Whitefish at 100
The tick-a-ta, tick-a-ta, tick-a-ta sound hammers through the evergreen forest. Then an eerie laugh, nervous and repeated, echoes from boulder to stream. A flash of red identifies the interminable pileated woodpecker, once rare around communities of northwest Montana.
The redheaded jokers flitter around Whitefish. Sometimes three birds at once pound on a telephone pole as if their rapid-fire message will reach beyond the neighborhood, inviting friends and relatives to summer celebrations, sparkling waters and wooded respite.
A century ago Whitefish was a mosquito-laden swamp on the edge of a six-mile-long lake. Indians from south of Flathead Lake set up camps along the fir- and alder-dappled shore. They fished and they smoked — smoked whitefish, that is, as sustenance to last through the long winter. Moose and bear also dined off the land.
This summer, the city celebrates its centennial. Two years passed between the town’s dedication and final incorporation. In June of 1903, Whitefish promoters filed the Certificate of Dedication. In April of 1905, Whitefish became an incorporated burg. In between, the Great Northern Railway came to town.
The earliest European Americans arrived in the Flathead Valley in the mid-1800s. A few trappers, transients of the era, had traveled through but didn’t settle. They probably traded furs with the Hudson’s Bay Company post at Red Meadow, north of Whitefish. Bruins, bull moose and berries thrived in the timbered region.
At dedication, 950 settlers claimed residence, drawn here for the timber, the railroad and perhaps the lawlessness.
Some things have not changed in 100 years. Timber and railroad industries remain visible business, joined by the not-so-latecomer tourism. A 1926 Chamber of Commerce brochure stated: “… sparkling streams and beautiful lakes furnish a bountiful supply of the purest water. Here is to be found a veritable sportsman’s paradise, abounding in fishing and big game hunting. … Here is the land of shining mountains.”
Today, despite a fivefold increase of city residents and another 5,000 or so just outside Whitefish, grizzlies occasionally saunter through town, sniffing for good eats, something that Whitefish has plenty of these days. There’s the old favorite, the Whitefish Lake Golf Course Restaurant in a lovely log building, the elegant Tupelo Grille downtown, and the newcomer, the spirited Mambo Italiano.
If the resplendent redheaded woodpecker alerts family to the good food, surely it’s the wide variety of bugs and beetles. Relatively mild winters (for Montana) and lots of spring moisture dress up the valley in spring green, evergreen, tamarack green and golf course green — one of the big draws to the region. Ten championship golf courses are a short drive from Whitefish.
While the ratta-tat-tat may sound like another message from the woodpecker, swirls of dust and clogged intersections indicate a different hammer. Nail guns pop like opening day of hunting season. New slope-side home sites, lodges and townhouses pose as idyllic castles at the ski area, Big Mountain Ski and Summer Resort, eight miles from town. New house starts and housing prices skyrocket like the spectacular July 4 fireworks: a skyward jettison, sometimes beautiful, sometimes ostentatious, always expensive. Starter homes are nearly nonexistent. For a mosquito-infested swamp, Whitefish has morphed nearly beyond recognition in 100 years.
Those concerns seem dreamily far away while paddling a canoe along the western shore of Whitefish Lake, from the state park of the same name. A half hour’s paddle passes the last housing development. On a sunny summer weekday, chances are canoeists will have a quiet paddle, interrupted only by train whistles.
Trout, pike and whitefish swim in the green waters. Fishermen test their patience, in summer by rod and reel and in winter with ice-fishing augers.
This summer, as centennial celebrations warm up before the big blast at New Year’s, vacationers will find plenty to do.
Big Mountain offer summer gondola rides to the summit for views into Glacier National Park. Trails reach the same summit. A novel summertime Walk in the Treetops takes guests among the dizzying heights of sturdy trees on an elevated boardwalk. They wear climbing harnesses and lock carabineers onto safety cables. They see the forest and valley below from the pileated woodpecker’s point of view.
For those who like to jog as they tour, Whitefish offers runs beginning with the Great Place Race on June 12, beginning and ending downtown near the Great Northern Depot. Several weeks later, the annual Whitefish Lake Run cruises along the road paralleling the lake. The first 10K (and now 5K) event began in 1977. It draws about 500 joggers and runners for the June 26 race.
On the lush front lawn of Whitefish’s Central School, artisans set up booths for the annual Whitefish Arts Festival July 3. It is followed by the July 4 celebrations at Whitefish City Beach. Fireworks over the lake begin after sunset and last for an hour. There are free shuttles from downtown and free live music on the beach.
The Big Mountain’s Summer Music Festival draws musicians from around the region for fun at 5,000 feet. The July 26 to Aug. 8 festival includes concerts and workshops.
A favorite of bears and berry lovers is the mountain huckleberry, celebrated every August at Huckleberry Days, this year on Aug. 15. Arts and crafts, contests, music and dancing celebrate the wild purple fruit that hangs on bushes all over woodpecker territory.
The woodpecker may have the last laugh, and it’s not because he has imbibed at the Aug. 28 Brewfest. The celebration of blues and brews on Big Mountain includes activities like horse-drawn wagon rides, jugglers, magicians and music. The woodpecker laughs because it feels good to spend summertime in Whitefish.