Over the last 12 months, the Flathead Beacon’s photographers — Greg Lindstrom and Justin Franz — filed more than 1,700 images; a minuscule selection of the many thousands of frames they took crisscrossing Northwest Montana every week. Those thousands of frames capture our community’s many memorable moments, big and small, from 2018.
Presidential visits. Olympic homecomings. Out-of-control wildfires. Here’s a look at 2018 through the lens of the Beacon’s photographers.
Greg Lindstrom
Amtrak's Empire Builder crosses the Two Medicine River near East Glacier Park. Beacon file photo
The Howe Ridge Fire burning near Lake McDonald on Aug. 12, 2018. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
A plastic tote of fish sits on the dock at Blue Bay waiting to be brought to the processing plant where it will be made into a filet, packaged and frozen for sale. A tribal employee walks back to his boat to get another load from the lake. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
Flathead High School held a pep rally on Nov. 15, 2018 as the football team departed for Billings for the Class AA State Football Championship against Billings West High School. A supporter writes "Flathead Family" on the back of the bus. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
Evening sun illuminates the snow-covered peaks in Glacier National Park on Nov. 7. Forecasters are predicting an El Nino cycle this season. El Nino is a term for the occasional, natural warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which has a worldwide effect on weather and can lead to a drier, warmer winter than average. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
John Hanson laughs while petting his Clydesdales on Oct. 18. Hanson and his wife, Kate, are the largest breeders of Clydesdale draft horses in the state. There are currently 19 of the gentle giants loping around a pasture near Marion, and Hanson aptly describes the majestic animals as Òtwo-thousand-pound golden retrievers.Ó Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Vice President Mike Pence shakes hands at Glacier Park International Airport on Nov. 5, 2018. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
October - Whitefish senior Xander Burger celebrates at the end of the Class A state championship game. Burger scored an unprecedented five goals as the Bulldogs defeated conference rival Polson 6-2 in front of a large contingent of fans from both schools at Smith Fields on Oct. 27. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
President Donald Trump visited Missoula on Oct. 18, to campaign for Matt Rosendale and Greg Gianforte. During the campaign stop he praised Gianforte for assaulting a journalist in 2017. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
Sharlot Battin of Whitefish has been making boots for Broadway shows for more than 40 years. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
The grand opening for the new Glacier Rail Park was held in Evergreen on Oct. 8, 2018. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
On Sept. 16, BNSF Railway ran a special passenger train for the Glacier National Park Conservancy from Whitefish to Essex. The mountains of Glacier National Park are seen from the window of a vintage passenger car callled ÒGlacier View.Ó Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
Sept. 27 was locals night at the Great Northwest Oktoberfest in Whitefish. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
September - Wolfpack players stand in unison before a game against Helena at Legends Stadium on Sept. 14. Glacier won the game 48-14, but saw its season come to a close at the hands of the Bengals with a 21-7 loss at Helena in the first round of the Class AA playoffs later in the year. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Wolfpack players celebrate with Garret Frost in the first half. Glacier defeated Helena 48-14 at Legends Stadium on Sept. 14, 2018. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Tori Noland-Gillepsie, a Flathead High School sophomore, at the cross country race at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell on Sept. 7, 2018. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
The Howe Ridge Fire in Glacier National Park on Sept. 5. 2018. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
President Donald Trump addresses a crowd of supporters at a July 5, 2018 rally at ExpoPark in Great Falls. Tristan Scott | Flathead Beacon
Meia Freiheit, 8, slides down a snowfield at Logan Pass on June 23, the first day the public was able to drive all 50 miles of the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
Tania Menachemoff paints ÒresistÓ on Sharon LamarÕs cheek during the WomenÕs March Flathead event on Jan. 20. In conjunction with numerous marches and rallies around the nation, hundreds of women, men and children gathered in KalispellÕs Depot Park to support womenÕs rights and equality for all people. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Power lifter Sylvester Vermillion trains with his coach Mark Kuhr at the Wave Aquatic and Fitness Center in Whitefish on June 14. Vermillion competed in the Special Olympics in Seattle where he won a gold medal. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
Flathead's Taylor Henley (24) and Sierra Wilhelm (3) celebrate with teammates during the crosstown volleyball game on Sept. 13, 2018. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Bruce Graham watches the water rise at his house near Seeley Lake on May 9. A number of homes in the Seeley Lake area were flooded this spring due to the high snowpack. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
Bridger Wenzel, left, and Joshua Gunderson battle for a ball. Whitefish defeated Polson 6-2 to win the Class A state championship on Oct. 27, 2018. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
The Montana Spartan Race on May 5, 2018. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
May - Mud flies from the shoes of an athlete climbing a wall during the Montana Spartan Race. Thousands of competitors braved mud, hills and barbed wire in the annual challenge. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Parkin Costain skis at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Jan. 11, 2018. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Former Gov. Steve Bullock eats lunch with children at Flathead Valley Community College's Early Childhood Center in Kalispell in 2018. The governor was in Kalispell to promote his preschool initiative. Beacon File Photo
Mike Foote broke the world record for most vertical feet skied in a 24 hour period at Whitefish Mountain Resort on March 17 and 18. By the end of the effort he had logged 61,200 feet, or 77 miles, the equivalent of climbing up and down Mount Everest twice Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
Anders Epperly, Randy Stultz and Beau Santistevan celebrates after the Class B state championship game at the Adams Center in Missoula on March 10. Bigfork defeated Shelby 60-56 to cap a perfect 24-0 season. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Freeskier Maggie Voisin was given a heroÕs welcome in Whitefish on March 7 with a firetruck ride through downtown after competing at the Winter Olympics in South Korea. Voisin came in fourth in slopestyle. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
FlatheadÕs Eric Seaman celebrates with student section after the BravesÕ 59-55 overtime win against crosstown rival Glacier on Feb. 1. The Braves swept Glacier in the crosstown games last season. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Jamie Bouda competes in the 200-yard individual medley during the crosstown swim meet on Jan. 27, 2018. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy spoke at a ÒFreedom and PropertyÓ rally in Paradise, Montana on Jan. 20, just weeks after he was released from prison after a federal judge declared a mistrial in the case over his 2014 stand off with federal agents. Justin Franz | Flathead Beacon
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester answers questions from students during a town hall event at Glacier High School earlier this year. Beacon File Photo
Cliff Persons, 81, a former ski patroller, groomer and mountain manager, still skis four days a week at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Big Mountain, which last winter celebrated its 70th season. ÒBack in the Ô60s there were times when there werenÕt more than 40 people up here. You donÕt see that anymore, but weÕre still having a really good time,Ó he said. Persons is the stepfather to Tommy Moe, the gold-medal winning Olympic skier who was raised on Big Mountain, as well as a close friend of Tom Moe, Sr. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
April - Brandon Hoerling, right, and Amber Larsen work on the pole climb during FVCC's Logger Sports practice on April 12. Larsen was the co-captain of FVCC’s distinguished logger sports team, the only athletic program currently sponsored by the school. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
