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The last of the log inventory at Pyramid Mountain Lumber was run through the sawmill on July 3. The mill, which announced its closure in March due to a workforce shortage largely attributed to the cost of living in the Seeley Lake area, stopped accepting new log inventory on March 31 and has so far laid off no more than 10 people, said Pyramid Mountain Lumber General Manager Todd Johnson. As of July 3, the sawmill department of the mill has ceased operation. The boiler and kiln department will...
The Fourth of July came at a perfect time, weather-wise, for the Blackfoot and Clearwater watersheds - just before temperatures were supposed to get into the high-nineties and even hundreds this week. Celebrations across the valleys were a delightful mix of some of the best parts of small town Montana, with elements that catered to locals and visitors alike. Books were available for purchase to support the Swan Valley Community Library, families wore matching outfits and water and popsicles,...
After a lovely cool spring and a slow start to summer, things are finally heating up and fire season is coming. Already, there have been wildfires in Washington, Oregon, and California, and some around Montana. As fire danger increases, the likelihood of seeing smoke increases, too. That means it's time to get smoke ready. Why do we care so much about smoke? For those of us who've lived through past fire seasons, we know what it means when smoke arrives. The air physically feels different. It...
Editor's note: When I worked for two weekly newspapers in Ennis and Big Sky, we would run features each week that we either called the B feature - because it was the first page of the B section in The Madisonian, which is based in Ennis - or the Not So Average Jane/Joe in the Lone Peak Lookout, which used to be used in Big Sky. These focused on members of the community either really well known of whom we felt folks could use a broader picture, or people who weren't known at all but had a really...
Those who follow Montana writers are well acquainted with Rick Bass. Among our most celebrated authors, he has mastered his craft with more than 30 books including novels, memoir and collections of essays with such diverse outlets as Orion, Tricycle, Big Sky Journal, Outside, Field and Stream, Sierra, Buddhist Review and the Whitefish Review. He has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Book Critics Award. Born and raised in Texas, trained as a petroleum...
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...
The warming hut on Forest Service Road 465 near Deer Creek was vandalized on June 18 just after 3 p.m. According to Jeannette Smith, public information officer with the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, someone shot the building a number of times — impacting the door, door frame, some walls and the wood shed roof — incurring at least $1,500 in damage. There are no suspects or witnesses, and the sheriff’s office has gathered all applicable information so far. The case is considered inactive by the sheriff’s office, but an additional investiga...
On June 18 Missoula County Commissioners voted unanimously to amend some of Missoula County's building codes. Greenhouses, hoop houses, certain deck designs and non-residential entryways or covered patios will no longer be required to have building permits. Public feedback and a recent public survey prompted commissioners to roll back requirements. Montana Code Annotated gives the Board of County Commissioners the right to exempt certain structures from requiring a building permit. "We did a...
The Seeley Lake Sewer District met at the end of June to hear an update on the sewer project proposal from its engineering firm and on various funding opportunities available, and considered putting together a letter showing support from the sewer board for the project. Steve Anderson, engineer with Water & Environmental Technologies, or WET, gave an update on the project proposal. It will make sense to design treatment zones based on elevation and treatment needs, Anderson said. This could require pump and lift stations, which in the case of l...
Rain and cold did not dampen the enthusiasm of the youth attendees at the first Swan Valley Youth Outdoor Education Rendezvous (YOER), held on Saturday, June 15. Fifty youth ages eight through 18 attended outdoor workshops designed to provide wilderness learning experiences. Children came from as far as Creston, Seeley Lake and other communities in between to join Condon youth in this special experiential event. The Swan Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) in Condon hosted the event at the...
Forty-foot long cinder block cooking pits lined by piles of cherry, pine and oak wood, folk music in the background, kids flying homemade kites and beef quarters seasoning on kitchen tables mark the beginning of the second annual Old Salt Festival. The festival was the brainchild of Cole Mannix of the Old Salt Co-op in Helena and fifth-generation Montanan from Helmville. Mannix said the Old Salt Festival was designed to bring together local food, local people and agriculture through...
Potomac School held graduation events in early June for its eighth grade and kindergarten students....
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...
