Yesterdays: Old Shay locomotive on the move

70 years ago

Oct. 9, 1953

LaRue Construction Co. was awarded a contract to build a B&B Food Mart on what was the town square at the time. The 58-by-125-foot store was expected to open by early 1954. The store bought four lots to construct the store.

60 years ago

Oct. 11, 1963

The Old Shay locomotive steam engine was moved to Depot Park at the end of Nucleus Avenue. The 42-ton locomotive last operated at F.H. Stoltze land and Lumber in 1941.

50 years ago

Oct. 12, 1973

A public hearing was planned on wilderness designation for Glacier National Park and for a master plan. Glacier was also examining a mass transit system in an attempt to get people off the Going-to-the-Sun Road as there were about 455 parking spots between the Loop and Logan Pass. All of this sounds familiar to the discussion today.

40 years ago

Oct. 13, 1983

The state was considering lowering the limits of keeping fish and other regulations as the fishing was declining in western Montana waters. This was the first year the state had banned snagging salmon in the Flathead River due to low numbers. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries biologist Jim Vashro predicted it would take five to 10 years for the kokanee salmon population to recover. It never did and salmon are few and far between in the Flathead River system today.

30 years ago

Oct. 7, 1993

A missing statue of an angel that was stolen from St. Richard’s Catholic Church in June mysteriously returned to the cemetery. The angel was found leaning against the concrete stand where it was taken four months earlier. No one fessed up to the theft, or the return.

20 years ago

Oct. 9, 2003

The Columbia Falls City Council approved the Cedar Pointe subdivision, though neighbors still said the housing development at the end of South Nucleus Avenue was too dense.

The original plan was for 94 homes, but council pared that back to 79. Today, the subdivision sports homes that cost more than $1 million and the number of units never did reach even the 79 number.

10 years ago

Oct. 16, 2013

The top story of the week was the number of vacant commercial buildings in Columbia Falls, many of which had been empty for years. The largest was the old Pamida Discount store on Highway 2, which eventually became the laundry facility for Xanterra Parks and Resorts Glacier National Park operations.