View From The Bridge 8/22/18

VIEW from the BRIDGE
By Muncie
8/22/18

FAIR STORIES

SANDY’S DILEMMA
Only in a small rural town would you witness what happened on Sunday at the Fair. Connie and I were collecting parking money for the Lions Club at the Main Street entrance. A vehicle blew a tire with a very loud bang between Front Street and Main Street but continued to drive for another block. The vehicle stopped and out of it emerged Sandy Bramlette. We could hear her say that she knew those tires needed replacing.

Now, she is parked in the middle of the street and someone yelled to her to put on her hazard lights and she did. Within a few seconds a “flat tire fixer Angel” appeared to help out. Sandy had a jack but it was too large for her small car. Her Dad had given it to her years ago when she had a truck. After the first vehicle left to go look for a smaller jack, a second vehicle stopped to help and then a third and a fourth.

Now the question is? How many men does it take to change a tire? Sandy was soon on her way and the street became very quiet but the memory of it will live for a long time.

MUNCIE’S DILEMMA
Friday Connie and I were at the Front Street entrance during the 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. shift for parking fees. We were fairly busy and were not paying attention to our surroundings. Around noon a very angry wasp stung me on my right arm. Connie immediately put ice on it and it calmed things down. A few minutes later she was again stung on her left arm and her neck.  “That’s it” I said, “I’m out of here.” Henry and Val came to relive us and finished our shift.

Later that afternoon Randy took on his shift at the Front Street entrance and discovered that there was a hornet’s nest in a pipe that was next to the cement entrance pillars. He blocked the holes and the next day sprayed the area with a bug killer.

However, on Sunday there were wasps at the Main Street entrance and they were buzzing around Connie and me. Connie had a sweet drink on the ground and we took great pleasure in seeing several wasps drowning in the liquid.

This is a good place to thank all of the Fair participants for paying their parking fees. The money is a donation for the Lions Club’s scholarship program. It was voted by the Lions Club Board to increase the scholarships this year and thanks to all of you for your help.

VAN/BUS NEWS
There has been one volunteer call the Court House for an interview. More volunteer drivers are still needed. If you are interested please call Kelly at 622-3022. Spread the word as word of mouth is the best way to get info out to the public.

HERITAGE DAYS
This event went on at the County Fair and was held in the commercial building on Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. The Kiddos absolutely loved it as they did last year. Next year the committee would like the word spread about how much fun it was.

A friend of mine participated in the canning exhibition and went home with dill pickles canned for future use. She also did a beautiful scarf. Many of us enjoyed home-made ice cream. It was fun to watch the little kiddos turning the handle on the old fashioned ice cream maker and later enjoy a cup full of the delicious treat.

One of my great grandchildren who is 3 years old made ice cream,  silly putty, and a bird house all by herself. (I wanted to keep her bird house but she would not give it up.)

There were two women who demonstrated weaving. During WWI there were weaving machines that produced wool socks for the soldiers. They were interesting to watch and I learned about these machines that can be found on the internet. If you are looking for something to do as a hobby, we can get you in touch with those women.

Another interesting hobby was basket weaving. That takes a lot of patience but with beautiful results.  Another table was pounding pieces of some kind of soft metal into patterns of animals. They could then be framed.

There were many more things going on but I did not have the time to cover them all. Next year I will do a better job but those wasp bites interfered with my schedule. I am grateful that I am not allergic because one woman told me her story about being bitten 13 times and was taken immediately to the ER for treatment. Everyone has a story and I love to hear them.

ANTIQUES APPRAISAL FAIR
This Fair is brought to you by the Montana History Foundation in partnership with the Fort Benton Museums. This is a different organization than the Montana Historical Society.

There will be three (3) appraisers at the Agricultural Center on Saturday, September 22nd from 9:00 pm to2 p.m. These appraisers are from a not to be mentioned popular TV show on PBS.

The purpose of this fair is to offer oral appraisals for up to three (3) items @ $15.00 each. To register to have appraisals please go online @ www.mthistory.org/antiques-appraisal-fair. More information is also available on that web site.

This sounds like a fun day even if you just watch the show. (Spectator tickets will be available at the door.) Several people have already signed up to have appraisals and not for the monetary value of their items but to see if they can find out more about their items. I can hardly wait to see what the people in Fort Benton are going to come up with.       

MY ACCIDENT
I wrote what I thought was a funny thank you about my accident. Now another funny story has immerged about our new female police officer. While I was carted off by ambulance to the ER, Erica drove my GoGo (scooter,) back to my apartment. One of her friends saw her and asked if that was her new police car. I wonder if that makes my GoGo and official vehicle. I’ll check it out Monday evening at the farewell for Police Chief John Turner’s retirement.

FAREWELL TO ARLENE
Another of our longtime residents is being moved to Idaho. Arlene Ayers has lived in Fort Benton since 1956 when she came to Montana from Kansas. She has had over the various jobs and two (2) of those meant a lot to me.

