Page 17 - Flathead Beacon // 6.29.16

Gilliland rst began purchasing photos when he found a collection of unwanted images at an auction house. He said the man who had taken all the photos had died and the family was uninterested in keeping the collec- tion themselves. Gilliland thought it was a shame that the photos someone worked so hard to capture were being sold o piece by piece, so he stepped in to preserve it as one body of work. Since then he has worked with Adele Scholl of Gravity Shots to scan the images and make them available online.
“I started buying these collections to save them from the garbage pile,” he said. “These photos don’t do any good sitting in a closet.”
Among Gilliland’s collection is a group of images taken by Canadi- an-born Ferde Greene, who rst lived in British Columbia before moving to the Flathead Valley in 1915. Like Gil- liland, Greene worked for the rail- road and took photos on his days o . Greene’s images include photos of local businesses, families and the railroad. One unique series of photos shows how the Great Northern Railway loaded up the Columbia Falls depot and moved it down the tracks, the building
precariouslyhangingo thesideofthe car.
Other photos show workers har- vesting ice o of White sh Lake so that it could be stored until summer when it was used to keep refrigerated freight cars cool.
Gilliland purchased the photos more than a decade ago and until recently would make weekly trips to visit Greene’s late son, Howard Greene, to talk about the photos. Gil- liland would then record the names and stories that corresponded with each image.
“Ferde was a really good guy,” Gillil- and said. “I only know him through his photos, but I can tell he was a good guy.”
While Gilliland continues to col- lect images he is also starting to pon- der what he will do with his own pho- tos after he is gone. For now though, he’ll keep looking through the collec- tion and sharing the highlights with friends and family.
“The only way to preserve history is to share with people,” he said.
To see more photos from Gilliland’s collection, visit www.glacierphotogra- phy.smugmug.com.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
Construction of the Hungry Horse Dam. COURTESY PHOTO
TURNKEY WATERFRONT LIVING on FLATHEAD LAKE
$419,000 ~ Lakeside, MT
7171 US HWY 93 S BLDG 4 UNIT 102 2 BR/2BA
• 1/3 boat slip
• Upgraded nishes
• Finished garage with workbench
• Beautiful, high end furnishings/decor
• Shared use of hot tub, BBQs and dock
MLS 331615
BRITTNEY OSBORNE | REALTOR
PureWest | Christie’s International Real Estate 406.871.6897 | CELL [email protected] | E-MAIL
IT’S A POPPING CASH GIVEAWAY!
COME JOIN US SUNDAY, JULY 3RD FOR OUR POPPING CASH GIVEAWAY
Drawings start at 2pm-9pm with your chance to win two $100.00 giveaway
Two drawings per hour between random times
Members must be clocked in to be eligible for the drawings!
139 1st Ave West in Kalispell (located in the back of 406 Bar and Grill)
JUNE 29, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
17