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It’s been a long time since I have written an article for the Eagle, but a short time ago I was going through the “Shifting Scenes” books and came upon a very interesting family. It starts in Volume II on page 746. The names were William and Ruby Rowley. There are three or four pages about them. One of my first thoughts was that every student used the name “Mister Rowley” — he may have been called Bill at Lions Club meetings but never by any student. In my opinion, he was the greatest teacher Carter County High School has...
Contest Highlights Carter County Public Health’s Tobacco Prevention Program recently sponsored a door decorating contest at Ekalaka Public Schools for the second year. This year the theme was “The Great American Smokeout.” The Great American Smokeout is an initiative by the American Cancer Society. Thousands of people mark November 17th as the date to make a plan and start living life smoke free. The local event allows the students to be creative while learning about the harmful effects of tobacco and about programs that...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know Lord, friends stop occasionally and tell interesting stories about their lives. A gal, we’ll call her Jill, stopped a while ago, mentioned how lovely the Autumn’s Leaves were, some falling, some still attached to their branches. She giggled, mentioning that her Aunt Jane, who lives a WAYS away, had told her that in her small town, she’d noticed a playground by a school with a high fence around it. Both of us thought that fence might prevent deer from hopping over; we giggled…like WHAT woul...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, when someone says, “Remember when…” that phrase stirs up all kinds of feelings of warmth and happiness; all five senses seem to partake in the memories. There’s just something about recollecting the past that feels good. We each have a particular yearning to bring back moments in time, moments when life seemed simpler, like remembering that our Dad whistled or hummed while he worked. Reminiscing about Mom, we can almost smell the yeasty scent of homemade bread and hear her hum or sing...
Every year right before Thanksgiving back when I was teaching English, I would ask all of my junior high students to write poems entitled, "I Am Thankful For..." I always modeled a few lines of an example poem for them, so with a very straight face I would write, "My two delightful children, Bret and Brooke." This line was easier to write without smirking if neither of them had been in the sheriff's report or the principal's office in the past week. Recently I was moaning about my failures as a parent/grandparent to my...
We have been enjoying a beautiful fall, but suddenly Mother Nature decided to turn on us with prolonged snow and cold these last couple weeks. We old timers well remember the horrible winter of 1978-79 which followed a really nice fall right up until November 9, 1978 when winter hit and did not leave until March 1979. As I sit in my warm house by the fireplace, I remember one particular hunting camp experience when winter hit with a vengeance before we were ready in the backcountry. Diary of a Hunting Camp Cook: Day #1: It...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: A brand-new day, full week ahead, Birthdays most every day! Each one of you, we hope the best for Happy Jolly Day. Most are our friends, and Aunties, three! Some cousins mixed in too. All are good cooks, desserts they loved, Aunt ‘K’ made the best stew! Two Aunties left in the 60’s, some cousins flew off too. But we’re still here, God has a plan, we still have work to do. Some twins were born,though miles away – their favorite fruit, a peach! And several guys also showed up – and once these two did...
We shipped our calves this week, which generated lots of material for a humor column because funny stuff happens when you combine a bunch of cattle and horses and cowboys and elk hunters and things that break down at inopportune times. But, somehow, when I sat down to write, another topic weighed in heavier. A look at the calendar reminded me that Veteran's Day is Friday, and my thoughts turned to veterans. One of those people we can always count on to help us work cattle is Casey Talkington, who did two tours in the sand....
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, some years ago, author, Bill Crowder, shared some interesting things about helping ourselves, stating that when we put You first, Lord, we know that You look beyond the surface things of our lives to what really matters. Quoting him: “Recently I saw a television ad for a restaurant chain that made a dramatic claim. At those restaurants, the ad said you would “Help Yourself to Happiness,” Wouldn’t it be nice if a helping of potatoes or meat or pasta or desert would be all that was...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: November snow may come real soon, there’s still work to be done. Friends and neighbors have helped a lot, bit more ‘fore change of SUN[1]! Did you get snow, or is it gone? Winter is on its way! Some rain could fall, it’s needed here. Twould make a lovely day. It’s time to bring the cows back home – they ate the pasture clean. They sure do like their summer time – now brown where once was green. Harvest is done and hay hauled in, prepared for winter time. A rancher’s work is very hard. Yoo Hoo!...
I receive many submissions from readers, and I love to share them. However, in my 27 plus years of writing this column, I believe this is the funniest piece about shipping cattle any reader has ever sent me. Thanks, Tom Ogle of Paris, Illinois for making me laugh out loud! “MONTANA FLAT TIRES AND RATTLESNAKES by Tom Ogle On October 3, 2015 my dream of becoming "Tom Selleck in Montana" quickly became "Tom Ogle, just make it back to Paris Illinois.” I had flim-flammed a stay at a real working ranch through a friend of a cou...
submitted by Carter County Public Health COVID-19 Bivalent Booster Available | Call for an appointment. Protects against the original strain and the Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. *RESCHEDULED* Alzada Flu Clinic | The Alzada Flu Clinic event is rescheduled for Wednesday November 2. We anticipate having the COVID-19 Booster available as well for anyone interested. No cost Flu shot. Please bring an insurance card. Open to those 6 months and older. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent. Watch for details on location...
