Looking Back for May 17
A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler.
50 Years Ago
May 17, 1973
The Whitefish girls track and field team proved to be the class of the field in Polson, overpowering the nearest opponent by 40 points. The efforts of Debbie Hileman, Vicki Hileman, Linda Teeples, and Terri Wheeler won the championship. Kim Erekson set a record in the discus with a throw of 124-1. Other girls who turned in fine performances were 440 winner Meg Muldown, and Leslie Lantz who took second place in the broad jump. Team scores were: Whitefish 97, Libby 57, Columbia Falls 42, and Polson 18.
40 Years Ago
May 19, 1983
Memorial Field was scheduled to have new, semi-permanent, steel bleachers for the 1983 football season if voters gave their approval to a one-year, four-mill, or $40,000 levy request. The bleachers at Memorial Field had been declared unsafe and were not to be used another season. The board heard a report from engineer Charles Cebulla, who surveyed the bleachers to either confirm or deny previous findings. He concluded that it would be best to install new bleachers.
30 Years Ago
May 20, 1993
Local firefighters would vote on the third Thursday of June whether to admit the first woman to apply for firefighting and ambulance duty in the Whitefish Fire Department. Jennifer Mahoney, who trained in Colorado and Montana, applied for the position the previous month. She hoped to eventually make a career as an EMT paramedic. “I’m doing this to be part of the community, not to make a statement,” Mahoney said. “I want to be part of the team.”
20 Years Ago
May 15, 2003
A contest developed in the upcoming mayor's race when incumbent Andy Feury and former Whitefish City Council member Mike Gwiazdon both announced plans to run for mayor. Feury said the volunteer position takes a lot of his time, but he felt he had been able to balance his work as a lumber broker with his civic duties. Gwiazdon, president and chief executive officer of Sportsman and Ski Haus, said he was interested in creating moderate to low-income housing in Whitefish.
10 Years Ago
May 15, 2013
Whitefish Theatre Company received a $250,000 challenge grant from the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Foundation to help kick start their Act 2 Capital Campaign aimed at raising $1.25 million for necessary upgrades and improvements to the O’Shaughnessy Center. Upgrades would include improving the mainstage theater space with new seating and constructing a two-story addition on the south side of the building to provide additional space for rehearsals.