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June honeymooners on Glacier national park traüs are Don and Barbara LoefVe™St^PauT Sun
,y they took the trad past Mt. Wilbur, Iceberg lake and along Ptarmigan
tail divide. Mountain in picture is Wilbur climbed last
wall near the contin
year by Don. All photos by Mel Ruder
fountain Climbers Return for Park Honeymoon
Don and Barbara Loeffler met
on the shore of Josephine lake in
Glacier national park on June 11,
1947. A year later they were back
in the park, married just four
days, camping on the slope of
Going-to-the-Sun mountain
eight foot snow drifts.
Last summer she worked in the
laundry at Many Glacier hotel; he
helped keep the motors in the
hotel electric plant running.
Now the 23-year-old couple are
on a month-long honeymoon, cam
ping out along Glacier's 1,100 mi
les of trail.
Don a coast guard veteran and
civil engineering student at the
University of Minnesota, worked
in the park in 1941, 1942 and then
1946 and 1947, and has one of
the best Glacier mountain climo
ing records. Among those he's
scaled are Cleveland, the park's
highest: Wilbur, Stoney Indian,
Chief, St. Nicholas, Jackson, Go
ing-to-the-Sun, Allen, Little Chief,
Citadel, Red Eagle, Grinnell, Gould
and Gunsight.
Barbara, who works in St. Paul
and will help Don through his last
two years of college, has become
a mountain trail enthusiast. Last
summer they walked eight miles
over Swiftcurrent pass and the
continental divide from Many Gla-1
cier to Granite Park chalets for
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'There's more of Glacier's one million acres that can be seen
torn trails than from a car. Don and Barbara Loeffler will see \
art of the alpine land during the next weeks in the trad-way.
late Improvements
Än Power, Phones
H
I Power use in Columbia Falls
Bs more than doubled during the
iast two years, according to L. E.
Scott, Mountain States Power
bmpany manager. Scott was one
f the impromptu speakers at
ie Columbia Falls chamber of
fl:
Bommeree dinner meeting Tuesday
»ening at the New Pastime.
I Scott told of plans to increase
Be local transformer bank late
Bis year from 750 kva to 2,700
|va. He said the Plum Creek mill
» itself was using about 700
lorsepower.
I To improve telephone service
I the area, two new channels were
feing installed between Kalispell
pd Missoula, and a new carrier
pe from Columbia Falls to Ka
ppell. Two other lines were go
J? into operation between Colum
el-Jia Palls, Hungry Horse and Mar
City. Negotiations were also
process between General-Shea
orrison and Mountain States as
a centralized telephone service
the immediate Hungry Horse
tbvea.
Columbia Falls board now has
Wo operators on duty during the
lay except during the lunch hour.
L new board and telephones with
ut cranks are in prospect for
l te this year.
Other speakers included Frank
lirkpatriek, state employment
; rvice manager, who told of the
®®>cal office standing third in Mon
Tana for job placements, and ot
Ihe new branch office to be es
tablished at Hungry Horse.
I Mayor John O'Connell discus
N town improvements. He com
plimented County Commissioner
peon Lenon and former mayor,
Pris Raaen, both present, for
pieing largely responsible for Co
lumbia Falls having a 32-unit ve
terans housing project.
After the business meeting, the
rbamber adjourned to the VFW
| c Iub to see a bureau of reclama
tion film, "Construction of Boul
fler Dam."
Horses Pass Hungry Horse
Passing the Hungry Horse pro
jet on U. S. highway No. 2 Wed
nesday afternoon were 58 head
saddle and pack horses for the
Spotted Bear lodge, 50 miles up
Ibe Flathead river's south fork
fr om the damsite area
above the future reservoir.
and jus
Swiftcurrent Becomes
First Open Trail
Pass in Glacier Park
Swiftcurrent pass, Saturday,
will become the first across the
continental divide trail pass in Gla
cier national park to be opened
to 1948 hiker and saddle horse
traffic.
Logan pass, the continental div
ide crossing of Going-to-the-Sun
highway was opened to automobile
traffic June 11.
The Swiftcurrent pass connects
the upper McDonald valley with
the Many Glacier area, and is one
of the most heavily traveled of
the park's trail passes.
The park road up the North Fork
is passable to Kintla lake.
Assign 11 Additional
Temporary Rangers
Eleven additional temporary ran
will start work In Glacier
gers
national park Monday. Already in
the park for the summer are 12
temporary rangers and 11 tempor
naturalists. Most of
ary ranger
them are older college students or
teachers, and veterans.
