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One of my favorite things to do when I am visiting my rural schools during the holiday season is to ask the younger students to help me write instructions on how to cook a turkey. The following instructions were given by the two youngest students at Melville School. Nodin Selke in first grade gave the following cooking directions: Get a million pound turkey. Take the turkey out of the wrapper and put it in a pot. Put salt and pepper and garlic on it. Cook it in the oven for 50...
December 2, 2024 Thanksgiving week was a chilly one, and stayed below freezing at Capitol and on Tie Creek, but the sunshine was happy and bright. Erma Albert needed work on her glasses, so on Monday, Dick took her to the Hills to the eye doctor. They stopped to get groceries and already had a turkey in the freezer for Thanksgiving. The Senior Citizen Thanksgiving dinner was last week. Dick and Erma stayed home and feasted on Thanksgiving with turkey and dressing. On Sunday, they went to church at the Catholic church in...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, a friend shared that she had read about slowing down time – and that so much has changed since the electric clock was invented in the 1840s! That was most interesting to watch or think about how we today keep time, no matter where we go or what we do, it seems like most folks, especial the younger ones, all know about smart watches, smart phones, and laptops. Chuckle chuckle! Seems like the entire pace of life seems faster now – eve...
I absolutely love guest columns and teaching writing, so this week when I was subbing at Melville School, I asked my upper grade writing class to write guest columns complete with recipes. They did a great job, and hopefully they will be inspired to keep writing! This is week one of guest columns. Tune in next week for more! Have a blessed Thanksgiving, everyone! Semi Scandal by Dally Cosgriff One cool fall day, my Uncle Gregory was working on a motor in a shop in Greycliff,...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, it's a blessing to say 'THANKS' – that's an honor to God. That thought popped up as several guys were discussing the cancer diagnosis of their uncle. 'Johnny' spoke, stating that he'd been in the room with his uncle when the Dr. came in, suggesting he start each day by giving thanks, "For at least three things," she suggested. 'Dan' stated that Uncle starts out each day with words of praise; Thank You, God, for a good night's sleep. F...
November 18, 2024 Capitol and Tie Creek saw frost on the pumpkins, on Sunday morning. Things had finally gotten pretty chilly during the night. On Monday afternoon, Ronda Cordell drove to Rapid City to stay over-night at Cristen and Jayda Westling's. On Tuesday morning, Ronda had an appointment with a Rapid City dermatologist. She met Curt Zolnoski for a late breakfast after the appointment. Then, she was back to Spearfish by one-thirty for a chiropractor appointment. Diane Wear came to the ranch after work on Monday, to...
October, 2024 Tuesday, the first day of October, was spent doing 1 on 1's and a Bible Study with Karen. After dinner Vernalea Kittelmann spent the afternoon playing "Wild 10" with the ladies. My understanding is Faye Kennedy won the game. Wednesday morning a group went through their exercise session and from there played with a big ball. The afternoon activity was playing a game of "5 Crown". Marty's sister Janice Krietel joined the ladies and came out on top! Thursday, Jimmy Curry along with his sisters made a trip to Miles...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes while out shopping, it can be quite interesting when passing by several others who are/were chatting away. One gal seemed to do the most chatting and mentioned how overwhelmed she was, just thinking about the future and all the problems that she and her hubby had to tackle – which all seemed, right then, that they were way too big. Her friend then spoke and said, "Marty, you sit right near me in church, didn't you hear P...
When I see all the pictures of trophy deer, elk, and moose that people have shot and posted on social media, I start missing my hunting camp experiences. Hunting camp cooking was a delightful experience! I got up at 3 a.m., tried not to singe my bangs lighting the kerosene lamps, fired up the wood stove, cooked all day, prepared elk heart appetizers, waited anxiously for hunters to arrive several hours past the optimum serving time of the entrees, and packed 50 gallons of...
As Thanksgiving approaches, the School Board expresses gratitude for the dedicated staff and supportive community. The board recently elected Lisa Borchgrevink as Chair and Mike Ashbrook as Vice Chair. Staff Morale and Community Input The board received results of a recent staff climate survey. While the overall results were positive, the board recognizes the importance of continued improvement. To further enhance communication and collaboration, the district plans to seek...
November 11, 2024 Ronda Cordell made a trip to the bank in Buffalo, on Monday. She was afraid the mail would be at ‘Pony Express’ speed through some far-off post office. Some of her mail has a new address, and the bank has changed her address to Capitol Rock Township with a South Dakota zip code. No one has been able to explain this change, or why this change has occurred. Ronda called the newspaper and Seaton Publishing, who tried to change the address back, but the computer would not allow the change. The letter had ori...
One of the nicest compliments I receive is when readers tell me that they have hung my column on their refrigerator or mailed it to someone (often anonymously) to try to make a point humorously and semi-tactfully. Since we are going into the holiday feast season, and since several readers have asked me to rerun my code of conduct for the holidays column, I am sending out this list of Grandma's house rules that might serve as a gentle reminder for family dinner etiquette....
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, it might be fun to go back in time (for a short time) when life moved at a slower pace. We'll leave behind: high speed internet, cell phones, telephones, T. V., GPS and electricity. Back then, for us, was daily chores: milking cows, gathering eggs, cleaning chickencoop and barn, slopping pigs, feeding bucket calves, hoeing garden and plum trees, cooking meals from scratch, and in Autumn, making jams, jellies, canning fruits,...
