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Apgar Mountain

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July 20, 1937: "The Flathead Forest this morning reported a hangover lightning fire occurring about three miles north of Coram about 9 o'clock last evening. It was discovered by Lookout Mortenson, located at the Apgar lookout station in Glacier park and was quickly brought under control by a crew under the direction of Ranger McDonnell of the Coram ranger station. It covered less than a quarter of an acre."

(The Daily Inter Lake - July 20, 1937)

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June 7, 1951: "Park officials hope to have all lookouts equipped with FM radio sending and receiving sets sometime this summer. One thing holding up the project is the necessity for wiring Apgar lookout, located near park headquarters, for power. Apgar will be the main station for lookout radios."

(The Daily Inter Lake - June 7, 1951)

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Ashley Mountain

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Baptiste

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Battery Mountain

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Blacktail

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Bungalow Mountain

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August 3, 1937: "After arriving Saturday at the Pentagon cabins about thirty miles southeast of Spotted Bear, Dorothy developed a sore throat which grew materially worse until her companion was finally forced to call for aid at the Bungalow lookout, the nearest point where communication with the outside could be reached.

.....With the assistance of Roy Root, lookout at Bungalow station, the girl was made comfortable until the physician arrived late Sunday evening.

.....Saturday and Sunday a heavy rain and blizzard assailed the area in which the two girls were camped, which added to the dangerous condition of Dorothy.

.....Forest Service officials today pointed out the extreme danger which accompanies inexperienced persons traveling in the primitive areas unless accompanied by a qualified guide. Invariably, as in this case, travellers of this sort are given definite warnings by foresters as to what conditions they may expect to encounter."

(The Daily Inter Lake - August 3, 1937)

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Canyon

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Coal Ridge

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Cyclone Peak

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Desert Mountain

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Dog Mountain

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Elk Mountain

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Firefighter Mountain

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April 1, 1952: "The reclamation bureau contracts for a lookout tower and lookout house for the new fire-fighter mountain lookout on the east side of the Hungry Horse reservoir. Columbia Falls Lumber Company got a $3,217 contract for the tower. Neidermeyer Martin Lumber Company received a $3,105 contract for the lookout house."

(The Billings Gazette - April 1, 1952)

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Forks (Hallowat Cr.)

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Gary

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Green Mountain

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Haskill Mountain

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July 16, 1937: "Pete Calder, lookout man stationed at the Haskill mountain lookout station, was brought to Kalispell yesterday on account of illness and his post was taken over by Harry Fulmer."

(The Daily Inter Lake - July 16, 1937)

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Heavens Peak

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Huckleberry Mountain

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Ingalls Mountain

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Johnson Peak

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Loneman Mountain

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McCaffery

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Meadow Peak

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Mt. Brown

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October 16, 1930: "Mr. and Mrs. L.B. Bushue, who have been spending the summer at the lookout on Mt. Brown in Glacier park, are in Kalispell for a short time. They report a number of thrilling experiences in their lofty home during the summer, but say that bear and other wild animals become so common that they did not notice them. It was necessary to carry their water up the mountain side a mile. Their lookout was at an elevation of 8,000 feet."

(The Daily Inter Lake - October 16, 1930)

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Mt. Thompson-Seton

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Mud Lake Mountain

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Ninemile

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Numa Ridge

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September 12, 1948: "As fire danger decreases in Glacier National Park, all but one of the 13 mountain top lookouts are coming down...

.....He's Alexander (Scotty) Beaton, 74, oldest lookout of them all. Scotty has been watching for forest fires from Numa Ridge for 26 years. His record is perfect--he hasn't missed a fire, and he has never reported a false smoke.

.....Sometime next week Scotty will be the last lookout to come down. This is his last season."

(The Billings Gazette - September 12, 1948)

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April 30, 1950: "Alexander (Scotty) Beaton, oldest lookout in Glacier National Park both in years and point of service when he retired last year, died yesterday morning in Kalispell General Hospital.

.....He spent 26 years in the U.S. Forest and National Park services and was well known to thousands of local people and tourists from all parts of the United States simply as "Scotty."

.....He celebrated his 75th birthday last August and was retired on a pension after watching Glacier National Park grow from a wild, uninhabited region to become one of the most popular of national parks in the nation.

.....He helped build the Numa Ridge station, the first lookout in the park which he said was only a tent in those days. At present the station is 14 feet square with glass enclosed second story for observing fires.

