Author: Debo Powers

NFLA Holds June Meeting Outdoors

On Saturday night, the North Fork Landowners Association held its first meeting of the season outside due to the refinishing of the Hall floor a few days prior to the meeting. In order to protect the newly re-finished floors, several board members walked across the new floor in their socks and handed out the chairs. Although President Karen McDonough predicted a small turnout, this was not the case and more and more chairs had to be hauled outside as people kept arriving. The meeting proceeded as planned, but it would have been better if a few less mosquitoes had not also attended the meeting.  These photos were provided by Suzanne Daniel.

2014 NFLA Hall Cleanup Day

The Sondreson Community Hall was buzzing with activity on Saturday morning for the annual Hall Cleanup Day.  Members of the North Fork Landowners Association had a fun time together and accomplished a lot in a short period of time.  Vice President Donna Harrison was in charge of the event and started things off with a list of things that needed to be completed.  Margaret Heaphy and Suzanne Daniel cleaned the outhouses while Bill Walker split kindling.  Richard Hildner and Randy Kenyon hauled kindling into the Hall while Jackie Graham dusted the rafters with Karen McDonough holding the ladder.  Alice Caldwell, Becky Braunig, Naomi Hoiland swept and mopped the inside of the Hall while Jan Caldwell cleaned the windows.  Debo Powers cleaned the generator shed while Bonny Ogle went after old wasp nests in all of the outbuildings.  Lynn Ogle helped to move tables.

An executive decision was made by President Karen McDonough to get rid of the old green plastic sofa and enthusiastic workers carried it out to the road hoping that someone will “steal” it.  Lunch followed with chili dogs provided by Donna and side dishes from other participants which included Naomi’s famous sticky buns.  After lunch, all of the furniture was moved into the kitchen to prepare the Hall for floor refinishing which is scheduled for the first few days in June.  The cleanup day was a demonstration of community spirit and cooperation and was greatly enjoyed by all participants.

Tuchuck Trail Report

An MCC (Montana Conservation Corp) Trail Crew will be working on the higher section of Tuchuck on September 9-16.  Even though they have received only 50% of the RAC grant funding for this project due to sequestration, they will try to get as much done as possible in a week.  This is great news because the switchbacks going up to Tuchuck Peak are in terrible condition.

New holdings for the NFLA Library of Nature Books

Debo sent word that there are new nature books available for check out.  These include:

  • Small Mountain Owls by Scott Rashid
  • Lepidoptera of the Pacific Northwest:  Caterpillars and Adults by Jeffrey C. Miller & Paul C. Hammond
  • Butterflies Through British Columbia by John Acorn & Ian Sheldon
  • The Moth Book by W. J. Holland
  • Montana Starwatch by Mike Lynch
  • Stars Over Montana:  The Men who shaped Glacier National Park by Warren L. Hanna

For more information including how to check these and other books out, see the Trails Committee page.

Hike to Cyclone a success

The hike to Cyclone Lookout is one of the most popular trails in the North Fork due to its proximity to Polebridge, short distance (5 miles roundtrip), and spectacular views at the top. Linda Pitman organized a hike to Cyclone on Tuesday. Three of the five North Forkers on the hike were thrilled to have the day off from the Northern Lights Saloon to enjoy the sunshine and mountains. The hike to Cyclone is a good conditioning hike for longer hikes in the Whitefish Range. After parking and walking down the gated road, the trail heads up through lush forest of larch and spruce climbing steadily with many switchbacks before reaching the summit where the lookout stands. There are beautiful views of Bowman Lake and the Glacier Park peaks, the Whitefish Range, Polebridge, and the North Fork valley. Since it is still early in the season, the lookout is not yet staffed. Because there was a breeze, the bugs did not bother us and the five of us had a delightful lunch in the shade of the Lookout punctuated by much laughter and story-telling.

Polebridge school investigated

Alexander James Kroll selected an interesting historical topic for his Bachelor’s of Arts in Anthropology thesis at the University of Montana… the Polebridge schoolhouse. Alex says that this is the very first schoolhouse that was archaeologically investigated in the state of Montana and only the 5th to be looked out in the West. You not only learn about the Polebridge schoolhouse, but also the historical context and all about rural education.

You can download a copy of Alex’s thesis from here, but be warned that it’s 178MB so could take awhile and a lot of FAP.

Don’t forget that you can get access to Alex’s thesis and biographical information as well as other historical interviews and North Fork stories on the North Fork History Project’s web page. Check it out.