Week of November 7, 2024
Week of November 7, 2024
On the coldest day of 2024, Montana's Poet Laureate Chris LaTray spoke in tandem with author Peter Stark at an Open Book Club event in Seeley Lake, lending an Indigenous perspective to Stark's latest book about the West. Those of us lucky enough to attend have been eagerly awaiting LaTray's return. Fresh from a nation-wide tour, Chris LaTray will be presenting his newest book, Becoming Little Shell, A Landless Indian's Journey Home at the Swan Valley Community Hall in Condon, Saturday, Nov. 9...
Seeley-Swan High School business instructor Michele Holmes was presented the Innovation in Education award by the Montana Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 30 during the Chamber's Titans of Business award ceremony. This fall, Holmes was selected as an Empowered Teacher of the Year, acknowledging her comprehensive use of the Empowered curriculum, which allows business instructors to use hands-on, real-world activities to teach business concepts like costs of goods sold or project pitching. Through...
To commemorate the end of an era, the Pathfinder went back through the archives to find mentions of Pyramid Mountain Lumber all the way back to 1983 when the paper was published as The Valley Times. There aren't instances from each year since, mainly because we'd run out of space, and also because one gets the general gist from the compiled remarks. A main refrain after the announced closure of Pyramid Mountain Lumber on March 14 of this year was that it was the glue that held Seeley Lake...
Members of the community gathered at Seeley-Swan High School to celebrate Halloween. Businesses and families were represented at Trunk or Treat as they handed out candy and a carnival put on by the high school drama elective was a change from last year's haunted house. While Trunk or Treat usually takes place in the parking lot of Seeley Lake Elementary School, this year it was hosted at the high school. Seeley-Swan High School drama teacher Katy Pellet said this was so Trunk or Treat could be...
The Flathead National Forest has received an application from Eric Jacobsen and Thomas Knowles for a special use permit to operate Holland Lake Lodge with no proposed expansion. Private equity investors Jacobsen and Knowles held a meeting announcing their interest in purchasing the historic lodge in the Swan Valley in September and the Forest Service received notice of a purchase agreement between the two and the current holders of the lodge’s special use permit — longtime owner Christian Wohlfiel and POWDR, owner of ski resorts across...
Missoula, MT — Missoula Electric Cooperative (MEC) has secured a $6.6 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to improve wildfire protection and storm resilience in a portion of its service area. The grant is part of the Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks (WARN) initiative, which will provide more than $145 million to enhance grid reliability in rural, high-risk regions across 16 central and western states. MEC’s project, Seeley-Swan Undergrounding for Wildfire and Storm Safety, will bury approximately...
Alpine Artisans’ 2 Valleys Stage is honored to present a sophisticated jazz band out of Atlanta, Georgia, the Jazz Legacy Project, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10, at the Seeley-Swan High School. Following the concert, Jazz Legacy Project will spend two days in our four local schools, providing workshops and in-school concerts. The Jazz Legacy Project was created in 2015 after an epiphany Justin Varnes had while teaching Jazz History at George State University. The JLP has an ongoing residency at the Velvet Note jazz club in Atlanta, where...
Thirty five years ago... Thursday Nov. 2, 1989 Citations issued in moose shootings; general doe season ended Sunday The general hunting season seems to be going along "pretty normal," according to FWP game warden Jay Haveman, except for a couple of moose that were shot. "It may have been mistaken identification," Haveman said, but he issued citations in both instances. "One involved a bull moose that was shot near Squeezer Creek, east of Goat Creek, in the upper Swan Valley," Haveman said. The...
Republicans claimed political control across all the top state races this general election cycle in Montana, including the open U.S. Senate seat, both U.S. House seats, Governor, Public Service Commission, Attorney General, Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Auditor and Secretary of State. More specifically, Ryan Zinke took the western U.S. House District and Troy Downing the eastern. Greg Gianforte was reelected governor. Brad Molnar, Jeff Welborn and Jennifer Fielder were elected to the state Public Service Commission. Austin...
MISSOULA, Mont. — In Seeley Lake, the Rural Resource Specialist role with Missoula Aging Services (MAS) has been an essential source of support, connection and advocacy for older adults in the community. Now, MAS is seeking a dedicated individual to fill this important position, helping ensure that older residents can continue to live independently and with dignity in the places they’ve called home for years. For older adults in rural Montana, accessing essential services and resources can be challenging. The Rural Resource Specialist has...
When the day temps drop I don't feel like moving around too fast. My favorite winter sport, if you can call it that, is sitting indoors where it's warm and cozy and tying flies. So it's easy for me to sympathize with how a trout feels when it gets cold. They get sluggish and don't move around much as the water temps drop. A trout hanging under the shade of a midsummer foam line will break ranks to chase a minnow several feet in order to eat it. One such day I watched Chris Rockhold throw a...
In August my wife Pam and I concluded our seven-month boat journey around the eastern United States and Canadian provinces, a version of “America’s Great Loop.” Our future plans include cruising the “Inside Passage” between Vancouver Island and British Columbia, with the eventual destination being southeast Alaska. We chose our boat, Treasure State, because of its relatively shallow draft — for all the sandy canals of the east coast — for its low bridge height — hundreds of bridges along the way — and its ability to get up...
Maybe you opened your paper today thinking, I’m pretty sure the Pathfinder’s missing something. Don’t we have a new president? Statehouse representative? You’re probably right. Since our papers are printed on Mondays, it made for a very quiet Nov. 7 paper regarding election details. We sent the paper off to press before Election Day even began. I intend to publish a story online focusing on the statehouse races pertinent to the Seeley-Swan and Blackfoot Valleys on Wednesday or Thursday this week. But in the meantime, there are plenty...
As winter approaches, gardeners face the challenge of protecting plants from the season’s harsh elements. Unlike regions with milder, consistent climates, our winters are unpredictable, with temperatures that can plummet below -25°F one month and climb to 50°F the next. This fluctuation means that preparing our plants for winter is essential. By following a few crucial steps, gardeners can help their landscapes survive — and even thrive — when spring arrives. Adjusting Watering Habits Gradually reducing watering as temperatures drop...
As I pen these words, today is Oct. 31, snow is gently falling and Halloween preparations are in place. Today is also Reformation Day. The day when Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and professor at Wittenberg University posted his 95 theses on the Castle Church door. This posting of theses on the day before All Saint’s Day (Nov. 1) when all the university would be in the church for worship was typical of Medieval academics as an invitation for debate. It changed the world. In addition, as you read these words, the election is over. We...
The Blackhawks first home playoff game in 30 years didn't end the way the football team hoped. After ending the first quarter in the lead, the Choteau Bulldogs took the game away, final score 41-28. Blackhawk Coach Jacob Haley said to his team that now he'll never consider a bulldog as a prospective pet. Haley said he felt like the playoff game was up for the taking and that the Blackhawks only had themselves to beat. But a few too many turnovers, dropped touchdowns and off plays didn't produce...
Blake Eisenzimer, of Lincoln, and Kyndee Schmitz, of Seeley Lake, welcome Aurora Poppy Eisenzimer on Oct. 7, 2024 at eight pounds, 12 ounces and 20.5 inches to their family now located in Great...
