Former Hungry Horse News gossip columnist happy to be home

Years ago, Jeanne Meyer was well known in Columbia Falls and the Canyon. She was a hairdresser in Hungry Horse and then in Columbia Falls and even wrote a gossip column for awhile under the tutelage of then Hungry Horse News editor Brian Kennedy.

Kennedy often mentioned her in his column, particularly after they chatted during his haircuts.

In one conversation, Meyer (whose last name was Squires back then) said she was trying to sell her pet rabbit named Starsky and the hutch came with it.

People who remember the simply awful but popular detective show, “Starsky and Hutch” will get the joke.

“We laughed over a lot of things,” Meyer recalled during a visit last week. 

She still has a receipt for her writing efforts, $15 from the Hungry Horse News.

Kennedy was in his 20s back then and Meyer was one of the few hairdressers that cut men’s hair. She said she started cutting men’s hair when long hair was in fashion and barbers didn’t want to cut long hair back in the ‘70s.

Meyer would move to Post Falls, Idaho, where she set up shop there and cut hair for another 30 years and wrote a gossip column for the newspaper there as well. She also penned a few children’s books along the way and was known for her award-winning flowers she grew in her garden.

A few months ago she moved back to Columbia Falls to live with her granddaughter Jamie Griffith and her husband, Ryan.

Meyer’s husband died and she said it was tough to live alone. She’s in her 80s and remains active, but her doctor “made me stop power walking,” she said.

Now she’s in a house with family that’s bustling with activity, including two big dogs she’s training to live with her cat.