We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
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Laurie Huestis retired in March, 2024 after 40 years as a member of the Blaine I Ambulance and Rescue Crew. Fellow crew member Lynne wrote, “Laurie has a three-digit EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) number from when she started, now those numbers are five digits!” Laurie began serving with the Blaine I emergency services crew in 1984. Her fellow crew members are hosting an opportunity for the community to express its thanks to Laurie at a community celebration in early June. Laurie was noted for being one the first responders to an eme...
For our recent 80th birthdays my wife and I have been taking mini-vacations to places in Montana we've never visited. Our travel agent, Keri Hanson, helps the one making the travel plans to put together a trip and keeps it secret. The day after my 80th my wife announced, "We're going to Red Lodge." On April 1 I turned 80. I wrote a story about the Yellowstone Kelly exhibit currently at the Blaine County Museum. When my wife mentioned another 'Montana trip" Keri suggested, "Steve's interested in...
On Sunday, May 5, the four congregations that make up the Milk River Churches (Chinook's American Lutheran, United Methodist and Presbyterian and Havre Presbyterian) will hold their monthly joint worship in the Commercial Building at the Blaine County Fairgrounds in Chinook. The service will include a special presentation by the students who attended the Friday morning Sonshine program this past school year. Sonshine was created in 2017 and is supported and directed by the Chinook Alliance...
By Steve Edwards BCJ News With the arrival of more moderate weather I’ve resumed my daily walks and no matter which direction I go I see more and more signs of spring. I see the Chinook city street crew running the sweeper to remove the materials put down to combat icy roads during the winter. Earlier, for several weeks, I heard the overhead honks of Canada Geese moving from one feeding and resting locale to another. And just recently I saw my first prairie crocus of the season. Seeing these l...
Several Journal readers asked the newspaper to share information about candidates for Blaine County school trustee positions to be filled at the election on May 7, 2024. By email all eighteen candidates for trustee were contacted, whether running opposed or unopposed. Each candidate was asked for their responses to four questions. Candidates are listed alphabetically with the responses they submitted. Kathleen Adams, District #12 Harlem (two three-year terms open), incumbent. 1. What motivated you to run for a school trustee position? The #1...
A group of Chinook High students in the Ag Design class recently were able to apply what they learned to a real-life situation. While some of their classmates were on the annual "DC Trip" sponsored by the school, six students spent a part of three days completing a project that will help the folks managing the local Wildlife Museum. Wildlife Museum Board Member Vicki Hofeldt heard the museum needed some different equipment in the museum's office to accommodate a new scanner. Vicki approached...
The Blaine County Museum in Chinook is currently hosting an exhibit about the life of Yellowstone Kelly. Luther Sage Kelly was a Union soldier during the latter stages of the Civil War. He spent much of the remainder of his life in the American West as a hunter, scout, adventurer and eventually as a government official in the Philippines and Indian Agent in Arizona. Kelly was a member of President Teddy Roosevelt's "tennis court," a group of close friends and confidents of the president known...
A recent press release from a group calling itself the Montana Study Group for Toll Road Implementation (MSGTI) is advocating for the construction of toll roads in Montana. Toll roads are built by investors who recoup their construction and maintenance costs, and hopefully earn a profit, through fees paid by road users. A fee is required of all vehicles that travel a toll road. Montana is one of only 15 U.S. states that have no toll roads, bridges or tunnels. The MSGTI group is exploring novel...
St. Urho Day was celebrated in Blaine County, as best I can tell, for the first time in 2022. The made-up Finnish saint and accompanying legend has been enjoyed by Finns, and others, in Butte for several years. Two years ago folks at the Chinook Senior Center joined together to learn about and enjoy the story of the saint and sample some of the traditional St. Urho Day menu items. It was fun. This year, with St. Urho's March 16 holiday falling on a Saturday, we opted to celebrate at the senior...
The Milk River Churches (MRC) installed Rev. Ritch Grimes as a new Co-pastor at the four congregations' joint monthly service. The MRC include two Presbyterian congregations in Havre and Chinook and the United Methodist and American Lutheran churches in Chinook. The monthly joint service is held the first Sunday of each month and is hosted by a different church each month. The joint service includes communion and a potluck following the regular worship service. The four congregations joined toge...
Looking back over the stories I've written leading up to and about the annual Harlem Seed Show I found I tried to write about everything offered at each show. I decided this year to approach my wrap up story in a different way. For the 74th edition, I'm writing about my observations and the things that caught my attention. If you attended this year's show you might have seen things differently but here's my take on the show that ended last Saturday. A little history: Paul Rasmussen, the Chairman...
Alert "Journal" readers may recognize the name "St. Urho." Actually, really alert readers will remember when the Finnish saint was first introduced in the "Journal" I spelled his name wrong-oops. That's all in the past, way back in 2022 when St. Urho made his first visit to Chinook. He appeared first at the Chinook Senior Center for lunch on March 16, the official St. Urho Day. Here's a bit of background to this year's runup to St. Urho's Day, 2024. St. Urho created in Minnesota as a reaction...
