“VIEW from the BRIDGE”
By Muncie
1/29/14
SOUND OF MUSIC
Were you able to spend the day on Saturday at the Fort Benton Elementary School? There was every type of music, toe tapping, sing-a-long, humming, laughter, many memorable moments, and even some tears. From 8:30 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. the day was filled with all of the above.
I am totally amazed at how these consortiums can be and are put together. The schedule right down to the minutes is akin to a space shuttle taking off. The set-ups between performances were a lesson in organization.
Now the most difficult part begins. How to choose seven (7) great acts from the seventeen (17) that were showcased is mind boggling. I am happy it is not my choice because it will be a most difficult one. The Chouteau County Performing Arts committee is the choice maker and I wish them the best of time and finances. I know that they will do a superb job as they have for many years. It seems to me that it gets better and better every year. I remember back some years ago when we only had four (4) or five (5) shows at the most. The last few years there have been eight (8) shows. It cannot get much better than that, as you can hardly go to a show in Great Falls for the $40.00 fee that is charged for the entire Chouteau County Performing Arts season.
And so, it is over for another year in Fort Benton and they move on next year to Great Falls. “I do not know how long I will live but I will never have a finer day.” I have a story about that quote that I will tell you below.
“And a good time was had by all.” (A story for another time Lisa.)
THE CHRIS BALFOUR STORY
Many years ago, Wally’s daughter Darcy, her husband Glenn, and baby son Whitney, came to Fort Benton with a group of Eskimo children. At that time they were teaching in Alaska.
One of the boys, Chris who was 12 years old, wanted desperately to see a rattlesnake. It was arranged that Chris go with Wally on his rural mail route where Wally often saw rattlers on the road. They went through most of the route and had not seen anything on the road. Chris was very anxious and kept asking Wally if he thought they would see a snake. Wally said that there was one more place that they would stop where there was a rock pile near the end of the route.
Sure enough, when they poked around the rocks, Chris said that he heard some rattling. Wally lifted a rock and sure enough, there was a rattler. Chris was beside himself and ran back to the mail truck for the BB gun. Wally dispatched the token and at that point Chris said. “I don’t know how long I will live but I will never have a finer day.”
When they arrived back at the house, the snake was cleaned and stretched onto a board. Chris was promised the snake skin that he wanted to use to make a belt. Wally also gave Chris the BB gun. Chris was never heard from again. Darcy said that he came from a broken home. All these years we have hoped that one day the doorbell would ring and there would stand Chris Balfour. He would be about 40 years old and we wonder how his life turned out. We tried finding him but to no avail. You are out there somewhere Chris, and do you still have your rattlesnake belt?
WOLF MOON
I cannot believe that I found it on the internet my first try. However, I did not find out the explanations. Too much reading for my eyes. January’s moon is indeed called the Wolf moon. In addition it is called the Old Moon After Yule, Moon of Frost in the Frost in the Tepee, and Ice Moon They all seem to be Native American names and rightly so. I’ll keep you posted in February on other names given to that Moon.
BASKETBALL
We have not been able to attend very many games this season as in the past when we never missed one. However, we follow your ups and downs in the River Press Thank you Bethany for keeping us so well informed.
GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR TROOPS, and WEAR RED ON FRIDAYS.
Showing posts with label sound of music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sound of music. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
View From The Bridge 3/23/11
“VIEW from the BRIDGE”
By Muncie
3/23/11
SOUND OF MUSIC
Come along with me on a word journey to a Fund Raiser that I attended on the 15th of March at the Community Bible Church. Tenesha Thompson was selected to represent Montana on a musical tour of Europe with the Northern Ambassadors of Music.
It began with a spaghetti dinner. (Why doesn’t my spaghetti sauce taste as good?) The Fort Benton High School Choir and local individuals provided entertainment. It made my day because two young women sang Shenandoah, and that is my favorite song. There were many door prizes and a silent auction.
Tenesha has been working to raise funds for her trip since last September. Some of the fundraisers were selling Papa John’s Pizza cards, and she and her mother making, and selling stuffed animals.
Tenesha’s trip will cover nine countries and she will be in Europe for 5 weeks. The total cost of the trip is $6,500.00 plus spending money. You can donate by contacting her on Face book.
