View From The Bridge 11/24/10

“VIEW from the BRIDGE”
By Muncie
11/24/10

CITY HALL
Attending the City Council meetings gave me the privilege of being the first person to be given a tour of their new digs. Mayor Morris was my tour guide along with Councilman Don Hazen. I am impressed. It is just what a City Hall should be and the entire city of Fort Benton should be very proud. From the front entrance to the back of the Police Department are orderly and a place for everything and everything in its place.

There are a few minor details to be completed but the most important features are finished (like the restrooms and the heating system.) The council tables are not in place yet but one great advantage of the council room is the acoustics. I could hear everything although the visitor chairs are not closer to the council tables. (Maybe I am not getting hard of hearing.) I still have a vivid memory of the inside as it was before and you have to see to believe the changes. There will be an open house that will be announced soon.

I can hardly wait until next spring. When the Visitors Information Center opens, the volunteers will be directing Visitors to the Bureau of Land Management building. We will be able to tell the Visitors to take note of our newly renovated City Hall and Police Department on the way.

LONGHORNS
I have not talked to any of the Football Team members but…we feel proud once again that the Longhorns won their game against Chinook 44 to 24. The Longhorns were Chinook’s only loss. It was the best game of the year. We are proud though that a team from our conference won the state championship but…there is that little glitch in our minds that we were the team that beat Chinook. It seems to be some sort of consolation.

VETERANS PHOTOS
The photos are still coming in much to my pleasure. However, now the corrections are being to trickle in. Unfortunately, those photos that were missed from the supplement will have to wait until next year. We are very sorry but there was confusion with having pictures being sent to four different places. I tried to note who brought me pictures but neglected to tell the Sunrise Bluffs, the River Press staff and the Research office to do the same. That made it difficult to obtain bios when I did not have a name and phone number to check them.

I am again urging those who turned in photos without bios to mail them to me at P.O. Box 866 or e-mail them at muncie1929@itstriangle.com I would like to do a special notebook with all the bios. Keep those photos coming. I hope that you are not tired of me nagging you about this project but I have found that at times it takes many times to get something like a photo. If you do not have a photo, then just send the bio and we will put it into a frame. Do not forget rank, (at the time of discharge or retirement,) name with middle initial, and the service they were in.

WEATHER
Well, it is all about the weather this week. Mother Nature dumped on us a bit more this past week because she went around us the week before. It is getting a little tough to handle not only the snow but also the cold. We did not leave the house over the weekend and will not until it warms up a bit. That may be Wednesday and I will have to get outside and get my River Press of course.

Our grandson, Grayson who now lives in Helena, loves winter/snow. I called him to see if it was snowing in Helena and he was so happy that it was time for sledding. I am happy that someone is happy about it. For me…we have said every year that when the winter type weather comes along, we may become Snowbirds. This may be the year but if I even really think about it, I get homesick. I do not like to be away from Fort Benton for any extended length of time. I think we will just tough it out another year.

PIE DAY
I do not know if the View had anything to do with the turnout for Pie Day, but it was more of a success this month. We arrived at the Golden Age about l0:15 a.m. and the Pie Ladies said that most of the pies were already gone. We did not know some people so perhaps next month we can meet them as we were a little pressed for time.

Gladys Peres brought a homemade cherry pie, (not a mix,) and her crust is so flakey. You are the Queen Pie Baker Gladys along with Arlene Ayers. I think there should be a class at the high school for pie making. It is a dying art and Mrs. Callender is taking over. There are other great pie makers as evidenced by the Summer Celebration Pie Contest but…for old fashioned, old-time pie baking; no one can beat Gladys and Arlene. Yummy.

WINTER CELEBRATION
Homes are being decorated and what fun it is to ride around after dark to check them out. Floats are now in preparation for the parade. All the businesses are gearing up for visits from the community. Our neighboring communities are also included in the day’s festivities. Try to visit all of them and take advantage of their specials and the Christmas Button. See if you can guess who Santa is on the button this year. He is different Santa than last year. Have fun.

IMPROVEMENT
H and O Parts has a new coat of white paint and looks bright, shiny and inviting. I remember like it was yesterday, when they painted it a few years ago. It seems like a couple of years ago but probably was about five. They did a lot of scraping and sanding because the weather plays havoc with the wood trim.

Some of the older buildings are also being improved like the old River Press building. Terri Baker has done a great job with her old building. I visited her the other day as she said she would do some picture framing jobs for the Veterans Photo project. Her plans for the building are moving along and I will keep you up to date on what is happening there.

SO LONG FOR NOW
You should be well into Christmas shopping, Christmas cards and cookie baking by this time next week. It is four weeks from Saturday and so much to do. Relax, enjoy, and do not be stressed. I am directing this to the women readers…”When momma ain’t happy, there ain’t nobody happy.” So be as happy as you possibly can and make it a holiday that everyone will remember.

GOD BLESS AMERICA