“VIEW from the BRIDGE”
BY Muncie
5/8/13
MOTHER’S DAY
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all you Mother’s, Stepmother’s, Grandmother’s, and Great Grandmother’s. I am sure that it is a day that you readers cannot forget, however I am reminding you just in case it slips your mind. You say, no way. Good for you and as a mother I will say that even a phone call is precious to all mentioned above.
Here is a quote from the bible that makes me feel as though God has given women equal rights. “And God promised men that good and obedient wives would be found in all corners of the earth. Then He made the earth round.” (I am sure that when a man wrote that quote, the world was not thought to be round.)
I am sharing the quote that came to me in my High School Alumni newsletter this past week. It is a very informative paper with approximately 16 pages. The school opened in 1939 and closed in 1970 due to the lack of students and teachers, (much like today.). Alumni write to the editor who prints their letters. Many thank her for her work and all agree that it is a huge undertaking. Most letters are about class reunions now over or in the planning. Letters come from all over the country. It is much like our own River Press. (See River Press article below.)
RECYCLE
There will be a Recycle Day next Saturday the 11th and then again on the 25th. Even though the Pilot Program is over, the Recycle Committee decided that they would continue until the Dedman property is ready for the drop-offs.
The Committee appreciates all the effort that has been put into this project. There are a couple of reminders that we would like you to consider. Please tie your newspapers and magazines. A new suggestion is to put your newspapers into a cardboard box and do not use plastic bags. It is more work to take them out of the plastic bags. It would also be very helpful if you would break down your cardboard boxes. The loading into the trailer or trucks would be much more efficient.
A few facts about the program are that the last drop-off day on April 27th, 90+ people came to the Fair Grounds with 1,920 lbs. of cardboard and 3,200 lbs. of newspaper. That amounted to $128.00 and $73.60 was what was saved by not sending to the landfill. The total to date is 4 tons of cardboard and 5 tons of newspaper for which we have received $343.00 toward expenses. Go green!
Montana is one of a few states that do not have a recycling project handled by the state. That may be a project for the future. Keep it in mind and offer any suggestions that you might have to the committee members. Think green!
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
In the December 2012/January 2013 issue of the National Geographic Traveler magazine named the “Best of the World, Our 20 Must-See Places for 2013,” the Missouri River Breaks appeared as one of the 20. The Breaks were listed with places like Crimea Russia, Marseille France, Great Bear Rainforest Canada, Cape Breton Nova Scotia, Bodo Norway, Kyoto Japan, St. Augustine Florida, Tessaloniki Greece, Quito Ecuador, Bagan Myanmar, Valparaiso Chile, Ravenna Italy, Malawi Africa, Hudson Valley New York, Raja Ampat Indonesia, Grenada Caribbean, Memphis Tennessee, Jarash Jordan, and Uganda Africa As far as I could tell, each place was written by a different journalist.
David Swanson researched the Missouri River Breaks. The following is what he had to say about the Breaks. “Big sky, bigger adventures in Montana. Today Lewis and Clark wouldn’t recognize most of their route from St. Louis to the Pacific. But there’s one place they’d know in a heartbeat: a 149-mile stretch of the Missouri River in north-central Montana. It still contains the “scenes of visionary enchantment,” where the explorers found in 1805, where rugged sandstone canyons meet the river, then climb to what seems limitless prairie full of life. Bighorn sheep and elk sip from the river while antelope scamper. Eagles scream, coyotes sing, and prairie dogs do their funky dance. Even the bison are back, thanks to the American Prairie Reserve, a group stitching together three million acres of public and private land for wildlife.”
(See next week’s River Press for the next installment of the article. I do not want you to get bored with this piece. Although how one could get bored reading about what other people will be reading and what we take for granted. This installment thing reminds me of my younger days when Good Housekeeping magazine would continue stories from month to month. I literally would wait for the mail carrier to get to my house with the next month’s issue. Do you remember The Incredible Journey”?) Tell me when I see you out and about around town.
