Your Community Builder
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Editor’s note: The following poem was written and submitted by Erwin Curry, former Carter County resident. It was everything to me: A delight of discovery, A sign of seasons turning, A source of entertainment, A refuge from sadness, A solitude for thought. Boxelder Creek, my dependable Boxelder. Cottontails, beaver, rattlesnakes, Mink tracks, deer tracks - raccoons. Tall cottonwoods, fluff afloat, Magpies in the morning. Licorice smell from the wild. Boxelder, my dependable Boxelder. Life can be chaotic. My first eighteen y...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, the old is everlastingly new as we anticipate the celebration of Christmas. Though that special event, Your gift of Your only begotten Son from heaven, happened about 2000 years ago, it is unendingly a pristine, a new, a treasured message each year. Thank You, Lord, for the Christmas story in Luke, chapter two, where the Angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.” Below is a little poem that draws att...
Technically, I am retired. Granted, I have a couple part-time jobs that occupy my leisure time, but every year I find myself in the same predicament as I look down the barrel of the Christmas gun. Every year, it is as though Christmas sneaks up on me out of the blue. So with just hours left before Christmas, I am in my usual pre-Christmas panic caused mostly by procrastination! I made several batches of my favorite fudge, but I made them too early, and we have eaten or given it away already. No problem! All I have to do is...
The countdown to Christmas is on, and I am even more panicked than usual because of added Covid holiday stress. This year, like every other year, I had grandiose plans of creating a Christmas that would make Martha Stewart drool. The reality is that the 2020 Christmas I will create would make Martha laugh until she drooled. We did get the tree up early, which just means that it is already shedding like it is late in evergreen molting season. I think Remi found the biggest fattest tree in the forest. It takes up an entire corn...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: A long time ago when we were kids ‘training’ for Christmas shows, we almost didn’t have ‘nuf kids’ to make the ‘show’ a go! The Church was small, ‘bout ‘leven kids, they all wanted a part. Teacher, Ms. Kay, assigned the roles; she had a caring heart. One gal, Mary, had her robe ‘stuffed’; ‘actors’ were all ‘pre-teens’! Joseph would lead ‘stick-horse’ donkey – now that was quite a scene! Came to an INN, asked for a room, Innkeeper said, “Not HERE!” But pointed back behind the Inn, “The stable...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes Holidays can be difficult. A friend’s reminder about SO many more obits in the paper due to Covid-19, as we are now entering the holiday season, surely means a lot more folks are having a difficult time, due to the loss of their loved one. She mentioned that her dear friend lost a special Uncle in a different state and that another friend told her about the loss of her dear cousin, also in a different state. Friends near or far, are experiencing heartache. We know that You...
Even Dr. Fauci declared on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, “We say it, not being facetiously or having a soundbite or anything, but you know: close the bars, keep the schools open." To ABC's Martha Raddatz, Fauci stated, "Obviously, you don't have one size fits all, but as I've said in the past, and as you accurately quoted me – the default position should be as best as possible, within reason, to keep the children in school and get them back to school.” Opening our schools and keeping them open has proven to be harder than...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: It’s amazing, Lord, when one finds an interesting article to share! The following is by Ruth C. Ikerman, entitled: Do what You Don’t Have To DO. “A friend who thoroughly enjoys each new Christmas season once told me in a moment of fellowship that rich secret of her perennial enjoyment; Christmas IS Good News. ‘Do first, what you have to do for Christmas; get it out of the way. Then you can do what you don’t have to do. The good news: That’s the real meaning of Christmas and it blessings you...
I was born into my parents' outfitting business, and I have spent many years as a hunting camp cook, so I have always revered hunting guides. I love to listen to hunters' tales of how their guide nearly killed them off dragging them to the top of every mountain but how it was worth it in the end to shoot an elk on a wilderness hunt. Recently, however, I have come to think that being a hunting guide is not all that difficult. In fact, I have stumbled upon a low stress method of guiding elk hunters. Let me explain! The regular...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes we just need to say “Thank You, Lord” for being so good to us, for always being so loving and kind. It’s a necessity to speak out and tell others that we are redeemed, that we are saved from our enemies. In Your Word, we read how the exiles were brought back from the far corners of the earth. They cried out for help and You, Lord, led them straight to safety and to a place to live. So, do we, in this day and age when all sorts of troubles seem to bombard us every which w...
The official Christmas shopping season kicks off after the turkey leftovers are put in the refrigerator. We won't be having any Black Friday frenzies this year thanks to Covid. Instead I want to encourage everyone to support small businesses in their community. I also encourage you to check out artisans in your area for unique gifts. In fact, I want to shamelessly pitch two artisan businesses this week! As many of you may know, the beautiful and talented editor of the Western Ag Reporter, Kayla Sargent, was raised north of Bi...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes when we’re hungry, memory kicks in and a scent seems to drift by us, makes us ‘think’ of our Mommy baking bread. Yum! Our Mom was the best baker in our neighborhood – just ask any of the neighbors! Even when Mom’s sisters would visit us once in a blue moon, they’d tell Mom that the bread she made tasted so good; “Just like their own dear Mother made; so, could I please have another slice?” Miniature loaves of Zucchini bread that an out of town friend brought over to share ...
by Susan Metcalf 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, I am often asked to re-run my house rules for holidays that might serve as a gentle reminder of family dinner etiquette. However, this year is like no other year, so these have been adapted for Covid Holidays! Grouchy Grandma's House Rules for the...
