Your Community Builder
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May, 2024 The Merry month of May! Do you remember the tradition of having a basket of goodies or an arrangement of flowers placed on your front step? You would hear a knock on the door and before you could answer the giver was gone? Or as a small child dancing around the May Day Pole? Tuesday, May 7 the weather was cool and wet. There was thunder and lightning along with rain. The moisture is so welcome in this area, hope to see more. Tuesday afternoon Bingo was on the agenda, Madlon was the top Bingo player. Sarah Reynolds o...
Summer's Here, School's Not Far Behind! With the sun shining and summer in full swing, the new school year is already on our minds at Ekalaka Schools. We're gearing up for an exciting year and have some important updates to share with you! Athletics Program Updates: Running our athletics program is a significant investment, much like feeding students, which alone costs $12,000 annually for our athletes. With rising costs for officials and the challenges of bringing officials...
If you live along a creek, you have to co-exist with beavers, and that is not always easy. It seems that they do not share the same vision for property management as most landowners do. Living with beavers, who are remarkably persistent, focused, and motivated, is a constant struggle that is not funny, What is funny is this (allegedly) actual letter sent by the Pennsylvania DEQ to Ryan DeVries regarding a pond on his property and Ryan's ingenius response to the letter: Dear...
June 17, 2024 The drought lives on, and so do the grasshoppers, at Capitol and on Tie Creek. We had hoped for a little rain, on Sunday morning, after the 100 degrees on Saturday, but even with no moisture, the cooling off was a great relief. Buffalo had gotten some hail, and we were wishing some of that hail had landed on our grasshoppers, but no luck. Dick Albert was picked up for a fishing trip, on Tuesday, by a friend and his son. It was a good trip but the fishing was not very good. Erma had a physical therapy...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, several gals shared about their June calendars, they giggled and said, 'Would you believe that some of my family and friends, dated in June and some married in June.' Sadie added; 'My June calendar looks almost like you says yours looks, but mine also has birthdays of family, friends and neighbors. I'd not paid any attention to that, before'! They giggled, then shared about dating: 'Remember, Judy, that WE double dated a few times,...
June 10, 2024 There was a tiny shower of rain near Tie Creek on Sunday morning. The multitude of grasshoppers at least calmed down a little, and the morning was very cool. Last week, Ronda Cordell took time out to go to the Quilt Show in Buffalo. There were many outstanding quilted items filling the Rec Center, and a good lunch, also. Last Monday, Mindy Yates and Kendall Shepherd came to Ronda’s to do bull testing. It’s always a question as to how those critters will be, to bring in and have in the corral. Diane Wear, Gen...
This week marks the third anniversary of the grand opening of our main street boutique that uniquely sells food. Honestly, it does not seem that long, perhaps because we have been too busy to count the days. Owning a restaurant that sells gifts has been fun and exhausting. To make it even more interesting, we also cater special events, so there is literally not a dull moment. However, there is something I need to get off my chest. I decided to look back on this column that I...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, Father's Day is next Sunday, it was special to watch the younger and older guys being 'Father's'. Before the church service began, one guy sat with several little girls; their mommy was off tending to, 'whatever'. They were in the front row, but he carefully lifted the little one, maybe 3 years old, way up, holding tightly to her legs – she 'stood' straight and tall, waved her arms, smiled; once back down, hugged her daddy tightly. A...
This will be my last "Library Corner" for a while, as Patricia Kalstrom will be back in action (with her brand-new hip) as library director starting June 4th. Welcome back Pat! In other exciting news, congratulations to library board trustee, Krista Kerr, and her husband Justin on their recent wedding. We wish you all the best! I need to back up a little bit to April 8th and our Solar Eclipse Party. Unfortunately, the weather was not in our favor for a viewing of the partial...
June 3, 2024 Memorial Day was a little windy, but pretty nice for outdoor programs at Buffalo and Ekalaka. Spring at Capitol, and on Tie Creek, has been fairly cool, and even in the first days of June the night-time temperature dropped into the low thirties. Karen Odell spent the holiday at home. On Tuesday, Jack Ovitz came to check out, and do some electrical work. That night, Tyler Wolff came with a new mower battery, and to take back a mower tire to be worked on. Then, Karen got a little mowing done, before the mower quit...
April, 2024 Help me remember, April shower brings May flowers, right? Looking back on the month of April, lots of wind but no showers! Monday was the first day of the week as well as the first day of the month. The morning consisted of exercises and after lunch the ladies’ played cards. The afternoon winner was Marty Carroll. Tuesday, April 9 Virginia took time for 1 on 1 s with different residents who do not participate in the general activity program. The afternoon was spent playing Po-Ke-No, with Madlon winning most of t...
Summer is the time when I decide to roll up my sleeves and clean out some junk. However, my parents were children of the Great Depression, so I can still hear their voices ringing in my ears when I think about pitching stuff that could potentially have some use in the future--even though it has received no usage within the last 25 years. Marilee Robinson of Billings, Montana sent me her delightful book East Meets West, and one of her essays, which I have abridged this week is...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, while casually going through some papers, this one popped up, so, just sharing a bit: Psalm 23: "He restoreth my soul." One just assumes that belonging to You, Lord, and being in Your care, we'd never become so disserted in soul as to need any sort of restoration, but, low and behold - such is not the case. When we start thinking that we have "arrived", that is when we're most susceptible to become cast (the verb form), like a sheep....