RIVER PRESS
For the longest time I have wanted to spend time at the River Press, watching them put together the weekly issue. I talked to Lindsey Kraus and she said that a Wednesday could possibly be the day to poke my nose into the behind the scenes procedure.
I was afforded a peek into what goes into putting a paper together last week. I took Wally’s birthday invitation to the Press in person instead of sending it by e-mail. I was able to pester Lindsey by looking over her shoulder at what she was designing for the next edition. Wow! It is just like a putting a puzzle together. She moves those articles and ads around the computer screen so quickly I could not keep up.
I think that I have newspaper ink in my blood because that is something I would love to do if I had the knowledge. The whole procedure did confirm why without knowing, I read everything from first to last page. I mark every article and ad with a red pen to be sure that I have not missed anything. All I can pass on is, “Love your River Press.”
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
What happened to the back panel window at the Post Office? I have been wondering about it but found that many others were asking too. I spoke to our acting Postmistress, Dora, and asked what happened. We still will not know the answer because she does not know. It just happened. There were not any signs of someone trying to break it. Our Police Department checked it out. My theory is that there was a leak between the panes and when we had a cold snap, it snapped. Actually, it looks rather interesting in the pattern that resulted. If anyone actually saw someone breaking it, please call Crime-Stoppers.
GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR TROOPS and WEAR RED ON FRIDAYS.
Showing posts with label question of the week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label question of the week. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
View From The Bridge 3/6/13
View from the Bridge
3/6/13
by Muncie
WINTER STORM
There isn’t much to chat about today except the weather. Winter is not going to give up easily. In fact, it may stay around for several months. I remember, not so long ago, when it snowed 8 inches on May the 8th. Please believe me, Mother Nature, I am not complaining. This winter has been fairly mild, with only a few times that snow had to be shoveled. I believe the lowest temperature that I can recall was about 5 degrees below zero. Correct me if I am wrong. March came in like a lamb, so what does that tell you. Actually … nothing at all. How I feel about snow is that it is like rain. It is good for the crops, and that is important. I would advise you to delay sending your winter gear to the cleaners quite yet. I’ll keep my electric blanket on my bed a while longer, too, even though spring will be here in a couple of weeks.
This Sunday evening at 6 pm, I went outside to the truck to turn the heat switch on. I am lucky enough to have the gadget that turns the engine on from the house. I had forgotten to do that the last time I used the truck. At 6:30, I could still see outside. At 8:45, I received a call from my neighbor, Connie, asking if I had looked outside. I went to my kitchen window and could not see outside because the screen was covered with snow. In 20 years, I have never seen that happen. I could hardly see across the street when I went to the entryway storm door.
Connie heard from some travelers who were headed to Great Falls on Highway 87. Near Carter they gave up trying to go any further because they could not see the road. They asked if a certain apartment was available, as they would return to Fort Benton. It was available, and it took them 30 minutes to get back to town. They could only drive 30 miles an hour. They are now safe and sound in a warm house with a cozy bed awaiting them after their stressful journey.
I just checked outside again, and the storm has subsided. It is now 10 p.m. I would guess that we got about two or three inches of snow. Temperature is 30 degrees. We can handle all of that. Isn’t Montana wonderful and exciting from day to day?
RECYCLING
I received a great report this morning, Monday, about the turnout last Saturday at the fairgrounds. A count was taken, and about 30 recyclers with a great deal of cardboard participated. Several businesses became involved. As of today, the committee had not yet weighed the cardboard; however, it should prove to be more than the other recycle days.
The committee really appreciates the effort that is being put into this project. I appreciate the effort that the committee is putting into the project. I know how many hours of research and actual hours spent in the field. By the field, I mean the hours spent at the fairgrounds and the hours (and cost of gas) taking the products to Pacific in Great Falls. It is a labor of love, a caring about the environment, air quality, and clean water.
Be sure to get to the fairgrounds on the 16th of March. Make it a banner day.
