Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 2316
PEYTON ELLUL, Thompson Falls - “I really enjoy the rodeo and getting to see the horses because I just love horses.” KYLIEGH RUEN, Thompson Falls - “I like to see all of my friends' 4-H animals that they worked so hard on. I especially like the baby cows, chicks and rabbits.” KENSIE RUEN, Thompson Falls - “I am really excited about the rides, especially the Gravitron but I also like animals. ” RHETT RUEN, Thompson Falls - “I mostly like the animals but I really wish that they had tigers like they do at the circus.” COLTON ELLUL, Thompson Falls...
The Trout Creek school has recently implemented a plethora of improvements and the school is starting to grow. "The school seems to be on the upswing," commented Preston Wenz, the school's superintendent. "Last year for the first time in a very long time staff at the school completely renovated the entire kitchen, implemented on-campus hunters education classes, an archery program, and a school garden. The gardening program has been building momentum with students and is already starting to expa...
This summer, Montana State University Sanders County Extension Office in Thompson Falls has been working to connect people with local agriculture and horticulture in a series of farm and ranch tours. One of the last stops of the season was a trip to Eller's Blueberry Farm in Trout Creek. A handful of residents from around the county had the chance to meet owners Yvonne Eller and James Hunt. The first blueberry patch at the farm was planted 40 years ago and has since grown into two separate...
Each year, more and more people flock to the small town of Trout Creek to celebrate the purple goodness that grows on local mountainsides. The 42nd Annual Huckleberry Festival was held last weekend, packing the Trout Creek Park with thousands of residents and visitors. Saturday started with the huckleberry pancake breakfast put on by the volunteer fire department, followed by the parade down Highway 200. Spectators said the parade was one of the biggest and best yet for the festival. After the...
7 YEARS AGO • AUGUST 13, 1952 NEW ROAD BEING BUILT A railroad grade and trucking road, planned for future use by ACM Co. operations up Thompson River, is in its initial stages of construction. About three miles of clearing has already been done on the east side of the river where the road is going in. Construction man, Bud King of Missoula and a crew of men are moving in heavy road equipment and in a few weeks now it is possible that 30 or 40 men will be employed on the project. Many of these men will find accommodations at Snider near the p...
JADE STEVENS, Thompson Falls - “The overwhelming sense of community and the positive attitudes all the way around.” COLLIN KOFFLER, Thompson Falls - “The variety of booths and the different vendors from all around the country.” ABIGAIL JONES, Thompson Falls - “All of the dogs, I like how so many people brought their dogs with them this year.” KAMBER TORTI, Thompson Falls - “All of the food and all of the dogs!” JENNIFER GRISSOM, Orange, California - “So far I would have to say the ice cream as well as the community and the inviting environm...
For decades, crowds have been lining up the second weekend in August for a taste of huckleberry heaven. The Trout Creek Rural Fire District pancake breakfast has had the same menu for more than 40 years: huckleberry pancakes, sliced ham and scrambled eggs. The volunteer firemen and women have it down to a science, and not much has changed through the years. Fire chief Dave Anderson said he has been with the department for 26 years. This year they had 25 helpers cooking, serving and cleaning...
A yearly highlight of the Huckleberry Festival is the pie eating contest. Twenty-five contestants competed in four age groups. The youngest age group, which included contestants ages 7 and under, were each given a quarter of a pie to try and finish. Aria Komarec, age 5, and Luca Komarec, age 5, both of Otsego, Minnesota, tied for first place. The second round, ages 8to 12, had six contestants. Emcee Ray Brown asked contestant Christian Peterson, age 10 of Missoula, if he was hungry prior to the contest starting. A solid “no” was given as his...
Archery demonstrations put on by Trout Creek School community archery team were a new addition to this year's Huckleberry Festival. Jerry and Becky Doyle, who help coach the archery team, were at the festival to help over the weekend with the students' demonstrations. Lucas Summers, Riley Reum, ShayLyn Stein, Cameron Eaton and Eithan Chambers were some of the students at the festival putting on demonstrations as they shot at targets, balloons and plastic archery animals. "We have 20-plus years...
Megan and Andy Hardenbrook of Thompson Falls announce the birth of their daughter, Charlette Ray Hardenbrook. Charlette was birth at 8:23 a.m. on Tuesday, August 2, at Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains. She weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces. She joins a sister, Alexandria. Maternal grandparents are Dan and Sheri Volk of La Grande, Oregon. Maternal great-grandparent is Dave Round of Dayville, Oregon. Paternal grandparents are Nona and Wayne Cunningham of Rufe, Oklahoma. Paternal great-grandparents...
It really is a small world. Two Sanders County men have crossed paths once again after attending boot camp together nearly four decades ago. Ed Moreth is a reporter for The Sanders County Ledger. You've probably seen him at various events. He primarily covers the Plains area, but ventures all over the county for stories. Moreth is a curious guy, and will ask any person any question. Earlier this summer, Moreth covered a ham radio field day event at Power Park in Thompson Falls. He spent the...
Sam and Teri Burt moved to Trout Creek in 1993 with their four children. Almost immediately, the couple began volunteering for various organizations. This year, the Burts are being recognized for their commitment to the Trout Creek community and surrounding areas. They will lead the parade at the Huckleberry Festival as grand marshals. The couple has been involved with the festival for decades in the various organizations for which they have volunteered, and they appreciate what the festival...
The Page Bison Ranch has hit two milestones this year. It's the ranch's 25th anniversary and it's the first time it's had more than 200 head of bison. It's sometimes a tough job - mending fences is a continuous task - but Lenny Page has no plans to quit what his father, Douglas Page, started in 1997. Lenny took over the 650-acre ranch some six miles north of Hot Springs eight years ago and he still loves doing it. "Sometimes I ask myself why I do this because it's such a headache, but they are...
