Signs at the Northern
- 7 days ago
- 5 min read
The Great Northern is decorated with art that took decades to curate. It carries the memories of all the businesses Whitefish has loved and hated (and even a few so short-lived that no one knew they existed). Join us for a trip down memory lane as we explore the signs at the Northern.
For such a small town, Whitefish has been through a lot of change over the years: starting out as a pioneering railroad town in the early 1900s, to finding a spot on the map as a ski haven post-WWII, and growing to be one of the premier vacation destinations in the Northwest. This change has brought about the rise and fall of dozens, if not hundreds, of businesses and restaurants over the last 120 years. Many of these establishments have been lost to history, likely remembered by few. However, The Great Northern Bar & Grill has sought to make a record of some of these establishments by finding their signs, literally pulling them out of dumpsters at times, and proudly hanging them on their walls. With every business and restaurant came the hopes and dreams of the owners and employees, the memories made, and the laughter and tears shed by those involved. Combined together, the individual stories behind these signs tell the greater story of Whitefish.
In this month’s newsletter, we will look at four businesses whose signs can now be found at the Northern. Each has its own unique story, but they all combine to tell the story of our city. Some of the details are difficult to ascertain at this point in time, but we have done our best to present you with some interesting tidbits and hope that they might stir your own memories of these businesses. Come with us for a stroll down memory lane…
The Viking Lodge
Before The Lodge at Whitefish Lake took over the location, the Viking Lodge was one of the premier locations in Whitefish for luxury accommodations. Built and run by owners Jim Curtis and Rick Roessler, the lodge served the area for several decades. Over the years, the Viking Lodge hosted musicians, parties, events, and was the focal point for many memories, but the Viking Lodge was best remembered for its dedication to all things Christmas.
Every year, the lodge’s staff would devote countless hours to turning the upper dining hall into a Christmas wonderland. The hall was filled to the brim with Christmas wreaths, lights, and several animatronic carolers. However, the true star of the show was the massive Christmas trees that Jim Curtis would bring in to fill the entirety of one end of the dining hall. Jim didn’t settle for just any Christmas tree–he expected his trees to have a certain je ne sais quoi. In a Flathead Beacon article, Jim recounted that he once drove over 2,000 miles around the Northwest to find the correct ponderosa pine.
Finding the tree could be seen as the easy part, as the task to haul the tree to the lodge from its original location and then actually into the building was a Herculean task that took several teams of workers. Curtis offered the reward of an open bar to anyone who would help carry the massive pines into the hall–some of the trees were close to 30 feet tall. The pine would then be carefully raised up to its position at the end of the hall and would go through a rigorous beautifying process. First, additional branches would be nailed to the tree to give it a fuller appearance, then the entire tree would need to be flocked (a process that could take over 16 hours), white flocking would then cover the entirety of the tree for a snowy appearance, and then it would finally be covered with over 1,000 blown glass baubles.These trees would attract locals and tourists alike to enjoy the warmth such a display could offer. The tree would fill the dining hall from Thanksgiving until the week before Easter, and Curtis recalls how he once had someone visit on Easter and complain that the tree was no longer there.
While we might not be able to enjoy the trees of The Viking Lodge anymore, Whitefish is still turned into a winter wonderland every holiday season, and we should take pride in that. Maybe cutting down trees of that size is no longer necessary, but we could certainly keep Jim’s love of the season in mind as we decorate the city this upcoming Christmas.
O'Piccolo's
O’Piccolo’s Pizza was one of many iterations of a building that also housed Snappy’s Grocery, the original Hellroaring Saloon, a Pizza Hut, and several other businesses. O’Piccolo’s was the final business in this location and was fondly remembered for its calzones, among other things.
However, O’Piccolo’s went out of business nearly three decades ago, and the building had since fallen into disrepair. It had slowly become a public eyesore, with the exception of the intricate wooden doors on the front.
On July 13th, 2025, the wooden building that had sat on the corner of Edgewood Place and Wisconsin Avenue for over 50 years went up in flames like a tinderbox. This two-alarm fire was so large that fire crews and equipment had to be called in from Kalispell, Evergreen, and Columbia Falls to help the Whitefish Fire Department contain the blaze. Thanks to their efforts, they were able to keep the fire from spreading to nearby businesses like Piggyback Barbecue.
The cause of the fire was never fully determined, and it took several months for the debris to be cleaned up.The only thing that survived the blaze was the front wooden doors. At this time, there is no known replacement for the structure, but we hope that fond memories could soon fill the property again.
The Hanging Tree
Originally called the Cadillac Bar and Cafe, this business changed its name to The Hanging Tree Bar and Lounge in the early ‘60s. At first glance, the name of this bar and lounge is rather jarring, and it seems odd that the name would be changed in such recent history. It seems like it is in poor taste, and evokes thoughts of our nation’s terrible history with racism, slavery, and the Jim Crow laws.
However, the name actually refers to a book written by local Western writer Dorothy Johnson, a long-time resident of Whitefish. The Hanging Tree was made into a film in 1959 and starred Gary Cooper and Maria Schell, and featured the rough wilderness of the Montana Territory as a backdrop. The name behind the story refers to the fact that the threat of the hanging tree was the only thing that kept the wild miners of a gold rush town in check when there was yet to be any law in the land. Whitefish residents were proud of their connection to this author and wanted to honor her work. The Hanging Tree was meant to evoke memories of our rough and tough history, and not the horribly racist murders in many other parts of our country.
Later on, perhaps sensing that the name was impossible to separate from those horrible murders, the lounge was renamed The Cadillac. If you are able to look at the wooden sign in a purely aesthetic manner, it is rather beautiful. Likely unintentional, this controversial sign does start conversations, and conversation is vital in ensuring our future is better than our past.
The Best and the Rest
Anyone who has walked through the doors of the Northern knows we could never cover all the history of the signs on its walls. Maybe someday we'll try but for now, we want to leave you with a few other noteworthy signs. Please enjoy these signs from Truby's, The Log House on the Hill, Heather Candles And Gifts, and Par 3 on 93.
Sources used: Flathead Beacon, Whitefish Pilot, and the Daily Interlake
Thank you for reading this Stumptown Story about the stories behind the signs at the Northern. May your sign only grace the walls of the Northern after a lifetime of success.
-The team at the Stumptown Historical Society
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