Your Community Builder
Your Community Builder
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Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! I hope yours went as well as mine. Well, I’m writing this the week before Christmas, so I’m just figuring that mine went well. Over the years, Christmas has gotten easier. I think that year I bought Shirley the “Buttmaster” was the low point of our marriage! Suzanne Sommers made it sound like it would be the perfect gift. I guess maybe Suzanne wasn’t married to an Irish woman. Oh, if I could just write well enough to describe the look on her face as she tore the wrapping open on that last...
I know my husband worked until he was 69; I am only 67 but I have health issues. Bright Ideas will disappear for a while or forever. I’m not sure which. I have medical issues I haven’t mentioned. Are they the result of MS or just bad luck? I’ll have two appointments in January with Doctors in Billings to end jaw pain, and in Miles City to slow the progression of MS. If Bright Ideas disappears forever, I will miss all of you. If this is just a medical leave, I’ll be back. Even I don’t know if this is good bye, I hope you...
To continue on with my memories of our early neighbors including, Frank (Bun) and Margaret (Peggy) Castleberry, who had a home built up the road from us up to the north. Again, Bud Heckman and his crew were the builders, and I was included in a little part of it. Shifting Scenes has some very interesting articles about the Castleberry families, including the Frank and Ida Castleberry family. It was written by Marshall Lambert (Volume I, pages 136-139). Frank (Bun’s dad) came to Montana from Texas in 1885 at the age of 15 a...
Hello, Over the years you hear lots of stories. Stories of jokes that guys have played on one another. I’ve written about them in the past. About Johnny putting the dead calf in Clarence’s pasture. And Clarence buying a pail calf and then unable to find the mother of the dead calf. I’ve written of the night they hauled Terry’s bulls home, and then returned his pickup to where it was parked behind the Buckskin, and left the endgate open. But I don’t think I ever told you the pig story. Oh, I know I’ve told the tale of my...
Every year we open gifts for kids and gifts from kids, Katie and Clayton, on Christmas Eve. We did that when I was a kid. We’d go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, have a meal, and open presents. One year my uncle Donnie had gotten a present for the girl he was going to marry. It disappeared. Grandma probably threw it away. Her sons never made good choices of wives; Grandma never liked them for at least for 15 years. The same was not true of her mother. Mom wanted to stay with her and her husband, my Great Grandparents, until t...
As we snuggle into our homes during the winter season, Southeast Electric Cooperative shares some safety tips. Use your space heater safely Many people turn to space heaters as a convenient source of warmth in winter months. However, space heaters can be dangerous if not used properly. • Keep the heater at least three feet from flammable items such as curtains, furniture or bedspreads. • Select a space heater with a guard around the heating element. • Read and follow the m...
Ready for winter? Snow shovel out, snow blower gassed up? If you are a bear, you eat a lot, then sleep for six months. If you are a bird, you may either head to the sunny south or hunker down for a winter of birdfeeder visits. But if you are a fish, then what? Ah fish, the forgotten animals. Fish of Montana don't go anywhere exotic in winter and don't hibernate. Their behavior, however, may change with the seasonal changes in their habitat and food supply. We tend to focus...
Hello, Some years ago I was at a horse sale. Seth brought in a cute little pony. A real small pony. About thirty inches tall. It was a beauty. And well broke. But not for kids. That last line kind of hurt the sale. I don’t suppose any of you need a pony? Or a whole bunch of ponies. Ponies are bad. They are evil. I remember from when I was young. I think my pony’s name was Laurie or something like that. And then she was followed by Scratch, my brothers pony. A pony is a real small horse that should be ridden by adults. Mea...
Monday was my 67th birthday. I remember my 7th birthday. The dining room table was surrounded by friends: Kaye, my age, her brother Gary, I always had a crush on Gary; he was two years older than we, another Gary (Cassidy), his younger brother, Steve something, he lived in the house next to ours, a girl who lived up the hill, Sue Biggerstaff, and my uncle Donnie! Gary Cassidy’s father was CEO of the $.05 and $.10 store. That’s where the kids bought Christmas presents. I remember one year my brother bought me the largest bot...
Hello, Shirley says I am “Scrooge”. I’m not much into early Christmas. I don’t shop. I don’t decorate. I am critical of those that do. I know I shouldn’t be this way. I have grandkids that really look forward to this season. So I am trying to be better. But I still don’t think Black Friday should be a holiday. I am thinking that I shouldn’t have to write a column on “Cyber Monday”, whatever the heck that is. It has been close to thirty years since I was in the legislature. If I were back I would introduce a bill that no deco...
We are so lucky to have Katie, Clayton and their children here in Ekalaka. Gage, their older son helped stir the gravy, he dug the dressing from the turkey and carried food to the table. Without a dishwasher, Clayton and Katie washed all the dirty dishes brought up. They were back before supper for some left-over stuffing; we could have given them gravy that will be boiled and added to turkey broth that boils out of the bird bones. Maybe Brice can make home-made noodles. Those make the soup wonderful. They were back for...
V. E. Figg and crew built our present house at its location of 521 North Central Ave in the summer of 1956. We added an addition in 1984-85. The agreement was that Phyl., and I would finish all the sheet rock and paint the house inside and stain the siding outside. The house was small but had several small rooms which made for lots of per-fa-taping and “mud” work. Material and tools were a little different at the time – a powder mixed with water for “mud” and a product called Dramax used for texture finish. Sorry no textur...