.....One of Scotty"s proudest claims was that in all his 26 years as a lookout he never missed spotting a fire which broke out in his area and never reported a false one."

(The Daily Inter Lake - April 30, 1950)

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Red (Oetinker Cr.)

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Red Plume

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April 1, 1954: "A Flathead National Forest ranger who in 1928 was in charge of construction of Red Plume lookout, about 30 miles northeast of Spotted Bear Ranger Station and 27 miles from U.S. Highway 2 at Java, this week supervised dropping materials for a new lookout tower at Red Plume.

.....In '28, the material went in by way of pack mule and the lookout was built on the ground, partially because of the impracticality of hauling and moving timbers.

.....The new lookout, one of four remaining in Spotted Bear District, will be on a 15-foot tower.

.....Treated timbers up to 20 feet in length were dropped from a Johnson Flying Service DC-3 Monday in what forest officials call a "highly successful" drop.

.....Charles Shaw, Spotted Bear District ranger, went along on the drop with Warren Ellison, pilot; Bob Clark, co-pilot, and Albert Cramer, drop foreman.

.....It was Shaw, then a Schaffer district smokechaser, who was in charge of construction of the original lookout in 1928.

.....He reported that all material was dropped within 200 feet of the present lookout. The late March date was chosen for the drop to take advantage of the 15 to 20 feet of snow which cushioned landing of the parachuted material.

.....Actual construction will not start until the snow leaves, about July 1.

.....The old lookout at Red Plume has been declared unsafe for further occupancy. Nineteen bundles weighing a total of 4200 pounds were dropped.

.....Shaw rode with the DC-3 to and from Missoula. He reported that while over the lookout the plane made a drop every two minutes from about 500 feet above the ridge.

.....Strategic Red Plume is 7500 feet high. A lookout there can see most of the Middle Fork drainage and a lot of Glacier National Park.

.....Shaw estimated that transportation cost for material for the new lookout were about a third the cost of packing in materials by mule for the original lookout. Less work was involved to, he added.

....."Besides," Shaw declared, "We are able to use materials that we couldn't have used without the airdrop."

.....On the other hand, the drop was not all fun. The DC-3 rose to altitudes of over 14,00 feet, where the thermometer registered 18 below zero in the plane. A door had to be left off so the material could be dropped, Shaw explained."

(The Daily Inter Lake - April 1, 1954)

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Scalplock Mountain

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Sixmile Mountain

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Smoky

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Spotted Bear Mountain

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Spruce Point

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Sunday Mountain

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Thoma

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Werner Peak

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April 5, 1926: "Paul Shields and Jesse Underwood, both students in the high school here, made the trip to Werner's peak, 25 miles north of Whitefish, on snowshoes and spent the night in the lookout cabin there.

.....It was necessary, because of the deep snow, for the boys to enter the building through the lookout window. They found the snow 25 feet deep in some places. In the lower levels there was only a little snow and the herds of deer they encountered showed they had wintered in fine shape. They saw tracks of mountain lion and other predatory animals. The boys were fortunate in securing some excellent views, several of which will be enlarged for exhibition purposes."

(The Billings Gazette - April 5, 1926)

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July 8, 1954: "A State Forestry Department lookout was to take up his station today on Warner Peak, where there is seven feet of snow.

.....Emil Anderson, assistant state forester, said Jack Baumgartner, a lookout for many years, would scan Stillwater State Forest from the peak. Telephone crews who yesterday serviced lines to the mountain reported seven feet of snow near the lookout."

(The Daily Inter Lake - July 8, 1954)

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September 21, 1957: "A forest lookout, Craig Lihn, 18, Missoula, was trapped on a mountain peak by a snowstorm, but rescued Thursday.

....."Lihn was a mighty relieved boy when we reached him," reported Chief Fire Warden Rod Krout. The officer said the youth telephoned about 1 a.m. that high winds were tearing the shutters from the lookout tower on Werner Peak and that snow was drifting heavily.

.....Krout and Fire Warden Virgil Weaver made the trip in a four-wheel drive vehicle with chains on all wheels, Krout said.

....."On the 20-mile trip from Whitefish, we had to cut out way through deadfalls across the road, make out own road road through about one mile of snow drifted 3 1/2 feet deep near the peak. By the time we started back, wind had filled the car tracks with snow."

Krout said there was about one foot of snow at the 6,800-foot elevation and that hunters there probably would not have much luck and more this season in the high country."

(The Billings Gazette - September 21, 1957)

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White Fish

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