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) successfully hosted its 7th annual ice cream social at the Sanders County Fairgrounds Thursday evening. CASA of Lake and Sanders counties is part of a state and nationwide program consisting of volunteers who advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children while ensuring they are protected and served fairly in the court system. Close to 70 people attended the event which included free ice cream, a silent auction and musical entertainment from Tanner...
4 YEARS AGO • AUGUST 5, 1982 LONG-TIME OFFICIAL ORIN KENDALL PASSES Orin P. Kendall, 78, who had served Sanders County 50 years as an educator and elected official, died Sunday. He was born April 30, 1904, in Williams, Iowa, the son of Oliver and Nellie Kendall. In 1923 he attended the Cheney Normal School in Washington prior to moving in Montana in 1926. He taught school at Belknap where he met his wife, Ivy, the primary teacher in the two-room school. December 28, 1927, he married Ivy Reeder at Missoula. He continued to teach at Belknap u...
ALEX OLESEN, Thompson Falls - “Yes because the lights may help people to keep from missing our stop signs due to the trees blocking them from view in some areas.” SARAH STOVER, Thompson Falls - “Five years ago I would have said no but with the increase in traffic due to out of state travelers, stop lights are becoming a necessity. ” DAKOTA BROWNING-PAUL, Thompson Falls - “I prefer that we have stop lights because we are a small-town community and stop lights help to keep our roads safe.” WINSTON PAUL, Thompson Falls - “No!” ENOLA FLOCK, Th...
Monica Huggett discovered northwest Montana while cycling to Spokane in 2003. She met Jean Morrison in her travels, and the two brainstormed the Montana Baroque Music Festival, a tradition spanning almost two decades in Paradise. Huggett was one of eight performers at the festival this year, held at Quinn's Hot Springs Resort. It was special for Huggett as she has decided to retire, and Thursday night's performance was her last. This year, in the resorts' events center along the Clark Fork...
Marvin and Doris Eichert celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with family and friends on Thursday, August 4, 2022, at their home in Twin Falls, Idaho. They were joined by loved ones near and far. All five children were home to share this special day, incluidng JoLynn (Allen) Gilmore of Jerome, Idaho; Shonna (Chuck) Jeldness of Douglas, Wyoming; Phil (Lorie) Eichert of Box Elder, South Dakota; Eric (Dawn) Eichert of Montrose, Colorado; and Amber (Seth) Gibson of Three Forks. Doris's...
More than a dozen artists from Sanders and Mineral counties gathered in Paradise for three days last week to show their work and hopefully make some sales. The return of the Artists in Paradise show was a success, said Plains resident Ilene Paulsen, who coordinated the show at the Paradise Center auditorium Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Paulsen was one of eight individual artists to have a booth at the event, showing acrylic and watercolor paintings, including a 2x4-foot painting of mules...
Each August, Sanders County kids get the chance to have music lessons from nationally known musicians. Saturday morning at the Big Sky Blues Festival in Noxon, the sounds of half a dozen harmonicas echoed through Pilgrim Creek Park as youngsters learned technique from blues musician David Raitt. You might recognize the Raitt name. His sister is Bonnie, the Grammy-winning blues musician. David shared his passion for music with four Noxon girls at the harmonica workshop Saturday morning, along...
The Whitepine Grange recently held an event to bring together county residents and local volunteer medical professionals in order to get the community on the same page when it comes to emergency medical services and scenarios. "I used to be on the ambulance crew a long time ago and I do miss it at times," said Patricia English. "Brad Stewart is here to introduce himself and our emergency service volunteers to Sanders County residents and to help them to better understand what it is they do for...
Top Dawg Arenacross came back to the Sanders County Fairgrounds and with it came high flying, mud flinging, mullet sporting action. The event featured 14 different classes ranging from 4-6-year-olds all the way up to seniors 50 years and older. Taking place over the course of two days it seems there was a class for just about everyone this year which made for some much anticipated entertainment. "I waited until the second day to come out and watch the riders send it,'' said Kaiden Robins of Thom...
The Huckleberry Festival will return to Trout Creek this year with a few new additions to the fun-filled weekend August 13 and 14. The festival kicks off with the huckleberry pancake breakfast at the Trout Creek Rural Fire Department 7-11 a.m. Saturday. “We are only hosting the pancake breakfast one day this year,” said festival committee member Marilyn Saunders. “We would need more volunteers to make it happen both days.” New additions to this year’s festival include an archery and fly fishi...
The annual Wild Coyote Days celebration was held last weekend. One of the more popular events is the lawnmower races. Coyote staff said despite the 100-plus degree temperatures, the races drew a record number of people. Shawn Franck of Thompson Falls, who owns Francks' Auto with his son Corey, won the event. Along with the races, the event featured live music and assorted vendors. Here's a look at the lawnmower races, by the numbers. 10 lawnmowers entered the race on Saturday. 7 were running at...
6 YEARS AGO • AUGUST 2, 1917 BIG HAUL OF CHAR Fishing For Market, Spokane Man and Sons Seine 300 Pounds of Big Trout A Spokane man and his sons are seining for char at the mouth of Prospect Creek. A sein seventy-five feet long and eight feet deep is used in the process. Tuesday they succeeded in drawing in nearly 300 pounds of the big trout. These are to be marketed in Butte and the fishers receive 15 cents a pound for them so that their day’s work carried with it a good reward. At present the fish are contained in a tank at the mouth of the...
