View From The Bridge 10/25/17

VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
By Muncie
10/25/17

HEADS UP
On Friday, the 3rd of November from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., a spaghetti dinner fund raiser is being planned for Betty and Mark Daniel in honor of their son Mark Estelle. It will be held at the Golden Age Senior Center on Front St. next to the River Press headquarters. Check the November 1st edition of The River Press for further details.

Betty is a long time cook at the Senior Center and is loved by one and all. She recently lost her son, Mark, and her friends are putting together this fund raiser as a helping hand.

Put the date on your calendar and plan to attend. So join us and “Enjoy some spaghetti with Mark and Betty.”

OTHER HEADS UP
Next Sunday afternoon there will be an Art Show at the Ag Center from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Then travel to Shonkin for their Lasagna dinner fund raiser. (Don’t forget to put on your costumes.) Sing the following to the tune of Montana. S H O N K I N, Shonkin I love you. See you at both places.

THE DOUGHBOY’S MISSING URN
Since I was involved in this story I thought I would tell the rest of it. Perhaps the newcomers in town had never heard about it or even new that one of the four urns was missing.

I do not know how the urn was broken from the Viquesney "Spirit of the American Doughboy" statue but it was about 40 years ago. My husband, Wally, found the urn in the dump and brought it home to add to the garden. It is not true that he broke the urn off the monument. My joke of the week. I planted geraniums in it each year after I came to live in the Morger house. They did not do well because there was no drainage.

To get on with the story Wally, Randy, and I, attended a membership meeting of the American Legion. Ron Saville gave a report about plans to replace the urns. It seemed like a lot of money to me.

I went up to Ron after the meeting and told him that the missing urn was in our yard. He was thrilled and asked if he could have it and would pick it up the next day. He did just that and then proceeded to repair it for placement back on the monument. Later on he explained how he formed a cover that could be attached to the monument.  Now I cannot ask him as he passed away in early September. (God bless our Veterans.)

Wally was very happy that the urn had finally found its resting place and said that it was an honor to have saved it from the dump. End of story.

CHOUTEAU COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CONCERT
Next Monday October 30th will be the second of the series on your season’s ticket. If you do not have a season’s ticket, it is not too late to get one, but do not miss this show. Trent Arterberry, is an award winning artist, performs physical comedy, storytelling, mime, music and puppetry. This man will give you enough laughs to last a life time. Everyone loved him at consortium and the CCPA Board signed him up quickly.

So we will see you at the Fort Benton Elementary School at 7:00 p.m. next Monday evening. Come on down and let’s fill that auditorium. Remember that your children are free and since this act will not have a performance for the kiddos during the school day, bring them with you for a great family night out.

This is a suggestion from me and was not prompted by the CCPA or the General Federation of Fort Benton’s Woman’s Clubs. In fact, I will probably be in the dog house for suggested it. There is a donation jar on the cookie table. Just drop a dollar in it for the coffee and cookies. I just know that the people of Fort Benton are the most generous ever and so I thank you. See you there.

CARPET OF GOLD
When the leaves began to fall it was a delight to walk or drove on many streets but especially around the Fort Benton Park. The sidewalks and streets were covered with yellow leaves. I called it the “Yellow Leaf Road.”

Then the rain came and the road turned brown. After the leaves dried up there was a second round of yellow leaves with the addition of several Indian summer days. It made it a bit easier when it is getting dark earlier and earlier. We only have a week and a half until Daylight Savings Time.

Everyone is talking about how time is flying by for them. Will winter go as quickly as the summer did? What will Mother Nature hand out this coming season? I hope she is kind to us and everyone in the world. I do not know about other countries but our United States has been hit quite hard. The floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, and violent winds seemed endless. However, there is nothing we can do about it. Talking doesn’t do a thing. Just help when you can by donating to a cause and think about how lucky you are at the moment.

TALK ABOUT WIND
Did you see the cottonwood on the Levee that broke off a huge branch? By the time I saw it, the remains had been taken away. I only viewed it from the street but I was told that it was rotten.  The cottonwoods on the levee are well over their life expectancy. They live 90 to 100 years and they are over 100 years old. We only have a few cotton woods left in what I call Levee Park.  Some people call it the Shep Block.

This is a good time to remind people who have lost loved ones to plant a tree in their memory. Talk to the Greenhouse or Skip Ross about doing a memorial tree.

RECTORY TRAIL
If you have been following the Rectory Trail and would like to know more, well…you know as much as Rodger and I know. That is nothing. The company that was doing the moving packed up on Thursday after they got the Rectory in some sort of position and they left. They have not returned.

My question to Rodger was, “Surely they are not going to leave their equipment there all winter?”  Well…they did the same last winter when the Rectory was next to the Catholic Church.

I guess it is like trying to talk to the Social Security office, an Insurance office, or Government office…you get nowhere quickly. They cannot answer your questions, they transfer you from one department to another, or they are out of the office. Some other excuses are that they are on another line, or busy with another customer.

So Rodger, just give it up. It isn’t hurting anything and is something to show visitors when they come to visit. It’s a great conversation subject and even better than, “Who are you going to vote for?”

GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR TROOPS, POLICE OFFICERS, FIRE FIGHTERS, VOLUMTEER FIREMEN, AND EMT’S.