Historical Photographs
The Kee-O-Mee was the first privately owned houseboat to navigate Flathead Lake. It was launched in 1928. John Sherman and his business partner, Bert Saling, set out in the Kee-O-Mee in May 1928 as a crowd of 1000 people gathered to witness the launch of a boat touted in the Daily Interlake as "a handsome and comfortable ship". It had a good sized lounge, a dining room, four staterooms, each equipped with hot and cold water. It measured 54 feet in length with an 18-foot beam. For nine years the boat was a social hub on the lake, entertaining guests who ranged rom the Copper Kings of Anaconda to local lawyers and schoolteachers. It went up in flames while Sherman and Saling were taking the Kee-O-Mee for the first cruise of the season in May 1937 to test two diesel engines that had been installed. The two men escaped in a lifeboat. The boat was found in 50 feet of water in 2012
The Flood of 1964