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A dream became reality when the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society (USVHS) celebrated the grand opening of the Swan Valley Museum on July 4, 2013. Longtime residents Neil and Dixie Meyer cut the ribbon that officially opened the museum to the public. Twenty-five years earlier, on March 10, 1988, the first meeting of the USVHS was held at Evelyn Jette's residence. The next week officers were elected: Ken Wolff, chairman; Bud Moore, vice-chairman; Fern Kauffman, recording secretary; Claudia...
SEELEY LAKE - Full of life lessons, Seeley Lake Author Betty Vanderwielen's debut novel "Raccoon Summer" is the timeless story of a 12-year-old boy's efforts to train orphaned raccoon kits to live in the natural world. While geared for middle-grade readers, anyone who loves wild animals will be drawn to this heartwarming tale. We hope you'll join us to hear Vanderwielen discuss how this book came to fruition at Alpine Artisans' Open Book Club, 7 p.m. Saturday, May 21 at the Seeley Lake...
The story of the first homesteaders and the first working ranch in the upper Swan Valley begins in the 1880s with the arrival of Benjamin B. Holland and his son, Charles. According to family accounts, Ben Holland, his wife, and children crossed the Great Plains in a covered wagon. They lived a nomadic life, moving from one place to another, traveling from Missouri to Iowa to Utah to Idaho before settling in Montana. Ben Holland, the patriarch of the family, was born in Missouri in 1841. He...
This is the second USVHS article about Henry Thomason, an early-day Upper Swan Valley settler who wrote a series of letters to his family in the Midwest documenting life as a homesteader in the early part of the 20th century. Henry's son Maurice W. Thomason homesteaded the adjoining 160-acre parcel north of Henry's land. Henry's daughter Lyda Thomason frequently stayed with her father for extended periods of time. Henry Thomason retold a story he heard from Jalmer Wirkkala, a local trapper and...
Beginning with a trip out west to Polson in 1913 to later homesteading in the Upper Swan Valley, early-day settler Henry Thomason wrote a series of hand-written letters to his family in the Midwest documenting life as a homesteader in the early part of the 20th century. He also provided detailed accounts of his experiences as a fire lookout high in the Swan Range. In 1919 Thomason filed to homestead 160 acres between Rumble and Buck Creeks. He built a two-room log house, a log barn, a log...
SWAN VALLEY - Many of us will gather with extended family or friends over the Christmas holiday to share gifts and good will. It seems the way we celebrate Christmas is rooted in Christmas past. A review of the yuletide traditions and events of yesteryear reveal a simple lifestyle of the residents of the region. Over 100 years ago in 1907 Joseph J. Waldbillig and Ethel Lynn were about to exchange wedding vows on Christmas Eve at the Lynn home near Ovando when an unexpected turn of events caused...
Beginning in 1933, the Forest Service began an intensive winter game study in the South Fork of the Flathead to determine the number of big game, forage use, snow depth, temperature, migrations, etc. Within a few years the study included the Swan and Middle Fork drainages. Forest Service ranger Henry Thol was in charge of the local winter game patrol in 1935. He was a rugged outdoorsman in his 50s who was experienced in mountain travel. Assistant ranger 27-year-old Norman Schappacher spent much...
SWAN VALLEY - Local kindergarten through eighth grade students recently visited the Swan Valley Museum to meet members of the Salish-Pend d'Oreille Culture Committee (SPCC), and learn about the traditional way of life of tribal people. Shirley Trahan, SPCC senior advisor and translator, and Thompson Smith, SPCC historian, emphasized the importance of keeping the Salish language alive. Trahan, who speaks fluent Salish, encouraged the students to recite the Salish words for various animal puppets...
