Montana Trivia & Tidbits - Page 8

Looking for Montana trivia? Try our list Montana little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Born in Cardwell (pop. 40), television newscaster Chet Huntley (1911-1974) joined the NBC network in 1955. He was paired with David Brinkley for the Huntley-Brinkley Report, which aired from 1956 until Huntley’s retirement in 1970. The trusted newscasters were known for their signature sign-off: "Good night, Chet." "Good night, David. And good night from NBC News."

first appeared: 7/31/2005

In the 2003 movie Northfork, location plays a major role. Using the 250-foot-tall Fort Peck Dam near Glasgow (pop. 3,253) and the scenery of the Missouri River country as key backdrops, the film portrays the residents of a 1950s town who are forced to evacuate their homes slated to be flooded during a dam construction project.

first appeared: 7/17/2005

Fort Peck Dam was named for old Fort Peck, a trading post belonging to the firm of Durfee and Peck that was located on the Missouri River’s west bank about a mile from the present-day dam. Built in 1867, the stockade was abandoned in 1879, largely because the ground on which it sat was eroding as the river changed course. All traces of the old fort finally washed away in 1918.

first appeared: 7/17/2005

One of the state’s oldest structures is a hand-hewn log building that was part of Fort Connah, a Hudson’s Bay Co. fur trading post begun in 1846, near Ronan (pop. 1,812).

first appeared: 6/19/2005

In the late 1890s, the gold mining town of Garnet, near Drummond (pop. 318), was home to about 1,000 people; by 1905, however, as ore reserves dwindled, the town had only 150 people, and in 1947 its last merchant died. The town lives on today, with more than 30 of its buildings preserved as part of Garnet Ghost Town.

first appeared: 6/19/2005

Called the best Western short story writer of the 20th century by Western Writers of America, Dorothy Johnson (1905-1984) first moved to Whitefish (pop. 5,032) in 1913. Three of her stories—The Hanging Tree, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and A Man Called Horse—were made into movies.

first appeared: 6/5/2005

Officially incorporated on April 14, 1905, Whitefish is celebrating its centennial this year. Explorers, fur trappers and loggers were in the area in the 1800s, but the town wasn’t founded until the early 1900s, when the Great Northern Railway announced that Whitefish would become a new division point. Originally the town was known as Stumptown because of the large number of stumps left behind after trees were cleared for the town site.

first appeared: 6/5/2005

One of the oldest dog sled races in the lower 48 states, the American Dog Derby, was founded in 1917, with the start line at West Yellowstone (pop. 1,177) and the finish line at Ashton, Idaho (pop. 1,129). Blizzard conditions in the race’s first year were so severe that the usual six-hour journey between the two towns actually took 29 hours. The February 2005 race, however, was cancelled due to lack of snow.

first appeared: 5/22/2005

Founded in 1908, West Yellowstone was part of the national forest for the first 12 years of its existence—residents held lots through U.S. Forest Service leases, and the District Forester set rules on land use. By 1913, the area included 13 leaseholders and about 50 buildings, and in 1920 President Wilson declared West Yellowstone a self-governing town.

first appeared: 5/22/2005

In 1961, Larry Questad of Livingston (pop. 6,851) ran the 220-yard dash at the Interscholastic Meet in Missoula (pop. 57,053) in just 21 seconds. After graduating from California’s Stanford University in 1966, he placed sixth in the 200-meter race at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, running it in 20.62 seconds. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named him one of Montana’s 50 greatest athletes of the 20th century.

first appeared: 5/8/2005

Scientists confirmed last year that the piece of bone William Donawick spotted in 1998 while horseback riding in southern Montana, near the Wyoming border, was a new dinosaur species—a 150-million-year-old long-necked plant eater now known as Suuwassea emilieae. The first word means "ancient thunder" in the Crow Indian language; the second is for Emilie deHellebrath, who funded the excavation.

first appeared: 4/24/2005

A 269-acre island in the Yellowstone River a mile north of Miles City (pop. 8,487), Pirogue Island State Park offers visitors excellent wildlife-viewing sites.

first appeared: 4/24/2005

The Mars Society, founded in 1998 at a convention held at the University of Colorado in Boulder, is working toward exploring and settling the red planet. With scientists, engineers and other experts as members, the society is based in Indian Hills (pop. 1,197) but has chapters nationwide and research stations in Utah and the Canadian Arctic.—In 1991, Lones Wigger Jr., of the Great Falls (pop. 56,690) area, became one of the first four shooters inducted into the USA Shooting Hall of Fame. Wigger won a gold and silver medal for shooting at the 1964 Olympics and another gold at the 1972 Olympics. During his shooting career, he achieved 29 world records.

first appeared: 4/10/2005

For 50 years, Bombadier snowcoaches have carried tourists into the wilds of Yellowstone National Park. Resembling both a Volkswagen Beetle and a school bus, with skis on the front and tank-like tracks on the rear, the vehicles are less intrusive on wildlife and visitor enjoyment than snowmobiles, according to park officials. During the winter, much of the park is inaccessible except by snowmobile or snowcoach.

first appeared: 3/27/2005

Duckboy Cards in Hamilton (pop, 3,705) has printed the humorous black-and-white photographs of Paul Stanton since 1987. One features UFOs flying over a pair of Wyomingites who remark, "More Californians, no doubt."

first appeared: 3/27/2005

Despite scientific reports that exposure to radon gas is dangerous, thousands of people visit the five "health" mines around Basin (pop. 255) and Boulder (pop. 1,300) each year, believing that radioactive radon in the air and water helps medical conditions such as arthritis and cataracts.

first appeared: 3/13/2005

Entering his first Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event in 1956, Benny Reynolds earned the All-Around Cowboy World Champion title five years later. Born in Twin Bridges (pop. 400), he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1993 and the National Senior Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1996.

first appeared: 2/27/2005

The state has contributed two bronze statues to the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall collection. The first, of Old West artist Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926), was presented in 1959; the second, of the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (in 1916), Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973), was presented in 1985. Russell lived in Great Falls (pop. 56,690), while Rankin was born near Missoula (pop. 57,053).

first appeared: 2/13/2005

Kalispell Regional Medical Center’s ALERT in Kalispell (pop. 14,223) is one of the nation’s first hospital-based helicopter ambulance services. Covering a mountainous area in northwestern Montana, ALERT, which stands for Advanced Lifesupport Emergency Rescue Team, flew its first patient in September 1975. Last year, a fixed-wing aircraft joined the service.

first appeared: 1/30/2005

NEW MEXICO—In 1996, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos (pop. 11,909) built the world’s cheapest robot—the machine cost just $1.75. Holder of a Guinness World Record, the four-legged, 5-inch-tall, insect-like machine was created out of parts from a Sony Walkman. When its legs were held, the robot was able to escape, despite not being programmed to do so.

first appeared: 1/30/2005

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