She worked for Joel Overholser cutting out every single article in the River Press. She then filed each family name or other stories in legal size envelopes that are now stored at the River Press office. I referred to them many times when I volunteered at the Research Center at the Ag Center.

Now-a-days all those records are on line and the last I heard, you can check records up to 1978. We seniors have to keep up with the technical world. I am not doing very well because I still haven’t learned Windows 10. It is a slow process but at least I have not had Bethany, the editor at the River Press, over for quite a while now to bail me out of trouble.

Arlene was also an excellent seamstress and did sewing for me when I could not manage those small stitches any longer.

We will miss you Arlene, especially at the Senior Center, but know that you will be receiving the River Press every week to keep track of us. Keep in touch.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR TROOPS, POLICE OFFICERS, FIRE FIGHTERS, AND EMT’s.           

View From The Bridge 8/15/18

VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
By Muncie
8/15/18

THE FAIR
“Meet me in Fort Benton, Benton, Meet Me at the Fair.”

Here we are again in time for the Chouteau County Fair and it seems like I write the same thing every year. I have talked to participants who are entering baked goods, flowers, and 4Her’s who have been working for months.

I am signed up to do the entrance gates for parking for the Lions Club. I hope to see you there Friday morning. I love doing this parking thing because everyone is so happy and looking forward to a good time when they come through the gates.

A little background for the parking fee is that it is a fund raiser for the Lions Club. It is a donation for the Lions many projects during the year like scholarships to all high schools in Chouteau County. The funds do not have anything to do with the Fair. So, purchase your parking ticket for three days knowing what a great cause it is donated to. Happy parking!

Another of my favorites is having breakfast every morning. Why does their coffee taste better than mine? I never make pancakes or biscuits and gravy for myself and so that is another great treat. I also eat other food I would never allow myself during the best of the year.

The Fair booklets have been available for several weeks now so you have had a chance to go through it and check the events that you want to see or participate in. Your support for the Fair will keep it going. Our community cannot afford to let these events to disappear. Once gone they never seem to return. See you there.

HERITAGE DAYS
Be sure and check out Heritage Days at the Fair on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Commercial Building. There will be 7 to 10 demonstrations for young and old alike. This has been a popular event at the Fair the last few years. Be sure not to miss basket weaving and other learning experiences at the Fair.

THE WAY IT USED TO BE
This phrase is used a lot today especially in Senior Citizens conversation. It is no use to think about the way it used to be. Change is happening constantly and only goes forward and not backward.

Take the Fair for example. You remember it as a child. Remember the carnival with all the whip-around rides. A good carnival is now priced way out of Chouteau County‘s budget. It is the same for entertainment. In fact, it is the same for everything. We Seniors remember too often when bread was 10 cents a loaf. Pass your stories on to your children and grandchildren about the “Good Old Days,” and accept the changes as your parents and grandchildren accepted the changes your generation imposed on them.

WHETHER OR WEATHER
Wow!  Talk about hot or I would rather not. I just wish I could package it for next winter. I have not left the apartment, because I have air conditioning, for days now because I cannot breathe in that hot air. I am doing a lot of catching up on my computer so that is a good thing. 

 Why does this hot weather always come at a time when the swimming pool season is over? I know the pool closes so the life guards can go back to college. Why don’t the 100 plus degree days come in July? There must be a good answer somewhere and will always be unknown to us. If I were boss I would arrange the weather so it would be 75 to 80 degrees all the time. So, as you read you might be thinking that if you don’t like it go somewhere else. No, I could not leave my “Happy Place” for better weather. I’ll stop right now complaining about the heat.

WHO?
Welcome back. I see this morning that you have visited the Hollow Tree again and placed fall flowers there. I am so happy that you have forgiven me for imposing on your idea.

I have not been able to get to the hollow tree to remove the American Flags and hope that soon I will find someone who can do that for me. I cannot walk on that lumpy ground with its up in the front and down in the back. Also, the large pieces of bark make getting to the hollow tree a problem.

I cannot see any pumpkins in the Community Garden so that shoots my theory that “Who” has a plot there. I am inviting you for coffee, lemon bars, and conversation any time. Just walk across the street to the apartment with the American Flag hanging on the porch (except in windy weather.) I pinky finger swear that I will never tell anyone who you are. I just want to get to know you because I need artistic people in my life even if only for conversation.

THE VAN/BUS LINE
No news this week about volunteer drivers. There has not been a response so ar. I had heard on the grapevine that someone had responded but I just spoke with the Commissioners and they were not aware of any such person. VOLUNTEER DRIVERS are still needed before any schedules can be put together.

SCHOOL STARTING
It sounds as if the school system is up and running with the new teachers and schedules. football practice has begun and we have that to look forward to. New freshman have a whole different life to lead and seniors will be looking forward to college. It all sound very exciting to me as I did not have the advantages that students have today. Take advantage of every opportunity and enjoy every day of it.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR TROOPS, POLICE OFFICERS, FIRE FIGHTERS, AND EMT’s.  Make sure you are registered to vote and when the time comes  VOTE.