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Danielle Oyler has worked across Montana teaching kids and adults about living in bear country in her role as the wildlife stewardship outreach specialist with Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks. In front of a group of Seeley Lake Elementary School third graders at the Bear Fair, she said students in Seeley Lake have seen more bears on average than any other students at schools across the state that she's talked to. The next closest school is Lincoln. "There's a very good chance you're going to see...
Primary election ballots were mailed to Montana residents on May 10. The Pathfinder reached out to the 12 candidates running for state House and Senate seats that are relevant to Seeley-Swan area residents to ask them a handful of questions to help voters better understand their prospective legislators. After the decennial redistricting, new maps were drawn by the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission in 2023. That prompted a new district for Seeley Lake, which now lies in House...
Thirty-five years ago... Thursday May 11, 1989 Librarian leaves after 10 years Swan Valley branch librarian Susie Cox received a "going away party" from her friends and family at the Swan Valley Library last Wednesday. Susie, her husband Al, and their two daughters are moving to Arizona this month. Susie left on Saturday to visit her aunt in California who is undergoing treatment for cancer. Part of the reason that the Cox family is leaving the Swan Valley is to care for Susie's aunt, who will...
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...
During the early to mid-twentieth century several upper Swan Valley dude ranches were at the height of operation, providing packing and guiding services to guests from around the world. Holland Lake Lodge and 33 Bar Ranch In 1924, Roria "Babe" Wilhelm, along with his sister, Ada, and her husband, Art White leased land from the Forest Service and built the Mountain View Hotel near Holland Lake. The hotel was built with lumber from Babe's steam-powered sawmill and sided with half-logs to give the...
Thirty-five years ago... Thursday May 4, 1989 'Mock' school disaster, Emergency personnel cope with over 20 injured children "There's none better!" That's what the Red Cross official, Duane Hawk of Kalispell, had to say when the exercise ended Sunday, according to Joyce Himes of the Condon QRU. Emergency personnel from the Condon QRU, the Swan Valley Volunteer Fire Department, the Seeley Lake QRU, Swan Mission Search and Rescue, Black Paw Avalanche and Rescue Dogs and hospital helicopters from...
The Swan Valley Elementary School Board voted unanimously to switch to a four-day school week on April 9. A survey sent out to parents and community members before the vote showed strong support for the switch. Principal Angie Mock said the four-day school week seems to be the better model for Class C schools and it puts Swan Valley School in alignment with both the high school and elementary school in Seeley Lake where students in both districts share extracurricular activities. Swan Valley’s graduates also attend Seeley-Swan High School. T...
This spring, voters in Swan Valley Elementary School District #33 will have the opportunity to vote on two levies: one for general operations and one for technology. Swan Valley Elementary School has not asked for an operational levy for 14 years and currently does not have specific funds designated for technology. We all know the cost of everything has increased in the last 14 years. These funds will help Swan Valley School keep up with rising transportation costs, support staff salaries and retention, and ensure students and educators have ap...
Layered onto the diverse landscapes that grizzly bears call home is another, equally variable ecosystem: the human one. As bears exit their winter dens in search of food and mates this year, be it in sprawling sagebrush steppes, high-elevation whitebark pine stands, or willow-lined waterways, their success will be determined by the availability of social habitat - the tolerance and attitudes that enable coexistence - as much as physical habitat. As a collective, we humans wield immense...
The Seeley Lake Community Foundation’s Change Your Pace Challenge (CYP) is a month-long campaign for community-wide giving, motivating community members to donate to their favorite participating local non-profits, knowing the impact of their gift will multiply thanks to the CYP Match Fund. The Seeley Lake Community Foundation invites everyone to the Change Your Pace Challenge Kickoff Party on Wednesday May 1. Join us for an opportunity to mingle with local non-profits and enjoy lunch, sponsored by Republic Services. The event runs from 11 a...
For the first time in 12 years, Swan Valley School in Condon is presenting voters with two levies to vote on. A combination of factors like rising costs, increased need for technology to support education, a drop in enrollment and the loss of ESSER funds — money provided during the covid-19 pandemic to support schools — led to a general fund and technology levy to be presented to voters in a special election on May 7. “Our school has navigated the difficulties of staffing needs, the rising costs associated with maintaining a high standard...
Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday April 20, 1989 Two wrestlers win state medals Seeley-Swan turned in a great performance at the State. A.A.U. Wrestling tournament, a performance that culminated in two first place state championships for Seeley-Swan. The tournament, held in Butte, featured 900 of the state's best wrestlers. Unlike basketball and football, small schools are placed at gradient levels and do not get to compete with the big schools and 'AA' competition. Seeley-Swan met head on...
Ever since Pyramid Lumber announced their upcoming closure, I have been asked one question by clients, friends and community members more often than any other: How will the mill closing affect real estate? Before I expound on that, there are many other things appropriately considered. First and foremost are the 100 employees that will be without a job. Behind each one of those employees are families that count on the wages brought home from the mill and without those wages, those families will be adversely impacted. Then there are the loggers,...
