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SEELEY LAKE - After working in day care and preschool for 30 years, Margaret Clark was ready for a career change. Her love of bright colors and artistic ability blossomed after becoming a certified florist in December 2020. In partnership with Good Times Gifts Owner Dena Turner, Clark opened Good Times Floral within Good Times Gifts to serve the community with quality floral arrangements at an affordable price. Clark never considered herself an artist. "All through high school I would dread...
SEELEY LAKE – After close to two years as the resident chiropractor, Dr. Michela Reese purchased Seeley Lake Chiropractic. The office will no longer be part of the Optimum Health and Wellness, PLLC. "My biggest goal is to maintain more of a full-time clinic up here, something that hasn't been done in quite a few years," Reese said. "Maintaining at least four days a week would be my goal. I'd also love to diversify a bit with other therapies such as massage and potentially acupuncture, bring a m...
SEELEY LAKE – Resident Kim Van De Riet has formed a partnership with her son Corey, Kalispell, to open VDR Realty, part of the eXp Realty family. The Van De Riets look forward to listening to their customers and helping them find what they are looking for in Northwest Montana and beyond. eXp Realty, LLC is a nationwide brokerage company with a supervising broker covering the state of Montana. "Our brokerage is a little bit different because we don't have to be brick and mortar," Van De Riet s...
SEELEY LAKE – When Kris Martin first visited The Filling Station, she said, "It felt really comfortable. I liked the feeling of being a customer that made me feel good about owning it." She purchased the business in September 1997 and has owned and operated the now 75-year-old restaurant, bar and casino in the heart of Seeley Lake for the past 25 years. "It's a good place for people to come and visit," Martin said. "It's the community gathering place." The community is invited to come and c...
SEELEY LAKE – A customer walked into j's you-nique boutique Clothing and Gifts after being encouraged to check out the new store in the Bison and Bear Center. She proceeded to browse and was excited to see the selection and the reasonable prices. Owner and saleswoman Jody Heryford smiled, quickly struck up a conversation with her new customer and helped her find other items she may like. "I hope my customers like the clothing and I hope they like the prices," Heryford said. "I hope they feel c...
SEELEY LAKE- For years, Julie Brown has baked cookies from old recipes her grandma used. Now, Brown and her daughter Kelsey Van Dyke are baking up those recipes for Seeley Lake patrons. "My mom has always been notorious for her cookies," Van Dyke said. "We've always kind of had this idea in our heads to start a little cookie cart at some point. We moved to Montana last year and decided that it would be kind of the perfect time to start." On June 10, Brown and Van Dyke opened their first...
SEELEY LAKE – Sapphire Print Design is open for business. Tracey Youbles, long time Seeley Lake resident, found the equipment for sale on marketplace and set up shop. Youbles moved to Seeley Lake 30 years ago with family. "I knew the area because my dad loved Lake Alva and we spent summers up here," Youbles said. Youbles' first job was with Sun Mountain Sports in Missoula putting logos on the pocket of golf bags. She also worked for a company printing on cloth and vinyl in the Seattle/Tacoma a...
POTOMAC – Kenny Brown operates the Potomac Bar and Country Store with manager Christine Yedinak. Brown took ownership of the former Cully's business in April and hopes it will continue to be a place for locals and visitors alike to meet, socialize and purchase the supplies that they need. Originally from Bonner, Montana, Brown moved to the Potomac area 16 years ago. Brown wanted to keep the business local, so he purchased it. "I want a place for community people to meet," Brown said. Brown a...
SEELEY LAKE - Hi! I'm Haley Yarborough, a sophomore student at the University of Montana majoring in biology and journalism. I grew up in Bishop, California, about an hour south of Yosemite along the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. As a kid I loved to write, read, hike, play soccer, run and cross-country ski. After graduating high school at the top of my class, I came to Montana for the University of Montana's journalism program and to attend college in a place close to nature. Over the two years...
SEELEY LAKE – Large, brightly colored paintings decorated the walls, upbeat Spanish music played and customers were welcomed with chips and salsa. Despite the snow flurries outside, inside the atmosphere rivaled stepping into a Guadalajara restaurant. The Caro family moved quickly between tables, effortlessly switching between Spanish and English and bringing out hot plates with Mexican specialties. After months of waiting, Casa Caro Mexican Restaurant was finally open. "We want to offer q...
SEELEY LAKE – Tylen Dial Trucking LLC is celebrating one year in business this month hauling logs and equipment for area businesses. "Leland Cahoon convinced be to buy my own truck," he said. Dial started looking for a truck and everything just fell into place. Dial hopes to grow his business into a fleet of trucks in the future. He said right now businesses struggle to hire people with a Commercial Driver's License (CDL). Dial moved to Seeley Lake in 2013 as a junior in high school. He graduate...
SEELEY LAKE – From painting to commercial fishing, plumbing to electrical, and construction to excavating, Seeley Lake resident John Mills is putting his diverse experience to work in the area. He started General Building Repairs Handyman Services last spring in the Swan Valley. After moving to Seeley Lake last fall, he is expanding his services to Seeley Lake, Potomac and Ovando with customer satisfaction as his number one priority. Mills' father was a painter. He learned most of his p...
SEELEY LAKE - "We take pride in what we do," said Arrowhead Condos Head Housekeeper Amy Jorgensen. "I don't think you can go anywhere in Missoula and find as clean of an establishment as we [have] here." While Jorgensen makes a bold statement, her claim is backed with the prestigious RCI Silver Crown Resort® award, a recognition Arrowhead Condos has received for the past 12 years after receiving ratings above 4.8 of 5 from visitors. "The Silver Crown means we have met or exceeded the...
