70 years ago

Dec. 24, 1954

Santa handed out 637 sacks of treats to youngsters in Columbia Falls. The shore of Lake McDonald near Snyder Creek sank some 10 feet under the waters of the lake for about 150 feet from Snyder Creek. The section that sank was up to 20 feet wide.

60 years ago

Dec. 25, 1964

It had been a wet December in West Glacier, with 6.67 inches of precipitation (melted snow and rain). A blizzard was expected to hit the mountains, but the valley wouldn’t see it. Snow in Essex was almost up to the rooftops of buildings.

50 years ago

Dec. 27, 1974

An eagle that had a tag wasn’t from Saskatchewan, but likely northern Minnesota, biologists in Glacier National Park noted. Whatever the case, back then eagles flocked to the park to feed on salmon that spawned in McDonald Creek. The Canadian birds were known to migrate as far south as Texas in winter months.

40 years ago

Dec. 27, 1984

Pam and Larry Rabidue’s Columbia Falls home burned to the ground just a few days before Christmas. Their son, Jerry, nearly died in the fire and was treated for severe burns. The Air Force was defending its B-52H bomber training flights over Glacier Park, saying the park just happened to be in its flight path.

30 years ago

Dec. 22, 1994

Backcountry use in Glacier National Park set a new record at the time, with 30,583 campers recorded.  That broke the record set in 1977 of just over 30,000. This year, 2024, saw more than that, with 34,796 recorded, about 2,000 more than 2023.

20 years ago

Dec. 23, 2004

Don Bennett was planning on starting a new bank in Columbia Falls. Freedom Bank would be the first new bank in the city since Glacier Bank in the 1970s.

10 years ago

Dec. 24, 2014

The Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. went on the record to say it opposed placing the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. Site on the National Priorities List, i.e. making it a Superfuind site.

 Still, Columbia Falls supported the idea as did Montana Sen. Jon Tester and it would ultimately become a Superfund site.