Swan Valley School is nestled in between the Mission and Swan Mountains and inside Jamie Matthew’s classroom, light from the east-facing windows glows beautifully. The wood on her reading loft seems to stand out in the 3 p.m. sunshine. Students had just been released, and Matthew hugged a former student in the entrance to the school before walking back to her classroom to talk about something she kind of hates talking about — herself. Matthew was designated the Montana Rural Teacher of the Year...
Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday April 13, 1989 County Canine officer on duty in Condon Robert E. Parcell has assumed duties as the new deputy sheriff in Condon and the Swan Valley area, according to Captain Jerry Crego, commander of the sheriff's office. Parcell began work here April 1 and he, his wife and children have moved to the Condon area. Parcell is Missoula County's only canine officer and he was in the Clearwater and Swan Valley's last fall giving demonstrations with his dog,...
Volunteer-organized Easter egg and treasure hunts brought color, candy and smiles to Seeley Lake and Condon....
Both Seeley Lake and Swan Valley Elementary School Boards are discussing switching to a four-day school week. A couple nearby schools — Seeley Lake High School and Potomac School being two examples — have adopted the four-day school week schedule, and statewide, as of 2022, 222 schools operate four days a week out of 826 total schools, according to the state Office of Public Instruction. Staff, board members and parents at both elementary schools are weighing the pros and cons of making the switch. Factors like better staff retention and rec...
Ballots this year will include a variety of political representatives for people in the Seeley-Swan Valley to choose from as the calendar rolls closer to primary elections, and some opportunities for people to get involved in local boards or districts. So far, it doesn't look like voters in the Seeley-Swan will have any special district or school board elections to vote in, though the school board candidate filing period is open until March 28. Ballot language for things like levies could also b...
The monthly Swan Valley Community Council Meeting on March 19 had reports from the Swan Valley Volunteer Fire Department and the Forest Service. In addition, special guest speaker Jim Nave from Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation discussed water rights in the Swan Valley. “The Swan Valley is one of the only basins in Montana that still has surface water rights available,” Nave said. “Other basins are closed for new surface water rights.” The Swan Basin encompasses the Swan River drainage to its confluence with Flathead...
Thirty-five years ago … Thursday March 30, 1989 Records show February ‘89 coldest month in years SWAN VALLEY — Precipitation recorded at Lindbergh Lake in January was above normal, while February precipitation was about average according to weather observer Marty Kux. The most snowfall measured “on the ground” at Lindbergh Lake this winter so far was still about 34 inches of the white stuff on the ground. As he explained the weather data collected during the past two months, Kux noted that last month turned out to be the coldest February...
Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday March 30, 1989 Records show February '89 coldest month in years SWAN VALLEY– Precipitation recorded at Lindbergh Lake in January was above normal, while February precipitation was about average according to weather observer Marty Kux. The most snowfall measured "on the ground" at Lindbergh Lake this winter so far was still about 34 inches of the white stuff on the ground. As he explained the weather data collected during the past two months, Kux noted that l...
Dressed in traditional regalia with a sound mixer, projector and speakers set up in the Seeley Lake Elementary School gymnasium, Christian Parrish Takes The Gun said good morning to his audience. "Are you happy?" Parrish Takes The Gun, a member of the Apsáalooke tribe, asked. "Yeah!" the Seeley Elementary students replied. "Turn to your neighbor, shake their hand, and say I'm glad you're happy," Parrish Takes The Gun said. A moderately muffled but in-tandem response floated through the...
Thirty-five years ago... Thursday March 16, 1989 Accident free for two years Workers on the Pyramid Lumber swing shift who have worked two years without a lost time accident. From left, back row: Edd Nentwig, safety director, Alan Fuqua, Manuel Kesterson, Tammy Keenan, Jason Cole, Bryon Wieder, Joe Plumb, Joe Novak, Tom Montgomery, Austin Dillree, Tom Houtchens, Dave Sterling, Errol Evenson, Ron Brown, Greg Evans, Ted Wheeler, Lou Siloti, shift supervisor. Front row: Curtis Gehrke, Carl Gehrke,...
Protect the Clearwater, a nonprofit based in Greenough, joined other citizen groups in the Jocko Valley, Libby, Paradise Valley, Ennis and Gallatin Gateway to oppose the effects of new open cut mining laws established in 2021. The changes brought about by a 2021 mining law, House Bill 599, removed red tape and streamlined the gravel mine permitting process for applicants. Gayla Nicholson, spokesperson for Protect the Clearwater (PTC), gave an update on the nonprofit's work to stop gravel mining...
Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday March 9, 1989 Writers planning return trip Three national magazine writers were so enamored with the Seeley Swan that they are planning a reunion to return sometime this summer. Cindy Sanguins, who played host to the writers along with her husband, Ron, for the Seeley Lake Driftriders said the writers "loved the winter and now want to come back and see the area in the July summertime." The writers will be publishing stories this fall about Seeley Swan's snowmob...
