Dive Flathead to take advantage of Flathead Lake resource

By B.L. Azure

POLSON — Martin Papin, 55, has always seen Flathead Lake as a place to have fun and a place to make money. Papin grew up in Polson but left shortly after high school in the early-1970s to seek work and an education. He eventually served a stint in the U.S. Army.

He has been back to the reservation since 1982 and has had a variety of jobs but few of them required his skills as a certified scuba diver. Now he wants to start a business that utilizes his skills as a scuba diver and water recreation enthusiast.

Papin said he has always been interested in scuba diving and water recreation.

“As a kid growing up in Polson I always enjoyed swimming and playing in the water. I earned money by cleaning boats and docks. Boats have always fascinated me,” Papin said. “Back then we were paid in silver dollars. Occasionally some of the people I worked for would throw the money while I was in the water. If I didn’t catch some of the silver dollars I would dive for them and search. I had a passion for water. I felt a sense of freedom in it and I was able to make a bit of money from it. Doing some form of work on Flathead Lake was my manifest destiny.”

Now that destiny has manifested itself into starting a small business. Papin is starting Dive Flathead, a business that will train and certify scuba divers, offer diving equipment for rent and sale, and conduct tours of Flathead Lake, above and below the surface.

“I want to take advantage of the resource of Flathead Lake,” Papin said.

Papin attended the Seattle Divers Institute of Technology in fall of 1973 and was certified as a diver in December 1973. A year later, after three more months of intensive training Papin was certified as a scuba instructor in December 1974. He has taken additional courses to keep his certifications up to date.

“Dive Flathead will offer unique cultural and diving experiences,” Papin said. “Scuba diving offers a lifetime of exciting adventure and the ideal way to begin that adventure is with Dive Flathead. We will introduce the non-diving public to the wonders of recreational diving. We will strive to give all scuba divers, snorkelers and guests the clearest, safest place to practice their skills and promote diver education and the dive experience.”

Papin is currently seeking to hire two certified scuba instructors for Dive Flathead.

For more information about Dive Flathead, contact Martin Papin at 871-7749.