Remember When?

60 YEARS AGO • SEPTEMBER 24, 1964

EARLY HISTORY OF THOMPSON FALLS LIONS CLUB

The Thompson Falls Lions Club was formed in the fall of 1943 and the club received its charter from Lions International November 24 of that year. The club began with 20 charter members and was sponsored by the Hot Springs club.

The following fall, 1944, the club’s first shoot was held west of town near Birdland Park, where the Thompson Falls State Park now is. Only hunting rifles were used in competition and shooters laid on the ground. Live turkeys were given as prizes. A small bingo party was held in the old Birdland dance hall, which was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Con Bentley. Mrs. Bentley served coffee and lunch throughout the day, Sutherland recalls.

The net returns from the first shoot totaled $40.

“It rained and snowed all day,” recalls Melt. “The entire Bentley family deserves a lot of credit for that first shoot.

“One of the best rifle shots around was Orie Heater and he took his share of birds.”

In the years that followed, club members were like a band of gypsies, holding their annual event whenever they could obtain ground.

“The Forest Service and Irwin Puphal, district ranger now, were very cooperative in the early years” says Sutherland. “They loaned us tent camping kits, water cans and other equipment. Puphal was most helpful.

“We were never permanently located until we obtained the land from the Anaconda Copper Company where the Lions Den and grounds now are located. This tract of about 23 acres was deeded to the club by the Anaconda Company at no cost about 12 years ago (1952). It is now the Thompson Falls Trap Club shooting range and is maintained by the club of that name.

“Each year improvements have been added to make our shoot a little bit better. Lions have worked hard each year to increase the net return from $40 in 1944 to $1,000 or more in the last few years. The local citizens and others have cooperated wonderfully for they realize that most of the net proceeds are spent by the club for sight conservation, for needy children, Boy Scouts, lighting Main Street at Christmas time, the summer baseball program and honoring our high school scholars, athletes and contributing to Boys State delegates. The club has never failed to participate in or aid a worthwhile community project,” Sutherland proudly states.

The local club now boasts 46 members - and not the least of whom is M.C. Sutherland, charter member, Old Monarch, former zone chairman and “Mr. Turkey Shoot.”

OCTOBER 15, 1994

64 BIG GAME HUNTING OPENS HERE SUNDAY

A small army of riflemen will head for the woods and hills as the big game hunting season opens Sunday in Sanders County with deer and elk of either sex, black bear and grizzly bear as legal targets. The season will close in the county Sunday, November 22.

Again this year Sanders County will be a one deer area, the result of pressure by local sportsmen and the Thompson Falls Rod and Gun Club against continuation of the two-deer season. The deer population is reported by loggers and ranchers as down.

As usual, an influx of hunters from outside Sanders County is expected to begin arriving Friday and Saturday as they set up camps in anticipation of the season opening.

A checking station again will be operated by the Montana Fish and Game Department at Thompson Falls. It is located on Highway 10A (now Highway 200) at the west edge of town. All hunters are asked to report to the station each trip they make irregardless of whether or not they obtain game.

SILVER DOLLARS DUE IN JANUARY

WASHINGTON - Sometime within the next four months, the U.S. Mint will start stamping out 45 million brand new silver dollars, the first to be produced since 1935. They will be issued with unusual precautions to insure that they get into general circulation in the far West.

The mint doesn’t want the “cartwheels” to go the way of many coins these days - into the vaults of speculators trying to make a fast buck.

Note: As the San Francisco and Denver mints were pumping out the silver dollars, the price of silver rose to $1.29 an ounce. So the government was losing almost 16 cents in material, silver dollars were 90% silver. Congress stepped in and ordered production of the 1964 silver dollar to be halted before any of the coins could be distributed. They directed the mint to melt down all their silver dollar production and to begin making the copper-nickel clad coins we have today. A few escaped and are now in museums.