Yesterdays: AAC makes it official — it will build a plant in Columbia Falls

70 years ago

Dec. 19, 1952

The Anaconda Aluminum Co. formally announced it would start building a $45 million aluminum smelter near Teakettle Mountain in 1953. The plant would use power from the Hungry Horse Dam and would employ about 480 workers. Meanwhile Hungry Horse Dam construction was winding up.

60 years ago

Dec. 21, 1962

Flathead Electric Co-op was bringing nuclear power to Flathead County — sort of. The co-op had agreed to purchase 3.2 megawatts of power from the Hanford Nuclear Power plant that was under construction in Washington state.

50 years ago

Dec. 21, 1972

Mrs. Tynee Olson announced the sale of Columbia Falls Lumber to Ivan O’Neil and Leslie Kjoe of Western Woodwork and Supply in Kalispell. The store would later become Western Building Center. Columbia Falls Lumber was founded in 1945 by R. Pat Kelly and for a number of years was the only lumber supply store in town.

40 years ago

Dec. 23, 1982

Geoff Cribb was enjoying Christmas. At 18, it was the first time the Australian native had seen snow. He was living in Montana as a foreign exchange student.

30 years ago

Dec. 24, 1992

Kathie Phillips and her husband Wayne were spearheading an effort to “save the chalets” in Glacier National Park after it was announced the backcountry chalets at Granite Park and Sperry would close due to safe drinking water and other safety concerns.

20 years ago

Dec. 19, 2002

A sales tax proposal was gathering support in Flathead County government and some county officials wanted to see it go up for a vote to county residents. But in Columbia Falls at the time, it was estimated the city would only take in about $5,000 in revenue.

10 years ago

Dec. 19, 2012

The First Best Place board decided to dissolve. The nonprofit Columbia Falls organization looked to move the library into the former First Citizens Bank as well as other projects, but ran out of funding.