Yesterdays: Cherries filled train cars in Flathead
First grader Danny Kennedy looks up to 6’ 3.5” Wildcat center Bill Schulte following a game against Libby Feb. 1, 1964. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
Aug. 6, 1954
The Flathead Valley was seeing a bumper cherry crop and about 2 million pounds of sweet cherries were expected to be shipped out of the valley in refrigerated railcars from both Kalispell and Polson.
60 years ago
Aug. 9, 1964
Former Montana Sen. Burton K. Wheeler was spending time at his summer home on Lake McDonald. He had just returned from a fishing trip to Grace Lake and came home with eight trout. He claimed the current members of Congress “lacked the character and stature” that existed when he served.
50 years ago
Aug. 9. 1974
The Anaconda Aluminum Co. Was seeking a whopping 40% reduction in taxes, or about $500,000. At the time the company paid $1.4 million in taxes to School District 6 alone, which amounted to half the property taxes collected by the district.
40 years ago
Aug. 9, 1984
Teens Jim Sapa and Ray Johnsrud were killed when they were hit by a train at the 12th Avenue West crossing in Columbia Falls. Witnesses said they saw the car pass one stopped vehicle and then veer around the crossing arms. The train was going 50 mph when the collision happened. The Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial baseball field is named after the two Columbia Falls baseball players.
30 years ago
Aug. 4, 1994
Voters in all precincts across Flathead County voted to ax the county’s building codes enforcement division. Three people lost their jobs. The department hadn’t been around long, just a year.
20 years ago
Aug. 5, 2004
North Forker Karin Colby was raising a pet wolf hybrid. It was 7/8ths wolf, she said and was expected to live 16 to 20 years. Its name was Matohoa.
10 years ago
Aug. 6, 2014
Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park was recognizing its 100th year. Serving guests at the backcountry hotel often had staff starting their day at 5 a.m. and ending at 11 p.m. Gary Colledge was pretty proud of his boat. It would do 140 mph, he said. He had it docked on Flathead Lake and his firm, which made manufactured homes in California, was a big customer of Plum Creek’s MDF plant.