I have been away from Great Falls a long time now, but I miss home very much. I left in 1979, and even though I came back to Montana to go to Tech, it just wasn’t Great Falls. I hope to someday come back home for good. Things change and close up, or outright disappear which I will find out about in the Great Falls Tribune Online sometimes or when I come home for visits. I am trying to post on some of the best of Great Falls back when I was growing up, things that made Great Falls great.
I post in spurts. Sometimes things will just “hit” me and I’ll write several posts, then disappear for months. I set the comments so that they automatically post now. I appreciate the really nice things people have said…just affirmation that the greatest thing about Great Falls is the people who live or have lived there.
Things I Miss About Home....Great Falls, Montana 
Great to see a fellow Great Falls lover online!
By: david on October 18, 2009
at 2:05 am
Thanks David!
By: greatfallsgirl on October 18, 2009
at 4:38 pm
Love your site! You’re so right – there are many reasons to love this town.
By: Amy Grisak on October 26, 2009
at 11:18 pm
Thanks Amy, I’ve done a lot of moving around, but there’s no place like home!
By: greatfallsgirl on October 27, 2009
at 3:34 am
howdy … the Tribune site has forums set up – in the ‘your space!’ forum there is a topic called ‘old buildings, old things, old people’. a lot of memories left there by a lot lot of people – many of them not in GF at this time. join the fun!
By: djsGF on October 30, 2009
at 10:14 pm
Hi, I’m writing a book on Great Falls 1963 – 1985 and looking for names of businesses, bars, etc during this time. I couldn’t find “your space” in the GF Tribune site or forums for that matter. Can you help me.? Thanks Dan
By: Dan Geiger on March 17, 2013
at 8:59 pm
Does anyone remember the Missile Manor Trailer park ( now the Highwoods ) The Missile Manor was a Boeing trailer park for Boeing employees to rent back in the 1960’s. I grew up there and went to Morningside Elementary. Boeing was doing missile silo work through Malmstrom AFB. I cannot for the life of me find one single picture anywhere on the web. Can anyone come up with some pictures please?
By: Larz on February 24, 2021
at 4:39 am
I found your site from “Greater Falls” which I read to keep up with my home town. My parents still live there so I get back when I can. Your posts are great and really strike a chord with me. I lived on 4th North and I remember the lights on Smelter Hill from River Road, and going to the YWCA for lessons and watching a scene filmed for “Thunderbolt and Lighfoot” at a house on 2nd North near the “Nat”.
My kids love going to Gibson Park and I still remember my father taking pictures of me and my brother and sister at the stone arch there.
I’m back east, but Montana is home after all these years. Thanks for a fine site.
By: Byrd on January 10, 2010
at 3:04 am
Thanks for the kind words Byrd!
By: greatfallsgirl on January 12, 2010
at 1:48 am
Your site brought tears to my eyes. It’s been a long time since I’ve been home. I came back to MT recently from living in New York and these photos & comments brought back vivid memories. Thanks for your efforts !
Laurie
By: Laurie Conlin Kraft McRae on March 3, 2010
at 1:51 am
Thanks Laurie for the very kind words! I really miss it back home!
By: greatfallsgirl on March 4, 2010
at 12:11 am
We have a facebook group that we would love to have you join…your memories are soo familair and great about Great Falls! please check us out at greatfalls@groups.facebook.com
By: Ric Yearout on August 30, 2011
at 7:39 pm
Thanks for posting! Love your site! I grew up on Beech Drive, went to Meadowlark, West and CMR. I really enjoy reading your posts and comments! Brings back fond, fond memories! I do miss Great Falls!
By: Gayle Amundson Hendricks on April 7, 2012
at 3:15 pm
Neat site. My mother grew up in Montana living in Ft. Benton, Great Falls, Dillon, Eugene and Cut Bank. I was in Great Falls with her last summer visiting her brother but did not get to do any touring, and that was disappointing as I love that part of the country and hope to get back there and explore Ft. Benton and Great Falls some time soon.
Mom’s cousin, a well known artist lives there, and I’m sure he’d be glad to be my tour guide.
