Two Medicine General Store quietly eclipses century mark

It used to be a dining hall for a chalet complex in Glacier National Park. Today, the Two Medicine General Store is a good place to dry off in front of a fire on a wet day, or buy a shirt and a hat.

The store, located on the shore of Two Medicine Lake, will see its 102nd birthday this year. According to the National Register of Historic places, the store was built by the Great Northern Railway in 1912 as a dining hall and kitchen for the larger Two Medicine Chalet complex, which was completed in 1913.

The chalets fell under disrepair and were burned down by the Park Service in May 1956. The store was the only large building left standing.

“There was a bit of heartache as these structures that have known so many happy days became masses of flames,” lamented a Hungry Horse News story featuring a photo spread of the chalets’ destruction.

The dining room was centrally-located. Its unique architecture includes open ceilings and a gable roof. The centerpiece is a massive working fireplace, which takes four-foot long logs.

David Palmquist manages the store for Park concessioner Xanterra Parks & Resorts. This year, the company is selling commemorative T-shirts for the store’s 100th anniversary, but the National Register clearly shows it being built in 1912.

The Two Medicine Chalets’ claim to fame is that President Franklin Roosevelt gave a “fireside chat” speech from inside one of the chalets in 1934. But that chalet, according to the 1956 Hungry Horse News story, was burned down.

Palmquist said the store’s fireplace is still a central attraction. On a recent cold soggy day, hikers gathered around to dry their clothes and shoes.

“It’s the culture of the Two Medicine Store,” he said. “Hospitality.”

The store has an upstairs office and one bedroom, where Palmquist lives in the summer.

The store’s most popular item is soft-serve huckleberry ice cream, he said — and clothes, from sweatshirts to T-shirts and hats, all made in the U.S.

Palmquist’s roots in Glacier Park date back 40 years. He was a Red Bus driver from 1971-73.

“Contrary to popular belief, we didn’t grind the gears,” he said. “I was a farm boy. I knew how to drive a standard shift.”