Looking Back: Red Lodge lends Big Mountain a snow making machine

A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler 

50 Years Ago 

Dec. 31, 1975

Like cuts in government spending, everyone appeared to be in favor of reevaluation of real property, providing it happens in someone else's bailiwick. Since the project of establishing market values as tax bases in Montana began, at least 10 counties had legal action pending to stop it. In Flathead County, June 30 was set by Judge Robert S. Keller as the date for a show cause hearing at which the state must show why an injunction against cyclic reevaluation should not be made permanent. The controversy goes back to the 1972 Constitutional Convention, where it was noted that a hesitancy exists on the part of counties to raise valuations. 

40 Years Ago 

Jan. 1, 1986

A snow making machine borrowed from Red Lodge Ski Area had been seeing duty on the access way from the summit to the North Slope. Steve Spencer, hill manager at Big Mountain Ski Resort, said the machine would be in use “until we get some real snowfall here again.” The machine was delivered to Big Mountain last week from the southern resort. Spencer said that a gas engine drives a generator and compressor. The machine utilizes a large fan and a selection of variable spray nozzles to create a mist that is directed over the slopes in need of additional cover. “It's a slow process,” Spencer said. “We have been starving the machine, giving it about 80 gallons per minute instead of the 300 gallons a minute it can handle. We are using it on the summit, on the narrow approach to the North Slope and Chair 7. We have the ability to give the machine only the amount of water the Summit House Restaurant was designed for.” 

30 Years Ago 

Dec. 28, 1995

The Whitefish Community Center project topped $2 million mark. The Whitefish Theatre Co. donated $30,000 toward the center's construction, and the Tracy Foundation added $25,000. Other donors pledged $5000 each. That left about half a million to go for the center’s fundraising goal. The Whitefish Theater Co. had been saving money for years toward a permanent home, and the donation of $30,000 is logical since it will stage some presentations in the cultural arts portion of the center, agreed board President Richard Hildner and member Carolyn Pitman. The Theatre Company is a leaseholder in the Community Center complex. 

20 Years Ago 

Dec. 29, 2005 

New figures from a US Census Bureau report showed Whitefish tied with Kalispell as the second fastest growing community in the state with 22.2% population growth since 2000. Spending on new home construction continued at a record pace for the third year running, hovering around $25 million each fiscal year for single family homes. A total of 179 new housing units worth $45.35 million were built in Whitefish in the fiscal year ending June 30. To deal with all the growth, the city created a new planning department to replace the Tri-City Planning Office. Director Bob Horne and two planners took over the work of Eric Mulcahey, who went into the private sector. 

10 Years Ago 

Dec. 30, 2015 

The 4 p.m. traffic off Big Mountain Road gave a clear indication of just how busy Whitefish Mountain Resort had been Christmas week. A line of cars snaked down Wisconsin Avenue over the viaduct and across town as happy skiers headed home from a day on the slopes. Skier visits have steadily increased each day since Christmas Eve and should continue to build through New Year's Day, said resort spokeswoman Riley Polumbus. “Every day it's getting busier than the day before,” she said. More than 5,000 skier visits were recorded on Saturday and Sunday each, and Monday was closer to 6,000. The resort set an all-time record during Christmas week last season when nearly 7,900 skiers hit the slopes on Dec. 28.