Yesterdays: Bald eagle flies 400 miles to Glacier Park
The congregation at the Assemblyof God Church on Dec. 13, 1954 in Hungry Horse.
70 years ago
Dec. 3, 1954
A special hunting season along the Middle Fork of the Flathead from West Glacier to the Continental Divide was announced. The purpose of the season, which ran on weekends, was to reduce the herd of surplus elk in Glacier National Park. Hunting wasn’t allowed in the park, but a narrow strip of land was open to hunting right along the river where elk congregated when snows pushed them into the river bottom.
60 years ago
Dec. 4, 1964
Gary Luce, Bob Moody and Phil Bertino bagged six geese for Christmas. The three young men were home for the holidays from college. The North Fork Road to the Canada line was recommended for a U.S. scenic Highway designation. Columbia Falls residents were eligible for 4% interest government home loans. It was the only city in the county approved for the loans.
50 years ago
Dec. 6, 1974
An immature bald eagle tagged in Saskatchewan was spotted in Glacier National Park. The bright red tag was spotted by eagle watchers in Glacier. It had flown about 400 miles to get to the park. Dec. 11 marked the 85th anniversary of Col. John. F. Stevens finding the crossing over the Continental Divide at Marias Pass.
40 years ago
Dec. 6, 1984
It was a chilly start to December, with record low temperatures. On Dec. 3 a record low was set at 9 below zero, breaking the old record of 4 below set in 1919. Public comments were due on Cenex Oil’s plan to drill a 12,000 foot deep oil well on the Coal Creek State Forest.
30 years ago
Dec. 1, 1994
The Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration had agreed upon a stone wall design for the Going-to-the Sun Road. The Park was replacing about 200 feet of stone wall near Oberlin Bend that had slumped and the Highway Administration was worried the old design wouldn’t stop modern-day cars from going over the edge. The compromise came from a design that would reinforce the base with concrete and rebar, but keep the same look and dimensions.
20 years ago
Dec. 2, 2004
Two freight trains collided in the Bad Rock Canyon. The trains were going slowly, about 10 mph, but even then seven cars derailed and spilled thousands of tons of soybeans and bird seed.
10 years ago
Dec. 3, 2014
A winter storm toppled about 20 trees onto homes in Glacier National Park’s headquarters area on Nov. 29 and 30. A Park Service vehicle was crushed as well by a fallen tree.