Looking Back for May 4

50 Years Ago

April 27, 1972

The old Whitefish Memorial Hospital building was gutted by a smoky fire that took firemen five hours to bring under control. The structure was being remodeled into 24 apartments that would have been completed in about one month and 12 of the apartments were already rented. The monetary loss was at least $120,000 and it was unknown if any attempt would be made to salvage the building.

40 Years Ago

April 29, 1982

Over a quarter of a million skiers took to the slopes this season on the Big Mountain, easily breaking previous attendance records. This April, snow was good enough that it seemed skiing could continue forever. General Manager Bill Barrier said it was the best snowfall year in the last six and attributed the increase in the number of skiers to the consistent snowfall.

30 Years Ago

April 23, 1992

Voters turned down a tax levy request on April 7 and school trustees decided to ask voters to reconsider their decision and vote again in a special election on May 19. School trustees were asking for permission to collect an extra $217,334 to run the high school next year. This figure was over $9,500 more than last year’s levy.

20 Years Ago

April 25, 2002

The Mountain Eagle project, a 60-unit condominium development planned for the Big Mountain, was approved in a 5 to 1 vote at the Whitefish City-County Planning Board meeting. Whitefish Fire Chief Dave Sipe said if a project of that magnitude was in his jurisdiction he would fight it, because the fire department is not equipped well enough. The building is 72 feet high and the department’s ladders can only reach 30 feet.

10 Years Ago

April 25, 2012

Whitefish’s Downtown Master Plan will be refreshed by the planning firm Crandall Arambula after the City Council voted in favor of the idea. Phase I of the three phase project included a financial review of the original plan outcomes, a meeting with the City Hall Steering Committee and a study of future parking needs.