Yesterdays: Last Chance Theater fire
A Christmas party at Bank of Columbia Falls attracted nearly 400 area youngsters on Dec. 13, 1963. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
Dec. 25, 1953
A Christmas “reindeer” made its way to the roof of the machine shop between the dam and powerhouse at Hungry Horse Dam. The doe apparently jumped to the roof from a nearby rock ledge. By the time a rescue operation was organized, the doe had saved herself by taking a slide down a rock slope covered in snow.
60 years ago
Dec. 27, 1963
It was “a bad year for Cupid,” with 203 marriage licenses and 91 divorces granted in Flathead County. A Gaston-Martin study showed that 50% of the Flathead divorces were between couples both under age 19.
50 years ago
Dec. 21, 1973
Hungry Horse School students thanked the community for turning in 7,750 Campbell’s soup labels, the Campbell Soup Company would provide the school with a filmstrip projector and slide carrier adapter. Heavy December rains slowed logging on the South Fork. Around 50,000 Christmas trees were harvested from St. Regis Montana tree farm lands
40 years ago
Dec. 29, 1983
Last Chance Theater went down in flames. Firemen were able to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings and also attended to three other fires — a vehicle, a wall and a chimney fire — within 20 hours, leaving some Columbia Falls firefighters with over 30 hours without sleep.
30 years ago
Dec. 16, 1993
A helicopter roundup team relocated 67 bighorn sheep from Wild Horse Island. The 350 sheep on the island at the time were estimated at about three times as many as its resources could handle. The helicopter team came after a failed bait trap, which caught 41 mule deer and only one bighorn, and a suggested mountain lion introduction was shot down by homeowners.
20 years ago
Dec. 25, 2003
Glacier National Park hoped to implement $140-170 million worth of improvements, including work on Going-to-the-Sun Road, the building of a Discovery Center, and funding of a 14-shuttle fleet for visitors. Funding was expected to come from The Transportation Equity Act.
10 years ago
Dec. 24, 2013
Columbia Falls out-rang five other Flathead County communities in the Salvation Army’s red kettle campaign, raising $1,909 for the first annual Ring Day. Matt and Janet McConville planned to host Christmas dinner for 70 people at the United Methodist Church.