A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler 

50 Years Ago 

Nov. 14, 1974 

A study commission to investigate various forms of local and county government became available to residents. The City of Whitefish, since its incorporation in 1905, operated on the city council-strong mayor form of government. Cities and counties have the corporate power to act on behalf of its citizens in providing services. The state legislature classified municipalities according to the size of their population. To incorporate as a town, the population and area of an area must have been at least 300. To be a third-class city required a minimum of 1,000 people, a second-class city 5,000, and for a first-class city 10,000. The City of Whitefish could not become a second-class city until there were at least 5,000 residents living within the city within the city limits. 

40 Years Ago 

Nov. 15, 1984 

A majority of Whitefish voters were apparently willing to fund better roads, according to results from a referendum on the ballot Nov. 6. Voters were asked their preference of three different levels of funding programs or could choose no program. According to still unofficial results from the county elections office, 1,253 votes were cast in favor of one of the three spending options and 603 votes were cast for the no program choice. Mayor Jim Putnam said the city will first have to come up with plans for repairs and how the charges will be assessed to property owners and then hold public meetings. 

30 Years Ago 

Nov. 10, 1994 

Dave Peters, superintendent of School District 44, said residents have plenty to be proud of when it comes to the nearly 2,000 students, 120 certified staff and 45 classified staff who make up the city's public schools. "There are minimum standards we must reach,” Peters said. “But having outstanding schools is a tradition. We (Whitefish schools) are expected to have high standards. Our kids go on and do well beyond high school.” Peters linked Whitefish's successful schools to three factors: good students, great teachers and community involvement. 

20 Years Ago 

Nov. 11, 2004 

In the rival match of the season. The Bulldog volleyball team welcomed the Wildkats into their home territory, where Whitefish took advantage of the home crowd and left their mark. The Bulldogs took the first two games without much of a fight, but the Kats came clawing back in the third game, picking up the momentum and giving Whitefish a run for their money. “They came hard at us in game three and we just had to step up,” said Head Coach Jackie Fuller. And step up they did. Mandy McFadden played unselfishly, shelling out 19 set assists, while Ashley Ferda scraped up 13 digs. Tracy Schwada fired down 12 kills to help the dogs push past Columbia Falls 25-22, 26-16 and 30-29 

10 Years Ago 

Nov. 12, 2014 

Whitefish city councilors quarreled over how heavily to rely on input from a consulting firm for the design of the new City Hall building. The argument split the four councilors who were present at the Nov. 2 meeting. The rift was over whether more consideration should be given to comments made by Crandall Arambula on the preliminary building design created by Mosaic Architecture.