View From The Bridge 6/18/14

VIEW from the BRIDGE
by Muncie
6/18/14

TREE HUGGER
Did you see the green bands around the cottonwood trees in Fort Park and between the Grand Union and the Firehouse?  I received a phone call informing me and took a ride on my Go-Go to check it out.  I knew that this project was in the making but still was not ready for it.

Another phone call a few days later said that the City Crew was cutting the cottonwoods in the park.  I grabbed my camera and headed to the park.  The crew was on the corner tree which had already been cut. They had piled up the smaller logs for the taking.  Four very strong workers, with great muscles, were loading the large pieces into a large end loader that then dumped them into a truck across the street.

Those large pieces were completely hollow on the inside.  It was an amazing sight.  I said to the young men, “I know I am too late to throw my arms around the tree.”  I really do know the necessity of cutting the trees but I tried to make a joke instead of crying.  Those wonderful trees are old and the life was taken out of them.

I cannot remember how many trees are being cut but I do know that most of them are in the park.  The trees on the levee are another story.  There are three or four located in the middle of the area between the Grand Union and the Fire House.  The one on the corner, that lost a huge branch last year, has a band on it.  Two more trees next to the sidewalk, close by to the one on the corner, also are slated to go.  It is going to make a tremendous difference of the look on the levee.  There are seven trees that must go in that area.  So life goes on and the natural order goes on.  Make a trip to the levee to keep the picture in your mind of how it used to be.

CLEAN UP, SPRUCE UP
These statements are strictly my own opinion.  I hope that you will agree that these suggestions are implemented before Summer Celebration.

There was a lot of debris around town with the recent hail storm.  The streets will be swept sometime in the next two weeks before Summer Celebration.  PLEASE, sweep your sidewalks into the street so it can be swept up.  This is especial important for the businesses and homes on FRONT STREET.

We have vehicles that are parked on the street and we never know when the streets will be swept.  Therefore, those vehicles do not get swept underneath.  I am asking you now, if you want the street in front of your house swept, and you park your vehicle there, PLEASE PARK IT ELSEWHERE.

We have approximately 5,000 visitors during Summer Celebration. They are our city guests.  I am sure that you tidy up when you are expecting company at your home.  Let’s continue our reputation as one of the seventeen prettiest cites in the United States.  We earned that designation last year and let us continue to deserve it.

“BILLY’S MEMORIAL
I’m afraid that we goofed with the tickets for Billy’s memorial.  We should have sold the tickets for $5.00 each instead of selling them 3 for $10.00.  That small error brought us up short of the $2,000.00 we needed.

We plan to have a table at Summer Celebration so if you have not purchased a ticket, please visit the table.

We did receive any phone calls a couple of weeks ago about purchasing a ticket but we did receive a $100.00 donation as a result. We really appreciate the generosity and it was a result of our plea for help.

PLEA FOR HELP
The Adopt-a-Plot program has fallen a bit behind because of the lack of volunteers.  A“WORK GROUP” is going to be organized for JUNE 25TH at 1:00 p.m. in front of the Grand Union Hotel.  If you can arrange your schedule, you would be most welcome to spend an afternoon sprucing up the levee Adopt-a-Plots before Summer Celebration.

Please bring a shovel, rake, large and small clippers, and heavy gardening gloves.  There will be black bags available. We will work our way along the levee toward the Interpretive Center, as that needs the most work and then from the Grand Union toward the Lewis and Clark Memorial.  (There is a lot of work at the L & C because the evergreens need to be trimmed.)

VISITORS INFO CENTER
Another please for help is from the Info Center.  There are not enough volunteers to cover all the shifts.  The Center is very important to the Visitors and the Community.  The volunteers often send Visitors to local businesses and most importantly to our fabulous Museums and the Fort.

Please encourage your family, relatives, and friends to visit Fort Benton, the most historic city in Montana.

NOT BACK YET
I still am not able to get back to the View for a while.  The View today was all about the cottonwoods, street cleaning., and pleas for help.   I have a wedding in AZ and  I have a great house sitter but she cannot write the View.  The next week is Summer Celebration and I will not be able to get a View in by the following Wednesday’s River Press. The following week is the 4th of July.

I am getting warm fuzzies from my loyal readers that they miss me.  I miss them too but just have a full plate now.  I know you all will have a great time at Summer Celebration and I hope to see you there.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR TROOPS, AND WEAR RED ON FRIDAYS. (This is so important with the problems with the VA and what seems to be an escalation of the war in Afghanistan.)