Nearly 90 plant enthusiasts gathered for Prairies to Potholes, the 2024 Native Plant Society annual meeting held at Camp Utmost June 28-30. The meeting was highlighted by 22 workshops and field trips throughout the Blackfoot and Seeley valleys. Trips visited public and private locations from Gold Creek to Browns Lake and north to Clearwater Lake. "This was a remarkable way to see some of the plant and ecosystem variety in the Swan Valley," Susan Ballinger, from Washington, said. "I've been a...
As the Fourth of July approaches, interagency fire officials remind Montanans and visitors to celebrate safely and be aware of fire danger across the state. While spring precipitation reduced fire risk, our weather forecasts for the holiday include hot temperatures and an incoming front with potential wind. Last year, 84% percent of fires in the Flathead Valley were human caused. Interagency Fire Managers encourage individuals to do their part to keep homes, communities, and firefighters safe this holiday. Here are a few simple actions to...
The Northern Region of the Forest Service, based in Missoula, is beginning the process of transferring its ownership of the Condon Work Center due to a backlog of maintenance on the property and associated costs. Swan Valley Connections, a nonprofit focused on conservation and stewardship in the Swan Valley, has an office in the work center and leadership has been encouraged to start searching for a new office space with a tentative deadline to be out of the work center by March 2025. Swan...
This summer, no operations at Holland Lake Lodge have been approved. Holland Lake Lodge Owner Christian Wohlfeil submitted an operating plan for 2024 but since the wastewater treatment system is unable to function at the level needed for the plan, the Forest Service has not approved any operations and Wohlfeil hasn’t submitted an updated plan, Chris Dowling, Swan Lake District Ranger, said at a June Swan Valley Community Council meeting. A design firm is looking at a replacement or repair of the wastewater treatment lagoon, which was found t...
Clint Rice was in Washington on Friday picking up fireworks for a stand he's been running in Seeley Lake since 1990. For over 30 years, Rice has been coming up to Seeley Lake in the summers to run the firework stand, formerly called Pyromania and rebranded as the Boom Shack. He opened the shop for New Years sales in 2000. Most recently, Rice relocated to Seeley Lake to live full-time as of September. While in high school in Arlee, Montana, Rice worked for a firework stand and then for a company...
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks swore in a new game warden to cover the Seeley Lake area in January 2024. Garrett Kocab of Helena started the lengthy hiring process while completing two degrees at Carroll College. Graduating in May 2023 with Environmental Policy/Project Management and Sociology degrees and hired in January 2024, Kocab then had three months of law enforcement training in Helena before coming on the job in Seeley Lake in May. "Although I used to come up here hunting while going...
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....
Full coverage to come in an upcoming Pathfinder edition....
It's springtime when bears have emerged from their winter hibernation, many with cubs in tow, and are out and about exploring the Clearwater Valley. If you and your neighbors are curious and a bit worried about what the bears are up to in your neighborhood, here's some good news. Clearwater Valley Bear Smart Group selected Alan Davis to be our first local coordinator. This new position will support education and other activities to help Seeley Lake and surrounding areas to become more bear aware...
On a sunny day buzzing with the anticipation of summer days to come - people lining up outside The Ice Cream Place, a boutique pop up outside of Good Times Gifts - some Seeley Lake locals were gathered outside the Seeley Lake Community Foundation building to celebrate the end of a month-long fundraising event. Twenty groups participated to raise $126,000 during the ninth annual Change Your Pace fundraising challenge. Both of those numbers are record-breaking, Seeley Lake Community Foundation...
Tour Divide frontrunner Justinas Leveika, 35 of Lithuania (pictured) rode into Ovando on Sunday at about 11:30 a.m. He was followed by second place Laurens Ten Dam, of the Netherlands, at about 1 p.m. and third place Ulrich Bartholmoes, from Spain, around 4:15 p.m. The riders are racing the Tour Divide on the 2,745-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells on the Mexican-American border. Ovando is located right on the route. The frontrunners took advantage of th...
Rebecca McCarthy got a call from Norman Maclean's daughter during an event at the Missoula Public Library. Based on the way Jean Maclean Snyder spoke on the phone, it could have been her father. Maclean had a deliberate way of speaking, which translated to the way he spoke over the phone. Per McCarthy's memory it would go like this: "Rebecca, dear." Pause. "How are you?" She'd answer and Maclean would respond with a particular exclamation that sounded like, "Gaaaaaaawd." That was the same way...
