We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
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In early May Blaine County Road and Bridge Supervisor Mark Burkhartsmeyer invited me to ride with him down to the Missouri River to watch the spring launch that would begin what might be the 100th season of ferry service from Blaine County to Fergus County to the south. I say "might be the 100th season" because there are varying historical accounts of when and how the ferry actually got started. Here's some of what I learned about the history, current operation and future of the ferry. The when,...
Indian Health Service's (IHS) national director, and other regional IHS officials, visited Fort Belknap Indian Community last week. IHS Acting Director Elizabeth Fowler described her visit as a celebration of the roll-out and success of the vaccination efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19 at Fort Belknap. Per Fowler, Fort Belknap's health authorities have the best record in the Billings IHS service area for percentage of vaccinations administered. Camille Stein, Fort Belknap's Public...
In 2014 the US Environmental Protection Agency asked the staff at the Chinook Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) if they would help the regulatory agency develop a case study to be shared with other older wastewater treatment plants. What interested the US Agency was how the staff in Chinook was able to remove nitrogen from wastewater using a 1984-era plant built solely to remove solids and maintain a certain oxygen content. At the time the plant first opened there were few issues about leaving...
The Blaine County Museum's board of directors wants to create a logo for the Chinook-based museum. Asked why the museum needs a logo Director/Curator Samantha French explained, "A well designed logo helps the public associate the museum with our mission, to preserve and share our local history. Used on publications, signage, promotional literature a logo helps brand an organization by giving a quick visual way for users to recognize what the organization does and connect with its purpose."...
The Chinook Senior Center "reopened" last Thursday, March 11. State health mandates forced the Center to close several months ago over concerns of spreading COVID-19 to seniors, a group considered most vulnerable during the pandemic. After the lifting of some state-wide directives the regional Area Agency on Aging, an advisory group to regional senior centers, issued guidelines that if followed would allow reopening of senior centers in north central Montana. The Center's board of Directors...
Over the past several months I've read several commentaries about how the COVID-19 pandemic (covid) affected businesses nationally. Recreational vehicle sales were up as folks sought ways to vacation and still maintain social distancing. People forced to stay home to avoid exposure to covid were doing more home fix-up, learning new languages and drinking more alcohol as bars and clubs were closed or scaled back capacity and hours. Toilet paper was in short supply for a time. In late March my...
A new, unintentional hazard for local golfers has been added to the Chinook Golf Course northwest of town. A wind event north of Chinook in early February equated to a Category I Hurricane with 75 mile per hour winds. Those winds left drifts of dirt, some more than three feet high on the west edge of the course along the number #3 fairway, and left problem deposits on other greens as well. I first noticed the drifts during some early spring walks I made out along Stephens Road. Jim Gallus, who...
Alert readers may recall a story in the January 27 issue of the "Journal" about Walter J. Brown. Brown, a cowboy for Miller Brothers from the late 1940's through the 1950's, was also a cook on the cook wagon when the Miller crews moved livestock to and from summer pastures. He drew several images of ranch life, using his finger and axle grease, on the canvas cover of a cook wagon. Two of the canvas sections survived, one hangs in the Blaine County Museum in Chinook and the other section will...
A Chinook northside resident recently called and asked, "Have you heard about the moose who is wintering up here in our neighborhood?" I had not. She said, "If you come up right now you can get a picture, he's browsing on the bushes in my yard." That was my first introduction to the visitor I've named "Bullwinkle J. Moose" after the cartoon character who appeared on the ABC network during the early 1960's. Chinook's Bullwinkle appears to be a youngster, still sort of gangly, all legs and very...
Two local churches continued a long standing tradition of a combined Ash Wednesday service. Ash Wednesday 2021 was celebrated between the Chinook United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church of Chinook. Pastor Jack Mattingly, with UMC, and Rev. Maggie Lewis, with the Presbyterian Church, led the service. Several other local congregations also held Ash Wednesday services commemorating the beginning of Lent. This year's Ash Wednesday celebration for the Methodists and Presbyterians was a...
Chinook Lions Club President Richard Cronk and member Ben Hall recently visited the Meadowlark Elementary first-grade class of teacher Tammy Edwards to talk about the American flag and give each student a small flag. Cronk told the first graders, "The Chinook Lions Club has been giving flags to students your ages for 40 to 50 years, we're not really sure when the tradition of giving flags began." Typically the small, desk-top American flags are presented to first graders around Presidents Day...
The Blaine County Health Department and One Health Sweet (formerly Sweet Medical Center) hosted a clinic last Thursday and Friday to administer vaccinations for COVID-19 to people in Phase 1B of Montana's vaccination plan. This was the sponsoring groups second clinic to vaccinate for people 70 years of age and older plus individuals with elevated health risks. The clinic last week drew about 200 participants. Phase 1A vaccinations for medical workers, first responders and nursing home residents...
