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Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, the following is an old story, but having just ‘lost’ a couple of friends, this story seemed somewhat right on, so to speak. The author of this ‘long ago’ story is unknown, but it seemed so fitting for this little description to be shared, so here goes: “A little boy was riding alone on a train on a very hot day when all of the travelers were extremely uncomfortable; and the scenery was not too interesting at all as they passed through the desert of Arizona. A lady sitting bes...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes while rummaging around looking for one thing, one uncovers something that was saved from long ago – how about this one saved from when working in lower elementary grades – just sharing some cute ones: WHY GOD MADE MOMS: Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions: Why did God make mothers? 1. She’s the only one who knows where the scotch tape is. 2. Mostly to clean the house. 3. To help us out of there when we were getting born. How did God make mo...
I am going to return my article this time to another homestead family, which after reading about in the "Shifting Scenes," I found very interesting and informative and feel you readers will also. This article is about Anton "Tony" Quam, his wife Maria and their family. Most of the information was written by Ruth (Quam) Berg, their only daughter. I may have to write two or three articles to cover this early homestead family. Let's look at lots of quotes by Ruth. "Anton Quam...
This week my heart goes out to those affected by the wildfires burning across our state. When a plume of smoke rises, my heart begins to pound. I have evacuated from six fires and three floods, so I know the indescribable feeling of fear and helplessness natural disasters evoke. The good part is that years later, I can look back on those experiences and see the bright side. We have had four large fires burn through our Musselshell ranch, and we have evacuated twice from our Big Timber ranch. We have lost buildings, pasture,...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, while looking through the book “Your life is in God’s hand,’ by Thomas Lindberg, it’s interesting how he reminds us not to fear, fret, fright, fume or forget. “Don’t fear”, he writes, then gives an example of slipping a piece of paper inside a book, then shutting the book, demonstrating how we’re hidden with Christ. (Colossians 3:3). None can touch us without going through Your caring hand, Lord. Long ago, there was a song; “Why Worry When You Can Pray,” a depiction of “Don’t f...
I have tried really hard to find the silver lining in living with Covid, and I think I have finally found it! Masks should be mandated for cattle sorting! If the Governor does not mandate masks for cattle sorting, perhaps some organization like Crazy Peak Cattle Women or WIFE or some other women's ag group will recognize the value of ranching spouses wearing masks during fall sorting and begin to promote the concept. Let me explain my rationale for the cattle sorting mask mandate! Pre-conditioning, weaning, and shipping is th...
I have been thinking about my Grandpa Coons and about all of the things that he did that we, his grandkids, loved. I have written a story previously where I called him the greatest man that ever lived and I stand by that. Grandpa was born in 1879, so he was old when I knew him. I have always marveled that it is 2020 and my Grandpa, born in 1879, was a huge part of my life. What a span of years. Grandpa sang me songs and told me stories that related to what the slaves sang and at least one song that went back to the Revolution...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sitting by the window full of sunshine with the address and birthday book open, one can’t help but remember, that You are in command with both life and death. So – as time has passed, it is time to change a few lines in these books, so with pencil in hand, we give Retirement Center addresses to a couple dear friends and an Auntie, now all in their declining years. Our mobile society sees Church family and our own family moving, one place or another, all due to lay-offs or job chang...
I am not sure if I have ever seen more floaters on the rivers of Montana this summer. I believe Covid has made camping and fishing the 2020 thing to do. Floating the Yellowstone River is always a fun family outing, but the river demands respect as every year it claims lives. This is a tale of a floating incident that had a happy ending, but it underscores how quickly river accidents can happen. Remember, it is cool to wear your life jacket even when the river is low and slow like it is now. Even if it is not cool, I always...
I will continue to share information about the Tie Creek community with an article by Wesley Brewer who told about the company that came to the area to cut trees, made railroad ties, built dams, and in the spring of 1884 with high water and blown dams started the ties down Tie Creek to the Little Missouri River with a destination of Medora. What was the result? Wesley gives us the answer. “The trees were to be stopped at Medora and about half of them reached their destination. Some of the others were gathered up and hauled t...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, the way ‘things’ are going on right now with ‘Sheltering In’, etc. a friend suggested a ‘Joy Box. ‘A joy box? What is a Joy Box?’ “Oh, everyone should have one,” our friend exclaimed. “They are SO easy to make, an old shoe box will do. Wrap it pretty with lovely paper and decorate it so it’s eye-catching. We listened while she told what goes inside: “Put into it selected cards, letters, notes and your favorite Bible Verses; scrapes of wee notes from special folks, little children, f...
This week, most parents are celebrating the fact that their children are going back to school after the longest summer break on record due to the Coronavirus. The exceptions to these celebrations are usually the moms of kindergarteners and the moms facing an empty nest as their last child heads off to college. Both of those moms feel like they are sending their babies off into the scary unknown, and they usually shed a lot more tears than their offspring do under the circumstances. Kindergarten wasn't a big step for me,...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, it never seems to fail, once it is Summertime, detours seem to be opened and “Road Construction Ahead” signs are woven into the scenery along busy roadways. With friends, this last week, we sure did come across some of those very signs in our travels, beginning with “Rough Road” and “Watch For Flagman”. These signs gave us fair warning as we traveled along. “Caution – Abrupt Edge” signs also warned of impending danger. We joined the lineup of vehicles sitting and waiting for the “Pi...