PHONE BOOKS
I checked with the elementary school this morning and found that you have to take the phone books to the office. Make an effort to do that, as we recently received new phone books and the old ones are outdated.
WHAT LOVE MEANS
1. My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night. Clare – age 6
2. “Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine – age 5
BINGO
The last two evenings of “bingo entertainment” will be next Monday the 11th and two weeks later on March 25th. No more bingo is planned at this time. Interesting bingo news is that the jackpot will be given away either of those dates. It should be a good-sized prize, so you do not want to miss it. Good luck to all you “bingo fans.”
JACK LEPLEY’S RETIREMENT
Congratulations, Jack. I’m sure you have read in the Great Falls Tribune and the River Press about Jack’s retirement. I told Jack, as I say to others who have retired, “You will wonder how you had time to work.” Jack deserves a rest; however, he will be here, there, and everywhere around the Ag Center with his wealth of knowledge about Fort Benton history.
There is so much activity going on at the Ag Center, museums, Schwinden Library, and Joel Overholser Research Center these days, it boggles my mind. Seven years ago when I first volunteered at the center, there were four volunteers. I joined Donna, Hank, and Ken. It was very quiet, and I always called Tuesdays my day off. The center is only open on Tuesdays. Today, there are 12 volunteers working at keeping up valuable records of Fort Benton history and Fort Benton residents. It is a very busy place, with dozens of projects involved in the process.
Try to imagine a vertical file for each family in Chouteau County. Joel Overholser, editor of the River Press for over 50 years, and River Press employees worked on cutting out articles throughout each issue of the River Press, and they filed the articles in envelopes labeled with family names and also with the names of organizations, businesses and other subjects. That process stopped when the Overholsers sold the River Press to the Tichenors in 1993. The envelopes with the clippings are at the River Press office.
The importance of historical records is the reason I keep reminding you readers to bring your pictures and family histories to the Schwinden Library for filing. They will be photocopied and you can keep the originals. Copies of birth certificates, marriage licenses and death certificates/obituaries are very important. Old pictures of anything in Chouteau County are important because one never knows when that particular picture will mean something to someone who is doing research. So, “JUST DO IT,” and get that information to the center.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK????
I have often wondered why Fort Benton mail goes to Great Falls every evening and returns in the morning. I chatted with the postmaster a few days ago about why this was the procedure. The answer was quite clear, and in view of what is going on with the Post Office, made a lot of sense. Great Falls has a machine that counts, cancels, and forwards Fort Benton mail. I asked why Fort Benton Post Office didn’t have a machine like that. You guessed it! There is not the volume to warrant a very expensive machine. Now you know the rest of the story.
If you have a question, contact me. I will try to find the answer but please not anything political or religious. I don’t go there.
GOD BLESS AMERICA and OUR TROOPS.
3/6/13
by Muncie
WINTER STORM
There isn’t much to chat about today except the weather. Winter is not going to give up easily. In fact, it may stay around for several months. I remember, not so long ago, when it snowed 8 inches on May the 8th. Please believe me, Mother Nature, I am not complaining. This winter has been fairly mild, with only a few times that snow had to be shoveled. I believe the lowest temperature that I can recall was about 5 degrees below zero. Correct me if I am wrong. March came in like a lamb, so what does that tell you. Actually … nothing at all. How I feel about snow is that it is like rain. It is good for the crops, and that is important. I would advise you to delay sending your winter gear to the cleaners quite yet. I’ll keep my electric blanket on my bed a while longer, too, even though spring will be here in a couple of weeks.
This Sunday evening at 6 pm, I went outside to the truck to turn the heat switch on. I am lucky enough to have the gadget that turns the engine on from the house. I had forgotten to do that the last time I used the truck. At 6:30, I could still see outside. At 8:45, I received a call from my neighbor, Connie, asking if I had looked outside. I went to my kitchen window and could not see outside because the screen was covered with snow. In 20 years, I have never seen that happen. I could hardly see across the street when I went to the entryway storm door.
