Yesterdays: Trap the tree
The Lions Club Easter Egg hunt in March, 1954. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
March 19, 1954
The Flathead National Forest was going to try a “trap the tree” program to battled spruce bark beetle. The idea was to cut down trees, leave them there for beetles to infest, rather than the live standing trees. The down trees were more attractive than the standing live ones. The down trees would then be removed by logging, sprayed with chemicals or burned to kill the beetles.
60 years ago
March 20, 1964
The Columbia Falls basketball team went 0-2 at the state tournament, losing to Billings West, 64-62 in a game that was tied in the final minute at 60 apiece. The Wildcats then lost to Fergus County in the loser-out bracket 63-42.
50 years ago
March 22, 1974
The Glacier Gateway Chamber at the time endorsed the idea of a nuclear power plant at Hungry Horse. The area, with ample water, was considered ideal for a plant and the story claimed there was almost no pollution from the return cooling water.
40 years ago
March 22, 1984
The Many Glacier Road was set to open this week. A school levy request was worrying industry in Columbia Falls. The aluminum plant, for example, was looking at a tax increase of $630,000, as the district wanted to build a new school in Hungry Horse and add an addition to what is now Ruder Elementary.
30 years ago
March 17, 1994
Organizer John McGlothen was advocating that people be ready to form an armed militia if need be and that every household have an M1 rifle in the event of strife. He stopped short of saying the militia should be organized, however, though it could be made of people with common beliefs.
20 years ago
March 18, 2004
Flathead County District Court Judge Stewart Stadler dismissed a libel suit brought against Flathead Electric Co-op by former manager Warren McConkey. McConkey claimed the Co-op had libeled him when it fired him. But Stadler, after reading through 10 inches of documents, found no evidence that the Co-op had done that.
10 years ago
March 19, 2014
There were plans for a 600 to 800 home subdivision in Hungry Horse on land that was formerly Forest Service. The plans called for a new sewage treatment plant. The homes were never built and the land is largely vacant today, but still privately held.