Parent teacher conferences are traditionally held at this time of year, but this Covid year many of those conferences will be postponed or held via telephone, Zoom, or Google Meets. The parents of the high achieving kids always show up eager to discuss their child's progress, but the parents that you would really like to meet to give you some insight into their children's behavior are sometimes reluctant to show up. My hat goes off to all of the teachers out there conferencing with parents about their most prized...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, good deeds DO happen. Monday at the Post Office, an older chap was limping with a cane headed to the door, a young guy came in, held the door for the older man, asked him if he needed any help. The older man paused, looked at the young guy, smiled, thanked him for holding the door, and said he was doing OK, a lot better than he was ‘last week’. The younger guy watched to see that the older chap got to his car; when around the corner came a gal with a baby in her arms and a packa...
My last article tells of Mrs. Quam, and of the letters she and Ruth received while the four boys were in the service. Now I would like to give you readers more history and information on this family and as stated, seven children were born-- six boys and one girl. Ruth the daughter, wrote the Shifting Scenes article and has an article in the April 8, 1960 Ekalaka Eagle. I am going to use information from both. "Arthur, oldest son, was born in Deadwood and came to Montana as a...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, we all need to behave wisely. The word solace [or comfort] is found/described in Your Word, several times in chapters 10-12 of Ecclesiastes. It’s a word that’s meant to bring comfort and relief; sharing a few examples: Quoting from verse 1 of chapter 10: “Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, a small mistake can outweigh much wisdom and honor. Herein lies wisdom for dear ones, would they but listen, “It is a wonderful thing to be alive! If a person lives to...
With Covid restrictions in place, it is more important than ever this year to remember to honor Veteran's Day next Wednesday, I hope you will take time to honor all of the Veterans in your community. In our Big Timber, Montana community, we have an amazing World War II Veteran, whom I would like to give special honor this week, Virgil Gust. Ninety-nine year old Virgil Gust is the proprietor of Gust’s Department Store on McLeod Street in Big Timber, Montana. Every day Virgil climbs the steep steps to his office in the loft o...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: Relaxing day with a bit of snow, MORE SNOW is on the way. So, we’ll just wait, putter a bit; shovel another day. Twould be so fun if girlfriends came, but they’d have to fight ice! However, they moved out of town; memory of them is nice. We could think back some years ago, when two gals paid a call. Of course, that day, there was no snow, for it was early FALL! Now those two gals, are all alone, but they know how to share, Their hubby’s left, gone on ahead, these gals know how to care. “Play u...
Hello, It’s been quite awhile since I’ve let you know how Shirley and I are doing. We are both healthy and hope that you are too. In fact, I’m so healthy it is bordering on obese, but that’s another story. I’ve often told you how Shirley cleans up real well, but most days, especially this time of year, I prefer to see her dressed in a stocking cap, Carhart coveralls, Handy Andy gloves, and mud boots. Because we are feeding cows and calves. Last week we had a deal happen that I just had to let you know about. You see, we are f...
Their daughter Ruth has some memories and descriptions of her mother I would like to share. “Mrs. Quam spoke of the times on the ranch when they didn’t know where their next sack of flour was coming from, but they managed to get by. She often told how she would mend clothes and then re-mend them, as there was no money for new things at the time.” Ruth also comments that Mrs. Quam was essentially a home loving person, a fine character with strong devotion to her family. Another memory of the area: Mr. Quam and some of his n...
As I sit here tonight looking out at the 20 plus inches of snow coating everything, I have to believe that this might slow the buying frenzy of out of state buyers who have flocked to Montana from highly populated areas. Almost as soon as things began to open up in Montana after the shut down, our state has been inundated by visitors looking to just hang out or buyers snapping up property in our beautiful state. Some of them might be rethinking that decision this week. We have had a couple outbreaks of nasty winter already...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes when several of us gals gather together, depending on the season, or the reason for our gathering, we usually chuckle when we share, when we ‘remember when’. Some younger gals don’t recall when or IF Grandma OR Mom hung clothes upon the line, but they thought this was a good poem to share; so here we go, a poem about ‘way back when’; author unknown, but a few of us DID remember when. POEM: A clothesline was a news forecast to neighbors passing by. There were no secrets you c...
As the election draws nearer, I feel compelled to point out that Joe Biden’s 4 trillion dollar tax plan would raise taxes on all of our households both in life and at death, according to analysis by the Tax Policy Center. Biden has set his sights on all estates including businesses, farms, and ranches, but he is taking a different tack from merely raising rates on wealth transfer. He proposes to levy a tax on unrealized appreciation of assets passed on at death. “When someone dies and the asset transfers to an heir, that tran...
The general season for elk and deer is starting. This means that many hunters are contemplating robbing a bank or at least a convenience store to make ends meet AND stay within the hunting budget their wife has given them. You see, phonier than any hunting or fishing story you have ever heard is the myth that hunting saves money. At our house, the hunters definitely boost the local economy and the economy of several brick and mortar sporting goods stores and a couple online sites. I figure that every meal of wild game we...
