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Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, interesting ‘things’ happen, when a friend and her friend stop over, wanting to share a visit and some tea’; like fun, right?! J.C. began: “Hey, I just wanted to tell you about my guy. He’s one adorable chap, strong and brave, too. Interesting weather we’ve had, so, he got the tall ladder out, climbed to the top of the house, cleaned the eave troughs out. Looked scary to me, but he did a good job and safely climbed back down. He also helped the next-door elderly neighbors out...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, A DAY to remember our Mothers is Sunday. One chap wished to share a few thoughts: “I am made by God! And kiddo, you are made by God. Just as surely as ANY one, actually, every one of us, has been made by God, we have been made by Him and for Him. He knew us before anyone ever even knew we were there. God had plans for us before anyone planned our arrival and He made us so well! How do we know? Well, just look at all that God has made. He continued, “I like Psalm 139: 13-14 as God spea...
After my last week’s column about branding ran, several people contacted me to ask me to run my branding etiquette column again...so here it is once more. An emergency room nurse once said to me, “Branding must be really dangerous, because we see a lot of people in the ER that have been hurt at a branding.” I suggested to her that one reason for that is that anymore many horsemen do not ride their horses enough to keep them highly trained. Many do not ride their horses often enough in the early spring, and then they hop o...
It is branding season, which is the season when it is fun to go to another ranch's brandings but not nearly as fun to host your own branding. As a veteran of many years of branding, I offer the following tips--especially for aging ranchers: #1. As you age, so do your friends, and older people are not the most desirable branding helpers. Cultivate friendships with young people who are good ropers or will make good wrestlers. You can still invite friends your age, but they will expect an easier job like vaccinating or more...
Exciting News! CCPH has three $500 scholarships open to Carter County seniors graduating with the class of 2023. This scholarship is open to all graduates from public schools or students following a home school curriculum. The deadline to apply is May 12. Upcoming Events! Smiles Across Montana | Preventative dental care clinic open to all school aged kids regardless of where they attend school. New kid sign up deadline is May 15 and the event date is May 22. Contact our office or check out our Facebook page for sign up and...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes one might ‘learn’ a few things from ‘teeny tots.’ That was pretty cute when ‘D.G.’ shared about a great grandchild of her ‘d-i-l’s’ grandmother. She said that the two of them were sharing lunch when ‘J.M.’ said, ‘Hey – would you believe that my teeny tot Izzie just turned two years old, and she can talk? She lives nearby four grandmothers and has named them! So cute. Izzie’s parents farm near her mother’s parents so, she’s named that grandmother, ‘Rancher Grandma.’ T...
You know, Lord, sometimes we need to stop and take a breath – like, WHOA; MAY is almost upon us –WOW! What do we expect with MAY? Well, a friend decided to share some thoughts about MAY - like about how their wild crabapple blossoms are about to open, they already know that they will be so lovely! That is enough joy for any month. The wealth of aroma drenches the air. Before the blooms come, one anticipates their color, their perfume, their wild-wood wonder. When the blossoms do show up, they bask in sunlight on days of earli...
In these times of crazy inflation, everyone is looking to save a few bucks or find more efficient ways to do things. I love household hints, so I have compiled a few that tickled my funny bone even if they are not legitimate. (Disclaimer: Do not actually try these household hints at home—yours or anyone else’s!) 1. When you receive your bill at a restaurant table, fill in the blank for tip with the negative of the amount of the bill and put $0.00 on the total line. (Bonus tip: Do not plan to eat at this restaurant aga...
There are a lot of sleep deprived ranch families trying to function at this time of year, because calving happens 24/7. I loved this story written by Tucker Luthan about his wife Andrea. The Luthans run a cow/calf and farming operation in Idalia, Colorado, and this story is priceless! “A True Story from the Rafter TA” by Tucker Luthan Cold wasn’t a strong enough word to describe what the mercury was trying to say. The wind had swept up snow in its rage and thrown it wherever it thought handy the way a misunderstood presc...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes unexpected ‘things’ come together in surprising ways. ‘Miss Emy’ was delighted about Easter and how her family really liked John 8:12, a verse Jesus told his followers, before the Resurrection. She recited it: ‘When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ She changed the subject then, talking about her company, which was mostly family, this time, and how she’d o...
In August 2022, Ekalaka Public Schools was able to become licensed and open a daycare for the school staff. With the closing of our only local daycare, the district felt a strong need to keep staff employed and therefore took on this project. In January, the district ran a poll to see the need in Ekalaka for daycare and the results were overwhelming. 22 families not included in the EPS daycare responded that they too are in need of daycare services in Ekalaka with 70% of them...
My mother had an old medical reference book that we called “The Doctor Book.” Any time we or anyone in the neighborhood for that matter were ailing, she would get it out and disseminate remedies. I think I have become my mother--except that I have discovered WebMD. Using WebMD is much easier than looking things up in the doctor book. With just a couple clicks, you can find all the maladies alphabetized. They also have a wealth of information on everything from whitening your teeth to the benefits of doodling to improve you...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, we read the note Ms. Rosie wrote the day after Easter, mentioning how fun Easter had been at her place with her kids and grandkids. Then, the day after Easter, how they had all set aside their Easter bunnies in those bright candy baskets, but once the baskets were set aside, the colored eggs began to fade and begin to rot, and “cute” than turned into a chore to clean up. Not so much fun, but furthermore, it is then that we should begin our journey with Christ again. She added: “On t...
