Looking Back for August 3
50 Years Ago
August 3, 1972
Dave Draeger’s first base glove snapped shut on the ball and the Whitefish Babe Ruth All Stars were the Montana State Champions, destined for a trip to Pendleton, Oregon, and the regional playoffs. Whitefish’s 5-2 victory over the Glendive All Stars came as the climax to a 14-strikeout, two-hit performance by ace Whitefish pitcher Paul Torgison.
40 Years Ago
August 5, 1982
Local authorities were puzzling this week over how a camper in the South Fork received severe injuries as he slept in his sleeping bag near a backcountry road. Stanley Hilling of Kalispell said he thought he had been attacked by a bear. “We don’t see any evidence it was a bear,” said Floyd Thomas, state Fish and Game law enforcement officer. He and sheriff’s detectives believed a vehicle ran over Hilling’s sleeping bag. They said someone could have backed over the sleeping man and even dragged him in the sleeping bag, without knowing it.
30 Years Ago
August 6, 1992
The Flathead County Commissioners castigated Sen. Max Baucus for stepping into the middle of the Highway 93 controversy and persuading the state highway department to halt work on the project. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved Baucus’ request to require the Federal Highway Administration to prepare a study of alternative designs for widening 93 between Somers and Whitefish.
20 Years Ago
August 1, 2002
A fight that broke out in Whitefish was a symptom of a bigger problem, according to Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial. Three men were stabbed Sunday morning in front of the Remington and that fight was just one of 12 downtown as the bars emptied after another busy Saturday night. Detective Roger Bergstrom said, “The streets are packed with boozed-up people, many of whom square off at the smallest hint of trouble.”
10 Years Ago
August 1, 2012
Lightning strikes ignited new fires on the eastern portion of the Flathead National Forest. Forest officials issued a “high” fire danger rating with more hot and dry conditions predicted. Three hot-shot crews and three helicopters were tending to the Elbow Pass complex as it grew to 5,000 acres.