Rangers reporting Monday are
John Kincaid, Whitefish; Raymond
Tierney, Iowa City, Iowa; Jobn
A. Townsley, San Francisco, and
John C. Traiy, Lafayette, La. as
signed to St. Mary; John B. Lind
berg, Madison, Wis.; Waldmar Ol
son, Missoula and Richard Wol
lte, Kalispell. west entrance: Wil
liam A. Hood and Donald Gilbert
son, both Marshal, Minn., Many
Glacier; Donald B. Hause, Miss
Glacier Park station, and
oula,
Robert C. Hanson, Longmont, Cal
if., Cutbank ranger station.
Lowell Ashton, Montana state
forestry graduate, has been add
ed to the permanent ranger staff
in Glacier national park. Ashton,
assigned to headquarters,
three summer's experience as a
had
Yellowstone temporary ranger.
To Organize CB Units
LL Comdr. J. K. Jackson and Lt.
Comdr. Hubbard, Seattle, for the
Prevalence of former Navy CBs
the Hungry Horse project has
prompted the Navy department to
seek organization of a CB volun
teer reserve unit in the area. Tn
Kalispell Wednesday evening
on
was
(purpose of starting a CB reserve
emit.
breakfast.
CAA Picks Site for
New Range Station
The Flathead radio range sta
tion which will result in North
west Airlines starting daily flights
into the valley will probably be es
tablished this coming month ab
out six miles south of the county
airport.
Construction of the new range
station by the Civil Aeronautics
administration is expected to start
within three weeks with regular
stops on the Spokane-Great Falls
Northwest Airlines run slated for
fall. Northwest was authorized
last November to start daily ser
vice into the Flathead. The coun
ty port is six miles from Colum
bia Falls; eight miles from Kal
ispell and nine from Whitefish.
Flying a DC-3 CAA plane in the
Flathead this week and studying
the best approaches for the new
station were K. S. Stuestall, Stan
Compton, Charles Cross and Tho
mas Hall, all of S0attlG.
Private flying service at the
new county port offering instruc
tion and chartered services is Flat
head Air Transport, Inc.
Sunrift Community Hali
Plans First Dance, July 3
A dance July 3 is expected to
inaugurate use of the new Sun
community hkll serving the
farm area south and west of Co
lumbia Falls. Roofing the 40 by 60
foot building is nearly completed
farmers from Bad Rock, Deer
Park, Lake Blaine and Fairview
rural areas work on tha struc
ture Saturday and Sundays.
rift
as
Start Sperry Trips
Wessels' 2B saddle horses in
Glacier national park will take
their first Sperry chalet-Lake El
len Wilson overnight trip July S:
another Sperry trip is scheduled
for July 5. The saddle horse jour
ney staying overnight at the Sper
ry chalets can be arranged by
contacting the Lake McDonald
hotel or Wessels'
ranch, Belton..
River Bend
Call New School Bids
Bids have been called for a July
15 opening for new four room
schools to be built at Coram and
Martin City. Please see page 5
for the bid advertisement.
10 cents a copy
Hungry Horse News
Vol. 2, No. 47
Columbia Falls, Montana
Friday, June 25, 1948
Excavation for Dam Will Start In July
Falls to Sponsor
July 10, II Rodeo
As its part in the July 10th ce
lebration marking official start of
Hungry Horse dam construction,
Columbia Falls will sponsor a
western rodeo.
The show is to start Saturday.
July 10th at 4 p. m. immediately
following the dam ceremony, and
will be staged again Sunday, July
11 at 2 p. m.
An estimated 10,000 persons
will attend the dam event, many
of them being Glacier national
park visitors from distant states.
The thought in Columbia Falls is
that the visitors would also like to
see a western rodeo on the same
weekend.
In charge of the show will be
Bud Lake who has staged rodeos
at Butte, Helena and Browning.
Proceeds from the Columbia
Falls rodeo will be used to comp
lete the town's new fire hall. Spon
sors are the volunteer firemen and
chamber of commerce. On the gen
eral committee are "Ace" Chattin,
James Connole, Bud Darling, Lee
Dickey, Mayor John O'Connell,
Chris Raaen, Frank Schmidt and
Ed Schrader.
The July 10 and 11 dates were
authorized for Columbia Falls by
the Montana rodeo association
last spring.
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Glacier national park expects
its travel to return to normal this
weekend with flood waters finally
within stream bank.-, on the high
plains and in the Pacifc coas.
states.
May and early June travel into
Glacier was considerably above
last year, up an estimated 50 per
cent. However coast floods to the
west and then blocking of highway
No. 2 by heavy rains last week
Park Travel Looks
Up as Floods Ebb
( end in the Browning-Cut Bank
I sector on the ' east reduced the
number of vacationers.
Indicator of what is to come
was last Sunday when the park s
west entrance (Belton) counted
12,231 visitors* (including 1,551
from Montana) for its best day
i since last July 4, when 3,666 came
through Belton. Browning flood
' waters slowed St. Mary entrants
I to 440.