Connie heard from some travelers who were headed to Great Falls on Highway 87. Near Carter they gave up trying to go any further because they could not see the road. They asked if a certain apartment was available, as they would return to Fort Benton. It was available, and it took them 30 minutes to get back to town. They could only drive 30 miles an hour. They are now safe and sound in a warm house with a cozy bed awaiting them after their stressful journey.
I just checked outside again, and the storm has subsided. It is now 10 p.m. I would guess that we got about two or three inches of snow. Temperature is 30 degrees. We can handle all of that. Isn’t Montana wonderful and exciting from day to day?
RECYCLING
I received a great report this morning, Monday, about the turnout last Saturday at the fairgrounds. A count was taken, and about 30 recyclers with a great deal of cardboard participated. Several businesses became involved. As of today, the committee had not yet weighed the cardboard; however, it should prove to be more than the other recycle days.
The committee really appreciates the effort that is being put into this project. I appreciate the effort that the committee is putting into the project. I know how many hours of research and actual hours spent in the field. By the field, I mean the hours spent at the fairgrounds and the hours (and cost of gas) taking the products to Pacific in Great Falls. It is a labor of love, a caring about the environment, air quality, and clean water.
Be sure to get to the fairgrounds on the 16th of March. Make it a banner day.
PHONE BOOKS
I checked with the elementary school this morning and found that you have to take the phone books to the office. Make an effort to do that, as we recently received new phone books and the old ones are outdated.
WHAT LOVE MEANS
1. My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night. Clare – age 6
2. “Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine – age 5
BINGO
The last two evenings of “bingo entertainment” will be next Monday the 11th and two weeks later on March 25th. No more bingo is planned at this time. Interesting bingo news is that the jackpot will be given away either of those dates. It should be a good-sized prize, so you do not want to miss it. Good luck to all you “bingo fans.”
JACK LEPLEY’S RETIREMENT
Congratulations, Jack. I’m sure you have read in the Great Falls Tribune and the River Press about Jack’s retirement. I told Jack, as I say to others who have retired, “You will wonder how you had time to work.” Jack deserves a rest; however, he will be here, there, and everywhere around the Ag Center with his wealth of knowledge about Fort Benton history.
There is so much activity going on at the Ag Center, museums, Schwinden Library, and Joel Overholser Research Center these days, it boggles my mind. Seven years ago when I first volunteered at the center, there were four volunteers. I joined Donna, Hank, and Ken. It was very quiet, and I always called Tuesdays my day off. The center is only open on Tuesdays. Today, there are 12 volunteers working at keeping up valuable records of Fort Benton history and Fort Benton residents. It is a very busy place, with dozens of projects involved in the process.
Try to imagine a vertical file for each family in Chouteau County. Joel Overholser, editor of the River Press for over 50 years, and River Press employees worked on cutting out articles throughout each issue of the River Press, and they filed the articles in envelopes labeled with family names and also with the names of organizations, businesses and other subjects. That process stopped when the Overholsers sold the River Press to the Tichenors in 1993. The envelopes with the clippings are at the River Press office.
The importance of historical records is the reason I keep reminding you readers to bring your pictures and family histories to the Schwinden Library for filing. They will be photocopied and you can keep the originals. Copies of birth certificates, marriage licenses and death certificates/obituaries are very important. Old pictures of anything in Chouteau County are important because one never knows when that particular picture will mean something to someone who is doing research. So, “JUST DO IT,” and get that information to the center.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK????
I have often wondered why Fort Benton mail goes to Great Falls every evening and returns in the morning. I chatted with the postmaster a few days ago about why this was the procedure. The answer was quite clear, and in view of what is going on with the Post Office, made a lot of sense. Great Falls has a machine that counts, cancels, and forwards Fort Benton mail. I asked why Fort Benton Post Office didn’t have a machine like that. You guessed it! There is not the volume to warrant a very expensive machine. Now you know the rest of the story.
If you have a question, contact me. I will try to find the answer but please not anything political or religious. I don’t go there.
GOD BLESS AMERICA and OUR TROOPS.
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