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'Tis spring, the time when a young males fancy turns to, well, not football. Humans are such an odd lot. Animals – underwater, on the ground or in air – simply are driven by the survival of their species. We fret about home loans, school choice or health insurance. Wild creatures do not. Of course, those critters don't rush to the hospital when sick, play music when sad or have barbeques on the Fourth of July. Animal behavior is largely driven by daylight length. And rig...
I missed the deadline for last week’s paper, and I apologize to people who read my articles. I have a medical excuse, but not the normal one. This time I had pneumonia, but not a bad case. I was having trouble driving my wheelchair in the house. I was lethargic, and when Brice checked, I had a slight fever. That was unusual; my temperature usually runs a little below normal. My husband called the clinic and they sent the phlebotomist to our house to draw blood. When that showed infection, I took the Carter Charter one b...
Hello, If you are in any agriculture business, you have been engrossed following the devastation from the storm 10 days ago. From south central North Dakota, on through South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri, the losses have been devastating. The worst has to be in Nebraska. Dams broke, bridges washed out, roads wiped out, fences gone, stored grains lost, and to me, the livestock losses had to be devastating. So far, I think they say three people lost their lives in the floods. Heartbreaking. I was thinking about those...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, seasons sometimes just seem to slip on by us. Now that it’s officially SPRING, it’s so nice to see green grass springing up all over the neighborhood. When the grass dies, we are reminded once again of how short our lives are. But then when Spring comes, we usually think about birth and since we’re close to some ranches, we know that it is ‘time’ for the birth of new baby calves, little lambs and maybe even baby chicks. The deer that winter near here, usually head off to the Mountai...
Alice, daughter of Fred and Eva Townsend, gives more information on the early day family that homesteaded in the Tie Creek area with the home buildings being just one mile west of the Padden Ranch. She wrote: "My dad got itchy feet again and in 1919 started to Canada-you guessed it-in a covered wagon! They landed in Leslieville, British Columbia, Canada. They stayed there two years and then went back to the old ranch in Tie Creek country." After reading about those...
After reading and writing about some of the Carter County Homesteaders, I felt that I should have an article on my Grandad and Grandma Townsend, Fred G. and Eva. I only wish that I knew more of their early life before coming to Montana. Again I read a Shifting Scenes Vol. III article for some history and information. It was written by their daughter Alice. She reports: "In July 1910, my father, Fred G. Townsend, his wife Eva and six children, Bill, George, Alice, Fred Jr.,...
Hello, I apologize profusely! I missed my St. Patrick’s Day column last week. And if you are, as I, married to a Murphy that is a mortal sin. We all have that one friend that tells us jokes whenever you meet. I have a friend that tells Little Johnny jokes. You know them. The teacher asked little Johnny… Most of them can’t be printed in this fine family newspaper. But he did tell me one the other day that I can adapt to an Irish story. Little Johnny Mulligan was sitting on the stoop eating a chocolate bar. Father O’Lea...
Not all creatures have given up on spring ever happening. Some are counting on it. And soon. Great horned owls and Canada geese are sitting on eggs now, or soon will be. Two totally different Montana bird species with different diets and nesting habits have placed all their eggs in one spring basket. Great horned owls are sitting on eggs now, that will soon hatch if they haven't already, because they must. Think back to those January nights that, looking back, seemed...
I am going to end my Welch articles with more information on Eldon (Cub) Welch. In Shifting Scenes he reports on his family and some of his military service during World War II. While still living in Ekalaka, Cub married Marilyn, the oldest daughter of R.J. Price. At the time, Price owned the Super Valu Store. If my memory is correct (and many times it is not) I believe Marilyn was married to Jack Hough who was also a part of the Super Valu Store group. R.J. Price and his family came from Wyoming to Ekalaka. Now I am going...
Hello, This has been a trying week. I have trying weeks fairly often. Especially when the weather is bad. I try to do things right, but struggle. It started with a water tank. When you have frost-free tanks, tanks that require only ground heat to remain open, the weather a week ago was a true test. I found out that frost-free tanks are NOT frost-free when the wind chill is –60 for a couple days and nothing is venturing up on the hill to the tank to drink. When the weather straightened out and warmed up to zero, I checked t...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, not everyone experiences being ‘homesick’. Who would have thought that homesickness of a child was homage/respect and praise of a good home life? Such seems to be the case. Thinking way back on school classmates making fun of homesick peers brings those once sad faces into perspective. More than one of us in that small room was a ‘suitcase’ student so very long ago. Right about holiday time – any holiday, but that particular year it was Thanksgiving, which was right around the...
I never considered myself a “Feminist.” I was just always instructed by my parents to do my best. That often meant excelling past male students. It was appalling to me to learn some of my fellow, very bright female classmates, might choose to score lower than their boyfriends on tests. Maybe I was lucky not to have a boyfriend. In the United States, we have countless opportunities and few, if any, liabilities because of our gender. We are free to pursue any future we choose. Politics never interested me when I was you...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, going through an old ‘salted away’ pile of papers, it sometimes is fascinating to see what had been stashed. Up popped a poem by Phil Perkins – date unknown. Let’s see what he has to say. Ready? “My daily wish is that we may see good in those who pass our way. Find in each a worthy trait that we shall gladly cultivate. See in each one who’s passing by, the better things that beautify. A gently word spoken with cheer, a kindly face, a smile sincere. I pray each day that we may view t...