,
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^ or an ^ August, and offic
ials expect that with flood wat
ers down, the 1948 travel will
Registrations at cabins and ho
tels in the park are at record high
[ and park has been noted as the
; result of Hungry Horse dam con
struction. The damsite is a 20
' minute drive from the park,
j Columbia Falls state port of en
try station in Columbia Heights
a t the junction of highways No. 2
| cars from 30 different states, Al
as ka, Canada and India, Wednes
: day.
,
Forest and Fields Show
T) • I -y-n from
Hich Green from Rains
| start heading toward last year's
! all-time record of 324,396.
Increased travel into the area
and 37 furnished information to
Flathead fields and forest were
flourishing green as rainfall for
the month reached 2.73 inches
at Kalispell and 4.29 inches at
Hungry Horse. Kalispell normal is
2.06 for all of June, though last
year was the record wettest, 4.56.
Average temperatures during
the first two weeks of June were
above normal, and "crops look
good despite the late spring" com
mented Walt Mauritson, county
agent.
The Fläthead has had more than
normal precipitation during Feb
ruary, March. April and May, 3
inches over the average so far.
Hottest day so far this year
was June 8 with 89 degrees.
Recent report of a deluge was
the Glacier park station record
ing of 9.40 inches of rain during
the first 23 days of June. Normal
is under 4 inches.
To Consider Trucker License
Columbia Falls town council
will take up the matter of licen
sing wholesale trucks who dist
ribute merchandise in the town on
a reciprocity basis. Chattin (beer)
distributors, Columbia Falls, Wed
nesday were asked to pay a $30Cï
license fee in Kalispell: the White
fish fee was $15. Columbia Falls
has been charging no license, but
the prospects for additional town
revenue are attractive.
Jobs at Hungry Horse Top 800
Employment on the Hungry
Horse project reached 800 Thurs
day as the prime contractor, Gen
eral-Shea-Morrison increased his
crew from 290 to 354 in a week.
The Thursday General-Shea
Morrison weekly payroll was $24,
000 .
Employment on the Hungry
Horse project has doubled in the
past four iveeks.
Working for the bureau of rec
lamation are 231; Guy F. Atkinson
company who will complete their
$643,400 diversion tunnel cont
ract about July 1, have 57 employ
es: R and S construction company
on their $408,320 damsite clear
ing contract, 115 men; F. R. He
wett company, 38 men, on their
starting to build 14 miles of the
Charging Bull Moose
Causes Flathead
Forest 1st Accident
A charging bull moose caus
ed the first accident of the sum
mer in Montana's Flathead nat
ional forest.
Howard F. Wilsky, University of
Florida forestry sophomore, while
working on trails near Tally lake
was charged by the animal, and
in getting out of the way receiv
ed a slight leg injury.
Wilsky, 22, was a sergeant over
seas in the Pacific during the war.
State Employment Office
i tt __
To Open at Hungry Horse
-
Established about July 1 in the
Wagsmith section of Hungry
Horse will be a branch of the
Montana State Employment ser
vice offiC e
The new office will be located
adjacent to Ed Sayler's Villa ta
vem, and will be open five days
a week. Manager of both the Co
iumbia Falls and Wagsmith of
fices will be Frank Kirkpatrick,
Iumbia Falls office was third in
Montana for job placements find
For the month of May, the Co
ing work for 176 men, and passed
only by Billings and Great Falls.
Other Flathead county employ
ment office, Kalispell, was 17th
with 82 placements.
Gordon Construction company
this week raised carpenters' wages
to $1.95 an hour and labor to $1.40.
This is in line with accepted scale
in the Flathead.
Prime Contractor's Men Clear, Dig and Build
ffe...
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HUNGRY HORSE NEWS PHOTO
Carpenters at work on the first General-Shea-Morrison dormitory
include John Stefenon, Coram; Louis Berg, Martin City and Porento
Lukos, Columbia Falls. First buildings will be occupied by August.
.VH
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Bunkhouse No. 1 for General- Shea-Morris on today (four days
after this picture was takenJ is two-stories high and complete
the three dormitoris under construction will
with rafters. Each of
house 150 men. Mountain is forested Columbia of the auxin range.
relocated Spotted Bear forest
service road, a $632,448 contract;
Minneapolis Tank Manufacturing
company erecting a 150,000 gal
lon water tank, materials furnish
ed, 2, and C and F (S and F»
temporarily slowed by rain to 3
employes in their completing and
oiling the $479,494 3.9-mile access
road from highway No. 2 to the
damsite.
Estimates of this summer's em
ployment by General-Shea-Morri
son is up. Previously the GSM fig
ure was set at 600 in September;
now it should reach 600 early in
August. Peak GSM employment
next year will exceed 2,000 with
the clearing, housing and other
contractors employing an addit
ional 500.