She plays three instruments…guitar, piano, clarinet, and she sings. Her talent is amazing and to be chosen as the representative from Montana is a great honor. My wish is that you all can meet this talented young woman in the near future.
SMALL WORLD STORY
This “Small World” story began with the Veterans Photo project. Ann Shaw brought pictures of her husband and two sons for the display to my house. Somehow, we began conversation about her owning the Book Exchange Store in Havre. One of my “To Do List” projects, for a long while, was to take a trip to Havre just to visit that store.
Our daughter, Darcy Morger Grovenstein and husband Glen, from Prescott Valley, AZ came to visit on the 13th of March. Darcy asked if there was anywhere, they could take us on a short trip. I thought of the Book Exchange and the next day they drove us to Havre.
(A side story to this trip is the water that we saw on both sides of the highway. When I say water, I mean water, water, everywhere. There were lakes never seen before. The water was rushing along in the ditches and in several areas, if more ice melted, the water will be covering the road.)
The store is located in the Atrium Mall Building in the middle of downtown. It is a beautiful old building with several floors of businesses surrounding the atrium (central middle room) and is open to the top floor.
We found the Book Exchange on the upper floor and found that Ann was down the hall practicing the fiddle. She is in a local play, “Fiddler on the Roof,” and is practicing for a fiddle playing role.
We walked back to the Book Exchange where we met Darcy and Glen. Ann began talking about a book that she has ready to be published. She showed us notepaper illustrations that were sketched for her book titled “Roscoe and Tooey Ride the Bootlegger Trail.” One of the illustrations is of the underpass going to Highway 87 from Fort Benton. Artist Greytak’s’ drawing is of the underpass coming into Fort Benton.
Ann then said we had to meet the artist of her book illustrations who had a Picture Framing shop on the level below. Kris Shaw (the artist,) Ann’s daughter-in-law, gave me a warm greeting and said that she reads The View every week. She has been getting The River Press for years. Ann Shaw also is an avid reader of The River Press.
Ann then said that we had to meet her son Dave, and we went to the next lower level. Dave was walking down the hall and when he came toward us, he was looking directly at me. He gave me a hug and said it was nice to meet me at last. He then looked at Darcy and lo and behold, they were classmates at Fort Benton High School. It was an interesting reunion.
Ann told me about her connection with Fort Benton. When she was 5 years old, she went to Nursery School in the I.G. Baker Building. She graduated from Fort Benton High School in 1953, and was married in September to William Alfred Shaw. They went to California in 1954 and moved back to Carter, Montana in 1964.
In 1970, Ann went back to the College of Great Falls for her teaching degree. She taught English and Spanish, (I did not get notes on where she taught.)
They moved to Fort Benton in 1973 and lived in the Greystone. (I have always known the house across Main St. from the First Christian Church as the Greystone.)
Another move in 1976 was to the farm near Loma and they stayed there until 1982. They now reside in Missoula and she checks out her Book Exchange often as she has an apartment in the building.
When I was at the Fund Raiser for Tenesha, Editor Tim and I had a conversation about Ann’s new book. I then learned that she had another book published in 2007. It is “Roscoe and Tooey, Montana Runaway.”
Ann sends greetings to those of you who remember her and the family. She visits Fort Benton often, as her sister, Lorene Stranahan, resides here.
I think all of you readers know how I love small world stories. If you have one, please tell me about it. A thought just occurred to me. I would like to write a book about short stories. I know that Joan Albers would contribute as she has gathered such stories in the past. We hear many stories at the Visitors Information Center.
SOCIAL EVENTS
TEXAS HOLDEM POKER TOURNAMENT is Friday night at the Grand Union. We found this to be an exciting evening last year. Our gambler men invited us women, to partake of the Gambler’s Dinner of Prime Rib. There is also a Poker Widow’s Delicate Dinner selection available. I would hope you are registered by now.
C.C.P.A. is Tuesday evening, the 29th, and The Perfect Gentlemen will be entertaining us. You do not want to miss this one. They are fabulous.
LOMA FLEA MARKET is coming up on April 2nd. I have attended this event for all the years I have lived here. However, I do have one discontent with it. They never have any home made donuts left by the time I get there and trust me, I get there early. There are certain individuals that buy dozens at a time. If I were President, I would limit the sale to perhaps a half dozen to each family. I would not know how to enforce that other than threats of “I hope you get a stomach ache from eating so many donuts.”
