Looking Back for November 22, 2023

A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler.

50 Years Ago

November 22, 1973

Protests on two rezoning petitions were heard during the city council meeting. The petitions to rezone from residential to local commercial on the George Barber property were protested on the grounds that although only a temporary business site was sought, the zoning would be permanent. That petition was denied. Sam Wayman’s petition for rezoning was tabled after hearing protests and the council decided to request a ruling from the Board of Adjustments.

40 Years Ago

November 24, 1983

Icy conditions were blamed for three single-vehicle accidents in the space of one hour, on a shaded curve of Highway 93 North about six miles west of Whitefish. The driver of a semi and his rider were hauling Christmas trees to Denver when their truck overturned on the side of the road. Moments before, Doris Bernardi of Whitefish slid her Chevrolet off the other side of the curve. While those accidents were being investigated, a Pontiac Trans-Am whipped off the road in the same location, sending a crowd of observers scattering. 

30 Years Ago

November 24, 1993

Autumn turned to winter in a hurry as a major blizzard blasted Northwest Montana with heaps of snow, ferocious winds and frigid temperatures. Schools closed, power was cut to nearly every community and hundreds of drivers found their vehicles in ditches or snowballs as more than a foot of snow was pushed around by 40 mph winds that turned Whitefish bitterly cold, snowy and inhospitable for 48 hours. More than 13 inches of snow fell in Whitefish and temperatures dropped nearly 40 degrees.

20 Years Ago

November 20, 2003

The Whitefish City Council voted down a mandated affordable housing proposal, following a public hearing that ended with a clear rift between the council and the audience. Sara Fitzgerald was the lone council member in favor of the mandatory housing approach. After rejecting the mandatory proposal, the council directed staff to study voluntary measures, even though a comprehensive study produced by the Whitefish City-County Planning Board could not identify one area where volunteer affordable housing has been successful. “We looked very hard for volunteer affordable housing that works,” said planning board member Nick Palmer. “Like the yeti or the Loch Ness monster, it is hard to see.”

10 Years Ago

November 20, 2013

Opening day at Whitefish Mountain Resort was still weeks away but hundreds of skiers and snowboarders flocked to the slopes to sample conditions that were being praised as some of the best ever for mid-November. The Birch Lot parking area was at capacity Sunday, as if it were a mid-season powder day. A potent winter storm dumped nearly two feet of fresh snow on the Big Mountain, upping the settled base at the summit to about 52 inches.