As the sun rose over the smoking ruins of the People's Center, Torosian and her staff feared the worst. Incredibly, the fire had spared the museum wing, as well as the educational section where cultural programs were held. Once the fire marshall determined it was safe, Torosian and her staff were allowed into the scorched building.
In a region built on ranching, mining, and the enduring spirit of the American West, Dan and Julia Schwarz have created Montana's premier destination for authentic western boots. When customers from across the country make the journey to Dillon, they're not just buying boots - they're investing in the best western boot craftsmanship Montana has to offer.
Born at the height of the homesteading boom (October 4th, 1920), Golden Valley County with its chamber of commerce name promised rich harvests, presumably of golden wheat, but the climate didn't live up to the farmers' needs, and the county's population has dropped fairly consistently since its first census in the county's tenth year. The 2020 census counted 823 residents, the lowest number in the county's history, but the 2024 estimate does show a 5% increase to 863, still lower than any previous census.
There is an interesting rock formation located a little ways outside of Whitehall, Montana, jutting out of the earth in a way that resembles nothing so much as a prehistoric wall—appearing to be made of cyclopean slabs piled on top of each other with startling exactitude. In places, you couldn't slip a credit card in between.
"My wife told me that I needed a project to stay busy, and I think she meant for me to paint the bathroom or fix the railings on the back porch," he said. "But instead, I began restoring a full-size steam locomotive."
The war between the Thunder Birds and the Water Monsters involved ranged warfare; they fired missiles at one another which the Sioux called kangi tame, or the blackened remains of lightning bolts.
Among the most impactful elements of the Montana Hope Project are the feelings of inclusion and comradery that continue to flourish long after a child’s wish is granted. Hundreds of family members and wish recipients attend each of the twice-yearly reunions held at Fairmont.
They’re the unsung heroes of Montana road travel, these 63 benefactors of bladder and bowel. And as any road warrior knows, they’re much more than just a place to, um, lighten your load.
Snowbirds can safely leave at the first sign of dipping temperature and only return after the mountains are clear of snow, all the while knowing their cottages and yards are well taken care of by a professional staff.
Folks who don’t live in regions with high-angle avalanche zones and railroads don’t know much about snowsheds. Part lean-to and part tunnel, they don’t catch the eye. As an architectural piece, they are strictly utilitarian and certainly not things of beauty, unless you’re a construction engineer who digs bulky, behemoth buildings.
In ’66, local studies estimated around 300 pot smokers, mostly at the university. By 1968, that number neared 2,000, according to The Missoulian. For the first time, Missoula’s medical clinics saw patients suffering LSD-caused panic and anxiety. A few “acid casualties” wound up at Warm Springs state mental hospital, the paper claimed.
I start thinking about all of the stuff that I presumably went on a getaway to get away from—bills to pay, offices to sit in all day, responsibilities to mind. If you're like me, you get a sort of hangdog feeling a few days after coming back, as if in mourning for your dear departed excursion. I call it the "don't-wanna-go blues."
The bustle of city life hasn’t yet knocked at the door of this community. Harnessed to its past, Willow Creek’s main purpose is denoted by its roads leading out of town through the pastureland—to ranches and farms.
The Great Northern Railroad, building its way west, reached Kalispell in 1892, and built their depot at the north end of downtown. In 1904, the railroad moved its main line north to Whitefish, leaving Kalispell to be served by a spur line only.
Located at the geographical center of the state of Montana, Fergus County was formed on March 12, 1885, with land taken from Meagher and Chouteau Counties. James Fergus, a territorial delegate from Meagher County, proposed the new county, and it was named for him.
The group, a conglomeration of athletes primarily hailing from Butte and Missoula, were members of local hurling teams—and they were clearly a crowd favorite.
Highly unusual sounds recorded near Ennis (MT) have strikingly similar characteristics to those captured in the Sierra Nevada range (CA) in the early ’70s. Witnesses all describe the overwhelming magnitude and power of these sounds.
John has become a local celebrity after ushering nearly 10,000 students through his passion project. When walking into a bar recently a middle-aged man pointed a figure finger at him asking if he was the “bird guy.”
Suddenly and without explanation, he discovered a solitary elk steak on the hallway floor. Then another here. Another couple there. It was 6 or 8 elk steaks all told, and Lee still can't figure out who, or what, is responsible for moving them.
