By Jamie Ausk Crisafulli
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
With only a few days left to vote on the name for the lake in Makoshika State Park, we thought it would be fun to give a shoutout to the many people who took time to send in their suggestions.
There were 558 name suggestions made, with 243 of those coming from Glendive residents. A total of 187 Montana residents living outside of Glendive sent in submissions.
While it should be noted that Montana State Parks only considered submissions from Montana residents, there were also 128 submissions from outside of Montana. Most of those came in following a weather.com and US News story about the naming contest.
There are five names chosen because they fit the naming standards required by Montana State Parks, but there were many great suggestions. Some submissions paid tribute to the location, creation or discovery of the lake itself, while others were just plain fun.
Some of the most colorful submissions included Sea of White Dragons, Sparkle Lake, I’ll-Be-Dammed Lake and Ittsa Lake.
The submission forms included a place for explanation and many took advantage of that opportunity, like the person who submitted Hu Nu Lake. “Who knew it was there?” the writer explained.
The man who submitted Lake Fleetwood suggested “after Fleetwood Mac’s song ‘Landslide’ because a landslide brought it around.”
One of the several who submitted Landslide Lake as an option simply noted “Isn’t it obvious?”
There were many attempts at honoring a person in the naming of the lake. Montana State Parks officials noted that geographic features can only be named after prominent individuals who have been deceased for more than five years.
One local resident who submitted the popular Lake Fuqua after the brothers who claimed to have first discovered the body of the water said, “This deserves to be named after the people who found it. Plus, it’s fun to say!”
While Lake Fuqua and many similar versions were the most popular name-honoring suggestions, there were others.
Lake Hiatt was suggested, with the reason stated: “named after Robert ‘Doc’ Hiatt aka Makoshika Bob who was highlighted on the Backroads of Montana program.”
Another who made the same submission said: “We spent a day with Doc Hiatt in Makoshika for Backroads of Montana. He loved that park with all his heart.”
Lake Horner was also suggested to honor the well-known paleontologist Jack Horner.
Lake Downs was also a name honoring suggestion, with the man submitting it noting “I’ve got a great last name if we don’t use the last name of whoever found it.”
There were several suggestions submitted by numerous people, such as Fossil Lake, Mud Lake and Lake Makoshika (which is one of the options being considered.) And it is likely that several people were disappointed when Lakey McLakeface wasn’t chosen as a finalist, as there were 22 individuals who submitted that option.
A small sampling of the many other suggestions includes Mystery Lake, Cut Throat Lake, Buzzard Lake, Dive Lake, Jurassic Lake, Badlands Lake, Dino Earthland Lake, Conception Lake, Mistake Lake, Buzzard Wake Lake, Bronto Bath and Rattlesnake Lake.
A man from Pennsylvania who gave the suggestion Lake Fildup said, “(Get it?) Good luck with your naming contest. What an interesting story!”
Another out-of-state submission was accompanied by a note of appreciation: “How often do you get a chance to name a lake ... what a great honor.”
The last day to vote on the lake name is Wednesday, June 7. Voting forms can be found and submitted on the Ranger-Review’s website at rangerreview.com and are available at the Ranger at 119 W. Bell St. There is a form on page 12 of today’s Ranger-Review.
The name of the lake will be announced at 12 p.m. Buzzard Day in Makoshika State Park on June 10.
Reach Jamie Ausk Crisafulli at rreditor@rangerreview.com.