If I remember correctly, 1935-36, the year Camp Needmore was being built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, (CCC), February was a cold and very snowy month. In fact it was the coldest February on record, a miserable month where their bulldozer was kept running 24 hours a day, to avoid its freezing up. In September of 1935, a snow storm closed highways across the state. The whole year of 1936 was colder and snowier than usual. Records were set. We haven’t set any records this year, but that doesn’t warm anything. We’ve been...
Hello, February was not nice. After a mild start to winter, this past month the proverbial “stuff” hit the fan. Coldest on record. Wind blows every day. This past weekend we had wind chills to minus 60! Minus 60! Hay piles that looked like you could never feed it all are dwindling down. You can pick those old cows out that you decided to keep “one more year.” And to me, March is the cruelest month. One bright spot is Shirley. She is home this winter and is always happy to help with chores. When you are sitting in the cab of a...
In this article, I will continue writing about the Chuck and Maude Welch family with a thought by their daughter Lucile: “I don’t believe my parents ever regretted coming to Montana although I am sure they did endure many hardships. I guess the good times off-set the bad!” Maude passed away in 1961 and Chuck in 1970. After reading many articles in Shifting Scenes of the Homestead Days I have to agree. What made these “good times?” It had to be then, and today, because of caring, wonderful neighbors and people who were read...
Hello, Remember the controversy just before Christmas? About a song. The song “Baby It’s Cold Outside”. People were complaining it was sexist. I didn’t care. It is my favorite Christmas song. Although you don’t hear a lot of it in church or when people are out caroling. Or maybe I’ve just missed it. Anyway, baby it’s cold outside. And it looks like it is going to stay cold well into calving season. You would think after seventy years, I would have learned to calve later. I’ve told you about my fencing ability. You ju...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, many towns have a center where kids of all ages can go after school to do a multitude of activities, including homework. They’re there until someone picks them up to go home. While at these centers, paid staff and volunteers get to interact with kids in a 1/2 dozen or so places where they can play, work on computers, do arts and crafts, sit and read, or do homework. Interest and attention span is different for each child. Little ‘Chloe’s’ eyes sparkle as she does her math while lit...
Here is part four of my four-part series of articles dedicated to providing the you, the community, with information regarding basic estate planning documents, forms, and what to do with the information. In this article, I talk about Health Care Directives. What is a Health Care Directive? A Health Care Directive allows competent adults to appoint someone, called an agent, to make health care treatment decisions for them when they are unable or unwilling to communicate a decision for themselves. It allows the written expressi...
I remember an old picture I saw of a pioneer woman positioned next to a large cauldron, surrounded by fire — a nineteenth century hot water heater! It was laundry day. There was no wringer to squeeze water from clothes. There were no rinse tubs in sight. Things got better with time: electricity was harnessed, inventions were made, and eventually, even a teenager could handle most of wash day (my daughter did). As I remember from my youth, wash day was always Monday, that was in the ‘50s and early ‘60s, before most women...
Snowmen got made, crooked or straight, and two were rather wide. What fun to be outdoors that day and view the countryside. Laughter, snowballs, oh, what a day to play in fresh white snow. A game, a race, how about snowballs? You catch the one I’ll throw. Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, dear Lord, Winter’s still here, it’s time for chilly treat. It’s Snow Ice Cream like Mama made, the best you’ll ever eat! Snowman will watch while we scoop Snow, unsullied by cow tracks. So gently scoop the soft white snow; be careful how...
When the price of DNA analysis had fallen enough for me to purchase it, I did so for my husband and me. I already knew my mother’s family were German, and my father’s maternal grandmother had filled me in on his family history. I’m 48 percent German and 45 percent England, Wales, etc. I am 3 percent Scottish and Irish. Not enough to go crazy on St. Patrick’s Day. My mother’s family were very German, but Catholic, not Lutheran. Explain that. So I didn’t really learn anything new, not for free with only my DNA results. I...
Hello, Corb Lund has a song titled “You’ve got to have cows around”, or something along that line. It tells of how you’ve got to have cows around and how that interferes with everything else. They get out or have problems at the most inopportune times. I’ve got good neighbors. Always have. There is a saying that “good fences make good neighbors.” My neighbors know that I am not a great fencer. I would have to improve to be a good fencer. Truth be told, I’d rather ride than fence. But my neighbors pretty much accept me for w...
In this article, I will continue on with stories about Charles (Chuck) and Maude Welch. Lucille wrote that her father and mother had many hard times but also many good times and wonderful neighbors; many who gave up their homesteads and returned to their former houses. She lists at least ten families with the statement “just to name a few.” The names listed were not known to me. Maude writes of their “Literary Societies,” social neighbor singing groups and baseball teams. She mentioned that Chuck was quite a catcher. Those b...
After Mainstreet Market burned down, people were suddenly forced to drive the 35 miles to Baker, or farther if they lived out of town, to get most groceries. We relied on lists and hoped not to forget anything. If we missed anything, we generally lived without it, or asked someone to pick up our forgotten treasure when they were shopping. A local woman who worked in Baker even offered to pick up orders people would make from Reynolds when she returned home most days of the week. Now, with the new Branson Grocery open just dow...
