Yesterdays: Dial telephones being installed in Columbia Falls

70 years ago

Dec. 2, 1955

Pacific Power and Light announced it would start installing dial telephones in Columbia Falls.  The city had about 850 phones at the time.

60 years ago

Dec. 3, 1965

The Flathead had a mediocre hunting season with record cold in September and then a warm October.  LeRoy Tellman, 18, was featured on the front page after he shot a 458 pound grizzly bear near Lake Five. The bear had been shot previously as it has bullet scars, but survived. He shot the bear with a .45-70 rifle.

50 years ago

Dec. 4, 1975

There was consensus that coal mines in the Canadian Flathead could do harm to the U.S. and Glacier National Park. The threat of a mine at Cabin Creek would be referred to the International Joint Commission for review.

40 years ago

Dec. 4, 1985

The Flathead had experienced the coldest November in history at the time.  The weather was expected to moderate in the next few days but there was still plenty of snow on the ground. Glacier Park had a good grizzly bear year. No grizzlies were killed and no one was injured.

30 years ago

Dec. 7, 1995

Steve Kracher was named the new football coach at Columbia Falls. Kracher was Hall of Fame player for the Wildcats when he was in high school and one of the best running backs in school history.

20 years ago

Dec. 1, 2005

A photo spread of a family of lynx graced the front page of the Hungry Horse News. The rare cat and her two kits were captured by editor Chris Peterson when he went to cut his Christmas tree.

10 years ago

Dec. 2, 2015

The Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. and the EPA announced they had made an agreement whereby the company would pay for a remedial investigation and other work at the defunct aluminum plant. The $4 million deal was the first step in the cleanup process. The actual cleanup work should start in 2027.