Category: News

Message from Bonny Ogle

Effective August 31st, after five years of working with some of the greatest neighbors a person could want, I’m retiring from the North Fork Landowners’ Association as Treasurer.

I had done this before back in the 1980’s but things have changed a great deal since then.  It was a learning experience then but there were no phones or radio phones, internet or spreadsheets!  This time it has been an even greater learning experience and there have been many teachers and helpers along the way.  Too many to even begin to mention here.

Thanks to all who helped me or even just provided moral support with a smile or a hug when you came into the hall.  Hopefully I’ll still get to see you in the neighborhood.

Please use my new email if you need to contact me about anything or just to chat at bmsogle@lazys-o.com .  All of you North Forkers who need to reach the new Treasurer, Heather Sullivan, please email her at nflatreasurer@gmail.com.   She’s a great gal and I know she’ll do a good job for you all.

Our heartfelt thanks to Bonny for taking such good care of the NFLA finances for all these years. Bonny… you are a wonder.

2016 Board of Directors Elections

Jan washing windows
New South Director Jan Caldwell cleaning windows at Sondreson Hall last spring

At the NFLA Business Meeting last Saturday evening, new members were elected to the Board of Directors. Randy Kenyon replaced Karen McDonough as President while Karen will be moving into the Past President position replacing outgoing Past President Debo Powers. Allen Chrisman is moving from his 2015 position as North Director to the Vice President slot, replacing outgoing Vice President Donna Harrison. Don Sullivan will be serving as the new North Director for two years and Paul Marotz will continue serving as the other North Director for one more year. Jan Caldwell was elected as the new South Director replacing outgoing South Director Carol Groebe. Jan will be serving for two years while Alan McNeil serves one more term as the other South Director. It was also announced at the meeting that long time Treasurer Bonny Ogle will be transitioning out of that position for the next year helping Heather Sullivan step in.

All of the community appreciates the time and hard work of all the outgoing officers. Thank you Karen, Debo, Donna, and Carol for taking such good care of the NFLA. And we are also grateful to Bonny for all of her hard work over the years and her willingness to work with Heather during the transition. Finally, we appreciate the new members of the Board volunteering their time to take up these positions.

Grizzly bear population monitoring on the North Fork

Grizzly from Pat ColeHere’s a message from Rick Mace, Research Biologist of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks… The grizzly bear population monitoring team would like to capture and radio collar a couple grizzly bears in the NF Flathead River starting in the next few days. We would be working both on FS and private lands.  All of the Forest Service sites would be off of the existing open road system as we have done in the past. All sites will have approved signs and we will obviously avoid any active timber sales and trail heads.  Most of our sites have been used now for many years without incident.  We anticipate capture sites in Trail, Red Meadow,  and Moose Creeks. Also we may work off the main north fork road near Mud (Garnet) lake going towards the border.  We would like run the capture program for a maximum of about 10 days depending on success, starting later this week. Approximately one month ago, we placed a press release in the local newspapers informing the public of our intent to capture bears on public lands.

North Fork Neighbor Beth Weber Passed

Beth WeberOur good neighbor Bethany Ann Warner Weber died from ovarian cancer on May 2, 2015. She is survived by her husband Steve Weber. Her obituary in the Daily Inter Lake says… Beth enjoyed her time with family and friends at the North Fork cabin and various North Fork community activities which included creative roles in the Polebridge Fourth of July parade, her many years hiking in Glacier National Park with her hiking groups, The Great Gripe Getaway and The Trampers, her rotating supper club, the Basic Food Group, her Riverview Greens book club, all things Notre Dame, and she was a proud member of PEO, Chapter BM. Summer trips with her nine grandchildren were planned carefully and were a great source of pleasure. Beth’s full obituary may be found here.

Beth is going to be missed by everyone on the North Fork. And we apologize to Steve for not having said something sooner. We failed to see her obituary in the paper until today. We’ll try to be more vigilant in the future.

Tom Edwards, Long Time North Forker, Passed

Tom EdwardsTom Edwards,  “North Forker” and long time resident of the Flathead valley passed away on May 15, 2015  at Whitefish North Valley Hospital, after a battle with lung cancer.   Tom was born in 1944, in Seattle, the first of three sons born to Burt and Thelma Edwards. He spent the summers of his youth at the Logging Cr. Ranger Station where his father worked as a Park Ranger.  These early interactions on the North Fork fueled his life long love for the local area.

Tom’s gregarious nature  made him a natural salesman. These skills served him well in his career as he moved from grocery store clerk to manager, and eventually into sales with Western Building Center, where he worked until his retirement in 2011.

Tom loved good food, and socializing,  and enjoyed visiting and playing cards with friends.  He took pride in his community.  He was active with the Columbia Falls City Council and served on the Board for Whitefish North Valley Hospital as well as  being actively engaged in the North Fork Landowner Association and History Project.

Twice married, Tom is survived by his wife Carmen Edwards as well as many loved ones, cherished friends and family members. Tom wished for a simple remembrance with no funeral services.  Memorial gifts in Tom’s name can be made to the North Fork Landowner Association for continued maintenance of Sondreson’s Hall and other community events: P.O. Box 1603 Columbia Falls, MT 59912.

2015 NFLA Spring Newsletter is Here

The 2015 NFLA Spring Newsletter is completed and on its way. Folks who have paid their 2015 dues will receive their newsletter in the mail soon. Everyone is invited to check out this year’s newsletter as well as newsletters from years past on the NFLA Newsletter page.

This year’s newsletter includes a letter from NFLA President Karen McDonough, information about square dancing on the North Fork from Debo Powers, the 2015 Firewise Day and hazardous fuels grant from Molly Shepherd, and much more.

The mailed newsletter also includes a 2015 calendar. Calendar events can also be viewed on the Calendar page. This page will be updated throughout the year as new events are added or dates/times of current events change.

Don’t have internet to check for changes? Don’t worry, you can check the local NFLA Bulletin Boards. All new information and/or changes to the calendar will be posted. One of the boards is located between the Merc and the Northern Lights Saloon and the other is at the entrance to Home Ranch Bottoms Store. They will be kept updated. Don’t miss out, keep informed!

We want to say a special thanks to Allen Chrisman, Bonny Ogle, Carol Dolan-Groebe and all of the other NFLA members who worked so hard to get this newsletter written and distributed. We’re all in your debt.

It’s going to be a great summer!

North Fork Winter Interlocal Agreement 2015 Meeting Minutes

Michael Dardis from the Flathead National Forest and Tim Thier from FWPThe winter North Fork Interlocal Agreement meeting took place last Wednesday, February 11th, at the Community Building in West Glacier. As in the past, this meeting was well attended by North Forkers and agency representatives alike. Allen Chrisman was kind enough to take extensive notes and turn them into minutes for the meeting. These include answers to specific questions submitted by North Forkers prior to the meeting. These are attached here as a pdf. The next Interlocal Agreement meeting will take place this coming summer. Keep an eye on the NFLA calendar for the date and details.

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.