Sorted by date Results 326 - 350 of 1827
It’s mid-summer and peak vacation time in the scenic and majestic Seeley-Swan Valley. Every summer there’s a mass migration of visitors and adventurers on the highway, on the trails and in the local shops. Even when gas prices are high and lodging costs exorbitant, people are vacationing across the land. And why, one might wonder, is that? Certainly, relief from COVID travel restraints is part of it. But it’s not new, the yearning to travel, to break away from routine, to be free and spontaneous, to discover new places, people, things and t...
SEELEY LAKE - Carleen Gonder said if she ever writes a memoir, she wants to include a chapter about her time as the crazy lady up Bird Creek. She commandeered the nickname while living in a small cabin in the wilderness of the Ninemile valley. The cabin had no running water or electricity and Gonder and her son relied on kerosene lamps, a wood-burning stove and a nearby river to fetch water. Because they were roughly a mile and a half from any dirt or paved road, her son would hike and cross cou...
In celebration of 36 years of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, each week we will run parts of articles that appeared in the issue 35 years ago and 20 years ago. The entire issue will be uploaded to our website seeleylake.com for you to enjoy. We hope you will enjoy the journey with us as we follow our community through the past 36 years as documented by the Pathfinder. 35 years ago: August 6, 1987 issue Sheri's Stained Glass Story Suzanne Vernon Kaleidoscopes are the latest in stained glass...
The Swan Valley Council Board members voted unanimously to “cease and desist” with any further discussion of a garbage container site in the Swan Valley at their July 19 meeting. In addition to the container discussion, the nearly 40 people in attendance heard remarks from House District 92 Democratic Candidate Gary Stein. Representatives from the DNRC at Goat Creek, the Swan Valley Volunteer Fire Department and Swan Valley Connections discussed their response to fire in the valley and what residents can do to aid in the efforts to respond to i...
SWAN VALLEY – "Don't have too much fun," Danni Parcell told her husband Missoula County Sheriff's Deputy Robert "Bob" Parcell as he headed out the door to respond to an assault call in Lake County June 27, 1992. At 11:17 p.m. Bob was shot in the chest with a 41-magnum from 20 feet away after pulling over an alleged witness to the assault. Thirty years later he returned with Danni and their son Rincon to the exact spot where he remembers everything happened. "I went back and kind of hugged my t...
The last several years have certainly seen no lack of breaking news topics. Thankfully, the Seeley-Swan Valley of Montana continues to offer a mostly quiet refuge from much of the excitement faced in other areas of the country. Topics of discussion seem at times to change like seasons, which are rolling by more quickly with each change. It wasn’t all that long ago that the headlines discussed a record lumber market with homebuilders and home buyers catapulting the industry to levels of demand unseen before. A perfect storm of sudden demand m...
SWAN VALLEY – At a special meeting July 19, the Swan Valley School Board voted unanimously to rehire Chris Mauldin as the kindergarten – second grade teacher for the 2022-2023 school year. Principal Aaron Morgenstern said this decision was based on the Office of Public Instruction’s (OPI) willingness to extend his provisional license for one more year. In an interview after the meeting, Morgenstern said Mauldin received an email from OPI that said, unlike in 2021, they were not going to extend any expiring provisional licenses for 2022-2023 due...
In celebration of 36 years of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, each week we will run parts of articles that appeared in the issue 35 years ago and 20 years ago. The entire issue will be uploaded to our website seeleylake.com for you to enjoy. We hope you will enjoy the journey with us as we follow our community through the past 36 years as documented by the Pathfinder. 35 years ago: July 30, 1987 issue Seventy pitchers attend NHPA tourney More than 70 horseshoe pitchers competed in the National...
SWAN VALLEY - Swan Valley Connections hosted their first Landowner Stewardship Fair at Swan Valley Community Hall Saturday, July 16. The event was to welcome both new and longtime residents of the watershed and share information about resources available to support private land stewardship. "We think it's really important to be able to give folks all the information that we possibly can to help them make decisions on managing their properties," said Eli Estey, Swan Valley Connections program...
In 1987 the Missoula County Commissioners appointed the first Community Council. It was in Seeley Lake. Community Councils are designed as a way for the rural local communities, which make up 56% of Missoula County land base, to communicate local ideas and issues to the county commissioners. Per the Missoula County website, a Community Council is an elected group of citizens representing a particular area of the county that can provide focus, leadership and continuity to that area. One of Missoula County’s primary goals for Community C...
In celebration of 36 years of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, each week we will run parts of articles that appeared in the issue 35 years ago and 20 years ago. The entire issue will be uploaded to our website seeleylake.com for you to enjoy. We hope you will enjoy the journey with us as we follow our community through the past 36 years as documented by the Pathfinder. 35 years ago: July 23, 1987 issue Fire destroys Greenough Mill A fire that apparently started in old sawdust piles at Greenough...
CONDON – Children and adults were seen playing pick up basketball after the Condon Fourth of July parade. This was not the same sight a year ago. Girl Scout Ambassador Isabella Cruz set a lofty goal to replace the Condon basketball court located behind the Swan Valley Community Hall to earn her Gold Award. The project took over a year to plan and complete due to supply chain issues created by COVID. Part-time Condon resident Isabella, 17, will be a senior at Carrollton School of Sacred Heart i...
