On this week 59 years ago: Showboat comes to Polson, Mission College thrives this summer, big fish spotted

The Flathead Courier, July 13, 1967

Flathead Lake Showboat Comes 'round the Bend Saturday and Sunday

With the stern wheel churning, the steam whistle blasting, the band playing and cast members livin' it up, the Flathead Lake Showboat comes round the bend this Saturday and Sunday, July 15 and 16, at about 8:30 p.m. at Sacajawea Park in Polson.

As usual, top-area talent will be aboard the showboat, and Acting Director Bernie Rasmusson assures residents and visitors that a really top-notch family show will be presented.

Making life miserable for Mr. Interlocutor — to the delight of the audience — will be the east of zany, unpredictable end men Shorty, Dusty Bones and Torchy, and their gal friends Dinah, Sapphire Penches, Mandy and Lilac.

More predictable entertainment aboard will be Wray Huchins' Square Dancer: vocalists Gregg and Tommy Devlin, the Rev. Jim Jensen, the Rev. Don Jacobson, Hildur Henderson, Susan Frochlich, dancer Yvonne Thomas, Dick Schlatter and his Dixieland Band, and others.

Also on board will be a motley crew of individuals who call themselves the "Flathead Phizzlers." They said if Skipper Frank Hodge won't let ten aboard, they'll stow away … 

Mission Mountain College Activity Satisfactory at Mid-Summer Point

At the midway point of Mission Mountain College’s summer session, enrollment in the various classes and institutes has gone beyond the 124 mark, according to College President Dr. Ralph Y. McGinnis. He told the Courier that he considers this very satisfactory. Participation should reach the 300 mark by the end of the season, he predicted. 

Already, Dr. McGinnis said, 54 persons have registered for the Insurance Marketing Institute, which will be held at MMC Aug. 7-18. Insurance companies are sending representatives from Montana, Idaho, Colorado and Oregon to the institute … other states are expected to be represented by the time registration closes. 

In the first part of this week, registration totaled 21 in the youth leadership institute. About 40 are expected, De. McGinnis said. 

The public lecture schedule had been revised for the last half of the summer session. The Air Force Air University space science team that was to have given a lecture program this week will not be here now until fall, De. McGinnis said. The program, taking its place in the lecture series, was given by Dr. Robbery I. Johnson, Director of the Adler Planetarium, Chicago, last night …

Big Fish Seen off Slack Point

Word of the first sighting of Flathead Lake's friendly, mysterious fish was reported here late last week. Actually, the fish was spotted about three weeks ago off Slack's Point.

An unimpeachable witness, who asked that she remain anonymous, told the Courier, "I have always been an unbeliever of the big fish, but I saw it playing about 200 yards off our dock, about three weeks ago, the lake had about three feet to go to be full.

"About sundown, I saw the sun sparkling on something that was moving up and down so I looked through the binoculars and found the sun would sparkle on the back of this fish as it would move up and down, back and forth. I didn't see any head or tail - just the back, which seemed at that distance to be about 6 or 8 feet long. It was having fun in a calm lake with no boats out that day."