Yesterdays: Columbia Falls High School moves to Class A

70 Years ago

Jan. 30, 1953

Eva Gates of Bigfork in 1952 reported she had put up 20,784 jars of jam and preserves that she sold to he public. “It’s a Flathead Industry,” the story said. ‘Out of a kitchen.” You can still buy Eva Gates jams today.

60 years ago

Feb. 1, 1963

Columbia Falls became a Class A school. It had been Class B. Lake McDonald in Glacier Park froze completely over.

Back then, the 400-foot deep lake froze over once every two years. Today, it happens less frequently. The last time was 2019.

50 years ago

Feb. 2, 1973

The Rocky Mountain Lumber Co., which had a mill in Columbia Falls that employed 50 to 70 people, was bought out by the Louisiana Pacific Co. The mill is no longer in Columbia Falls today.

40 years ago

Feb. 3, 1983

The border was opened at the North Fork Road so logging trucks could bring down logs from Canada to Columbia Falls mills, most notably the Superior Mill. The border back then closed in October. Today, it’s not open at all.

30 years ago

Jan. 28, 1993

Columbia Falls businessman Pete Pederson was notified that he was being shut down. He owned a Sears catalog store in town and the company was shutting down its stores across the country. Sears was once a giant retailer. Glacier Park announced that fixing sewer and water issues at Sperry and Granite Park chalets was a top priority. The chalets had been shut down because of it.

20 years ago

Jan. 30, 2003

The Columbia Falls speech and debate team celebrated its fourth straight state A title. Meanwhile, the coach of the speech team at the time — Michael Christensen — was making his case that the school district should not cut the English department budget. The district wanted to eliminate one English teacher at the high school.

10 years ago

Jan. 30, 2013

The real estate market was picking up after the Great Recession. The number of bank-owned homes countywide had dipped to about 20 and the median sale price in 2012 was $187,500 in Flathead County.