Yesterdays: Chris Johnston of California shot and killed a grizzly bear near Moose City up the North Fork that charged him.
Looking over the new football fields in 1950. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
Sept. 22, 1950
The Harvey Machine Co. was still looking at options for a new aluminum smelter in the area.
The latest site would have the plant built in Coram.
That didn’t happen, of course, as the plant was built at the base of Teakettle Mountain.
60 years ago
Sept. 23, 1960
While Columbia Falls is many miles from large urban centers, the topic of an editorial that week dealt with fallout from nuclear bombs if one were to hit a city west of here. Editor Mel Ruder noted the efforts of locals to preparing for a nuclear war. “Within the ground floor of a home, the radiation is half as intense as out-of-doors.”
50 years ago
Sept. 25, 1970
Montana’s largest bridge, which would span what would become the Koocanusa Reservoir at Rexford, was 99.8 percent complete. The bridge was 2,437 feet long and was 270 feet above the riverbed.
40 years ago
Sept. 25, 1980
Chris Johnston of California shot and killed a grizzly bear near Moose City up the North Fork that charged him.
Johnston said he thought the bear was asleep or in a snare when he came upon it lying down in a trail. But the bear went after him and he shot it twice with a .357-magnum pistol. Johnston, it turned out, was in an area that was closed because researchers had posted and baited the area to catch bears for a research project. Johnston was fined $500 for killing the bear.
30 years ago
Sept. 27, 1990
Glacier Park rangers were investigating the poaching of elk at Marias Pass.
The elk had their cape and antlers removed. The new Polebridge Ranger Station opened its doors. It replaced the station that burned down in the Red Bench Fire of 1988.
20 years ago
Sept. 21, 2000
The public was asked to weigh in on the Thompson-Fisher river conservation easement.
The deal would protect a total of 142,000 acres of Plum Creek lands from subdivision and development near the two rivers west of Kalispell. At the time, it was the largest conservation easement in Montana history.
10 years ago
Sept. 23, 2010
Derrick Williams ran the cross country course in Missoula in 16 minutes, 8 seconds to set a new school record as the fastest cross country runner as a junior. It was the fourth-fastest race in Columbia Falls High School history.