Yesterdays: Drilling for oil not far from Columbia Falls

70 years ago

Sept. 10, 1954

A massive log jam was growing on the Hungry Horse Reservoir near Riverside as a result of the Hungry Horse Dam. Herbert Construction out of Somers had a contract to corral the debris using boats and haul the larger stuff away.

60 years ago

Sept. 11, 1964


Nearing completion was the new visitor center at Logan Pass. It was 4,000 square feet and the same building one sees today. It cost $136,000.

50 years ago

Sept. 13, 1974

Danno Anderson was the low bidder for a new west side school in Columbia Falls for $260,000. The eight-room school also had an assembly hall and other amenities. It’s Ruder Elementary School today (though enlarged and greatly remodeled).

40 years ago

Sept. 13, 1984

They were drilling for oil close to Columbia Falls. Spectra Energy of Oklahoma was drilling a wildcat well on F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Land northwest of the city. The well was to be 6,000 feet deep. It was about 3-½ miles north and slightly west of Half Moon.

30 years ago

Sept. 15, 1994

There were death threats to Democrats and a lot of angry “property rights” people after a  Flathead County planning meeting to discuss the county’s master’s plan. After the meeting Dave Mason, a Democratic candidate for county commissioner, received death threats from some folks.

20 years ago

Sept. 9, 2004

Research indicated that wildfires in Glacier National Park seem to help toad populations, but exactly why wasn’t clear. Toads were found in 10 new breeding sites in the Moose Fire burn up the North Fork where they hadn’t been found before.

10 years ago

Sept. 10, 2014

Tori Price was the first runner-up of the Miss Montana pageant 2015. She graduated from Columbia Falls in 2013 and was now studying at Montana State University.