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Oral histories provide us with wonderful experiences from the past with those who actually lived them. Arnold “Smoke” Elser’s memoir, Hush of the Land, covers six decades of his life as an outfitter and a passionate champion of the wilderness. It’s a well-crafted look back, built upon hundreds of hours of interviews. Elser, and his co-author, Eva-Marie Maggie, will present this memoir on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Foundation Building as part of Alpine Artisans’ Open Book Club. Free. Everyone is welcome. Early on, Smoke kne...
Folks who live in our Seeley-Swan Valley fall into several categories: old timers, newcomers, “medium timers” and people who returned after many years. One person who returned after many years was Mabel Stilwell. Born Mabel Lundberg in the Swan Valley in 1917, she may well have been the first baby of white settlers born in these parts. Let’s take a closer look at the Swan Valley during these years, and where Mabel’s life took her. During the years around Mabel’s birth, the Swan Valley had homesteaders moving in, drawn by the beauty and amaze...
By reading the column “A Place for All” in the Pathfinder over the years, we can learn about the places, organizations and programs that make our valley a special place. We can remember what went on in the past underlies all of what we have now. In times like today with lots of changes happening, it’s important to look back at this history and ask ourselves a question. Is what we are today because of external — things from the outside -— or internal, driven by those who live here? The answer is both. Indigenous peoples were present in our ar...
Seeley Lake is facing challenging times — ones that will leave a lasting impact on our community — but ones that we can work through together one step at a time. It is not the first time we have encountered such challenges, and it certainly won’t be the last. The Seeley Lake Community Council is committed to ensuring that our town remains a place where everyone can thrive, and we need your help to succeed. We invite all residents of Seeley Lake to participate in a community survey designed to gather your thoughts, ideas and concerns. “This...
Editor's note: The Pathfinder published this piece on the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11. We're grateful to Mr. Browder for allowing us to do so again a few years later. Last Wednesday was the 23rd anniversary of an event that has totally changed our lives and how we look at the world. On that morning back in 2001, I walked through the World Trade Center in New York City as I went to my office in Lower Manhattan. Memories from that day are as clear to me today as the skies were on that fine fall...
We learn about people in different ways. Some we read about, some we have met in person, and of course in this digital age we meet people virtually. I was a seasonal worker at the Seeley Lake Ranger District in the 1960s, and one person that I knew only by voice over the Forest Service radio was Dorothy Taylor. It seems strange in this day of fire patrol planes to learn that in 1966 the Seeley Lake District alone had four fire lookouts: Falls Point, East Spread, Morrell (built in 1962) and Double Arrow. Dorothy was our Double Arrow lookout...
Your local volunteer team has been working hard to make our upcoming Fourth of July celebration a day to remember! Our theme this year is “Stars and Stripes and Summer Nights,” representing what makes this such a special place, and how important this holiday is to all of us. Check the posters around town for a detailed schedule, or go to seeleyswanevents.net. We hope to see all of you at one of the events, along the parade route (2 p.m. start,) or at the fireworks. Just like last year, which the same awesome group of volunteers put tog...
If you studied Montana history in the eighth grade many years ago, you read about the Copper Kings: Marcus Daly, William A. Clark and Augustus Heinze — the one we never remember. Clark, born in 1839, came west to work in the mining camps, ran a freight business from Salt Lake City to Montana and became a banker in Deer Lodge. In this latter role he foreclosed on mining claims in the Butte area, just when electrification in major cities back east created a huge demand for copper. Once he went off to Washington D.C. to serve in the U.S. Senate ...
Memorial Day, when we honor those members of our armed forces who died while serving their country, has a long history. Once known as Decoration Day, it was first celebrated in 1868. Although it has been in existence for 156 years, it has only been since 1971 that the holiday has been observed on the last Monday in May. Before that, Memorial Day always fell on May 30. This year, we encourage everyone to join the ceremony on Monday, May 27 at 11 a.m., at the Seeley Lake Veterans Memorial Garden....
We are learning a lot about how the timber industry has been such a key part of the Seeley-Swan Valley for over 100 years. Our forests provided logs for lumber, and our loggers and truckers have worked tirelessly to make these logs available for mills. Let’s take a look back and see what the timber industry was like during the boom years following the Second World War, and how our area was involved. Dr. Horace H. Koessler, owner of the Gordon Ranch, started a sawmill on the ranch in 1946, using local timber. The following year, along with s...
Usually we expect notable people from our past to leave some kind of footprint: a road named after them, a mountain peak, a lake, or a lookout. In the case of Wesley Edward Binko, however, frequently referred to as W.E. Binko, there is nothing to be found. How odd for someone who was a real pioneer of the dude ranching business in our valley. Wesley Binko was born in Helena in 1893 to a long-established Helena family. From Helena Senior High School he went on to Northwestern University in the Chicago area. A track star in college, he held the...
When our community faces difficult times like these, it can help to look back at our history and see how tough and resilient we have been. Looking at the photos and exhibits in the Historical Museum at the Barn shows what the people who built Seeley Lake went through, and how we became what we are today. In the early 20th century, when the first major timber sale took place in Seeley, loggers worked under conditions hard to imagine today. We have photos of winter camps, since trees were cut during the winter and logs skidded to the frozen...
In 1987, the Seeley Lake Writers Club started a project that two years later — in time for Montana's Centennial — was published as the book "Cabin Fever." This remains the best compilation of articles and interviews of the first 100 years of the Seeley Lake area. One of the key figures in the writers group was Mildred Chaffin. We have read many of the fascinating stories she wrote, but her own life makes for quite a story as well! Mildred was born in Evaro in 1908, back when Evaro seemed to be even more remote from Missoula than it is tod...