Several years ago, Ernest Tooke wrote a story about all the business, present time or not, that had been in Ekalaka. It was fairly complete, but I am going to tell you about one business that he didn't mention and tell you about one that I know practically nothing about. Then I will tell you about a kind of business that my Dad engaged in. There used to be a creamery in Ekalaka. It was in a great big building close to where the Fairgrounds are now. They made butter and sold it. I don't know what else they made. I remember it...
Robert and Pat Talkington’s daughter, Gloria Dawn, and her daughter came for a short visit to Ekalaka. We stayed with some friends and former neighbors, Chester and Rona Meyer, and had a great visit. We really enjoyed Ches and Jordan and all of the family. Our trip was too short to get to visit with all our friends and loved ones. Next trip, Gloria H....
School bells are about to ring for the first time since March, and many college students are headed off to campus. My thoughts turn to those parents ushering their kids off to college and kindergarten with high hopes, a few hidden tears, and a whole lot of fear of how Coronavirus will affect face to face school. The college bound cars in 2020 are packed with masks, face shields, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, extra toilet paper, and several spray bottles of disinfectant. Digging in the archives, I found this column I...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, now and then friends share with us things that are special to them. One gal shared that a long while ago, Pastor ‘Phil’ [name changed] was telling them that: “Listening is not hearing. Touching is not feeling. Looking is not seeing. There is the sense and the sensibility. The former is our body’s proper functioning. The latter is our ‘will to awareness.’” Then she went on to explain that we involuntarily might listen, but we all know that we hear only by intention; she then gave a...
A big thing as we were growing up in and around Ekalaka was the water supply. People out in the country or on the edges of Ekalaka had wells. You usually could find ground water at 10 or 15 feet but they would go on through that and go to another vein of water at 60 or even 100 or more feet. The deeper the well the harder pumping it was and I know that because I did a lot of pumping for the livestock. At our second house in Ekalaka, we had a windmill which, of course, pumped water when the wind was blowing. This was very...
In a normal year, we look forward to the end of the haying season, because there might be a little opportunity to take a short vacation before school starts. This year the hay equipment is about to get parked in the shed, but prospects of a vacation are pretty slim due to COVID-19. It is starting to look like our family vacation will be donning masks and braving a couple stores in Billings to purchase school supplies and school clothes in the hopes that no impending Covid meteor will fall from the CDC and prevent our schools...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, it has been a while ago, but we did appreciate the thoughts expressed by a chap who was telling a group of us that there are backbiters out there, haters of You, Lord, proud braggarts, those who are disobedient to their parents, and heartless; and not only that, but that they also encourage others to DO those same things, too! Don’t they realize that there is a death penalty for these crimes as spoken of in Romans, 1:32, “.… that those who practice such things are deserving of deat...
The 4-H Fair, which is this week in our county, is going to look a lot different because of COVID. Spectators are being asked to stay home and watch the fair on live feeds. Perhaps that will make fair a bit less dramatic and more relaxed. I have been asked to run this column about 4-H Moms again, because even though spectators are discouraged, the moms will still be doing their 4-H mom thing. I hope all moms remember there is a fine line between extremely supportive and downright crazy! Having been a 4-H mom, I can tell you...
This article will be a little different as it will be about a community and some of its history that was unknown to me. The information is taken from “Shifting Scenes Vol. II,” was written by Wesley Brewer and is entitled “Tie Creek Community.” Wesley has an article about his life and family and other articles, and in some instances gives very detailed reports of life and history. He does a great job. I am going to quote most of his articles which I feel you as readers will enjoy. “One cloudy afternoon in 1882, a buffalo hunt...
Until last week, here in Sweet Grass County, we had no COVID cases, but as of my deadline time, we now have two cases. We do not fall under the Governor’s mask mandate yet, but it might be unlikely that we will stay under four cases in our county. If we have four cases in our county, we will be required to mask up; however, even the mandate is confusing because as stated on the Montana.Gov site, it reads, “The directive does not require face coverings in counties with three or fewer active cases or for children under 5, tho...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes while looking for one thing, one finds something else, like a snippet from a longer article, called “A Quote for Today” – how about that? Then up popped the first quote: “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, God calls a butterfly!” How about the second one – that’s pretty ‘right on’! “So, just do the very best you can, and leave the rest to God. After all, that IS what He is there for!” The article continued (author unknown), ‘Here are some quotes about taking li...
Western movies often portrayed the camp cook as a cranky drunk. I think this stereotype evolved for a darn good reason, they had to be cranky and/or drunk to survive! Camp cooking is such a fine and pleasant misery that I'd probably do it free gratis just for the adventure. However, that does not prohibit me from complaining about the job--especially now that I have pretty much retired from wilderness camp cooking. The only job description for a back country camp cook I was ever given came from a packer/guide, whom I will ref...
