View From The Bridge 6-09-10

“VIEW from the BRIDGE”
6-9-10
By Muncie

VISITORS
There were many Visitors arriving in Fort Benton this past week. On Sunday afternoon as I walked the Levee Trail, I met Dave and Sally from South Carolina. They made their first trip to Fort Benton in 2006. They found it so interesting that they organized a trip for what they called “The Road Treks.”

In the Treks group were 17 campers’ vehicles with 33 people. They were from North and South Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Vermont, Georgia, Ontario, Michigan and Pennsylvania. They met in St. Louis with the purpose of following the Lewis and Clark Trail and regional historical places. Fort Benton fit the bill for that one. They travel 50 to 200 miles a day.

They started on May the 11th and planned to finish the 14th of June. They do not travel in a caravan but do whatever they would like to see during the day. They would, however, met at a destination point each evening. They are all retired persons, were teachers, engineers, financial consultants, and in general from all walks of life.

This cluster of caravans traveled the Canadian Provinces from 2002 to 2005 each summer. All of these trips resulted in safe travels. Each person in the group has a specific job. Some of those jobs are being in charge of the weather reports, the music events, dancing events, a social committee, giving a daily report on Lewis and Clark, and a tail gunner. What is a tail gunner you ask? It is the last person to leave the area where they stayed to be sure that it was left exactly the way they found it.

It was very interesting to meet a few more of the people on this trip and I would have liked to sneak into one of their trailers and covered some of the Lewis and Clark Trail with them.

On my shift on Monday, two young men from Tribal College stopped in. He was with a young man, Anders Andersson (yes, it had two ss in his name) who had been in Montana for just a week and a half. I do not know which Tribal College to which they are associated. After looking at the Inter-Net, I found there are several in the Great Falls area. Jerry saw the picture of Shep and said that he loved the dog and the story behind it.

I told him that my husband, Wally, had fed “The Dog” (as everyone called him back in the 30’s.) Anders (who was the photographer) wanted to take a picture of Wally at the statue. I phoned Wally and he arrived in about five minutes to have his picture taken. Anders took about a dozen photos while Jerry interviewed Wally. We do not know what they are going to do with the pictures but it made for an interesting afternoon.

RECYCLING
Have not yet heard when the “Interested Parties of Recycling” meeting will be held. I was told to wait until after Memorial Day and I am looking forward to perhaps a next week meeting.

I took plastic bottles into the Wal-Mart parking lot collection area last Friday and saw that there were bags of trash stacked against the collection boxes. That is a no-no and will not help the recycle project at all. That was the reason for the last time they discontinued collecting plastic bottles. A TV program last week pointed out that there are 11,000,000 tons of plastic bottles floating in the oceans. At this time, each one of you (and you alone) can recycle plastic bottles. Make it a point this week if you do not already do so.

Another helpful hint…do not use foam cups or plates. Use paper that will disintegrate in time. When cleaning up after a picnic lunch or family/friends get-to-gether, stack the cups and plates so they do not take up as much room in your garbage bag. Fold papers instead of crunching them up. You can cut down on the amount of trash you dispose of each week.

Get your children involved. Make it a job of theirs. Most kids say they have nothing to do. Remind them that this will save their earth for them. On the other hand, the kids will probably be the ones to tell you about saving the earth. The whole thing amounts to the fact that we have to work together and not look upon it as a chore. It is vital that we recycle and believe me when I say that it will become second nature in a very short time. Happy recycling to you.

SO LONG FOR NOW
On Friday the 11th, Summer Celebration will be two weeks away. It just does not seem possible does it? I am so looking forward to it to see and visit with family and friends. The schedules will be out by now, peruse it, and decide where you want to be and when. Plan what kind of pie you are going to make for the Pie Auction. Look for your favorite Crafts Tents and welcome them to Fort Benton. Check out the Information Center in Old Fort Park and perhaps I will see you there.

GOD BLESS AMERICA