We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
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This is a story about a bomb cyclone that hit Seattle while Sherry and I were out here doing our annual dog sitting gig. Since the last story I did was about Japanese balloon bombs from World War II, regular readers may think I'm fixated on writing about bombs. One big difference, besides a 75-year time gap, is that a bomb cyclone is a function of natural forces, not a manmade weapon like the bomb balloons. On Tuesday evening, November 19, a bomb cyclone hit much of western Washington, specifica...
A friend shared a copy of a map showing nearly 30 known locations where Japanese Balloon Bombs, launched in Japan and carried across the Pacific Ocean by the jet stream, landed in Montana toward the end of World War II. Woodcutters near Kalispell were the first to see a balloon bomb in Montana. That was December, 1944. The remaining bombs found and identified in Montana were discovered in the spring of 1945. Two of those bombs were found in Blaine County. One was found east of Turner and one was...
Glenna Hiner Schaible grew up in Chinook. She was raised by her Grandma Lucille Finley Nash, a lifetime resident of Chinook. Glenna explained, "Grandma was a strong Christian woman who had a hard life but was always strong. She didn't have much but always had enough and raised me that way. I was looking to give something back to this small town where she lived that would honor and respect the memory of my grandma. I know that Grandma Lucille would approve such a gesture." A serious quilter,...
Some weeks ago I found an abandoned copy of An Ornery Bunch on the "giveaway bench" where we live at the Grande Villa in Chinook. An Ornery Bunch is a book of anecdotes and tales collected by the Montana Writers' Project between 1935 and 1942. The Writers' Project was part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) program that kept writers and other artists employed during the Great Depression (1929-1941). With the outbreak of World War II, publishing the collected stories was set aside for...
Salvadore (Sal) and Kyra Chang arrived in Chinook last week. After an orientation in Mexico the couple made their way to start 10-months of service as Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) in Chinook. This is the 13th year of the YAV program in Chinook. They are the first married couple to be a part of the local program. Sal and Kyra were married last December. The YAV program was started by the national Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) more than 20 years ago. Locally the program is supported by four...
The Presbyterian Church of Chinook (its legal name) celebrated its 125th anniversary last weekend. Members said planning for last weekend's 125th anniversary celebration began more than a year ago. One challenge, early on, was how to pronounce and spell 'quasquicentennial.' The planners soon agreed 'the 125th' made more sense and was certainly easier to say and write. A few weeks ago, the word went out inviting current and former members, the Milk River Churches, surrounding sister...
I received a letter from a lady describing herself as "an of town subscriber" to the Journal. JoAnn (Staff) Stevenson is a Chinook High grad (class of 1959) who grew up on the Staff Ranch south and west of Chinook in the area where Logie, Staff and Clear Creek roads intersect. The Staff family owns the ranch which is operated by Harry Ramberg, a second-generation cousin of JoAnn's grandfather John Staff. While visiting Harry, he told me, "I've been around this ranch for about 50 years. Started...
A few days ago I stopped in the Chinook Post office and was kidding the employees about "being the only Post Office in Montana with a flower garden growing in the cracks of the sidewalk by the parking lot." They looked at me puzzled and I told them, "There's a whole row of 'wildflowers' growing out of the space between the street curb and the sidewalk by the parking lot on the west side of the building." Later in the week I saw Leann Haider, one of the postal employees, mowing the strip of...
Last winter during the trip my wife and I make to Woodinville, Washington each year to dog sit an aging standard poodle, I got my first hearing aids. I won't go in to the runup to that decision but most husbands can guess who was pressuring me to "do something so you can hear better." For some reason the hearing specialist who was helping me and I got to talking about tiny houses. In case you've missed this booming trend in alternative housing, tiny houses are dwellings between 100 and 400...
Dona Clay was selected this week as the Chinook Center's Senior of the Year, 2024-2025. The selection of a special senior citizen each year dates back to the early 1980s when the Senior Center was moved to its current location. Dona's selection was made by members of the Center in a secret ballot completed recently. Dona, and her husband, John, are relative newcomers to Chinook having moved here in March, 2022 from Woodstock, Georgia, where they were living near an adult daughter. Dona tells,...
Frank LaTray and Father Michael Schneider were all smiles as folks gathered on Sunday, July 21 at Kuper Cemetery to dedicate the recently completed Monument to the Unborn. The monument, on a raised portion of ground in the southeast corner of Kuper Cemetery, is the culmination of seven years of prayer and effort led by LaTray and Fr. Schneider. Their hope was to provide a serene setting where someone with concerns of an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy could find direction and comfort. Frank...
Alert Journal readers will recall my wife and I make at least one annual trip to Washington state to dog sit Fiona, an aging, standard poodle. When dog sitting, we live near our daughter and are able to spend time with her family. It was especially nice being in the Pacific Northwest this time of year (normally we're there for Thanksgiving) when the weather and greenery is at its best. Some readers may recall these dog sitting ventures also have side stories. This trip was no different, here's...