Could I use a little influence here? I do not know who makes the donuts, but if you are a friend of mine and I have advertised, your donuts in this column…save me a half dozen please. See you there.
PROM GRAD MARCH is March 26th at 8:00 p.m. This event is also a fun evening and brings back memories of long ago when we seniors were seniors in high school.
I attended a college prep Catholic high school and we did not have any kind of extra curricular. We did have a Prom Dance and the girls had to go to the Nuns Convent for dress inspection. If they thought that the prom dress was not appropriate, you were not allowed to go to the auditorium. The school was located next to the Convent. You could not sneak in because the Nuns sat in the balcony all evening, like secret police, watching everything that was going on. There was not much going on, as we were all too afraid of being expelled for even minor infractions. Things have changed a bit, haven’t they, for the better of course?
ROBIN REPORT
Sorry Matt, I have to take the award for seeing the first robin away from you. Joan Albers said she e-mailed me a month ago to report seeing a robin. The message was returned because my e-mail address was changed. I have to give her credit thought because she has been a friend longer than Matt. (I think that counts, don’t you?) Good spotting Joan.
SO LONG FOR NOW
Today (Monday) is the first full day of spring. It is 2:00 p.m. and the temperature is 47 on my satellite thermometer. The sun tried to peak out a bit ago but did not make it. By the way, did you see that gorgeous moon a couple of nights ago? The evening was overcast but sometime after midnight, the moon appeared. It was an “out of this world” experience.
GOD BLESS AMERICA AND ALL OF OUR TROOPS
By Muncie
3/23/11
SOUND OF MUSIC
Come along with me on a word journey to a Fund Raiser that I attended on the 15th of March at the Community Bible Church. Tenesha Thompson was selected to represent Montana on a musical tour of Europe with the Northern Ambassadors of Music.
It began with a spaghetti dinner. (Why doesn’t my spaghetti sauce taste as good?) The Fort Benton High School Choir and local individuals provided entertainment. It made my day because two young women sang Shenandoah, and that is my favorite song. There were many door prizes and a silent auction.
Tenesha has been working to raise funds for her trip since last September. Some of the fundraisers were selling Papa John’s Pizza cards, and she and her mother making, and selling stuffed animals.
Tenesha’s trip will cover nine countries and she will be in Europe for 5 weeks. The total cost of the trip is $6,500.00 plus spending money. You can donate by contacting her on Face book.
She plays three instruments…guitar, piano, clarinet, and she sings. Her talent is amazing and to be chosen as the representative from Montana is a great honor. My wish is that you all can meet this talented young woman in the near future.
SMALL WORLD STORY
This “Small World” story began with the Veterans Photo project. Ann Shaw brought pictures of her husband and two sons for the display to my house. Somehow, we began conversation about her owning the Book Exchange Store in Havre. One of my “To Do List” projects, for a long while, was to take a trip to Havre just to visit that store.
Our daughter, Darcy Morger Grovenstein and husband Glen, from Prescott Valley, AZ came to visit on the 13th of March. Darcy asked if there was anywhere, they could take us on a short trip. I thought of the Book Exchange and the next day they drove us to Havre.
(A side story to this trip is the water that we saw on both sides of the highway. When I say water, I mean water, water, everywhere. There were lakes never seen before. The water was rushing along in the ditches and in several areas, if more ice melted, the water will be covering the road.)
The store is located in the Atrium Mall Building in the middle of downtown. It is a beautiful old building with several floors of businesses surrounding the atrium (central middle room) and is open to the top floor.
We found the Book Exchange on the upper floor and found that Ann was down the hall practicing the fiddle. She is in a local play, “Fiddler on the Roof,” and is practicing for a fiddle playing role.
We walked back to the Book Exchange where we met Darcy and Glen. Ann began talking about a book that she has ready to be published. She showed us notepaper illustrations that were sketched for her book titled “Roscoe and Tooey Ride the Bootlegger Trail.” One of the illustrations is of the underpass going to Highway 87 from Fort Benton. Artist Greytak’s’ drawing is of the underpass coming into Fort Benton.