A year-long series of directives, rules and, in some cases shutdowns and cessation of public activities, resulted from the need to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Most all of us have been affected in some way from schools and/or churches closing, activities being cancelled and, in some cases, having to work from home. While changes in our rural areas are less dramatic than in bigger cities and towns rural residents have made some alterations in how we spend our free time. Nearly a full year...
Blaine County Museum Curator/Manager Samantha French asked me recently what I knew about a piece of art on canvas that once covered a chuckwagon on the Miller Brothers ranch. The piece of canvas has hand drawn cowboy/horse images and is displayed in the museum with other items related to ranching. I'd not given much thought to the piece during prior visits to the museum but when I really studied the canvas I saw a piece of folk art illustrated with authentic, detailed cowboy imagery. The...
Correspondent's note: Laurie Faber recently told me, "You might be interested in doing a story about the news clippings posted on the walls of the scale house at the livestock loadout facility operated by Mark Billmayer." I'd never heard about the clippings so I called Mark and he agreed to meet me at the scale house so I could see and learn about the collection of newspaper clippings. My first impression was, "Wow, that's a lot of newsprint about local history." Closer examination allowed me...
Another glitch has halted the runup to the maiden flight of Dick Edgington's homebuilt RagWing4 single engine plane. Many locals recall the plane that Edgington, a longtime resident of Chinook, built from scratch in his house on Pennsylvania Street. According to Dick's son, Danny Lee, "Dad retired from the county road department in 2004 and started acquiring parts and building the plane. A few years later, after his eyesight failed, he had to abandon the project." Dick Edgington died in 2016....
Alert readers may recall a story that ran in the October 7, 2020 issue of the "Journal" about some unusual "rock writings." On the family ranch south of Chinook, Mark Burkhartsmeyer found a hilltop with several sets of initials fashioned with random stones. Of particular interest was a complete first and last name spelled out with stones about the size of footballs. As best could be determined the name laid out with stones was "Tom Cosnah." Mark asked me if I would be interested in doing a story...
Christmas music is as much a part of the holiday as baking cookies, giving presents and participating in family gatherings. Though this season will be different because of the pandemic and issues with get-togethers, Christmas music will still be important. Whether listening to tunes on the radio or a device, singing carols at church or attending holiday concerts, music will be a part of our Christmastime activities. I decided to educate myself a bit about Christmas music and share a few things...
Carol Johnsrud, of Chinook, wanted to share a Thanksgiving greeting with friends. A retired nurse she wanted to keep everyone safe but still personalize the greeting. She would drive to a "greetee's" residence, ring them up on a cell phone and urge them to "look out your window" where she was holding the greeting. It was a nice touch to create a personal Thanksgiving greeting while practicing social distancing during the pandemic....
A few weeks ago I did a story about marbles, a kids' game once mainly played by boys. To keep a gender balance in my writing, I decided to take a look at the game of jacks, a game I best recall as dominated by girls back in my school days. I had no sisters so have very little first hand experience about the game of jacks. But, I recall playing jacks with our daughter, now fifty years old, when she was just a tyke. Like marbles, the game of jacks seems to have slipped in to obscurity, not likely...
My wife and I live in the Grande Villa in Chinook and there is a tradition there among residents to put their unwanted items "on the bench." Each floor has a bench by the elevator, the place to leave items no longer wanted or to pick up something that catches the eye. I call the benches "the Mall of America." Recently I found a paperback titled "Cut to the Bone" by Jefferson Bass. I'd never heard of the author but from the title assumed it was a book about crime. Turns out the book was authored...
My wife recently came home from a yard sale with a bag of marbles. I had not thought about marbles in years. When I was in grade school (the early 1950's) marbles were a major deal among boys. With dirt school yards it was easy to draw a big circle and start a game of marbles easily. It was mostly "boys only" though a few girls did like to shoot marbles. For readers not familiar with how to shoot a marble, see attached photo. When a shooter hits another player's marble or knocks a target marble...
Someone mysteriously decorated both guard rails of the bridge that crosses the Main Canal on Stephens Road just south of Kuper Cemetery. The use of the fall garden produce added a bit of color and a festive note for travelers....
Readers may recall I'm looking for information about the 'bronc rider mural' in Chinook's old Opera House and the 'rock writing' on the Burkhartsmeyer ranch in the south country. Some time ago a local asked if I knew about the mural in the house built by Gaylord Sargent (at 636 Illinois). When I started asking around I learned many people had heard of the mural but details were sketchy. That mural is the third local art mystery that interests me. Larry Wisch was married to Gaylord's daughter Shi...
Chinook Chamber President Daniel Dahl said he was pleased with the turnout for the Fall into Festival, the 2020 version of the Sugarbeet Festival. With concerns from COVID-19 there was some hesitancy to host even a smaller festival this year. "But," Dahl explained, "our chamber leadership wanted to have a festival and with the other activities in town, it turned out to be part of a good draw for visitors." He was especially pleased with the number of vendors who came to sell their wares. Dahl...