The Northeast Montana Feral Swine Tour was in Blaine County last week. While there appear to be no feral pigs in Montana, MSU Extension Wildlife Specialist Dr. Jared Beaver, Officer Shawn Hondo with the Montana Department of Livestock and Doug Ekberg with USDA's APHIS Wildlife Services shared updates about the continuing need to be vigilant to keep feral pigs out of northern Montana. The meeting in Chinook was attended by about 40 folks who gathered to hear regional experts talk about the challe...
A chance reading of a "Facebook" post launched a project back in October that was finally completed in early February. Bonnie Hellman, with the Community Quilters at the American Lutheran Church in Chinook, saw the random post by a quilter who was making "cot quilts." Bonnie learned a cot quilt is a special covering for a corpse being removed on a funeral cot from the site of a death. The cot is a gurney-like piece of equipment that evolved over the years for removing a body from where a death...
A Blaine County Museum Director Sam French's goal to begin an oral history collection involving local seniors has started. French said at a meeting last month that conducting an oral history collection has been one of her goals since she came to the museum five years ago. The first interview was conducted last week and more interviews are soon to follow. Last month, at a monthly meeting of the Chinook Lions Club, Sam French laid out her plan to attract volunteer interviewers and interviewees. Sh...
Five Chinook Lions Club members visited Meadowlark Elementary in Chinook and handed out 20 American flags to first graders on Presidents Day last Monday. For some local families it's a third generation receiving the desktop stick flags. Lions Club members say handing out the flags is a 40-plus year tradition. Some surrounding first graders in country schools also receive the flags. First grade teachers at Meadowlark this year are Brigette Brennan and Tammy Edwards. Mrs. Edwards is teaching a...
Ritch Grimes, former solo pastor of the Chinook Alliance Church, is the new co-pastor of the Milk River Churches (MRC). Rev. Grimes joins Theresa Danley, Certified Lay Pastor, who has been pastor to the four congregations since March of 2023. Grimes will be officially installed at a joint worship of the MRC congregations on March 3 at the United Methodist Church in Chinook. The four congregations of the MRC include the Chinook and Havre Presbyterian Churches and the American Lutheran and United... Full story
This past week Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday occurred on the same day. I'd never thought about how often these two holidays, both with religious underpinnings, fall on the same calendar date. Turns out, not very often. While the two days infrequently fall together, the last time was in 2018, just a mere six years ago. Although I have written stories about both these holidays, reviewing my work notes and I didn't write about either day in 2018. Weird. Some more research revealed just how...
The oral history project initiated by Blaine County Museum Director Samantha (Sam) French has officially begun. In a kickoff presentation to the Chinook Lions Club about a month ago Sam said, "It's been my goal to do an oral history collection since I arrived at the Museum. My hope is the folks who volunteer to do interviews will have contacts throughout the county." After a brief campaign to recruit volunteers to do the interviews eight locals signed up representing several regions of the...
Rod Benson, who grew up in Harlem, was the third presenter in the Blaine County Museum's 2023/24 Off-Season Speaker Series. Benson was a high school science teacher in Helena for 37 years and retired in the spring of 2019. December of that year he began teaching science and coaching archery at Hays-Lodge Pole High School. He said he will be "re-retiring" this spring. The Off-Season Speakers Series is co-hosted by the Blaine County Museum and the Chinook Senior Center. Benson presented on the...
I would guess if you are reading this story you, like me, are already thinking about and wishing for the coming of spring. While the last couple of weeks of acceptable winter temperatures have been a nice break from winter, February 2 and the spotlight on whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow, is a time many of us start asking, "How much more winter weather will there be?" and "How soon can we expect spring?" I'm one of those folks who look at all sorts of predictors for the coming of...
Jack Brandon, a retired middle school teacher from Havre, is now using his teaching skills at the Chinook Senior Center to help seniors learn to paint. For the past few weeks Brandon has been offering a watercolor painting class. The class is open to all, regardless of experience level in painting. Currently the classes are focusing on learning watercolor painting. Brandon says eventually he would like to help seniors learn additional techniques that could be used in other types of painting. It...
Most of my adult life I have looked forward to February 2, Ground Hog Day. Thinking about whether the ground hog will see its shadow (not in Montana since we have no ground hogs) takes me back to my childhood. As kids, on Ground Hog Day, there would be excited speculation on the school playgrounds in southern Illinois whether we would soon be done with winter or if the miserable, wet cold would drag on for six more weeks. In our childish minds the coming of warm weather was dependent on whether...
Samantha (Sam) French, Director of the Blaine County Museum, recently described a plan to begin collecting oral histories in Blaine County. French, who came to the director's position about five years ago, said, "It's been my goal to do an oral history collection since I arrived at the museum. My hope is the folks who volunteer to do interviews will have contacts throughout the county." If all goes well she hopes to have a major part of the interviews completed by the start of summer. She noted...
Three years ago a nationwide study found that about 23 percent of Americans do some kind of volunteer work. That equates to 60+ million of your fellow Americans. Those numbers may have shocked alert readers but the sad truth is the number of Americans willing to volunteer is on a steady decline. While the reasons for the decline are many and varied, the bottom line is this...many organizations still need volunteers in order to fulfill their mission and many need those volunteers now. You don't...
