Scary rides
GLADYS SHAY / For the Hungry Horse News
Jack Therrien shares scary traveling memories when his father, Charles, and uncle, George, owned a trucking business.
Trips before World War II were from Bynum, 13 miles north of Choteau, to Kalispell, Cut Bank, Conrad and Great Falls. Jack, between four and five years old, still remembers narrow roads and closeness of tires to cliffs when he bravely looked out the window.
Jack wrote the road over Marias Pass was so narrow that "if I went with my dad or uncle, I never slept once we got on Highway 2." If two trucks met on the highway between West Glacier and Essex, one of the trucks had to pull over. Sometimes the outside tires of the duals would be over the edge and it was before guardrails were used. The young boy would look out the window and see the cliff and river below.
Two worst curves were the Devil's Elbow and the drinking water curve.
There was a widened area for parking four or five vehicles at the driving water curve and Jack recalled "it was the most delicious cold mountain water I've ever tasted." Another reason for the stop was to settle driver and passenger's nerves, especially kids.
Jack explained the 1941 Chevrolet trucks used for trips had over and under drive gear shifts. There were two shift sticks on the floor board.
When they went up one of the many narrow hills, driver had to shift both stick shifts at the same time. This was accomplished by sticking the left arm through the steering wheel and shifting with the clutch with the left foot, and both arms moving gear shifts together at the same time.
It was especially scary as the truck would always drift towards the edge of the cliff. One of the gear shifts had to go down and the other would go down at the same time.
The Goat Lick was another especially perilous part of the road because of cliffs and narrow road. Bear Creek Canyon was always losing bridges because of annual snow slides.
Much of the old remains of bridges destroyed by snow slides in those years are still visible behind brush along the banks of Bear Creek.
Apparently Bear Creek is not recommended for rafting and canoeing because of dangerous bridge debris that has not been cleared up from avalanches.
Jack's parents moved to Kalispell when Jack was in the first grade at Cornelius Hedges School. Charles and George went into the logging business with Ernie Luke. George was inducted into the Army and Charles worked in Tacoma shipyards for a year. Next Charlie was employed at the Air Base in Great Falls before returning to Kalispell.
Jack purchased Park Drug from Bud Schrock and Julie Craft Veteran's Day, 1967, and moved to Columbia Falls. Jack and Dodie Therrien now reside near Olney.
Gladys Shay is a longtime resident of Columbia Falls and a Hungry Horse News columnist.