These last ten days have been among the toughest 10 days of calving that I have seen, and I am old! Most of south central Montana received two to four feet of heavy wet snow during a three day storm. Much of it came down horizontally, but it piled up, crusted, and made a terrible back drop for the busiest calving weeks of calving season for many of us. We felt lucky if we could find the calves in the deep snow with low visibility. We had calves in our vehicles, houses, tack rooms, and ATV’s every day and night for several d...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, an Easter Baskets is easy and fun to make. A small paper basket (3” X 1 ½ inches) with a little bunny pasted on the front, and across him is written ”Some bunny’s been pray‘in for you.” A while back a friend who taught a Sunday School class wanted a poem. She listed items she wanted included in the Easter Basket for hay (green Easter Grass) ‘some’ gold coins (‘peeps’), and an empty egg shell (representing the empty tomb). She wanted to be sure that at least the children in her clas...
Ekalaka Public Schools School Trustee Election, High School Technology Fund Levy, and Elementary General Fund Mill Levy On April 14, 2023, a mail-in ballot will be sent out to all registered voters in Carter County, MT. The ballot will have the following items to be voted on: School Trustee Election: Samantha Wright is running for a one (1) year term. Michael Ashbrook and Abbey Bruski are running for a three (3) year term, with one position open. High School Technology Fund...
A couple weeks ago at the Sweet Grass County Chamber of Commerce Banquet, rancher, Chuck Rein was named Ag Person of the Year. Chuck ranches and runs an outfitting business with his wife Pam and his son Charlie and his family on one of the most beautiful outfits on the planet in the shadow of the Crazy Mountains west of Melville, Montana. Chuck wrote this poem several years ago about riding colts with his son Charlie, and he shared it at the banquet. This poem sums up why ranchers ranch especially during times like this past...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, ‘D.S.’ shared about both Palm Sunday and Easter! She said, “Thinking back some years ago about Easter time, we remember that we stood in church on Palm Sunday watching the children parade through the aisles, waving their palm Branches. It was enjoyable watching the youngest ones hold onto a ‘cord’ secured to their Sunday School teacher so they could follow her through the jam-packed sanctuary because they were too small to see where they were going; they could hardly walk through the...
Because of my eyesight and health problems my articles have been slow coming. I would like to write about some businesses, owners and employees of past years. Let’s begin with those on the west end of Main Street and on the south side. First, C.M. Summers and Co. which was owned and operated by Summers, V.E. Figg and Henry Stenseth. Henry had an auto repair shop across the street and south of the station. Also employed was Ernest ‘Sharkey’ Stenseth, a mechanic; and Bud Penn, who was a parts manager for many years. Now going...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, it’s fun to hear how some families prepare for Holidays. ‘Tillie’ shared that one day she mentioned to her son and grandson that it was time to put up the Easter decorations! Her son offered to run up and get them out of the attic. Little grandson ‘Logan’ bounced up and down on his toes, clapped his hands and asked,” Can I help decorate, too.” I just smiled at him and told him ‘Sure’”. She mentioned how she loved to decorate for seasons, and that Easter ran a close second to Chris...
Now that Saint Patrick’s Day is over, my Easter decorations are calling me from the closet, but I am trying to ignore their call. It doesn’t seem worth it to drag out all of those tubs of decorations if they are only going up for a couple weeks, so I guess I should answer the call to optimize the decor time. Instead, I find myself checking out Pinterest for decorating ideas. I absolutely love Pinterest, because I can spend hours pinning and admiring thousands of cutesy ideas and avoid getting out the ladder and tubs and get...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, it’s interesting when a friend shares a motivating article or a feeling she may have about what she’s dealing with in life - so here goes. She mentioned the distressed disciples over the predominant blast buffering their boat, and how they woke Jesus and He quickly addressed the raging wind and waves: “Quiet! Settle down”! (Mark 4:39). The storm stopped! ‘E.V.’ continued. “You know what? That translation of Jesus’ words caught my attention. ‘Settle down.’ You know, I first heard t...
I will have been writing a weekly column for 27 years this June. The best part about being a columnist is reading my mail. Sometimes I get “fan mail” that I use to fan the fire in the wood stove, but usually I get really nice comments and fuel for my column instead of the fire. Two such pieces of mail arrived recently. One sweet letter, which came from T.J. Cheetham of Cloverdale Ranch in Redstone, Montana, sorted itself to the top of the pile by explaining that he and his wife of 58 years totally relate to my stories. His...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, recently a friend shared how her grandkids helped her discover that she was making no effort at all to express joy and happy feelings when she spoke to them, or even to the rest of her family. She shared that one little granddaughter was so excited when she knew that her Grandma had made them some lemonade to have for lunch. She said that she noticed ‘Mary’ was breathless and so excited, that it even took her breath away! And another day, how happy her grandson was when Grandpa had fo...
We just celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday, so it is time for what has become my annual tradition—my Dr. Seuss Whoville poem. Probably every generation feels that the overall moral and ethical state of the world is declining at breakneck speed, but we have two choices. We can either sit and wring our hands, or we can speak out against and fight it! The Whoville State of the Union: The Whos down in Whoville are led by Joe, A man who is senile, incompetent, and slow. Yet Joe has great vision for the masses. Looking through his...