At the Seeley Lake Historical Society, a main focus of ours is maintaining and enhancing the museum at the Barn. Those of you who have visited us recently (we are open Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m - 4 p.m. throughout the winter) have seen the updated exhibits discussed in our December article, and now can view our Veteran's display. This includes uniforms and artifacts going back to the First World War. We have other projects in the works, so in addition to visitors, we love to have volunteers as well! Understanding and appreciating...
There have been many interesting and influential Seeley Lakers since our community began. Jasper Seely, from whom our town got its name, is among the more fascinating, and a look at his life is also a look at America during a period of robust growth and change. Born in Niles, Michigan, in 1857, Jasper Seely would be 166 years old today. The town of Niles was settled in the early 19th century, although nearby Fort St. Joseph dates back to 1691. Niles has been called the City of Four Flags since it was governed at various times by the Spanish,...
For more than 20 years, the Seeley Lake Historical Society has worked to expand our knowledge and understanding of the history of the Seeley Lake area. We do this by maintaining the Historical Museum at the Barn and presenting programs and events of interest to the community and our schools. Our museum is open Thursday - Saturday from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. through Memorial Day, at which time we transition to seven days per week. You can also reach us via email at slhistory@blackfoot.net, Our website...
While the title alone should interest us in Christopher Preston’s latest book, I found it to be a remarkable and engrossing read. Once started, it is difficult to put down, and for those of us in our valley who live close to nature, it is optimistic as well as cautionary, and challenges us in surprising ways. Preston will be reading from his new book, “Tenacious Beasts” at Alpine Artisans’ Open Book Club 7 pm, Oct. 21 at the Seeley Lake Foundation Building. The event is free and everyone is welcome. Species which have rebounded against overwhel...
The Fourth of July is right around the corner, and it looks like Seeley Lake will have its first really good weather of the summer. What better way to “Celebrate our Lakes and Mountains” on Independence Day! Your Fourth of July Committee has been working hard to put all the pieces together to make this a great day for everyone. Get a good night’s sleep on Monday so you can start with a pancake breakfast at the Fire Department Tuesday morning. There are many activities, including the parade down the middle of town, planned for the day. Be sure...
“Celebrating our Lakes and Mountains!” is the theme of this year’s Fourth of July celebration in Seeley Lake. You can expect a full day of fun, starting with the Seeley Lake Fire Foundation’s Pancake Breakfast and Car Show, and ending with the most spectacular fireworks show ever on Seeley Lake. Mission Bible Fellowship and the Seeley Lake Baptist Church will be serving food. Our parade will kick off at 2 p.m. and we expect a military flyover as well. Of course there will be the Rubber Ducky race, a real Seeley Lake Fourth of July traditi...
Readers of the Pathfinder have enjoyed the special feature “20/35 Year Look Back” during this past year. Since Double Arrow Ranch was in existence 35 years ago, let’s take a look at what it was in 1986 (35 years ago), and how it had changed by 20 years ago in 2001. In 1986, the most recent phases of the Ranch were eight years old. While it was an established subdivision, in many ways it showed its youth. The Homeowners Association as we know it today, Double Arrow Ranch Landowners Association (DARLOA), was still coming into existence. Since...
This Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 will be the 20th anniversary of an event that has totally changed our lives and how we look at the world. On that morning back in 2001, I walked through the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City as I went to my office in Lower Manhattan. Memories from that day are as clear to me today as the skies were on that fine fall day. As I walked past the bottom of the North Tower just before 9 a.m., I heard a dull boom directly overhead. My immediate thought was how odd...
In comparison to many subdivisions in Western Montana, Double Arrow Ranch is a senior citizen. Opened in phases between 1973 and 1978, it coincided with Montana’s first attempt to regulate such developments, with the Subdivision and Platting Act of July 1, 1973. The earliest parts of the ranch turn 48 years old this year, and soon will reach the age of 50, where people, places and events are considered historic! The residential Ranch of today is a legacy of Seeley Lake’s first dude ranch dating from 1929, the original Double Arrow Ranch. Est...
Double Arrow Ranch has been a part of the Seeley Lake community for 48 years. It continues to see new construction and undeveloped lots change hands. This past year over 60 property transactions occurred on the Ranch, a clear indication that our part of Western Montana is seen as a haven to folks all over the country! Let's take a closer look at the Ranch and its homeowners' association, the Double Arrow Ranch Land Owners Association (DARLOA). The first phases of the Ranch were approved by...
The decade of the 1980’s was the time when initial plans were modified, properties were bought and sold regularly and building began occurring across all phases of DARLOA. It is fascinating to look back at how the development matured in the 1980’s. The final phases of Double Arrow Ranch were approved in 1978, a time of ever-increasing interest rates. In May of 1980, the Missoula County Planning Board gave preliminary approval for 68 two-story condominiums, which would provide 136 units, on a 100-acre site. This was perhaps the last time suc...
Some say that events and people become of historical interest after 50 years have passed. If that is so, the early phases of Double Arrow Ranch will reach this milestone in June of 2022, just over two years from now. Today we know the Ranch as one of the larger residential developments in Western Montana. It's a long-standing part of the Seeley Lake community and a place where some residents go back many years. If we look back at the early days of the Ranch, from 1972 - 1979, we see a lively...
