Going-to-the-Sun Road 75th Anniversary, Glacier National Park

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NOT TO BE MISSED!

HOCKADAY MUSEUM
OF ART
KALISPELL, MT

Rails, Trails and a Road 75th Anniversary Celebration of Glacier National Park's
Going-To-The-Sun Road

June 26 – October 18
A summer-long celebration of Glacier National Park and the remarkable highway which crosses the Crown of the Continent. Paintings, sculpture, and spectacular photography devoted to the Great Divide!
Artists include: Sherri Saleri Sander, Nicholas Oberling, Lynn Tippetts, Mark Ogle, Roy Hughes, Ed Gilliland, Nancy Cawdrey, Joe Abbrescia, Fred Kiser, T.J. Hileman, Leonard Lopp, Winold Reiss, John Fery, O.C. Seltzer, Adolph Heinze and MORE.

DIRECTLY FROM
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
Preserving a
Landmark in the Sky

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75th Anniversary Celebration of the Going-to-the-Sun Road
LOCAL MUSICIAN ROB QUIST PERFORMS FOR THE CROWD AT THE GOING-TO-THE-SUN CELEBRATION

June 27th, 2008 was made to order. People of all ages gathered on the lawns of Lake McDonald Lodge taking their place in history among the rows of white folding chairs and lounging in the sun as Barn Swallows darted overhead.

The day of celebration to commemorate 75 years of the Going-to-the-Sun Road opened with bluebird skies and the musical stylings of David Walburn, a local musician well known throughout the park for his ability to capture the history and nuances of both Montana and Glacier Park in song.

The program also included music by local musicians Jack Gladstone and Rob Quist. A definite highlight was the arrival of a vintage 1925 Cadillac and 1927 White Motor Company Bus, both carrying passengers who included participants from the 1933 Dedication Ceremony.

The Presentation of Colors accompanied by the Blackfeet Drummers was followed by Chas Cartwright, Glacier National Park's new Superintendent who addressed the growing crowd. Montana's government officials were well represented with the presence of US Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus, Governor Brian Schweitzer, and Field Representative for US Representative Denny Rehberg, Maren Olsen.

William Dankin, a Citizen Advisory Committee Member and former Glacier Roads Supervisor took the audience on a trip through time, relating stories both humorous and somber from the initial building of the road through 50 years of its existence.

Remarks were made by the Chief of the Blackfeet Nation Earl Old Person, Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Chairman James Steele, Jr., and Tony Incashola, Director of the Salish-Pend d'Oreille Culture Committee.

A song was performed by the Salish Drummers Yammcut to honor those who lost their lives in a vehicle accident on the way to the 1933 Going-to-the-Sun Road Dedication and those who lost their lives building the road. One of the remaining survivors of the terrible vehicle accident Felicite McDonald was present for the ceremony, her brilliant pink shawl with the image of a white buffalo draped across her shoulders.

The focus of the day seemed to be one of gratitude honed by the responsibility of preserving both the Going-to-the-Sun Road and Glacier National Park for generations to come.

The next time you travel the Going-to-the-Sun Road stop at a pull off or at the top at the Logan Visitor's Center and take a moment to survey the glorious panorama, remembering those who made this engineering marvel a reality.

Introduction to the day
with Jay & Hillary

Brian Schweitzer, Governor, State of Montana

Earl Old Person, Chief of
the Blackfeet Nation & Chairman of the Blackfeet Tribal Council

James Steele, Jr., Chairman, Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes

National Anthem with Rob Quist & Jack Gladstone

Salish Drummers Yammcut

75th Anniversary Celebration Slideshow
CLICK HERE

LANDMARK IN THE SKY
The History and Preservation of Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun Road
by Jack L. Gordon
This fascinating overview will provide you with a true appreciation of the work and planning involved in creating a road through the wilderness!

GETTING THE SUN ROAD TO SHINE AGAIN
A sequence of events that led the National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration to rehabilitate the Going-to-the-Sun Road. This bulleted chronology is a great overview.

GOING-TO-THE-SUN ROAD - AN ENGINEERING FEAT
Imagine the obstacles faced by the engineers and laborers who constructed the winding Going-to-the-Sun Road more than fifty years ago. Sheer cliffs, short construction seasons, sixty foot snow-drifts, and tons of solid rock make road building across the Continental Divide a unique challenge. When Glacier National Park celebrated the completion of the Going-to-the Sun Road on July 15, 1933, more than two decades of planning and construction had become a spectacular reality.

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