Memorial Day weekend is almost here. And many in western Montana are packing up to head to "the lake." Not just any lake, but one of the most pristine lakes in North America. Of course, I am talking about Flathead Lake.

People have been enjoying Flathead Lake for centuries.

According to Wikipedia

The lake is a remnant of the ancient, massive glacial dammed lake, Lake Missoula of the era of the last interglacial. Flathead Lake is a natural lake along the mainline of the Flathead River. It was dammed in 1930 by Kerr Dam at its outlet on Polson Bay, slightly raising the lake level; the dam generates electricity. It is one of the cleanest lakes in the populated world for its size and type.

We recently stumbled across footage from around the time the Kerr Dam was created. Old black and white footage of a family's visit to Polson Bay and the small town of Polson, Montana.

According to Retrojones on YouTube, the footage is from a Missoula dentist.

Vernon Robert Jones - worked as the Dentist at Fort Missoula during WWII... This is film of him with his first wife Edith at lake Polson in Montana - Also on film is Mamie and Al.

This vintage footage is nearly a century old. Depicting what a day at the lake would be like for people prior to World War II. From the looks of the images, Flathead Lake looks much like it does today. Complete with the beautiful backdrop of the Mission Mountains.

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