Libby Sports Center celebrates 50 years in business Saturday

Libby Sports Center will celebrate 50 years in business Saturday, Aug. 12, offering its customers hamburgers and hotdogs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and running specials all day.

The center has been a landmark in its current location since 1997, although the early years since opening in 1967 were characterized by frequent moves, said owner Ardell Filler, 82. Filler and his staff and family have seen some hard times over those many years.

“There was a lot of turmoil around the 1985 recession,” Filler said.

Filler still spends most days in the store, which employs 13 people, some part-time, as well as being an active member of the Libby Area Chamber of Commerce. He said he enjoys coming to work because he is guided by his faith and because “I love my customers, they’re fun.”

An outdoorsman himself until “my age caught up with me”, Filler said he used to spend a lot of time in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and hunting and fishing locally.

The store’s decor reflects a local love of outdoor pursuits, with murals on outside walls and a collection of taxidermy animals — all contributed by customers — on display inside.

“Most of the animals on display are from Montana, and found locally around Libby,” Filler said.

Filler’s son-in-law and store manager, Gary Halvorson, has worked through four store expansions.

“I’ve been here for 17 years,” Halvorson said with a laugh, noting that the biggest change he’s seen in that time has been expanding into women’s gear and clothing.

“We used to be kind of a man’s store,” Halvorson said. “So many more women are pursuing outdoor recreation now.”

Halvorson said Saturday’s celebration will include a storewide 10 percent discount, freebies such as hats and T-shirts and a raffle of five guns.

“You have to be present to win,” Halvorson said. “And obviously meet the requirements to walk out of here with a gun.”