Articles written by Pathfinder Staff


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 25 of 83

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Nov 21, 2024

    Thirty five years ago... Thursday Nov. 16, 1989 Winter woods invite skiers We woke up to find six inches of snow on the ground Monday morning, and a blizzard brewing in the northern skies. We couldn’t wait to pull on our boots and venture outdoors. Standing in the gray air, we heard the wild geese honk above us. The day before we had watched a pair of swans gliding south. At first we thought they were geese, but then we saw the long necks reaching toward the winter sun. Their powerful wings carried them above the trees. The calls of the w...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Nov 14, 2024

    Thirty five years ago... Thursday Nov. 9, 1989 Gun range combined with multiple-use trailhead facility now ready for site plans At the November meeting of the Wilderness Sportsman's Club, the board of directors agreed to contact an architectural firm to draw up site plans for a shooting range and multiple-use facility at Seeley Lake. The WSC, in partnership with the Forest Service, is firming up plans for a new snowmobile/cross-country skiing trailhead in conjunction with a long awaited gun rang...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Nov 7, 2024

    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...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Oct 31, 2024

    Thirty five years ago... Thursday Oct. 26, 1989 Blackhawks win first round of playoffs The Seeley-Swan Blackhawks defeated the Twin Bridges Falcons in the first round of the Class C football playoffs. The Blackhawks, the 7C regular season champions, won a hard fought 30-20 victory over the 6C third place finishers. The Blackhawks jumped to an early lead when Scott Olson found a seam in the Falcon line for a one-yard touchdown run. Barry DeLeo, the Blackhawk's "Man of Steel" rushed for...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Oct 24, 2024

    Twenty years ago... Thursday Oct. 28, 2004 Who homesteaded here? Another reason to visit the Seeley Lake Museum Have you ever wondered who homesteaded the property where you live? Have you ever wondered if any of your family namesakes homesteaded in the valley? Now you can find out. The Seeley Lake Historical Society has a listing of all the people who successfully homesteaded in the Clearwater Valley. A project entitled “Who Homesteaded Here?” was completed with a grant from the Hansen Endowment Committee through the Wilderness Institute at...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Oct 17, 2024

    Thirty five years ago... Thursday Oct. 12, 1989 Timber harvest down in ‘88 The total volume of timber harvested in Montana decreased in 1988 by 12.8% from the previous year. Timber from all lands of all ownerships declined from 1,376,466,000 board feet in 1987 to 1,199,798,000 board feet in 1988. Timber harvest records for 1989 are not yet available. In 1988, 50.7% (609,507,000 board feet) of the total Montana timber harvest volume was from private lands. Montana’s 10 national forests provided 40.5% (486,033,000 board feet). The remaining 8.8%...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Oct 10, 2024

    Thirty five years ago... Thursday Oct. 5, 1989 A black bear is released to the wild It was a quiet year for bear and people confrontations - up until a couple weeks ago. Suddenly, reports of bears in and around town became numerous. People were hearing the critters rumbling through trash cans at night. And, a bold bear entertained himself on the front porch at Rich and Sharon Stauffer's home on Double Arrow while Sharon photographed some interesting pictures through a window. Sandie Baker found...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Oct 3, 2024

    Thirty-five years ago... Thursday Sept. 28, 1989 Uninvited guest - bears on the prowl Numerous reports of bear sightings in and around Seeley Lake have been coming in the past two weeks, but few pictures have surfaced. This, however, is one of a series taken by Sharon Stauffer from inside her home on the Double Arrow Ranch. The black bear appeared one morning after Sharon's husband, Rich, had left for work at the Valley Market. She photographed the bear as it climbed up the porch railing, sniffe...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Sep 26, 2024

    Thirty five years ago ... Thursday Sept. 21, 1989 School bustles with activity at Swan Valley Elementary The Montana Energy Education Council conducted an art contest last May to get art to be included in the 1990 Montana Energy Calendar. Swan Valley Elementary School student Boomer Alexander submitted artwork and his art was one of 13 chosen for the calendar. Congratulations to Boomer Alexander. The seventh and eighth grades have elected their class officers for this school year. They are President Boomer Jenson, Vice-president Justin Shoup,...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Sep 19, 2024

