Looking Back: MDT, City look at reconstruction of Highway 93 through town

A look back at past Pilot articles compiled by Julie Engler.

50 Years Ago

April 6, 1972

District 44 voters returned incumbents to their positions and an overwhelming majority of them were in favor of locating a new community center at Central school on the site of the gym which burned down the previous year. Far fewer votes were cast for building a new gym only and for building a community center at the high school.

40 Years Ago

April 1, 1982

The annual “Clean the Fish” project was underway. Residents traditionally swept and washed sidewalks and shoveled dirt out of gutters before the Whitefish Volunteer Fire Department would hose down the streets. The Kiwanis Club provided new trash cans for the downtown area and helped with the cleaning.

30 Years Ago

April 2, 1992

Representatives from the Montana Department of Transportation met with the Whitefish City Council to begin developing plans for the reconstruction of Highway 93 through town. The highway department gave all planning and decision-making responsibilities to the city in an attempt to avoid the public controversy that arose during the planning for the stretch of the highway between Whitefish and Kalispell.

20 Years Ago

April 14, 2002

The Big Mountain Resort’s annual Furniture Races were held on the Saturday of closing week. Racers attached skis to couches and other pieces of furniture, were towed up the hill and raced down at full speed. The only two requirements were that the driver wore a helmet and could steer the contraption.

10 Years Ago

April 4, 2012

Glacier Park International Airport installed a Pro Vision ATD scanner. The $150,000 machine used millimeter wave technology to scan a person for contraband and other harmful items. Travelers could opt out of using the scanner but would have to go through the metal detector and a pat-down.