My wife and I were in Washington state when Chinook's recent All Class Reunion was held. During the reunion Deb Davies, a former resident, contacted me about a classic car that was in the parade. The car was licensed in Nevada but sported a plate proclaiming "Chinook" on the front. Turns out the 1960 Cadillac Eldorado convertible is owned by some of Shorty Strain's family, though Shorty never owned the car himself. Strain will be remembered by locals of a certain age as the owner of the Mint...
A somewhat overcast day, a slight breeze off the prairie and Turner's giant shade structure frame across main street helped make the 2024 Turner Appreciation Day another successful day. The day drew residents, nearby neighbors and international guests to the mid-summer outdoor event. Activities varied from the early morning fly-in and Lions Club's breakfast through the all-day car show, a grilled lunch at noon, the silent auction, play time on bouncy houses for the kids and lots of visiting by e...
As parks in Chinook are starting to see changes, another Chinook park is also starting to see improvements with hopefully much more to come thanks in part to a prodigal son. Marjorie Feist Park is located north of US2 and the railroad tracks just east of the Indiana Street crossing. Marjorie Feist Park, also known as Northside Park had five new trees planted last year, with hopes of seeing more along with other improvements thanks in part to the namesake's son, Bob Feist. Bob recently returned...
At the end of January Allyssa Schoen completed a semester as an exchange student in Japan. A junior education major at Montana State University-Bozeman, she left for the southernmost island in Japan early September 2023 and returned back to start spring quarter the end of January. Now back home in Chinook at the end of the regular spring semester, Allyssa had some time to visit with me and share about her experiences at Kumamoto Gakuen University in the city of Kumamoto. The city of 700,000+ is...
Part of my early morning routine is to look back in my digital diary to see what happened on this same date over the past eight or so years I've been keeping the diary. Part of each entry is the daily temperature early in the morning, the forecast for the upcoming day and a comment or two about the current weather conditions. Last Sunday morning (June 16) the temperature at 5am was 47 degrees, (and "feels like 41") with near 30 mph winds starting mid-morning and blowing most of the rest of...
I wrote about the rock houses outside Roundup, Montana in Part 1 of this two-part series. But the first building that really caught my eye in town was the "blue dome-shaped building" that sits on the south side of US 87 just before the highway curves south toward Billings. That building is the topic of Part 2 of the series. When I first started inquiring about the history of the structure I referred to it as "a geodesic dome." Back in the late sixties Buckminster Fuller was on the faculty where...
Don Greytak, a local artist from the Havre area, is best known for his ability to depict nostalgic scenes, especially from farms and ranches, of days gone by. His tools include a mechanical pencil, "the best quality paper I can buy" and his memories. He's been putting scenes to paper since 1978 when he first took up doing pencil illustrations at the age of 42. Don recently shared a brief history of his life and artistic endeavors with a group of seniors at the Chinook Senior Center. Don was the...
On trips to Billings I was curious about the blue space-age looking domed structure on the south side of US 87 heading south out of Roundup. About four miles further south on US 87, I stopped a couple of times to explore the UMWA (United Mine Workers of America) cemeteries on both sides of the highway through Klein. I was familiar with the United Mine Workers who organized many miners in many states. I learned that in the early 1900s Klein boomed because of coal mining. Those mines are long clos...
The Chinook Lions Club was notified that work could begin this fall on the new skate park. The skate park will be a totally new facility to be built at the southwest corner of 9th Street West and Pennsylvania Street-directly behind the Chinook City Pool on the old parking lot. Per a representative of Evergreen Skateparks, the pool builders, "The project is a little short on funding so construction cannot begin this summer as hoped." The idea of a skate park in Chinook was first discussed at a re...
There was a sizable gathering on hand last Sunday afternoon, June 2, at Sweet Park to celebrate Laurie Huestis' service with the Blaine I Ambulance and Rescue service and wish her well after 40 years with the crew. The well-wishers were not just former ambulance and rescue colleagues. Dr. Carley Robertson, the Medical Director for the ambulance crew, as well as other local and regional medical professionals stopped by to wish Laurie well. And there were a number of us locals who wanted to tell...
My wife Sherry and I recently spent a week in Grand Forks, North Dakota with our son, celebrating his 50th birthday. He's lived there for some time. Our daughter made a surprise flight from the Seattle area where she lives to celebrate her brother's 50th birthday. The four of us had not been together as a family in five years. For Sherry and me it was a great time visiting with our adult children and interesting to revisit the area where we lived nearly 25 years ago. Sherry's first assignment...
A group of Chinook's Meadowlark and Junior High students recently joined the Chinook Lions to celebrate a second replay of a nearly century old event in the town. Last week classes from kindergarten to junior high picked up litter on selected city streets in Chinook. Students got to experience firsthand what happens when trash is not properly discarded. Chinook's town clean-up efforts date back nearly a century A few weeks before October 21, 1925, the official date of the startup and dedication...
The owners at the Journal asked if I would write about Dr. Brock Aiton's moving his veterinary service to a new clinic at the old Spa Bar on US Hwy 2 at Zurich. I'd heard Aiton Veterinary Service was moving to the building and was interested to see how the conversion of the historic building to a vet clinic was progressing. After a tour of the facility, still in the final throes of finishing the remodel, Dr. Aiton told there would be a grand opening celebration for the new clinic on Friday, May...
