Section D Pg 32 Missoulian Centennial Chamber Keeps Ball Rolling
Chamber Keeps Ball Rolling
The Missoula Chamber of Commerce kept the wheels rolling for a bigger and better Missoula through the 1920-1940 period with a string of projects.
When Missoula needed a swimming pool around 1920, the Chamber raised the money. When western Montana was inflicted with spotted fever caused by ticks, the Chamber became a primary sponsor to rid the area of the disease and to establish the resultant Hamilton institution now known as the Rocky Mountain Laboratory of the United States Public Health Service.
Statewide Move
But the Chamber of Commerce did not confine itself to Missoula alone. In 1923 it inaugurated a statewide movement to save federal aid road funds for Montana and place the state road building on a substantial basis. The same year the Chamber was housing the Missoula Band.
In 1923 the chamber went into the tourist business. It owned and operated the Missoula Auto Tourist Park for motorists wishing to camp in Missoula.
In 1931 the Chamber aided in the organization of Montanans Inc., known now as the Montana Chamber of Commerce. Two principal projects were accomplished in 1935 – appropriation for the addition to the Federal Building and daily airmail service.