Ann then said we had to meet the artist of her book illustrations who had a Picture Framing shop on the level below. Kris Shaw (the artist,) Ann’s daughter-in-law, gave me a warm greeting and said that she reads The View every week. She has been getting The River Press for years. Ann Shaw also is an avid reader of The River Press.
Ann then said that we had to meet her son Dave, and we went to the next lower level. Dave was walking down the hall and when he came toward us, he was looking directly at me. He gave me a hug and said it was nice to meet me at last. He then looked at Darcy and lo and behold, they were classmates at Fort Benton High School. It was an interesting reunion.
Ann told me about her connection with Fort Benton. When she was 5 years old, she went to Nursery School in the I.G. Baker Building. She graduated from Fort Benton High School in 1953, and was married in September to William Alfred Shaw. They went to California in 1954 and moved back to Carter, Montana in 1964.
In 1970, Ann went back to the College of Great Falls for her teaching degree. She taught English and Spanish, (I did not get notes on where she taught.)
They moved to Fort Benton in 1973 and lived in the Greystone. (I have always known the house across Main St. from the First Christian Church as the Greystone.)
Another move in 1976 was to the farm near Loma and they stayed there until 1982. They now reside in Missoula and she checks out her Book Exchange often as she has an apartment in the building.
When I was at the Fund Raiser for Tenesha, Editor Tim and I had a conversation about Ann’s new book. I then learned that she had another book published in 2007. It is “Roscoe and Tooey, Montana Runaway.”
Ann sends greetings to those of you who remember her and the family. She visits Fort Benton often, as her sister, Lorene Stranahan, resides here.
I think all of you readers know how I love small world stories. If you have one, please tell me about it. A thought just occurred to me. I would like to write a book about short stories. I know that Joan Albers would contribute as she has gathered such stories in the past. We hear many stories at the Visitors Information Center.
SOCIAL EVENTS
TEXAS HOLDEM POKER TOURNAMENT is Friday night at the Grand Union. We found this to be an exciting evening last year. Our gambler men invited us women, to partake of the Gambler’s Dinner of Prime Rib. There is also a Poker Widow’s Delicate Dinner selection available. I would hope you are registered by now.
C.C.P.A. is Tuesday evening, the 29th, and The Perfect Gentlemen will be entertaining us. You do not want to miss this one. They are fabulous.
LOMA FLEA MARKET is coming up on April 2nd. I have attended this event for all the years I have lived here. However, I do have one discontent with it. They never have any home made donuts left by the time I get there and trust me, I get there early. There are certain individuals that buy dozens at a time. If I were President, I would limit the sale to perhaps a half dozen to each family. I would not know how to enforce that other than threats of “I hope you get a stomach ache from eating so many donuts.”
Could I use a little influence here? I do not know who makes the donuts, but if you are a friend of mine and I have advertised, your donuts in this column…save me a half dozen please. See you there.
PROM GRAD MARCH is March 26th at 8:00 p.m. This event is also a fun evening and brings back memories of long ago when we seniors were seniors in high school.
I attended a college prep Catholic high school and we did not have any kind of extra curricular. We did have a Prom Dance and the girls had to go to the Nuns Convent for dress inspection. If they thought that the prom dress was not appropriate, you were not allowed to go to the auditorium. The school was located next to the Convent. You could not sneak in because the Nuns sat in the balcony all evening, like secret police, watching everything that was going on. There was not much going on, as we were all too afraid of being expelled for even minor infractions. Things have changed a bit, haven’t they, for the better of course?
ROBIN REPORT
Sorry Matt, I have to take the award for seeing the first robin away from you. Joan Albers said she e-mailed me a month ago to report seeing a robin. The message was returned because my e-mail address was changed. I have to give her credit thought because she has been a friend longer than Matt. (I think that counts, don’t you?) Good spotting Joan.
SO LONG FOR NOW
Today (Monday) is the first full day of spring. It is 2:00 p.m. and the temperature is 47 on my satellite thermometer. The sun tried to peak out a bit ago but did not make it. By the way, did you see that gorgeous moon a couple of nights ago? The evening was overcast but sometime after midnight, the moon appeared. It was an “out of this world” experience.
GOD BLESS AMERICA AND ALL OF OUR TROOPS
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