    Thirty five years ago ... Thursday Sept. 14, 1989 McNeely is new pastor at Blackfoot Parish The Blackfoot Parish voted this past Sunday to call Richard I. McNeely to be its new pastor. He will assume pastoral duties the first of October and will reside in the Parish Manse on Riverview Drive in Seeley Lake. Most recently, Rev. McNeely has been the interim pastor of the Libby Presbyterian Church, and prior to that served as an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Missoula. He has been active in the work of Glacier Presbytery, having served...

  • Interested Holland Lake Lodge buyers meet with community members in Condon, local group announces plan to purchase

    Pathfinder staff|Sep 12, 2024

    Two avenues of purchasing Holland Lake Lodge were presented on Sept. 3 in Condon to a crowd gathered at the Swan Valley Community Center. Private equity investors Eric Jacobsen and Thomas Knowles introduced themselves and their intentions to those gathered, and a new nonprofit based in Condon announced its own plan to purchase the property. Jacobsen and Knowles have issued a letter of intent to purchase the assets of Holland Lake Lodge LLC and the liquor license, the property currently 80%...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Sep 12, 2024

    Twenty years ago ... Thursday Sept. 16, 2004 Bridge Construction Temporarily Closes Two Swan Valley Roads A portion of Forest Road #561, Kraft Creek and the Red Butte Creek Road #9576, south west of Condon, MT, will close for a month while crews replace two culverts with bridges. The Kraft Creek Road will be closed about six miles from state Hwy. 83, September 27 through October 29. The Red Butte Creek Road will be closed at the junction with the Kraft Creek Road, about 6 miles from Hwy. 83, September 20 through October 29. Visitors won’t be ab...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Sep 5, 2024

    Thirty five years ago ... Thursday Sept. 7, 1989 Griz hunt closes before season even opens The man-caused killings of six grizzly bears in northwestern Montana so far this year has prompted the closing of one grizzly bear hunting area, the Flathead Bear Management Area, before the season has had a chance to open. Each year, the state opens an area known as the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) to a strictly controlled grizzly bear hunting season. Earlier this year, quotas for grizzly...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Aug 29, 2024

    Thirty five years ago … Thursday Aug. 31, 1989 Back to school at S.L Elementary The Seeley Lake Elementary PTA will be hosting an orientation for new families and a membership drive on the first day of school. Refreshments will be provided and families are invited to stop in the new cafeteria and visit with them. School starts for Seeley Lake Elementary on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Class times are 8:25 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. The school will be participating in the Free and Reduced Lunch Program with hot meals being provided everyday. The cost for the l...

  • Veterans and Families of Seeley Lake award scholarships to Blackhawk grads

    Pathfinder staff|Aug 22, 2024

    Kyle Duran received $1,000 from the Veterans and Families of Seeley Lake. He will be attending Montana State University Northern in Havre this fall to study diesel mechanics. Duran worked at Glen's Automotive while he lived in Seeley Lake. Hattie Batchelder received $1,000 from the Veterans and Families of Seeley Lake. She will be attending the University of Montana this fall to study environmental studies and documentary film and is working at the Route 83 coffee kiosk in Seeley Lake before...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Aug 22, 2024

    Thirty Five Years Ago... Thursday Aug. 24, 1989 No three-hour waits with Highway 200 blasting Rumor has it there will be two to three hours delays during the construction project on Highway 200 east of Bonner. But, this rumor can be considered false unless half of a mountain goes at one time with the blasting project. A person can expect to wait for 30 minutes when the heavy blasting begins. At this time, there is no scheduled date, according to Martin VanMil, Montana State Highway Department’s district construction supervisor. “Plan a lit...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Aug 8, 2024

    Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday Aug. 10, 1989 Willy Bill's founder in retirement The kitchen smelled of homemade rolls, grandchildren were running in and out, chattering and laughing. Several adults stopped by for a short chat. This kind of day is becoming typical for Bill and Ardyce Gehrke, retired after 18 years at Willy Bill's ChainSaw Business. And the Gehrkes are enjoying their family and retirement. Twenty-one years ago the Gehrke's and their six children moved to Seeley Lake from...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Aug 1, 2024

    Thursday Aug. 3, 1989 Jack Mackie off critical list after logging accident Jack Mackie of Seeley Lake has gone from critical to stable condition after an early morning logging accident two weeks ago. A snag pierced through the seat of his D-6 cat and punctured his midsection on July 18 while working in the Fawn Creek area. "We almost lost him," Yvonne Mackie, Jack's wife said. Yvonee said Jack's midsection was crushed. When large bones are broken it is possible for bone marrow to enter the blood...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Jul 25, 2024

    Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday July 27, 1989 Five people escape serious injuries in head-on collision Early morning fog was a factor in a glancing head-on collision in Seeley Lake, where five people miraculously escaped serious injury. Three young Seeley Lake residents in a 1985 Ford Mustang collided with a 1975 Ford pick-up truck in the heavy fog around 8 a.m. last Friday. The vehicles collided halfway between the Valley Market and the One Stop Convenience Store. Joe Beatty, the driver of...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Jul 18, 2024

    Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday July 20, 1989 Four wrestlers in national meet, Schwarz takes third Four area wrestlers represented Seeley Swan and Montana in the AAU/USA Grand National Wrestling Championships held July 7-9 in Billings. Competitions consisted of the best wrestlers from 38 states and Canada. These following young men are to be congratulated for their efforts and dedication to the sport of wrestling: Third place Tyler Schwarz Seventh place Jacob Baker Eighth place Pat Morin 15th place Ariah Baker Schwarz and Jacob and Ariah...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Jul 11, 2024

    Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday July 13, 1989 Arts & crafts show draws large crowds The Seeley Lake Folk Arts and Crafts Show and Sale held at the community hall last Saturday and Sunday drew probably over 1,000 people. Five hundred and sixty-seven people coming through the front doors signed the guest book, but many signed one line for the whole family, or failed to sign at all, so a totally accurate count is not possible. Total sales reported by the committee were $3,753 and this figure...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Jul 4, 2024

    Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday June 8, 1989 Chamber salutes Jeff Macon with Citizen of Year award At its annual banquet Tuesday night, Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce members and guests saluted Jeff Macon, realtor and active participant in civic affairs, with the Chamber’s “Citizen of the Year” award. Macon said he was “...quite proud of the award. In the past other people who’ve lived here many years have been honored. I’m quite proud as a relative newcomer.” Macon moved to Seeley Lake in 1975 after working for the previous four...

  • Post office pot holes paved

    Pathfinder staff|Jun 27, 2024

    On Tuesday night last week, construction workers began paving the pot holes in front of the Seeley Lake Post Office. The paving continued into Wednesday when the Post Office was closed for Juneteenth, a federal holiday....

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Jun 27, 2024

    This is a lightly edited and condensed version of Eddie Coyle's July Fourth story from 1964 provided by the Seeley Lake Historical Society and Visitors Center. By Eddie Coyle I was promoting one of our bigger celebrations for that year, and started preparing for it back in May. The plans included a water carnival, slalom races, ski jumps, a Miss Seeley Lake bathing beauty contest, a Boat and Motor raffle and three nights of dancing with live music. Two local carpenters with helpers built a...

  • Archives

    Pathfinder staff|Jun 20, 2024

    Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday June 22, 1989 Grand Marshals chosen for Swan Valley Fourth of July Parade The Grand Marshalls for the annual Swan Valley Fourth of July Parade for 1989 are Dorothy Clothier and Winnie Kaiser, Legion members announced last week. The pioneer women will be honored at the celebration in Condon and will ride in the parade, which begins at Liquid Louie's at 11 a.m. on July 4. Members of the American Legion Post 63 are organizing the parade. People who would like to...

Page Down