In providing legal services to Eastern Montana, I find that it is essential to keep the public up-to-date on the legal trends in the area and some of the basic information about the legal system. This first article includes general information about what a lawyer is, when you should contact a lawyer, and why you need a lawyer. What is a lawyer? A lawyer is a licensed professional who advises and represents people and businesses in legal matters. Lawyers are specifically trained on how to interpret statutes, analyze case law,...
Hello, Saturday morning dawned cold and windy. The forecast was for warming by noon, but the brisk wind was dang sure cold early. We were on our way down to Will and Jen’s ranch to preg check cows. As usual, the drive down was pretty uneventful. I always enjoy the drive across SW North Dakota and NW South Dakota. You don’t meet a lot of traffic, and you can see for miles and miles. A herd of mule deer, including one nice buck, were oblivious to the fact that we are in the middle of deer season. They were grazing on the sho...
Our dishwasher “died” a couple months ago. It had been ailing for many weeks, complaining each night when Brice turned it on. He did that at bedtime because I would have ear plugs keeping the sound away from me. Brice can sleep through anything; I would remain awake without the ear plugs. Eventually the complaints ended and it was silent. Instead of replacing it, Brice just washed the dishes every morning. We don’t use many dishes, both eating off the same plate. When I was growing up, my friend Kaye’s father sold appliances,...
Hello, I know some of my readers are suffering through the same thing I am. I am starting to forget stuff. I used to forget simple things. Things like ‘take the garbage out” or “swing by and pick up a gallon of milk”. But now it has been getting worse. I’ve always been poor at names. I just nod and say “Hi”. Especially if you run into someone who shouldn’t be there. Like if you see someone from Bismarck at the grocery store, or maybe a bar, in Dickinson. But lately it has been getting worse. I forgot how to write. I can st...
I apologize for not having a Bright Idea last week; one finished article rested in the computer, but no one knew about it and I was “out of it” enough not to mention it. I might add it next week. This week is already covered. I don’t like to mention my medical problems; you can’t fix them, and I don’t want you to worry. But I’ve been dealing with a nasty nerve pain in my right lower jaw — just where it hinges. Its medical name is trigeminal nerve pain. I’ve tried drugs to quiet the pain, and I landed in the hospital last S...
Hello, They are forecasting single digit lows for tonight. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It happens every year about this time. So today we will start winterizing tanks, rolling up garden hoses, and insulating the pumphouse doors. Maybe. At least we will talk about it. We usually don’t do that stuff until the hoses are covered and the water lines have frozen. Because someone will call and need help weaning calves today. Or someone will text me that they need a partner in pinochle. In all my trips around the sun that is...
Hello, In the fall I attend several livestock auctions. Sometimes I am selling. Sometimes I am buying. Usually I am just watching. This helps when I have to do my year end balance sheet for my bankers. Note the term. Bankers. I have more than one. But by attending the sales, you can kind of get an idea what your net worth is. And how much you will be lying as you fill that sheet out. Much of the time, I take one of my grandsons along. It’s been that way since I had grandkids around. At first, they think it is a neat deal. T...
I tend to think of myself as I was at 27 or 30, full-voiced, opinionated, the sort of person you either liked or didn’t. I never was big, but I tried to stand tall. I was a Democrat, but there were a few other Democrats in this mostly Republican county. Certain established Republican women had a hard time enduring me, but I brought a local boy home after a 17 year absence. My husband didn’t choose to attend Chamber of Commerce meetings; he took care of kids. I became a member of the organization. When a former president of...
I would like to finish my articles about Bob Renshaw and his family. He has such a detailed account of their homestead days and activities of people during those years. Renshaw even tells of his years in the court house as the clerk and recorder. In 1942 he was not elected and made the following statement: “I felt lost and hopeless, wondering at age fifty-four what possible road to take.” He made contact with the Banker Life Company of Des Moines, Iowa to sell life insurance. After a training course and test he was given a li...
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Breast cancer has touched the lives of many of us; whether you are a breast cancer survivor, in the midst of breast cancer treatment, or have a loved one who has been diagnosed. For women in the United States, breast cancer is the second most common cancer, with skin cancer being the first. However, breast cancer can occur in men as well, but it is rare. Breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells. Cancer occurs when there are abnormal changes in the genes that are...
Hello, As we get closer to Halloween, it gives time to think of Halloweens from the past. Several years ago there was a fire called the Halloween fire. It was a windy devil and a fire started over toward Sidney, Montana. It burned for miles and miles. I think it was finally stopped by the Little Missouri River south of Watford City. Wasn’t as bad as the fire that the late, great Danny Woods used to tell about. Danny was a rancher down in the breaks along the little river. He had wonderful stories that he told so much; e...
The core of our house went up in the 1950s. It consisted of a very small bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen — just enough room for an old bachelor to settle at the end of the day. The outside walls were split logs, revealed in later modifications. Whole families lived in equally tiny homes in early days. A young married couple moved into the house we now own, and the groom’s father helped him go to work. When the groom had the expertise to build by himself, a total of three rooms had been added, enough space to raise three dau...
This year we were lucky to harvest plenty of tomatoes to eat, freeze, and share. We had enough apples to can applesauce and make a pie and crumble. Brice still picks the occasional apple off the tree. A small pepper crop turns colors in our house; cayenne peppers ripen in the shop. Now the task of dismantling begins. Three short rows of corn stalks were pulled out; the birds took the last kernels from the garden. Twelve tomato plants were pulled off cages and metal fence posts used to hold them up. When they were taken down t...
