View From The Bridge 11/4/09

“VIEW from the BRIDGE”
by Muncie Morger
11/4/09

AWESOME LONGHORNS
Did I not say all along that the Longhorn Football Team could do it? There just are not words to describe how proud we all are of the whole team. Your teamwork is so apparent and so is your hard work. Tim (the editor of The River Press) will give you readers all the details but we see the emotional side of it. We see those young men’s love of the game and knowing that they are doing the best that is possible in them. We see the parents in the stands watching every move of their young man. We see proud smiles when their son is in on a good play. There have been many good plays this season. This first win in the playoffs is a tremendous boost for them. No matter what transpires in the next few weeks, the Longhorns are our favorite team and are winners in all of our hearts.

LADY LONGHORNS
You are awesome ladies. Right to the very end, you made the games exciting and enjoyable to watch. We feel the same about you as we do the Longhorn Football Team. You are our favorite team and are winners in all of our hearts. Keep all those memories tucked away somewhere and in years to come when you have reunions…enjoy them with your teammates. That is the best part…the memories.

ARLEE
In the View last week, you read that we have family ties with the Arlee Warriors. They were so excited to be playing their first playoff game in 14 years. It was reported to us about the team’s trip to Fort Benton. They boarded the bus on Friday and arrived in Great Falls that afternoon to spend the evening at a motel. They went to Borrie’s restaurant for dinner and received the nicest compliment from the owner. He said that they were the nicest, most polite team that has ever eaten at his restaurant. In spite of their loss, they had a great time and there is always next year.

VETERANS DAY
The V.F.W. is again sponsoring a Veterans Day Dinner on Wednesday, 11/11/09 at 6:00 pm at The Club House. Veterans and their spouses are cordially invited and no reservation is required. Cindy will prepare the meal. There will be entertainment and it will be an enjoyable evening. Mark your calendars and spread the word to any Veterans that you know. We owe our lives to the men who put their lives on the line for our country. Many of their stories have never been told and their oral histories need to be preserved.

If you have a grandfather, father, uncle, brother, or cousin who is a veteran, please take the time to write their oral histories. Surely, there must be someone in the family who could do this. When it is finished, bring it to the Overholser Research Center at the Ag Center so that it can be permanently documented. I have discussed this with many people and they promise that they will get to this project. I have yet to see them at the Center with the finished product. Just do it.

Please do not be like me who did not ask questions of my grandparents when they were alive. They had migrated from Europe and I know nothing of their involvement in WWI. I only knew that my grandfather was killed in 1919 when he was discharged from the army. He had written my grandmother that he would be arriving home soon. As the little, I learned about it, he stepped off the train for a cigarette and was shot by a sniper.

It was not until I went to Normandy in Europe that I realized that my grandfather fought with the Germans and Italians. Those two countries and Austria-Hungary were the three powers that fought France, England, and the United States. What a shock that was because it brought up questions that can never be answered. One of those questions was…why did my grandfather returned to Hungary from the United States to be conscripted into the army? What rank was he and was he in any battle? I think that my next project will be to do some genealogy on my family. I may get answers to some of those questions.

FLAG RETIREMENT
There will also be a Flag Retirement program held on the 11th. If you have, flags to be retired, please contact me and I will see to it that your flag is picked up. Call 622-3217 after 1:00 pm.

RUSSELL COUNTRY
On Tuesday the 10th, Wednesday the 11th, and Thursday the12th, of November, Russell Country with the help of Pheasants Unlimited will be hosting nine Sports Magazine writers here in Fort Benton. The journalists are from all over the country and will promote pheasant hunting in this area of Russell Country. They will arrive on the 10th and do their hunting on the 11th and 12th. This is a wonderful opportunity for our town to have the articles published in other states. As I wrote last week, Fort Benton needs to be known as a destination place. This is another activity to be placed on the long list for Fort Benton as a destination place. The pheasant hunting is now added to that list of “things to do,”… historic locations/buildings, museums, the Missouri River, fishing, canoe trips, hunting, hiking, and I’ll bet I have missed a few.

If you happen to see any of these journalists around town, give them a Fort Benton welcome. You may get your picture in a national magazine.

C.C.P.A.
On the Wednesday, the18th of November Chouteau County Performing Arts will present another of their programs. Scott Kirby is the artist and he plays the most delightful piano you have ever heard. He has appeared in Fort Benton before and the C.C.P.A. Board was very vigilant about having him back again. It will be the usual 7:00 pm at the Elementary School and I would love to see the last performances audience participation record broken. There were 211 people that attended, which was a record. Could we make it 250? I cannot stress enough about how professional these programs are. All the artists are top performers and brought into Fort Benton by a very hard working Board of Directors. Be sure and tell them how much you appreciate what they do for the community.

SO LONG FOR NOW
You may not hear from me for a few weeks. I have some important business to be taken care of and can no longer be postponed. I would like to be back with the “VIEW” by Thanksgiving and if I am not, have a wonderful holiday. Enjoy your family’s get-togethers as they are the most precious times of all. God bless America.