| Traveling back to the
Kootenai the next spring, and gettng close, I had to stop and take this
picture of Montana mountains and a field of yellow flowers. |
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| Second summer in the
Kootenai.
Tom setting up to "tie in" a new survey to an existing
marker.
When I returned many years later to the Kootenai on vacation in 1994 & 1999, I noted there were
no more survey crews. They have all of the logging roads they need
now.
|
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| Saw a lot of these in
1957 and 58. |
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| During the second summer
(1958),
the huge lumber mill at Libby was threatened by both strike and
completely shutting down. Finally, there was a 10 cent per hour
increase, and the lumber mill was saved. Many moved away during
the strike, thinking it was going to shut down.
This is only a small part of the mill, looking southeast from the
highway.
|
 |
| Looking northwest from
the highway. Maybe one or two square miles?
The huge mill even had its own railroad switch engines.
But when I went back in 1994, the whole place was shut down and
replaced with a residential area.
|
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| Near Eureka was an entry
into Canada. The US customs side was palatial, and the Canadian
side had a shack. Now the Canadian side has a nicer, larger place
than the US. |
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| I drove up into Canada in
1957 to
just look around. The difference in lumber mills was that Canada
burned their sawdust in these inverted cones, and the US compressed
their sawdust into 5 inch circular "logs". |
 |
| Driving north out of
Libby, I passed by this fire.
Fortunately, there was a creek right next to the fire and it was almost
out. And fortunately for me, they didn't need any more help.
By state law they can compel anyone to stop and fight fires. I quickly
departed, just in case. |
 |
| Here's an area burned
prior to 1957. |
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| Another recovering burned area. |
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