We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
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Thank You Governor Steve Bullock I am writing to applaud Governor Steve Bullock for his strong leadership in confronting COVID-19 and his initiative to bring additional testing to our most vulnerable populations. On May 15 and 16, any member of our community in Fort Belknap could get tested for the coronavirus at a drive thru testing facility set up through a state, local, and tribal government partnership. Over 1,000 tests were completed in that two day window. Governor Bullock has always been a strong ally to Indian Country, and the expanded...
Columnist's note: We've lived in Whitlash since December, 2018. It's not uncommon when we tell someone we live in Whitlash for them to respond, " Whitefish, that's beautiful country. Do you like the mountains?" Then we explain Whitlash is in the Sweet Grass Hills, not the Rockies. Though never an official town or city, Whitlash has adapted and survived for more than a century. "Names on the Face of Montana," a comprehensive compilation of place names in Montana gives scant information about...
Columnist's note: My rancher friend Bob Thompson asked if I knew about the pioneer-era "sod houses" northwest of Chester. He explained a couple of sod houses were built by Estonians who had a sizeable settlement northwest of Chester in the early 1900's and that several descendants of the original homesteaders still farm in the area. Thinking that might be a topic for a column, I discovered the influence of these builders from the Baltics reached beyond their original settlement just north of...
More than 90% of the country's residents are under "stay at home" directives and all of us are being cautioned to stay "socially distant" to help minimize COVID-19 spread. We hear the directives will likely be extended further in to the future. Millions are separated from their jobs, either temporarily or permanently. We see images on the news of major metropolitan areas in the U.S. with streets vacant of people or vehicles. Many businesses are shuttered and schools are closed. In the past few...
You know, Lord, lots of folks have heaps of thoughts and ideas about the secret of how to have happiness. How about Christmas gifts – just think of all the items, all these special gifts are given because of the happiness and love we share. With Easter coming up –here is a good thought to embrace, in a poem by -Sper: Because of love God sent His Son From heaven’s throne to earth To rescue us from sin and death – a Gift of priceless worth! An unknown author wrote: “The secret of happiness is not to do what you like to do, but to learn to like a...
Q: I saw an article about America being in the midst of a full-blown panic attack. Why are the citizens of the greatest nation on earth filled with anxiety, apprehension, and fear, no matter the politics, education, or religion? A: Humanity constantly seeks the answer to confusion, moral sickness, and spiritual emptiness that oppresses the world. Mankind cries out for guidance, comfort, and peace. Sadly, most people look in the wrong direction for the answers. This is nothing new. Perhaps the 24-hour news cycle has contributed to the awareness...
Pol Haldeman has lived on a ranch south of Cleveland in the Bear Paws since his family moved west from the Chicago area in 1954. He shared a story he thought readers might find interesting about his mother buying a Geiger counter. The federal government started using the Nevada Test Site (about 60 miles northwest of Las Vegas) in 1951 for research about atomic energy and weapons. Pol's mother figured with the up-tick in research there would be an increased demand for uranium. She ordered a...
Dale Mailand, from Harlem, asked me for a digital photo of the Whitlash church's steeple and belfry. I sent the photo and shortly received a poem Dale wrote about the building and installing of the steeple, an event that happened in 1973. Dale Mailand is an original member of the Montana Country Poets and Pickers, a group that has gathered for 25 years, meeting in Chinook for the last several winters. Dale's also a retired teacher, a former postal employee, a gunsmith and a self-described "Mr. F...
You know, Lord, the Bible states that GOD knows our purpose on this earth before we were ever born. In this age of options, opportunities, choices, and more, You Lord, of all creation, made us for a specific purpose and reason, so, in one sense, we cannot be just anything that we want to be. Now that is ‘food for thought’ right? We were formed and set apart for YOU. Part of our journey here on this earth is not to create our destiny, but to discover it. As we choose to connect with You, our maker, we connect with who WE truly are. Compassion is...
Columnist's note: Alert readers may recall my request for information about snow planes in our area in a June, 2017 article in the "Journal." I got a few rumors from that appeal but if snow planes were ever used in Blaine County, they were scarce at best. Snow planes, also called 'snow cars' or 'air-sleds,' don't fly. They are lightweight enclosed conveyances for one to four passengers powered by a rear mounted engine that drives a propeller. Most snow plane bodies sit atop a front ski and two...
My Fellow Montanan’s: I feel compelled to bring to your attention an issue that should concern you. The Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame [MCHF] Board of Directors wasted nearly $1 million in taxpayer and contribution funds and no one has been held to account. The MCHF Board has lost the trust and support of Montanan’s. Membership dues have declined from its peak in 2013 of $41,527 (that was before the news of the Big Timber Debacle was made public) to net dues of $13,634 in 2018. Members of the Board of Directors have declined from 21 (before the Bi...
Columnist's note: When Sherry (my wife) and I moved to Whitlash mid-December of last year our plan was to leave about this time (December, 2019) when Sherry's year of pastor-in-residence to the Whitlash Presbyterian Church would be completed. She and the congregation decided to extend the arrangement until next fall. That gave us a second Christmas at Whitlash. Our first Christmas here was very sad and neither my wife nor I have a clear recollection of our first Christmas in the Sweet Grass...
