Looking Back for Dec. 6
A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler.
50 Years Ago
December 6, 1973
The Whitefish Police Department was commended by the Flathead County Sheriff's office for their assistance on Nov. 27. In the letter from Sheriff Curtis J. Snyder that was read to the city council, Snyder stated, “The assistance rendered to me and my department was so far above average, that I wish to extend my thanks publicly.” In particular, he thanked officers Webster, Wartnow, Wilson and Hermann, without whose assistance, the sheriff noted, the arrest of three felons could not have been made.
40 Years Ago
December 8, 1983
A group of Shelby-based investors who were proposing The Big Mountain Mall was given a boost by the Whitefish City Council when it approved $8 million in Industrial Revenue Bonds for the project. The city council voted 4-2 to approve the Industrial Revenue Bonds after an hour-long public hearing which was attended by over 100 residents. Carolyn Watkins, wife of Stan Watkins, one of four investors in the project, was the first to speak and she gave an overview of the mall proposal. She described the mall as “graceful growth” for Whitefish and did not feel it would harm the downtown business district.
30 Years Ago
December 9, 1993
Two 8-year-old boys were charged with arson after they admitted to setting two small fires in restrooms in the second-grade wing at Muldown Elementary School. No one was injured and no structural damage was reported, but the school was evacuated after smoke filled the upstairs wing and police and volunteer firefighters rushed to the scene. Teachers and school maintenance personnel acted quickly, using fire extinguishers to put out one of the fires, which was started in a paper towel dispenser. The other fire was lit in a pile of loose paper towels but did not spread.
20 Years Ago
December 4, 2003
It was opening weekend when Dave Seelye thought he’d take one more run, despite the thick fog. Seelye, an experienced, extreme skier who knew every crevice on the mountain became disoriented in the heavy fog and skied off a 25 to 30-foot cliff, the equivalent of a three-story building. He spent numerous hours in surgery at Kalispell Regional Medical Center where two neurosurgeons rebuilt his spinal column. “It didn’t sever his spinal cord,” said his wife, Laura Seelye. “He will walk again. The doctors say he’s a very lucky man.” She also credited the Big Mountain Ski Patrol with an “awesome job” of getting her husband off the mountain and on his way to medical care.
10 Years Ago
December 4, 2013
Whitefish City Council delayed a decision on a proposed wastewater program for dealing with failing septic systems around Whitefish Lake. The council held a second work session but despite discussing the matter for roughly an hour, they did not take any action. “Because of timing, it’s probably not going to be a decision this council makes,” Mayor John Muhlfeld said, referring to the fact that three new councilors would be seated in January. The Whitefish Lake Institute released a study that year confirming the presence of septic contamination in the lake, likely the result of failing septic systems.