Yesterdays: Bear walks into potline at CFAC plant
Hungry Horse News | UPDATED 5 days, 6 hours AGO
Nucleus Avenue, August, 1953. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
May 25, 1956
An open house was planned for the new Apgar Village Inn on Lake McDonald. The story at the time called the rather ugly hotel at the foot of Lake McDonald a “chalet.” Still, it was the first accommodation built on the west side of the park since the Lake McDonald Lodge in 1914.
60 years ago
May 27, 1966
Sen. Lee Metcalf was the scheduled commencement speaker at Columbia Falls High School graduation. Work on the Flathead Tunnel was underway near Trego. The tunnel re-routed the Great Northern line underground for 7 miles to make way for the Libby Dam.
50 years ago
May 27, 1976
At a public hearing on snowmobiling in Glacier Park, the snowmobilers had a slight edge, with just over 100 calling for the park to reopen some of its roads to snowmobiles in the winter and about 95 opposing any reopening. The Park Service never reopened Glacier to snowmobiles, however.
40 years ago
May 28, 1986
A black bear got into a potline room at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. plant. Worker Jim Hunnewell scrambled up the side of a pot to get out of its way. The bear saw an open door and ran out.
30 years ago
May 30, 1996
Columbia Falls’ Hilary Lange would compete in the national Junior Miss Competition. Lange had already won the school and Montana state competitions. She owns Lary’s Fly and Supply in Columbia Falls today and is a fishing guide and TV personality.
20 years ago
May 25, 2006
Montana Sen. Max Baucus’s fix for funding the Going-to-the-Sun Road reconstruction raised the ire of Republicans, because they claimed he was taking money from their state projects. Baucus inserted language into a bill that spent $12.5 million on the road from ‘06 to ‘09. The original highway bill that had the language for the Sun Road approved the funds, but didn’t appropriate them. The federal Highway Administration blamed Baucus for the gaffe; Baucus blamed federal Highways. In the end, Baucus prevailed and the road got fixed.
10 years ago
May 25, 2016
The area saw heavy rains and some flooding. Coram saw 6.48 inches of rain and the North Fork Road north of Columbia Falls flooded as did several other roads.