A View From The Bridge 1/21/15

VIEW from the BRIDGE
By Muncie
1/21/15

ALZHEIMER’S
On Thursday the 22nd from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Fort Benton Elementary Auditorium, there will be a program put on by the Fort Benton Robotics Team for a special student presentation. The entire community should be interested in the group efforts to gain input from Alzheimer’s families.

Yes, I know that it is cold outside, there is ice everywhere, and you do not like to go out at night. Arrangements have been made to have three (3) parking spaces not occupied on the street in front of the auditorium doors. (These are not parking spots; they are only for exiting your vehicle.) There will be ESCORTS there from 6:00 p.m. until everyone is inside. They will help you out of your vehicles and into the building. Hopefully the driver is able to handle the parking elsewhere.  

These students need the support of the community and so might you someday. You never know what is around the corner on Health Avenue for you and your family. These youngsters are in a state-wide competition for the “FIRST Lego” in Bozeman on January 31st. They are 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who have brainstormed for ideas for their research. Go Robotics Team!

IMPACT
This is just a reminder that this coming weekend, Friday the 23rd, Saturday the 24th, and Sunday the 25th, is Impact weekend in Great Falls. Plan on Saturday for a music lover’s day of showcases. Unless it snows again between now and Saturday, Highway 87 is clear and dry. The streets in Great Falls were quite icy (like Fort Benton’s,) when I was at the Civic Center last Friday night. Sidewalks around the Civic Center were very clear and dry and it was a bit touchy getting to those sidewalks. Letting someone off in front of the Civic Center is a good idea and parking is adequate. See you there.

OH DEAR, the DEER
Last week I asked for deer stories and this week I could fill a book. One story came from friends, (I forgot to ask if I could use their names,) and the following is their story.

Husband heard a noise in the front of the house, a sort of loud banging. He went to the window and saw a deer trying to reach a Christmas wreath that was hanging on the house.  The difference between this week’s wreath story and last week’s on Randy’s porch is this week’s wreath was the real thing. The wreath hanging above Randy’s door was artificial.  Poor deer…couldn’t tell the difference.

I took my trash out to the alley garbage container and the alley is covered with deer droppings. I also talked with someone in the know and was told that the deer were doing a lot of damage. If you have other stories about damage, other than flower and veggie gardens, I would like to hear about it. The deer and elk are coming down from the mountains because the snow is so heavy at the higher elevations that they cannot find food to eat. I was told that elk will not dig for food. What chance do they have?

Before the last harvest, there was a story about a deer chasing a boy, (it was my grandson,) and a story about a deer knocking a boy over on his bicycle. That is the kind of happening I would like to know about.

NATIONAL HERITAGE
There will be an area meeting in Great Falls on January 30th and 31st dealing with Great Falls initiative to a National Heritage area that would include Fort Benton and other historic locations in Central Montana.

There was good coverage of this project in the Great Falls Tribune a week or so ago.  It is a big deal Folks and to obtain a National Heritage Designation from the National Park Service is not an overnight accomplishment. It will take a lot of work and effort. Montana is the only state that does not have a National Heritage Designation. That is difficult for me to believe when Montana has an enormous Heritage area and it’s about time.

There will be a reception on Fridays evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and a confab on Saturday morning from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If you plan to attend these meetings, you must register by January 26th at 455-8414. For more information please contact the Historic Preservation Officer Ellen Sievert at 761-6955.

If you love history, the area history, and Montana history, this is what you would want to get involved in. “If you do not know what happened here, you will not know what is going to happen.”  (That is a Muncie quote.”)

MONTANA
Last week’s, from the book, “50 Things You Didn’t Know About Montana,” were awesome.  It is getting nearer to the bottom of the list and I, for one, will miss reading them.

30. During a smallpox epidemic in the early 1880’s, two Crow Indian boys rode a white horse over a cliff to sacrifice their lives to save their tribe from the disease.  The exact location is believed to be alongside the Yellowstone River near Billings, MT.

3l. According to the folklore of the Crow Nation, the Little People of the Pryor Mountains were dwarfs so violent they could tear the heart out of an enemy’s horse.

32. Montana was the first state to elect a woman to Congress in 1916.  (GO Jeanette!)

AMERICAN FLAG
If you want to know about the American Flag, obtaining a new flag, about the Color Guard, or anything else Red, White, and Blue, contact the American Legion or the V.F.W.

Congratulations to Lieutenant Colonel Chad Roudebush for his promotion. Years ago, (I cannot remember when,) I put a poster about him in the window of the T.C. Powerhouse.  An American Flag hung in the middle window and several other Servicemen and women’s posters were also placed in the windows. Does anyone remember that?

Audra Morger Bonilla and I finally had to remove the posters because of the moisture on the windows warping the posters. I believe it was when a very young Chad went into the service. I removed the photos and information and took them to the Joel Overholser Research Center for filing.

Thank you, Lt. Colonel Chad Roudebush, for your service and protecting our country. We need all the protection we can get especially now with what is going on in the world.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR TROOPS, and WEAR RED ON FRIDAYS.