NFLA Admin – Page 15

Ed “Mac” McNeil Passed

Last Sunday, February 8th, long time North Forker Ed “Mac” McNeil passed away. Mac and his wife Cecily bought land near Dutch Creek in Glacier National Park in the early 60s. They later bought 103 acres and built a cabin on the other side of the river near Moose Creek and lived there during the summers.

Mac and Cecily were early members of the North Fork Improvement Association which turned into the North Fork Landowners Association of today. They also worked to get a zoning petition and helped to found the North Fork Compact in 1973 in an effort to save the North Fork from development.

North Forkers have fond memories of events and square dances with Mac McNeil, Cecily, and their two sons Alan and Bruce. Mac will be missed.

If you are interested in hearing more about the North Fork from Mac and Cecily, there are audio interviews with them both on the North Fork History Project web page. You can get to that by clicking here.

There is also an excellent obituary provided by the Daily Inter Lake.

Reminders

The new year has begun and the NFLA is getting organized for the summer. Here are a couple of reminders.

Don’t forget to pay your dues by March 1 so that you get your copy of the NFLA 2015 Newsletter this spring. For more information, check out this announcement.
Now is the time to get your event scheduled on the NFLA 2015 Calendar. Contact Carol Dolan-Groebe at caroldg1@gmail.com if you have an NFLA-related event that you would like everyone to know about for this year.
And check out the NFLA calendar as the year goes along to see all the events scheduled.

University of Montana returns to the North Fork

The University of Montana returns to the North Fork from Sunday January 18 until Friday January 23. And the usual Monday night program by Rick and Susie Graetz – Monday January 19 at 6:30 PM in the Community Center – will be presented. This event this year features a new version of “This Is Montana.”

THIS IS MONTANA

It’s been called an Uncommon Land, High Wide and Handsome, the Treasure State. The Land of the Shining Mountains and Big Sky Country…whatever the label, this Montana is a grand mix of geography and history – time and space go well together in this corner of America. Continue reading University of Montana returns to the North Fork

Fall 2014 Enrollment Letter

It’s that time of year again, time for the Fall Enrollment Letter where North Fork landowners are encouraged to get involved with the NFLA. The enrollment has been mailed out, but in case yours goes astray, here it is in an electronic version: 2014 Enrollment Letter.

Generating and mailing the Fall Enrollment Letter and Spring Newsletter takes a lot of work and time on the part of some dedicated NFLA members. We want to thank Bonny Ogle, Lois Walker, Heather Sullivan, Allen Chrisman and everyone else involved for volunteering to do this work that will give all North Fork landowners an opportunity to hear about the NFLA and hopefully join in.

You can read a copy of this letter and get all of the past NFLA newsletters from the Newsletters page.

Sondreson Hall Back Porch Lights

The following report on the maintenance and Sondreson Hall and photo was sent in by Bill Walker…

Thursday, Paul Marotz and I installed lights on the recently upgraded Sondreson Hall back porch. I noticed that someone put the finishing touches to the ramp, too.

Thanks, Paul, and everyone else who has worked so hard on Sondreson Hall this summer/fall. And thanks Bill for sending in the report.was sent in by Bill Walker…

Food Drive at the Final Meeting of the Year

It’s that time of year again. All members of the NFLA are encouraged to bring or send non-perishable food items to the October meeting on the 4th. Acceptable donations include non-perishable commercially canned goods, dried foods such as rice, pasta, beans and any packaged food items not requiring refrigeration. Of particular interest is baby food. Another popular item is pancake syrup.

Items that are not acceptable include those that have been opened, are not in their original container, or are damaged in any way. Unfortunately, home canned goods are also considered unacceptable. However, items whose expiration date has passed are acceptable as long as they are not more than two years out of date.

Tax deductible contributions in the form of a check made payable to the Columbia Falls Food Bank are also welcomed.

This food drive is a way for the NFLA members to get involved in a community service project and provide others with a small share of our good fortune. Please set aside appropriate items while cleaning out and closing your North Fork homes for the season and bring them with you to the October meeting. If you aren’t closing up or don’t have these items on hand, pick them up the next time you’re shopping. And if you are not going to be here for the meeting, don’t forget to drop these items off with a friend who will be attending.

New Sign Up Form for NF Patrol

The North Fork Patrol, with the written permission of a landowner, checks a property for evidence of trespass, poaching and external physical damage. Get more information about the North Fork Patrol and download a copy of the new sign up form.

Improvements to Sondreson Hall

The NFLA maintenance committee had a long list of tasks that they wanted to finish this summer and fall including the kitchen floor, a new back porch with a ramp, replacing the batten on the back of the building, and hooking the wood stove back up inside. Much of that work was finished during a flurry of activity this past week. Here’s a report from Becky Braunig on the work that took place on Saturday…

There was a good work crew on hand Saturday including Paul Marotz, Randy Kenyon, Donna Harrison, Bill Walker, Gary McDonough, Lynn Ogle, and Lynn’s sister and brother-in-law John and Nancy North. Karen McDonough had planned to attend, but was unable to so sent lunch with Gary. We got the roof on the back porch finished and one section of batten done. Around 4PM everyone was tired and ready to go home. Then someone said let’s put the stove back where it belongs on the tile and after that decided to go ahead and hook it back up. That was quite an adventure because the stovepipe did not want to go back in place and they had to take one section of it off and crimp it. They got it done tho and I was happy to see smoke coming out of the chimney yesterday morning when I went down to church.

Karen and Gary are dog sitting the Hoilands’ lab Knute while they are in Ireland. He provided entertainment all day for all of us, bringing sticks and dropping them on our feet to throw. By the end of the day Knute looked like all he could manage was a piece of grass. I imagined Knute slept well last night and Karen confirmed that he did.

Here are some photos from Becky and one from Donna Harrison:

We want to thank everyone who has been participating in all of the work at Sondreson Hall this summer and fall. Everything looks great and it wouldn’t have happened without you.

Annual Membership Dues have Increased

The NFLA Board of Directors voted to increase the annual dues for active members from $10 a person to $15. Dues for associate members (no voting privileges) were also increased from $5 a year to $10. For more information about joining the NFLA and paying dues, including an updated form to fill out, see our Contact Page.