SEELEY LAKE – The Montana Snowmobile Association recognized Kurt's Polaris 2021 Snowmobile Dealer of the Year at the MSA Awards Dinner and Banquet Feb. 5. This is the second time Kurt's Polaris has received the award. Owner Curtis Friede said it is a testament to his team and putting the customer first. "It is never a perfect situation, it is just a situation, so you gotta deal with it," Friede said. "They just keep struggling forward and keep fighting for everything and try and take care of t...
OVANDO – Leigh Ann Valiton is happy to welcome customers into the Stray Bullet Cafe in Ovando. While she has been a familiar face behind the counter since 2010, Valiton now owns the cafe after purchasing it from Colleen Stone Jan. 1. She looks forward to offering the same great service and food so people can enjoy their time in Ovando. Jessica Geary remembered starting the idea for The Stray Bullet in 2002 in the back room of the Ovando store when her parents Howie and Peggy Fly owned it. "I lik...
SEELEY LAKE – After purchasing Crescent Mountain Builders in late 2021, Jeremiah Covert looks forward to continuing founder and owner Jason Ayers' legacy of honesty and quality construction in the Seeley Lake area under the Refined Matters LLC umbrella. With a larger team than Crescent Mountain Builders, Covert said Seeley Lake and the surrounding area can expect an increased presence, better final construction execution and an expeditious construction schedule while offering customers the b...
SEELEY LAKE – When Cole Henrekin graduated from Seeley-Swan High School in 2014, he went to Montana Technological University for mechanical engineering. After three semesters he realized he did not want to be an engineer. He switched from a bachelors degree to an associates degree in metal fabrication and welding, something he had always wanted to learn, and graduated in 2018. "It was probably the best decision I made in school," Henrekin said. He opened Peak Fabrication LLC in Seeley Lake in J...
OVANDO – When Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Terry Sheppard opened her office in Ovando in 1981 she was known as "the CPA on horseback." Her first tax season she spent April 15 knitting socks until 5 p.m. "just in case someone had a last minute return. Then I increased my clientele." After 40 years of serving local, national and international clients, Sheppard announced her retirement Oct. 15. She will continue to assist local non-profits for the next couple of years. Sheppard loved w...
SEELEY LAKE – After visiting Montana for the past seven years, Tony Singh Mann moved to the state he deeply loves for its outdoor recreation opportunities and sense of community. He and his wife Varinder purchased the Sinclair Gas Station in Victor, Montana and most recently the Seeley Lake 1 Stop. He looks forward to offering a one-stop shop for locals and visitors alike at Montana Gas N Shop 1 Stop and opening Casino Montana in the back of the convenience store with 10 gaming machines, bar and...
SEELEY LAKE – Premium, high quality, organic cannabis as well as western Montana-made handcrafted products are now available in the Bison and Bear Center. Dancing Goat Gardens Medical Cannabis Dispensary and Seed and Soil opened in September and will be hosting their Grand Opening Nov. 4 – 8. "I want to help people heal in a more natural way outside of big pharma products," said Melanie Blank, partner in Dancing Goat and owner of Seed and Soil. "It is so rewarding working in the cannabis industr...
SEELEY LAKE - Mountain Berry Bowls food truck offers a selection of organic fruit bowls on the go this summer in Seeley Lake. Co-owners and sisters-in-law Leigh Zell and Shannan Bogner have been franchisees of the truck since July 9. The overarching company is based out of Whitefish, Montana with other trucks located around Montana, Idaho and Colorado. They said they were drawn to the company for its locality and health-focused approach. "We wanted to do something together and something healthy,...
SEELEY LAKE - Jesse and Chuad Johnson of Johnson's Homegrown sell whatever crops they can grow on their farm west of Missoula every Sunday at the Seeley Lake Market. Jesse said they mostly sell vegetables but they sell fruit whenever they can. He estimates they offer anywhere from 50 to 60 crops including golden beets, broccoli and green onions. Some of their most popular products include kohlrabi, sugar snap peas and carrots. "We try to give a good mix of everyday items and unique items that...
SEELEY LAKE - Stevensville artist Trinity Gibson offers a unique pairing of hand puppets and jewelry at her Seeley Lake Market stand. This is her third year working as a merchant for the market, having skipped last year because of COVID-19. Gibson has been making beaded and charmed jewelry for roughly 22 years. "When I was pregnant with my son, my sister-in-law sent me a little bag of beads to keep me busy because we were new in a town far, far away from home," she said. "I just fell in love...
SEELEY LAKE – After 40 years of body work, owner of Seeley Lake Auto Body Randy Reinitz sold his shop and retired. He built his reputation on customer satisfaction using his artistic ability to repair and restore vehicles, offering compassion for his customers, building relationships with insurance adjusters and maintaining a level of professionalism and honesty in his work. In retirement, he and his wife Carol Ann are looking forward to more free time and working on their property north of S...
SEELEY LAKE - Snowy Peaks Off Road & Fabrication Owner Dean Ruth is prepared to make any welding or fabrication modifications his customers request with his new automotive customization shop based in Seeley Lake. He works with customers on modifications including suspensions, bumpers, rock rails, roof racks, spare tire mounts, roll cages and lift kits. Ruth specializes in square-body vehicles which he describes as "anything from '73 to '87" as well as 1991. These include crew cabs, blazers,...