Summer Naturalist
Program Underway
Glacier's naturalist program
started Wednesday with illustra
ted lectures on the park mount
ains, plants, and animals given at
Lake McDonald and the Many
Glacier hotels
Monday the naturalist program
for the summer will get fully un
derway.
The west side of the park pro
gram includes: a daily except for
Sunday trail hike from Avalanche
campground to Avalanche lake
starting at 9 a. m.; an afternoon
boat trip on Lake McDonald and
evening illustrated program at the
Lake McDonald hotel recreation
hall _ Evening campfire lectures
are held at the Avalanche camp
ground at 8 30 p m. Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday, and at
the Sprague Creek campground,
Monday, Wednesday and Friday,
A new feature this Summer is the
naturalist guided hike to Sperry
Glacier and Lake Ellen Wilson
staying overnight at the Sperr>
chalets. This will start in mid
July.
Increase Subscription Rates
Effective July 6, the out-of
Flathead county subscription rates
to the Hungry Horse News will
be $3.50 for a year, and $2.00 for
six months. This is a 50 cent raise,
Flathead county subscription ra
tes remain at $2.50 a year; $1.50
for six months.
Excavation for abutments of
320-foot high Hungry Horse dam,
to be the world's fourth largest of
concrete will start in July.
Official ceremony marking start
of Hungry Horse dam construct
ion is Saturday, July 10.
Announcement on the source of
the 3,500,000 cubic yards of sand
and gravel needed to build the
dam is expected within 30 days.
A Wednesday and Thursday
conference between contractors'
officials and government repres
entatives was mainly concerned
with gravel and concrete.
Under consideration as gravel
sources were: Hungry Horse creek
deposits on government land in the
reservoir area just above the dam
site. The hauling factor on th ; s
gravel is less, but containing more
clay it will need additional wash
ing. Plan is to start backing up
water in the reservoir over the
Hungry Horse creek deposits be
fore the dam is completed. If us
ed from this source, stock piling
of about 1,000,000,000 cubic yards
would be necessary.
Other gravel under consider
ation is just west of Bad Rock
canyon, two miles from Columb
ia Falls where the contractor now
holds options. A standard gauge
rail line would likely be built to the
damsite about seven miles distant.
This gravel would need less wash
ing and require no stockpiling. In
formation is that landowners in
this area are not driving the con
tractors elsewhere by land infla
tion.
It is possible that gravel proc
essing plants would be establish
ed at both locations. However gra
vel operations will not get fully
underway until next year.
Possibility of a contractor's
rail spur from Coram and the
Great Northern main line has been
practically eliminated. Reason is
believed to be the high prices wan
ted by Coram landowners for the
right-of-way. Location of the ce
ment unloading plant is now sche
duled for west of Coram.
Employ First Woman
General - Shea - Morrison, Hun
gry Horse prime contractors, now
employ 353 men and one woman.
The first and only woman employe
is receptionist, Mrs. Loretta Page,
an attractive 23 year-old who
worked as bookkeeper and soc
iety reporter on the Mountain
Home (Idaho) News. Mrs. Page is
apt to be the only woman employe
for another 90 days.
General-Shea-Morrison's
pres
ent 354 employes are principally
concerned with erecting buildings
■ for the contractor's town on gov
! eminent land, clearing and road
i construction.
To be occupied about July 15
is a 40 by 120-foot quonset-type
main office. Also under construc
tion is a 40 by 60-foot time office;
a 28 by 50-foot first aid station,
a 28 by 82-foot guest house with
six sleeping rooms, a lounge and
kitchen. -
To house 150 men each, three
120 by 24-foot on a side, double
winged, two-story dormitories are
I underway. Four more dormitories
1 will be built next year. Founda
tions are being poured this week
for six two-bedroom houses with
the expectation that 50 houses tn
all will be built.
Kiri-patrick Brothers, Kalispell
on a subcontract have the sewer
system for the new town 80 per
cent complete, and will start on
I the water mains. Rautman Plumb
ing and Heating, Seattle, have tho
j heating and plumbing contract in
I association with Jack Hoerner, Co
■ Iumbia Heights.
Excavations near the damsite
have started for a compressor
house and substation: the lower
road to the damsite is being clear
ed and excavations have started,
while the terminating 500 feet of
the upper access road is under
construction and clearing for the
cableway towers is nearing comp
letion.
Building superintendent is Tom
Moyer with Tom Ostrum, gener
al carpenter superintendent. Car
penter foremen are Lee Weeks,
Roy McFaddon, Ralph Malonev,
Leo Schulte, E. P. Christensen, C
E. Johnson with Jerry Deneen, ge
neral labor foreman.
Engineer Visits Project
Ralph Lowry, assistant chief en
gineer, bureau of reclamation,
Denver, arrived Wednesday to con
fer with Hungry Horse project of
ficials and contractors.