May 27, 2024 Alvin and Ryan Cordell, and Charlie Casteel, have been busy sorting cows, and moving them to summer pasture. Marlee went to an appointment in Spearfish, on Tuesday. Then, on Saturday, she went down to the wedding of her cousin, Kelly West’s, son. Paul O’Toole stopped in for a visit with Alvin. Paul has a hunting cabin in Camp Crook, and has been coming out this way for hunting for nearly fifty years. On Thursday, Alvin got thirty-five hundredths of rain, and then another three-tenths on Saturday. It had been ter...
School wrapped up this week, and I am proud to say I survived my first year of teaching Family Consumer Science at the high school level. Fortunately, all of my culinary students survived, and no one got cut, burned, or came down with a foodborne illness. In case anyone is wondering, I did not get fired, but I will be leaving the position in Debbie Hathaway's capable hands and returning to my County Superintendent position to embark on my 43rd year in education. What is wrong...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, it's interesting to take advantage of the beautiful spring weather. A friend, a few hours south of here, wrote that she'd grabbed her favorite glass of Cranberry Iced tea, deciding to stretch out in their back yard, pretending to relax. She mentioned that she had a lounge chair - so spreadeagled there, soaking in the air, soft and sweet having her eyes closed. She mentioned that she laid there for several minutes, surround by the...
As I embark on my second adventure in Ekalaka, I am filled with excitement and appreciation for the many wonderful aspects of Montana and Carter County. My primary goal is to enhance communication with parents and the community. Community engagement is crucial to our school's continued success, and I am dedicated to building on our achievements while addressing areas for growth. I recognize that school cannot follow a one-size-fits-all model. To better prepare our students...
With Memorial Day coming up on Monday, I feel it is important to remember that Memorial Day is about much more than barbecues and a day off. It is a time to remember and honor loved ones and especially fallen military heroes .I love this essay so much that I have to share an excerpt from "Memorial Day: A Time for Heroes" by Nancy Sullivan Geng: I picked up the photo and turned it over. Yellowing tape held a prayer card that read: "Lloyd 'Bud' Heitzman, 1925-1944. A Great...
May 20, 2024 Ronda Cordell spent much of last week getting ready for branding on Mother’s Day weekend. In spite of the inch and a half of rain, they had a good crew, got the branding done, and also moved pairs to summer pasture. It is a relief to have gotten some rain, and the branding done, too. On Mother’s Day afternoon, Ronda went to Belle Fourche to meet Cristen and Jayda Westling. They had planned to have a late Mother’s Day dinner, but Cristen had gone to Kirk, Colorado to pick up a puppy for Ronda on Saturday, and it w...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, it's not often that in this part of town Meadowlarks are seen/heard, but the other day while outdoors, WHOA! What was that? A small bird flew to the tip-top of a nearby tree and started singing, praising the Lord. Sharing that later with friends, B.J. mentioned that when she was young, while playing in the yard at their country home, she heard one, ran into the house to tell mamma. Her mom asked, 'Well, what did the birdie say?' B.J. q...
May 13, 2024 Well, we did get a little rain this week on Tie Creek, but it seems that Capitol got the bulk of the moisture. Ernie Rachel and Tommy Melum are still calving, but are close to the end of calving season. Tommy has finished his school year, and is a big help to his dad in all his free time. Rachel’s brother, Don Kalbach and his wife, Thu, from Seattle, came out to the ranch to visit for a few days. They had come out for Daniel’s wedding, last week, and stayed to visit a while longer before heading west again. The...
Several years ago I discovered a hilarious self-published book from Maralee Robinson of Billings, Montana. It is called "East Meets West: Real Dude Meets Real Cowboy: Indoor Plumbing Meets Outdoor Plumbing, and All the Things They Have in Common." The book is a collection of reflections of a city girl who married a cowboy. The book was somewhat longer than the title, and it was so funny I couldn't put it down. Maralee dedicated the book to her cowboy husband, their children,...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, yup – 'Mother's Day is past, but it's been fun listening to several old and young friends share about the mothers of some of their friends. Take G.L.'s mom for instance. She loved having her daughter's friends pop in for an overnight or a weekend. Seems like she also had a 'few' jobs for them to do while maybe G.L. just watched or went and played the piano while friend 1) ironed, or friend 2) cleaned out a cupboard and washed a DAY'S w...
Hello God, it's me, Mara: You know, Lord, it was special listening to several teens talk about their visit to a Rest Home, visiting a woman named Violet on Mother's Day. They said she smiled as they stopped in to visit with her. The hot, sticky, midday air came into her little group home unabated, but she didn't complain. Instead, she began wracking her mind for a song to sing. Then a huge smile appeared and she sang, "I am running, skipping, jumping, praising the LORD!" As...
Over the 27 years I have been writing this column, I have shared every Mother's Day anecdote from my life that you should be forced to endure, so I decided to research a few Mother's Day thoughts for you. In 1907, Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948), a Philadelphia schoolteacher, began a movement to set up a national Mother's Day in honor of her mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis. She solicited the help of hundreds of legislators and prominent businessmen to create a special day to honor...
