City of Choteau News Highlights from 1960
Teton County Montana.
A 2013 Centennial Project

"Summarized from the Choteau Acantha Newspaper with its permission by Nancy Thornton, Choteau, Montana. All rights reserved." Copyright 2013-present by Nancy Thornton. This file may be freely copied for non-profit purposes.
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1/7/60 Mayor D.F. Fabrick in office.
1/14/60 Mayor proclaims Dr. Howard W. Bateman Day, his 81st birthday and 50 years caring for the sick. )(also profile), party for Bateman on Jan. 23.
2/18/60 City Attorney Leo Murphy, Police Chief Maurice Black in office. Council drafts trailer law.
3/3/60 Iona Zgoda appointed head of local census crew. A week of marrow-freezing lows, Feb. 24 to March 1 all below zero with the lowest temp on Feb. 27 of -21.
3/17/60 Choteau awarded as the site of the first statewide Junior Olympic A.A.U. Track and field meet for boys insuring an all-out effort by the town.
3/24/60 New water mains constructed in 1959, now, individual water lines to go in 86 places.
3/31/60 Census starts. Remodeling of county rest home contemplated. County has over 100 persons on public welfare rolls, Mrs. Lee Brown, lessee/operator for nine past years. Fire Chief Bud Taylor asks to expand fire department space in city hall by moving out city shop. Choteau Tire Service opens, LaVerne Murr, owner.
4//2/60 Census-taking complete. Pine needle scale identified as tree pest in Choteau.
5/5/60 Western Star Motel opens, Al Hensley, owner.
5/12/60 Acantha publisher Jere Coffee dies in AZ.
5/19/60 Water project done. Repaving begins on Main Street.
5/26/60 AAU Track meet, 245 participants, 32 Montana communities attend.
6/2/60 Lions Club gathers 450 pairs of glasses for charity. Council to revise building zone ordinance. Former Acantha publisher Max Bishop dies in Iowa. Choteau Woman's Club closes Choteau Public Library on June 1 for lack of funds. Bookmobile sought with Great Falls Public Library.
6/16/60 Dedication of Choteau Methodist Church (photograph)
6/23/60 Courtroom packed for hearing on bookmobile, most opposed. Commissioners reject project(7/7/60). Jim Howard's Refreshment Center opens between Antler Bar and M&R Motors on Main.
6/30/60 List of city officials and officers.
7/7/60 June sets 70-year record for dryness at Choteau. Only a trace on June 16, breaking the past month's record of .38 inches in 1918. Minuteman missile sites proposed, construction to start in August.
7/14/60 Choteau Drugs Inc. incorporated with change in ownership from Richler Drugs Inc., a state firm, to Milton McNea and Ted Halverson, Choteau co-owners.
8/4/60 Choteau Chamber of Commerce protests highway sign north of Dupuyer which is causing southbound tourists to be deflected down U.S. 91 (now I-15) rather than down U.S. 89 through Choteau. Rain arrives to cut dryness with .82 inches on Aug. 1-2. Texaco Station opens on southside between Bond's Grocery and Ted's Drive-In, Les Oertel, owner.
8/18/60 City ordinance passed to prohibit trailer parking on any lot excepting trailer parks where suitable facilities are provided. Exception, lot-owner trailers not being lived in.
9/15/60 St. Joseph Parish rectory constructed.
9/22/60 New traffic regulations for Main street, no U-turns, 15 mph in school zones, and three-hour parking limit north of signal light from 8-6 except Sundays and holidays. Lions Club Fall Festival in school gym replaces Days of'49, ending a 23 year-tradition.
10/6/60 Woman's Club reopens library with hours 3-5 p.m. Teton County Taxpayers Association formed.
10/27/60 Architect's plans unveiled for new Teton County Rest Home. Official Census is 1,966 city residents, compared to 1,618 in 1950.
11/3/60 Outpouring of comments on proposed $200,000 county bond issue.
11/10/60 Voters turn down bond issue, which was for modernization of the rest home.
11/24/60 Plans made to add Richem spring to city water intake system.
12/15/60 Choteau Food Market expands, Leonard Sheble, owner.
12/29/60 Dick Nordhagen buys Acantha.

Copyright 2013-present  Nancy Thornton  All Rights Reserved