Looking Back for March 1
A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler.
50 Years Ago
March 1, 1973
Most newcomers to the Flathead Valley chose this area because it could provide what had been lost in their previous communities: clean air, clean water, an opportunity to live more than 20 feet from their neighbors and scenic surroundings. Local developer Tim Grattan said, “If the education process does not occur within the next couple of years it might be too late. Whitefish grew 25% last year.” Grattan felt people were going to come here whether the “local old-time residents who love the area and don't want to see it change, want them to or not and we’d better be ready for them.”
40 Years Ago
March 3, 1983
The Whitefish City Council set up a hearing for public input about the city issuing Industrial Revenue Bonds to help finance a convention center. City Manager Don Morrison said anyone with comments for or against the proposal were welcome to attend the hearing. Tim Grattan had proposed building a $7.5 million hotel-motel convention center complex adjacent to the Mountain Nine portion of the Whitefish Lake Golf Course.
30 Years Ago
March 4, 1993
Construction on the first phase of the new viaduct was scheduled to begin and traffic at one of the city’s busiest intersections was likely to be snarled for months while work proceeded. Schellinger Construction Company of Columbia Falls was to begin hauling approximately 150 truckloads of gravel per day into the area around the existing viaduct. Crews planned to work from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday to avoid traffic that increased around the south end of the viaduct at Baker Avenue after school and while skiers return to town from the Big Mountain.
20 Years Ago
Feb. 27, 2003
A Whitefish girl who was expelled from Whitefish High School that fall when she refused to alter her dreadlock hairstyle filed a discrimination complaint with the state. She alleged she was discriminated against because she is white and not a member of the Rastafarian religion. “(The girl) has been effectively denied her right to a public school education because the Respondent, Whitefish School District, has adopted a dress code that discriminates against students on the basis of race and religion,” the complaint stated.
10 Years Ago
Feb. 27, 2013
Longtime North Valley Food Bank director June Munski-Feenan was honored with the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce's Great Whitefish Award. The award recognizes one person’s lifetime contributions to the community. The origin of Whitefish‘s food bank can be traced to Munski-Feenan’s garage in 1977. Initially, she and a few good friends collected breads, fresh products and limited amounts of canned goods and made them available for people to come pick up. In 2013, the food bank lended a hand to more than 7,000 families a year.