This week we will vote in a Presidential election that has the potential to change the course of our country. By the time this column runs, we will likely know the outcome of the 2024 election. Regardless of whom we chose to vote for, we have Veterans to thank for preserving our right to vote and our right to freedoms that we cannot take for granted. As Veteran's Day approaches, my heartfelt gratitude goes out to all Veterans, but I especially feel deep sadness for those who s...
November 4, 2024 Tie Creek and Capitol got some rain this week. It was actual rain, and the soft drizzle lasted all day. There were even puddles that the cats stared at, in surprise, and avoided with curiosity. Dick and Erma Albert had eye doctor appointments on Tuesday. Their prescriptions did not have to be changed, but Dick’s scratched lenses needed to be replaced. On Friday, they went to the Senior Citizen Dinner, and were glad to visit with Delores Sperle and some of her family. Church on Sunday was early. It was also t...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, a quick glance at the large colorful thermometer by the Beauty Shop shows "how the weather is doing", as weather is one thing most folks love to talk about, besides grain prices and grandkids, this thermometer 'sort of' lets you know "how the weather's doing." While chatting, Joni said, at the beauty shop the other day, conversations about church, café, kids, clothes, were quickly put aside, once the weather of the day and week...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, in a few days a 'time-change' is coming up – like when we get up and when we go to bed. Not everyone likes to deal with 'Time Change'! Oh – it probably only affects people; it probably doesn't 'bother' birds, beasts, beavers or bears' – 'nor the chickens', one gal added. But remembering WAY back when we were kids at home and had to 'help' do the chores; milking the cows, for a while, we got a bit less milk in the milk bucket but the co...
October 28, 2024 Another Indian summer week at Capitol and on Tie Creek. Still we are wishing for some rain. When we saw frost on the windows one morning, we were so excited about having that much moisture. Erma Albert was a little sad on Wednesday when she went to the chiropractor in Buffalo. She knew it was his last day of appointments in Buffalo. He is busy in Sturgis, so he won’t be making the trip out to Buffalo. On Friday, Dick and Erma went to the monthly chicken dinner at the Senior Center. There were a couple of b...
September, 2024 Sunday, September 1st Betty Cline and Valorie O'Connell represented the Lutheran Church by coming in and having a gospel sing. Thank you, ladies, for sharing your Sunday afternoon with us. Betty also shared some of her garden produce with the dietary dept. Monday, Labor Day, was the last 4-day weekend for the summer. For the most part I feel people who did not have to come to work just stayed home and worked, truly it was Labor Day! Tuesday, Sept. 3, Gloria Preuss along with her daughter Lisa made the...
I remember well the winter of 1978-79. I was a sophomore in college, and it had been a beautiful fall like this one right up until winter hit on November 9. It was brutal, and it stayed until mid-March. I personally hope this year's predictions of an extreme winter are wrong, but we will know for sure next spring. I wrote this diary one year when the fall had been balmy in the back country, and then Mother Nature unleashed winter on us. Diary of a Hunting Camp Cook Day #1: It...
October 21, 2024 Last week, when Ronda Cordell was coming home from the Methodist Bazaar in Camp Crook, she noticed a car on the Exie Road, but it never came out. Denise had noticed a guy and two dogs that were walking in her pasture. It appeared they were bird hunting since the guy was carrying a gun. Denise had assumed that Ronda had given someone permission to hunt, but she hadn’t. Ronda doesn’t like archery hunting, especially because many animals are hit, but are found later having suffered lingering deaths. She has fou...
I am writing this column as a public educator who has served my community as a teacher and administrator for 44 years. I care deeply about our public schools, but I know that there are many who seek to undermine public education even further this legislative session than they did during the last few sessions. Now is the time to get ahead of a snowball headed for public education hell--the introduction of the voucher system. In Montana, we have always had school choice-public,...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, while walking by a group of ladies, one spoke a little loudly saying: "I'm not just a warm body!" That heated comment in a small group was a few church gals; they probably had a few MORE comments but - what, for goodness sakes, is wrong with having a 'warm body'? Don't we all have a warm body? If we take a moment to THINK ABOUT IT, we're all "just warm bodies" doing various acts of volunteer service as unto to You, Lord. Nevertheless,...
Heaven gained an angel last week when my friend, Linda Story, lost her battle with cancer. Her obituary is so beautiful, I want to share it, but I also had to write a little tribute to her, because she was such an amazing woman. Ride On Ahead Thirty years ago, Steve and Linda hired on to run the Hobble Diamond across the Yellowstone. They left their home in Colorado to run the place flawlessly and tirelessly as if it were their own. Linda worked with Steve as a team, and they...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, had to 'eavesdrop' a bit when a small group gathered. One lad said, "Auntie, some lady gave my mom a silly calendar with weird things written by each day. Mom opened it, looked things over, then started to laugh and said, 'Laddy, would you believe on your birthday, in March, it shows that your day, the 23rd, it's 'Chip and Dip Day' and neighbor, Helen's day, the 1st, is Peanut Butter Lover's Day.' And look at this, the 3rd – which i...