There are many extraordinary people living in Melstone, Montana (population 126) including Sage Newman, who has a commanding lead in the 2022 PRCA Saddle bronc standings and J.R. Vezain, who has inspired millions with his mission entitled "Will To Walk" following the tragic bareback, bronc riding accident that paralyzed him in 2018. Another iconic Melstone resident, whom many readers have met in his 90 years as a beloved Melstone resident, Eric “Bud” Hjelvik joined the Lord and his wife Betty Lou on October 20, 2022. Bud was...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, IF we paid attention to things that go on around us, we might see some amazing things; just sharing a moment near the Post Office: A little girl walked fast across the parking lot, then stopped as a breeze got frisky; three trees nearby gave a shower of leaves. She started dancing and singing; “Grandma! The breeze – it’s tossing golden leaves, they’re sticking to my sleeves,” She stopped as the breeze stopped, then fell down a golden leaf onto her hand. “Grandma! I think the Ang...
Although it has been a beautiful autumn, the "Old Farmer's Almanac" is predicting that winter is going to be rather old fashioned. Our High Plains region is going to be colder than normal, with the coldest periods in late November, early December, early and late January, and early and late February. Precipitation and snowfall will be above normal in the north and below normal in the south. The snowiest periods will be in mid- to late November, mid- to late January, and early February. Over on the western side of Montana in...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, it’s great to come across something so neat about rain – how it often begins with a sharp pattern, but when snow comes, it usually comes very softly. Can’t we all just see the picture: the wind brushing up the clouds, the brook held down by ice, and then the sudden coming of the “white bees of the moon”? Just sharing a poem about all that, which was written by Joseph Auslander: “The clouds were all brushed up and back The wrong way by the wind; The trees were attired in black; The br...
While going through some old files recently, I came upon the following information. As you read it, remember the date and the amount. How many years ago? It doesn’t seem possible that the high school is that old; and what a bargain! I believe Jim Anderson was superintendent at the time and I was chairman of the board. The debt was to be paid in twenty years and each payment was for sixty-five thousand dollars. The following minutes are from the January 11, 1979 Carter County High School board meeting. “(THIRD MEETING) MINUTES...
This week I would like to share more on the Ed and Mabel McCord family which I wrote about in the September 30th Eagle. Their daughter, Ruth, shared a full life history of her parents and children. I would like to follow with some memories of personal time spent with two or three of them. The year was 1942, World War II was in progress. I was in the seventh grade and Dale McCord was an eighth grader. At his graduation in the old high school, a couple from Alzada came for the occasion. Things had been worked out and we loaded...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, watching birds is entertaining as well as educational. One morning recently we saw a plump robin fly in and carefully land on the edge of the birdbath. He, of the red breast, after looking all around, drank slow and long. He must have been ‘working’ hard somewhere to be so thirsty; then with one more upward gaze, he jumped right into the birdbath for a quick splash. That brought a chuckle for right then some cowboy wisdom (author unknown) came to mind. “Always drink upstream from th...
When Covid hit, we decided to stop offering working cattle ranch vacations, which means my summers have become much less hectic but also less entertaining on a daily basis. One of the best parts about entertaining guests is recounting the funny things that happen. Sometimes it is quite difficult to keep a straight face when guests say something in all sincerity that strikes my funny bone. For example, I was in Yellowstone with four guests from New York. One of the teenage girls did not bother to get out of the car to view a...
submitted by Carter County Public Health COVID-19 Bivalent Booster Available | Call for an appointment. The updated Moderna booster is for everyone 18 and older. The updated Pfizer booster is for everyone 12 and older. It protects against the original strain and the Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. Preventative Dental Care for all school aged kids | Public Health’s partner, Smiles Across Montana, will be returning to Carter County in the middle of October. This is a preventative dental care opportunity for all school aged k...
Since early season rifle has been going on for several weeks, there are some hard working mule packers pounding down the trail every day packing duffel, trophy horns, dead elk and deer, and most importantly food for hunters and hay for livestock. It might seem like a romantic occupation, but really it is pure hard heavy work that means long hours in the saddle and thus a lot of time to contemplate. My friend, Jerry Yoder, was the packer for most of the back country hunts and trips I cooked on for the K Lazy 3. He spent a lot...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, for every Action, there WILL be a reaction. Various stories from several states told about beavers toppling trees onto power lines, knocking out power to a large swath of customers. Power repairmen said “Those marks are consistent with a beaver having brought the tree down and there are wood chips around the tree.” Beavers felling trees are an action; the reaction is a huge power outage, possible fires and roads being closed. The problem must be fixed, which the power company did/d...
This is the time of year when cattle producers are busy marketing their cattle. Although technology has opened up many more options for marketing cattle such as internet live auctions, internet static auctions, drone film, etc., it is kind of tragic that the days of showing the cattle buyer around the ranch are pretty much bygone. I wrote this poem years back when the day the buyer came to see the calves was a big event on the ranch, but it was inspired by Roundup, Montana veterinarian, Dr. Loren Appell who always prescribed...
For some unknown reason while thinking about a memory article, the McCord family kept coming to mind. Their family lived close to our family on the south side of Ekalaka during my grade and high school years. I would like to go back many years and share some memories of some of that family. To do this, I am going to take the article written by their daughter, Ruth, in “Shifting Scenes Vol. III,” pages 136-137. I have some memories of my connection with two or three family members and will share later as the “Shifting Scene...
