Cox shares tales of the West Side

SEELEY LAKE – Twenty-five people, most on snowshoes, showed up at the River Point Campground to learn about Seeley Lake's "West Side Story." The Feb. 16 excursion was sponsored by the Seeley Lake Historical Society and led by long-time resident Ron Cox.

Cox's first story referred to the snowmobile races that used to take place on Seeley Lake. Cox said one year Bruce Copenhaver drove a bulldozer onto the ice to scrape a course for the race.

According to Cox, "[the bulldozer] went into the drink out here in about 10 feet of water. The guy that was on it went down with the ship and came up under the ice, he didn't know where. Jay Haveman happened to be near and he went out on the ice and was waving his arm around under water and grabbed hold of the guy and pulled him up. So Bruce lived to tell about it."

Cox continued to explain that a second attempt to plow the course met a similar fate. That time "a great, big caterpillar road grader" was used and it fell in at the south side of the lake. Cox said that operator wasn't as lucky.

Upon further research of the incident, the Pathfinder found the Missoulian's coverage during the winter of 1979. The bulldozer event happened Feb. 11, 1979. One article stated the machine weighed nine tons and the water depth was 45 feet.

The Missoulian's Feb. 25 article reported "Copenhaver survived by jumping clear of the bulldozer before it sank." A March 4 article, however, stated, "He was dragged to the bottom of the lake with the machine, but he was able to swim clear."

Edward V. (Mike) Kelley, 48, of Seeley Lake was the driver of the 26,000-pound grader and the man who drowned on Feb. 23 when he was caught in the cab as the grader sank beneath the ice into an estimated 60-65 feet of water. His body was recovered on March 3, 1979.

Another Seeley Lake man, 20-year-old Roy Brown was also aboard the grader assisting Kelley. He said in the Feb. 24 article, "I told Mike, 'We're starting to push a lot of water.' I hadn't gotten that out of my mouth when the grader went in. I felt it drop through the first layer of ice and then I jumped clear. I turned around and hollered for Mike to jump, but it was too late. It took about five seconds for it to go under."

Cox also related stories of the first cabins built on the shore of the lake. In the 1916 U.S. Forest Service permits, they are referred to as "Seeley Lake Villa Sites." Generally used as summer getaways, cabins were built by Missoula notables such as real estate moguls George and Dan Lambros, University of Montana Professor and Dean Burley Miller and "A River Runs Through It" author Norman Maclean. Walter McLeod built the first resort Lodges on Seeley Lake.

In an era where automobiles were relatively new and drivable roads in Seeley Lake and the surrounding area almost non-existent, horses were more practical modes of transportation. Cox said what is now River Point Campground was once a horse corral.

With 24 people following in his snowmobile tracks, Cox led the way across the lake to Camp Paxson. Cox explained what was initiated in 1918 by the famous photographer K. D. Swan as a rustic tent camp for Boy Scouts has since gone through a number of ownerships and purposes.

In 1924 the Western Montana Council of Boy Scouts assumed ownership and it became an official Scout camp.

In 1939-40, with funds and manpower from the Depression Era Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps, rustic log cabins were erected on the property. In 1943 the facilities were used as a smokejumper school for World War II conscientious objectors.

Other owners and users of Camp Paxson included the Girl Scouts, the Campfire Girls, church groups, 4-H Clubs and, in more modern times, the Missoula Children's Theater. Seeley Lake Elementary School students also use it throughout the school year on Outdoor Education days. Some of the tour participants had their own memories of Camp Paxson that they shared with the rest of the group.

When Cox talked about the Campfire Girls' method of dealing with homesick campers by having them write to Wee Willie Wonkle and placing their letter in a hollowed-out tree on the grounds, Carolyn Lewis chimed in, "Wonkie was the elf and he lived in a big overturned log. And I did write a letter to Wonkie."

Lewis, who went to camp there in the 60s, added, "What was going on was the senior Campfire Girls, the Horizon Club high school girls who were part of the camp, would answer the letters. So they'd write you a letter on Wonkie's own special stationery. You'd go to the log the next morning and there would be a letter addressed to you and you'd have your answer from Wonkie. It was a thrill."

Cox then led the group along what he described as "a piece of the old, old, old west side road that led into Seeley Lake." The cut-off he took led into Seeley Lake Campground instead. He said the site used to be referred to as Hotel Point. Apparently around the 1920s, someone conceived the idea of creating a string of hotels between Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park. These would be grand hotels, similar to the signature ones in those parks. The idea never caught on, but before becoming Seeley Lake Campground, the area was pegged as a location for one of those hotels.

In direct contrast to those high-brow intentions, Cox said, "Man, back in the 70s and 80s, it was the party place. The bars closed at two o'clock in the morning and the people all came over here."

Seeley Lake Historical Society Board Member Tom Browder, who said he had been a seasonal worker in the Seeley Lake area in the summers of '66-'69, added a few additional tales.

He said, "It was a wild and crazy place. One Fourth of July after the store was closed and we couldn't buy any more beer, we went through the campground throwing firecrackers. We thought that was very fun."

He also recalled the Banditos, a biker gang from California coming up one Fourth of July weekend. Cox said they and other gangs came up for several summers and caused quite a disturbance. He said another contributor to Seeley Lake's "wild and crazy" reputation was the mud races in the Lewis gravel pits.

According to Cox, "Hundreds of these loud-as-they-can-possibly-make-them and muddy-as-they-could-possibly-make-them jeeps would be roaring up and down Boy Scout Road and through town."

Cox told another story about the Seeley Lake Campground that he said was "particularly for people in Seeley Lake who know about the sewage issues."

Cox said in the late 70s or early 80s, "The Forest Service decided to really make a modern campground. They installed two toilets and along with it a high-tech sewage treatment plant. That thing had the capacity to accommodate 5,000 people. The idea at the time was, well, we're right next door to Seeley Lake. You've been hollering about a sewage treatment plant, all you gotta do is hook up. We're glad to have you over here." Cox added, "That was still during the days of the anti-sewer board and they wouldn't have anything to do with it."

Eventually the treatment plant proved to be more trouble than it was worth for only two toilets and no permanent maintenance person and so the Forest Service tore it out and went back to pit toilets.

The tour continued to the Girard Grove where Cox told stories about Jim Girard for whom the grove is named and about the world certified largest western larch tree nicknamed Gus.

The last stop on the tour was in the area where Jasper and Elmer Seely built their cabin in 1881 and gave their name to the lake and the town.

One more trek across the frozen lake returned the tour participants to their vehicles in the River Point Campground parking lot. Before going on their way, several of the participants thanked Cox with words like "wonderful" and "just fascinating." One woman remarked, "This was exactly what I hoped it would be, a wonderful snowshoe hike and lots of interesting information."