I was born in Washington and had family in Montana and Oregon and really love the mountains. I live in Kansas now….and we have no mountains here.
Sharon
By: Sahron on August 23, 2012
at 5:09 pm
Seems I can not spell my own name. 🙂
It is S h a r o n, not sahron.
Good Grief.
By: Sahron on August 23, 2012
at 5:12 pm
My father was in the military and so I attended CMR (1970-1973) while we had our posting there. I appreciate your blog because Great Falls was the reason I fell in love with western Canada. I’m just north, in Calgary, Alberta. Thank you for your remembrances.
By: Painter Lady on October 17, 2012
at 11:16 am
I went searching for pics of the Smelter Hill christmas lights (grew up there, moved away,) and found your blog. I’ve really enjoyed reading it and looking at the photos. Thanks!
By: Trudi Logan on January 3, 2013
at 3:30 pm
Hi, I graduated from Central in 63. I writing a book about GF from 1963-85 and looking for resources on names of businesses, bars, restaurants etc. Any help will be appreciated. Maybe you’ll be in the book. Thanks Dan
By: Dan Geiger on March 17, 2013
at 9:02 pm
Dan,
I lived in GF from ’63 – ’71. I saw Kennedy in ’63. I went back there in 2009 and couldn’t believe it. Talk about frozen in time, minus the smelter. In ’67/’68 I saw a strange light floating south of 10th ave south but it was far in the distance. Seems that Malmstrom AFB picked up something also. The next day a guy comes running into homeroom and starts to babble about how he and his buddy saw some kind of disk shaped object landing in the abandoned greyhound racing track southeast of town. Of course I kept my mouth shut. A few years ago Larry King had a special on UFOs. One of his guests was a missile officer who was stationed there about the same time and he mentioned that some kind of object had knocked the power out of one of the silos which rendered the missile inoperable. This was also witnessed by a couple of airmen. Anyway strange things happen. Getting back “reality” I have wondered whatever happened to Val’s bookstore and the little old lady that ran it. I think that during the war she was a nurse in Belgium during the Ardennes offensive. We used to talk history all the time. Good luck with the book !
By: chuck merritt on May 12, 2016
at 8:01 pm
I just stumbled on your site. I grew up in Valier, and lived in the “big” city of Cut Bank. I have lots of family in Great Falls, and tons of memories. I’m currently in FL. All of your posts bring back memories…and fluffly tacos at the El Comedor….my favorite!! 🙂
By: Shari Salois on October 10, 2013
at 2:13 pm
Your posts and pictures make me long for a simpler time. Well-done!
By: Jess on January 24, 2014
at 3:50 pm
Love your recollections of GF. Must be something about missing our youth in GF. My husband is from there too and has wanted to move back for a long time but I wasn’t convinced. Now I can’t wait to get back there. Two more years. It’s going to be a “Great Day in Great Falls”.
By: Chev on June 3, 2014
at 3:52 am
If you like Great Falls,Mt check out this YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCILEQO4VlWks8U8JhOHLCkw
By: Ed on November 5, 2016
at 7:42 pm
Do you have any boarding stables. I’m thinking of buying a horse again. It’s been years but I’m starting with boarding first
By: Charlene winkle on December 23, 2016
at 11:13 pm
I was at Malmstrom from 79-83 and I remember this “breakfast place” we used to go to after hours at the Gold Rush (haven’t seen any other bars with wall to ceiling shag carpet since then either!). The name of it was Sheffi’s or Schefis or something like that. Does anyone remember that place? I was challenged to find a picture of the menu from there by an old USAF buddy. I am going to subscribe to this page. I BET it has changed a LOT! I also remember sitting out with hundreds of folks to watch the big smoke stack come down (blown up- Anaconda mills maybe?). And of course Mt. St. Helens. We just swept up the dust and threw it in the trash. Who knew you could save it and SELL IT! LOL!
By: Matthew Jameson on August 7, 2019
at 7:28 pm
My father-in-law’s family started the bar more than 100 years ago.
By: Joy Miller on December 7, 2022
at 6:21 pm