Hill family continues Glacier Park support

The Daily Inter Lake

Relatives of railroad magnate James J. Hill have provided more than $100,000 to the Glacier Fund for infrastructure projects.

The contribution by Louis and Kathrine Hill, Hill's great-grandson and wife, continue a long line of Hill family support for Glacier Park.

In 1892, Hill began the Great Northern Railway, now Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.

He lobbied for Glacier National Park's inclusion in the national park system in 1910, and between 1910 and 1914, with his son Louis Hill, commissioned construction of most of the major chalets in the park, including hotels in East Glacier, Many Glacier and Waterton.

Louis and Kathrine Hill's support of the Glacier Fund will give the organization the help it needs to continue its mission of park preservation and to become a stand-alone foundation, fund spokeswoman Brittany Kasselder said.

In a statement to the press, Kathrine Hill said it's important to "step up to the plate and do what needs to be done for Glacier National Park and the Glacier National Park Fund."

The fund, originally created as an initiative of the National Park Foundation, has provided more than $1.3 million to about 50 projects within the park that have focused on trail work, educational programs, research projects and historical/cultural preservation.