CAPITOLETTER

July 22, 2024

Well, last week at Capitol and on Tie Creek, things had gotten more exciting than most people would desire. Karen didn’t write news, couldn’t call neighbors, and couldn’t email the news, because of the storm that came through, on Saturday evening, wiping out the electricity. A bingo night had been planned in Camp Crook for Saturday, and some people enjoyed bingo, but a few had stayed home to avoid the predicted weather. The cool air from the east felt good after the hot day. Then things got completely silent, without a breath of wind, for about 15 minutes. Next the wind had changed, bringing lots of lightening as it came from the northwest. The lights kept flickering for quite some time, then everything shut down.

Mollie Smith texted Karen Odell to warn her about the approaching storm, while the lights were still flickering. J D Smith, in Minnesota, was on the computer watching the lightning strikes, hail, and wind gusts back here at home. He kept Mollie updated and Mollie texted to Karen who had her cell phone to light her way to a flashlight. Karen could hear the hail on the roof, but didn’t open the door for Hywel to look out. When the roar got louder, Karen went to the basement stairway, and on the way down she saw that her six house cats were all already in the basement ahead of her.

Mollie texted that 95 mph winds had been recorded in Redig, and Karen was sure they were the same winds that had passed over her. The storm seemed to just sit over her, and J D had said that another storm was coming at her from the north, too. Things sounded wild outside with thrashing and crashing. When the downpour slowed, the lightening still kept the sky constantly lit as it went to the east for nearly an hour. Rachel Melum called to see if Karen was still there, and tell her to stay in the house. They couldn’t talk long because the phone line batteries would soon run down. With electric lines down and trees limbs ready to fall it was a good idea to wait for daylight to see what had happened outside.

Chancey Odell and Megan had just gotten a new medium sized shed built, and it completely disappeared in the storm. A two by four had been driven into the wall of their house and was sticking out like an arrow. Some of the house’s siding and roof were missing. One car window was smashed out. At Bryce and Dawn Padden’s a camper had been flipped over on it’s side, and some big round bales had been blown through two pasture fence lines. Rachel Melum’s new greenhouse had disappeared, Their old barn was badly damaged, and their garage was damaged so that they couldn’t open the door. Seven electrical poles had been blown down. One horse trailer had the roof peeled back like a banana skin at Karen Odell’s. A storage shed was gone and many tree limbs down. It seems that everyone had some damage within the strip from Miles City to Pierre. Later we heard of lots more Carter County damage.

The fences seemed to catch things as they flew past, and it will take many weeks to find belongings. Some things seemed to come from some distance, because they were not recognized as belonging to anyone who lived nearby. We will be having a ‘treasure hunt’ for quite some time yet.

We had been praying for rain, because the Tie Creek Road had become a desert of grasshoppers. Other places were being flooded, while Capitol and Tie Creek got only a few drops. This time Tie Creek got two inches of rain, and almost that much at Capitol. Those two inches were soaked in within two days.

Southeast electric had a big job ahead across the county in the hundred-degree weather, but they came through as usual, as they have in previous disasters. Most people along Tie Creek and at Capitol had electricity again within two or three days.

We especially appreciate the helpers who came, risking danger, when they discovered their backhoe was infested with wasps. The backhoe came to a sudden digging halt when the driver dove out to save himself. The complete story can probably be heard at Wolffy’s or some other Camp Crook gathering place, but by now the story has probably been enlarged and enhanced to movie proportions, so you may need to do your own research.

We want to thank the Camp Crook Community Center for providing a cool place and food for those without electricity. We want to thank neighbors and family for their immediate and continued help, for just doing what needed to be done, and for their resilience against all odds.

This week was a very busy week again, for Capitol and Tie Creek. Saturday was a special day for the Camp Crook School Reunion. The community had been told that their school will be closed. The Camp Crook School was the county’s high school at one time, and all who were interested in, taught at, or attended the school were invited to the Community Hall for a reunion during mid-day on Saturday, and people came from many distant directions. Micki Odell, from Tacoma, Washington, won the prize for coming the farthest. Karen had taught at Camp Crook for two years in the eighties, and at various times later. Many people provided historical stories and pictures for a packed house.

That evening, the communities gathered for the annual Wickham Gulch Fish Fry in the Long Pines. The campground was also packed with people from the far corners of our two counties, and other more distant locations. Ed Farroe and Chris Hinds from Tacoma, Washington, had spent their lives on Puget Sound, and declared that the fish cooked by the men at Wickham Gulch was the best they had ever tasted. The evening was quiet, peaceful, cool and wonderfully pleasant.

Cody, Kellan, Kenna, Carson, Micki and Karen Odell, Jesse, Rowan, Murphy and Chris Hinds, and Ed Farroe went to Ekalaka for lunch at the Wagon Wheel at noon on Sunday. Then they all visited the Ekalaka Museum.

Most everyone was busy at the many events, while many also spent the week repairing the damage left by the terrible wind storm, and moving limbs and trees. The storm had not killed all the grasshoppers, but the Moisture did bring in a few mosquitoes, and a couple of flocks of curlews.

Karen Odell was very glad for visits from her family, and they helped get rid of much of the debris. They even found a few things they hadn’t remembered owning.