You know, Lord, sometimes it’s pleasant to think back when we were just little kids and remember, now and then, how we’d pretend to be asleep, and watch for or wait for Mama to tiptoe in to check on us or just watch us as we slept. Every so often, one of us might have been ill and if that happened that we were sick, Mama would come in to check on us, or just sit and pray for us, telling us that she was joining the Lord as He watched over us as we slept. As we grew older, sometimes night time prayers were just to bathe ourselves in the gra...
South of the Border, Column No. 39 Columnist's note. The postmaster in Whitlash pointed me to a poster in the post office. The poster shows a photo of a young woman posing with a copy of a small book. The book is the first novel she wrote, "The Wild West," and published in the winter of 2017. Mariah Eide lives on a ranch outside Whitlash. The postmaster said, "I think you'll find an interesting story if you visit with Mariah and her family." I contacted Eileen Eide, Mariah's mother, and spent...
Vicki Kultgen is the Postmaster in Whitlash. She's also a ranch wife, a mom and a volunteer with a variety of community groups. And, she owns and operates Broken Mountains Signs, an online business that makes and sells "western and rustic styled home décor." Three years ago this busy lady started her sign business and has sold 1000+ of her personally designed signs that include scripture, quotes and sayings. The start of the business might be described as the 'perfect storm.' Vicki and her husba...
This is a time of year when the expectations are so high and the demand for joyfulness is so great. We are filled with tunes like “Joy to the World” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”; we race around shopping for the perfect gifts, getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season; we fill our schedules with holiday parties and concerts; we turn out an abundance of Christmas cookies, chocolates, and special holiday meals. But this time of year can also highlight our sadness – our own darkness, fear, and grief. Maybe your loved one...
Before coming to Big Sandy, I worked with kids in a mental health facility. Most of the kids were pretty ordinary but had abusive or difficult upbringings. The result of their terrible life experiences was often a great deal of anger and dysfunction. It was a difficult job because we worked with kids that lived at the facility. Their parents weren’t there to care for them, so we had to fill in the best we could. The hardest part of the job was that we had to deal with clients at their worst. It became very easy to shift our mindset from one whe...
You know, Lord, sometimes we just seem to get stressed out, and that doesn’t please You, right? ‘Marcella’ shared how she stays on top of things and is relaxed amid the holiday rush. She called them the “Four Big C’s” and recommended them for a happier holiday season. Here’s how she Capitalizes on the Big c’s. CHRISTMAS CARDS: Write short notes in your cards in late November – or at least during the first week in December. Convey caring as you write, communicating that good feeling to your friends and loved one. That uplift will make you fee...
Columnist's note: In the past three weeks two community gatherings were held at Liberty Hall in Whitlash. The Hall is a 103-year old community meeting place, the first building completed when more than a century ago the old town site was abandoned and moved to the current location. The hall was built before a permanent church building, though a congregation was already functioning. Early settlers recognized the need for community-wide gatherings and built a suitable place for them to happen....
Columnist's note: Travelers in north central Montana are used to seeing pumpjacks (oil wells) dotting the region. Around Oilmont on the way from Whitlash to the I-15 access north of Shelby (on S-343) we pass a sizeable area of small, older-looking oil wells. Some are pumping, others seem to be idle. There's also a lot of abandoned buildings and equipment that were used to produce oil and gas. East of the town of Oilmont, about two and a half miles on the north side of the highway, there's a...
Columnist's note: In 2000, when my wife graduated from seminary and started a new career as a Presbyterian minister, we made an agreement: she had followed me and my career locations for about 30 years, now I would follow her and her career. While she pastored churches the arrangement has allowed me to try some interesting jobs in some far flung places-working on a grain farm in North Dakota, at a sugar beet plant in Minnesota, being a "toilet ranger" for the Forest Service in the Kootenai...
Robin Allen, a CHS Educator has assigned each of her Junior high students in Exploratory Agriculture a noxious weed to research. Their job is to be able to recognize noxious weeds as well as educate others on how to eradicate and stop the spread of the weed. There are a total of 36 weeds we will learn about through this project and the Blaine County Journal will Spotlight 1 or 2 each week. Dyer's Woad By Dentin DePriest: Life Cycle: The amount of time from the start of the stem growth to seed is...
Columnist's note: The Sweet Grass Hills are blessed with some very talented individuals. Not only are there ranchers and oil/gas operators, there are teachers, nurses, bureaucrats, writers and artists, even a former engineer on the B-2 stealth bomber. Jesse Thompson who lives on a ranch south of Whitlash, is a spokesperson for both the Montana Wool Growers and the Montana Angus Associations. I was curious how Jesse balances helping her husband, Chance, on their commercial Black Angus cow/calf...
Columnist's note: This past July the old Whitlash School was sold by sealed bid. That concluded more than a century of providing elementary education to students in the Whitlash area. Students now attend school in Chester. The history of the school is one of many examples how the pioneers and subsequent generations adapted to deal with the needs in rural communities. The Whitlash School hung on longer than most pioneer schools. Locals devised ways to acquire physical space for the school and...
Columnist's note: In early July I looked out a bedroom window and saw an empty flatbed truck go by our house pulling a trailer with a machine I recognized as one used for moving beehives. A few days later, along Whitlash Road, I saw a couple of groups of beehives that I was sure were not there earlier. I asked some local ranch families about the hives and they assured me I was not confused, the hives had just arrived. I'd never wondered about beehives in the Sweet Grass Hills. I talked to some...
