Montana Trivia & Tidbits
Looking for Montana trivia? Try our list Montana little know facts, tidbits and trivia.
—Eric Bergoust, known as the most successful aerial skier in U.S. history, was inducted into the U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame last year. Bergoust, of Missoula (pop. 57,053), is a four-time Olympian and retired from the sport in 2006.
first appeared: 5/4/2008
The town of Two Dot, built in 1900, gets its name from a local cattleman, “Two Dot” Wilson, who earned his nickname from his unusual cattle brand: a large dot on the shoulder and another on the thigh. The brand was a way to deter cattle thieves.
first appeared: 5/4/2008
—Granrud’s Lefse Shack in Opheim (pop. 111) has been rolling out lefse, a Norwegian flatbread, since 1977. Lefse, made with potatoes and flour, is sold nationwide and featured at Norsk Hostfest, a Scandinavian festival, in Minot, N.D.
first appeared: 3/9/2008
—Researchers at Montana State University in Bozeman (pop. 27,509) have found a new bacteria species in Octopus and Mushroom springs, and in Green Finger Pool of Yellowstone National Park. The bacterium, candidatus chloracidobacterium thermophilium, uses photosynthesis to produce energy from sunlight and could help researchers increase the production of biofuels such as ethanol.
first appeared: 2/24/2008
—Steve Running, an ecology and forestry professor at the University of Montana in Missoula (pop. 57,053), was the lead author of the North American chapter in a climate change report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The panel of scientists worldwide shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore.
first appeared: 2/10/2008
––A lifelong pacifist, Jeannette Rankin, who in 1916 became the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress, cast the sole congressional vote, 388 to 1, against the U.S. declaration of war on Japan in 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She was born near Missoula in 1880.
first appeared: 1/27/2008
—Born in 1902 in Red Lodge (pop. 2,177), Alice Greenough is known as the first rodeo queen. She lassoed three national rodeo titles in the 1930s and 1940s, was the first inductee into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Texas in 1975, and was inducted in 1983 into the Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. She died in 1995 at age 93.
first appeared: 1/13/2008
Carmen Espinoza, a sixth-grade teacher at Arlee (pop. 602) Elementary School, won the 2007 American Star of Teaching Award for Montana. The award is granted as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act and one teacher from each state is selected each year.
first appeared: 1/13/2008
—Truman Everts’ harrowing 1870 account of being lost for 37 days in what became Yellowstone National Park gained national notoriety and even led to a job offer: first superintendent of the new park in 1872, an offer he declined. Nearsighted and “without experience in the wild,” Everts became separated from the Washburn Expedition while exploring the region, lost his glasses and his horse, but survived by eating roots of thistles, which today are called Everts thistle.
first appeared: 12/30/2007
—At the Axmen store and the Montana Museum of Work History near Missoula (pop. 57,053), museum displays intermingle with woodstoves, farm tools and other merchandise for sale. The Hanson brothers, Guy and Grant, opened the eclectic hardware store in the early 1970s and, through swapping and collecting, added such museum items as vintage motorcycles and firearms.
The state’s poet laureate is Greg Pape, a University of Montana creative writing professor from Stevensville (pop. 1,553). Pape is the second poet named to the position since it was created in 2005.
first appeared: 12/2/2007
—A 7-foot-6-inch grizzly bear weighing 750 pounds was captured and collared in May near Choteau (pop. 1,781) by a bear management specialist with the state Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. The bear, weighed with the help of a crane, is the second-largest male grizzly on record in the northern Rockies. The largest male grizzly ever recorded in that area—8-feet, 800-plus pounds—was trapped near Choteau in 2003.
first appeared: 11/18/2007
—The historic yellow buses that were primarily used from the 1930s to the 1950s in national parks returned with fanfare to Yellowstone National Park this year. Eight of the touring buses were bought and refurbished for $1.9 million and are available for park tours. The park gateway communities of Livingston (pop. 6,851), Gardiner (pop. 851) and Cody, Wyo. (pop. 8,835), welcomed their return with celebrations in June.
first appeared: 11/4/2007
—Elbow Lake in Missoula County was renamed Lindbergh Lake after aviation hero Charles Lindbergh spent several days camping, fishing and canoeing on the remote natural lake in 1927.
first appeared: 10/21/2007
—Travelers’ Rest State Park in Lolo (pop. 3,388) marks the location of a centuries-old American Indian campsite used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805 and 1806. Archaeologists found evidence of the Corps of Discovery’s latrine, making the area one of the few sites in the nation with physical evidence of the group’s visit. Significant amounts of mercury—used as medical treatment by the expedition—were found in the soil. Years ago, the National Park Service incorrectly located the campsite at the confluence of Lolo Creek and the Bitterroot River, about a mile and a half away.
first appeared: 10/7/2007
—Capitol Rock near Ekalaka (pop. 410) is a massive white limestone formation said to resemble the U.S. Capitol. The natural landmark inspired the name for the nearby town of Capitol.
first appeared: 9/30/2007
—Montana is the first state to adopt an official lullaby. Chinook (pop. 1,386) rancher and singer-songwriter Ken Overcast performed the song, Montana Lullaby, on the floor of the Montana Senate in April, after which the governor signed the lullaby bill into law.
Montana Lullaby was co-written by Wylie Gustafson, a native of Conrad (pop. 2,753) and the familiar yodeler on the Yahoo! TV commercial.
first appeared: 9/9/2007
—Tumbleweeds rolled into a small neighborhood near Bozeman (pop. 27,509) in March, burying cars and sheds and blocking streets and driveways. Residents of Shooting Star Lane were forced to use snowplows and pitchforks to clear the windblown weeds, also known as Russian thistle, which dry out and snap off their stems, then roll at the whim of the wind.
first appeared: 8/26/2007
Built in 1920, the Tenth Street Bridge in Great Falls (pop. 56,690) is the longest and oldest open-spandrel, ribbed-arch, concrete bridge in Montana. The bridge is 1,130 feet long and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1996.
first appeared: 8/26/2007
—Tyler Hoyt, a University of Montana psychology major and Blackfeet tribal member, was named this year’s Montana Indian College Student of the Year for his high grades, volunteerism and involvement in campus activities. The Montana Indian Education Association presented the Browning (pop. 1,065) native with the award in April.
first appeared: 8/12/2007
—William Kittredge of Missoula (pop. 57,053) has been awarded the 2006 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes’ Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement. The award honors living authors with a connection to the American West. Kittredge, who taught creative writing at the University of Montana for 29 years, is known for his essays and short stories, as well as a memoir, Hole in the Sky. He also was a co-producer of the movie A River Runs Through It. His most recent work is a novel, The Willow Field.
first appeared: 7/29/2007
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