Moody won the Columbia Falls “Young Woman of the Year” award. The title came with a 1-year tuition to Flathead Valley Community College and a $300 scholarship. Barbara Schustrom’s body was found in Lake McDonald. She apparently had left her house in Whitefish and her husband, Bill, alerted Park rangers that she had left to go to the park. It wasn’t clear how she fell into the lake, but her body was found at the head of the body of water, at a depth of 15 feet and her tracks were found at a private road near Upper McDonald Creek.
20 years ago
April 6, 2000
Columbia Falls firefighters responded to a house fire on Woodland Road. The house was destroyed, but a man inside who managed to escape was covered in white powder suspected to be methamphetamine. Police had issued warrants in the incident. Renovations were being done to the Many Glacier Hotel — an effort that would eventually take more than eight years to complete.
10 years ago
April 1, 2010
The Park Service had determined that Glacier Park Inc. had accumulated a $25 million stake, known as “possessory interest” in the Park lodges it operated in Glacier. The figure was important because the park was looking to issue a new contract for operation of the lodges and any bidder would have to pay GPI the $25 million to take over the lodging contract — or the Park Service would have to buy out GPI.