SEELEY LAKE - During the Change Your Pace Challenge (CYP), the Seeley Lake Community Foundation raised $103,591.61 for 17 local organizations, including $26,633 for the CYP Match Fund. This was 28% higher than the $80,818 total raised through CYP in 2021. The highest number of individual donors gave since the program started in 2016 with 209 households making a gift. The match percentage ended at $0.40 on the dollar for eligible donations. SLCF Executive Director Claire Muller said, "This was...
CONDON – The Swan Valley Saddle Club held their O-Mok-See event July 4 at the Swan Valley Arena. Lillian Boyd and Maya Davey tied to win the All-Around Trophy with 24 points. There were nearly 20 participants. The O-Mok-See was called during the final barrel racing event due to thunder and lightning said Kellie Auchenbach, event organizer. Results from the event: Age 7-under 1st place – Maya Davey Age 8-11 1st place – Lyla Davey 2nd place – (Tied) Jolene Auchenbach & Annalynn Schreiner 3rd pla...
In celebration of 36 years of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, each week we will run parts of articles that appeared in the issue 35 years ago and 20 years ago. The entire issue will be uploaded to our website seeleylake.com for you to enjoy. We hope you will enjoy the journey with us as we follow our community through the past 36 years as documented by the Pathfinder. 35 years ago: July 16, 1987 issue Bizarre events follow logger's death A bizarre series of events occurred in the Swan Valley last...
SEELEY LAKE – As has been the tradition for the past 18 years, music directors from across Montana gathered at Camp Paxson for the annual Montana Bandmasters Association (MBA) Rendezvous June 20-23. Not only is the four-day schedule jam packed with hands-on and technical educational sessions, it also affords a relaxed atmosphere that fosters relationship building, networking and an opportunity to unwind. The idea for the Rendezvous was birthed 19 years ago. Now retired Swan Valley School and S...
THE SUMMER SLOWDOWN Following four years of a dramatic real estate market that saw rapid price appreciation, very limited inventory and multiple offers on many properties, the market has begun to stabilize. This year has seen the Federal Reserve raise rates in their effort to slow inflation. This has resulted in home mortgage rates rising from 3% in January for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage to 5.9% for the same mortgage today. This results in the monthly payment for a home purchase today to be nearly double what it was six months ago. Rising...
SWAN VALLEY - Annie Oakley is coming to Condon to share a fascinating part of American history, including not only the most famous woman sharpshooter, but also historic figures who crossed her path, including Buffalo Bill Cody, Chief Sitting Bull and famous newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. The public is invited to this free half-hour performance at the Swan Valley Community Hall on Tuesday, July 12 at 2 p.m., hosted by the Condon chapter of American Association of Retired Persons...
In celebration of 36 years of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, each week we will run parts of articles that appeared in the issue 35 years ago and 20 years ago. The entire issue will be uploaded to our website seeleylake.com for you to enjoy. We hope you will enjoy the journey with us as we follow our community through the past 36 years as documented by the Pathfinder. 35 years ago: July 9, 1987 issue Sawmill workers oppose wilderness bill Story Suzanne Vernon Nearly 40 Seeley Lake and Swan Valley...
SWAN VALLEY - Condon residents and visitors gathered for the annual Fourth of July festivities. The day began with a parade sponsored by the Amercian Legion Post 63. Activities continued into the afternoon with a free barbecue from Condon Community Church, O-Mok-See and a used book sale hosted by the Swan Valley Community Library. Look for O-Mok-See photos and results next week!...
SWAN VALLEY – Members of the public at a June 21 Swan Valley Community Council meeting asked the council to vote to stop further investigation of a Condon Container Site. The Council and Missoula County Commissioners Dave Strohmaier and Juanita Vero offered that although the group of approximately 30 Swan Valley residents present were adamantly in opposition to the proposal, that was not a large enough group to be considered representative of the 704 residents effected by any decision. The current proposal estimates a cost of a container s...
SEELEY LAKE - Alpine Artisan, Inc. (AAI) continues to support Artists in the Schools for Seeley Lake and Swan Valley students by securing a second $2,500 grant from the Montana Arts Council's "Artists in the Schools" Experiences Program. AAI received their first grant last fall. This enabled them to help with Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) 21st Century program, to bring in an instructor from Movements-4-Movement into SLE, Swan Valley Elementary School and Seeley-Swan High School, said Jenny...
SWAN VALLEY - Longtime Swan Valley resident Ellie Greenough was selected as the July 4, 2022 Parade Grand Marshal by members of the American Legion Post 63 in honor of her many years of community involvement. "I've had every job that's legal to support myself in the Swan Valley," Ellie said. Ellie was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. She was an early member of the Swan Valley QRU (Swan Valley Emergency Services). She remembers when Mount Saint Helens erupted...
SWAN VALLEY – In September 2018 members of Condon Community Church stood around a blue cross painted on the ground and prayed for the expansion project for their church. "We are going to break up this cross but it is always going to be here and always going to be a symbol for our church," said Pastor Bruce Rippy as he sunk the shovel in the sand. From its humble start meeting at the Swan Valley Community Hall for the first 24 years, Condon Community Church's dream of a larger sanctuary became r...
This past school year a collaborative grant opportunity between the Library of Congress and the Montana Association of Museums funded Seeley Lake Elementary and Swan Valley School projects tied to the Seeley Lake community. The Seeley Lake Historical Society partnered with Seeley Lake Elementary in conjunction with the Home Water Grant, a $750 stipend towards school-led projects designed to broaden students' understanding of the communities where they live. Only 12 grants were given out across...
