White ash covered Whitefish 40 years ago
The variety of masks worn to keep from breathing the volcanic ash from Mount St. Helens in May 1980 ranged from store bought surgical mask on the left to the basic handkerchief on the right to the not so conventional gas mask in the middle. (Photo by Bill Kunerth/Pilot file)
A weekly look at past Whitefish Pilot articles, compiled by Daniel McKay.
10 years ago
May 20, 2010
Plans were coming together for the construction of a new Memorial Park, which would be the home for the Glacier Twins baseball team. The original grandstands were determined unsafe and torn down in 2002, and the team was moving forward with some funding and hiring architects and engineers for the project.
20 years ago
May 18, 2000
Whitefish High School golfers were in the running at the state tournament in Miles City after securing divisional titles for the boys and girls the previous week. The boys would go on to win state just after press time.
30 years ago
May 17, 1990
Hoping to slow down traffic along the river, Whitefish was implementing a no-wake zone speed restriction starting that summer. The no-wake zone would slow traffic from the beginning of the river at Whitefish Lake to the J.P. Road bridge.
40 years ago
May 22, 1980
It wasn’t fire season yet, and the thin layer of white ash covering Whitefish wasn’t from the woods. The town was feeling the effects of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, which included closing schools and most stores and predictions for brilliant sunsets for the time being.
50 years ago
May 21, 1970
Drag racing was the new addition to the Whitefish Aluminum Cup Regatta. The sport was recently adopted by the American Power Boat Association and opened up “family-type boats” to the Regatta races.