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Over the weekend, news broke of a possible significant archeological discovery in the Antalya province of Turkey. The limestone sarcophagus could possibly have been the original burial site of the fourth century Christian bishop, Saint Nicholas. Saint Nick is best known for the character his life story elements evolved into: Santa Claus. The recent discovery is interesting on its own, but the story of the bishop and how it evolved into something so different is fascinating as well. The sarcophagus was unearthed near Saint Nicholas Church...
With 2.4 million subscribers watching online, 6 young men on the shore of the Missouri River built the raft they had designed at home in Massachusetts and set sail for their 5-day adventure in the style of Huckleberry Finn along the same waterways that Louis and Clark traveled over 200 years previous. The Boys With a Bus, as they were known from their Instagram account, have been covered in two previous Mountaineer articles. The first highlighting their talk with students at Big Sandy High...
With Thanksgiving weekend upon us, Big Sandy prepares for a short week followed by visits with family, sleepy afternoons after eating turkey, pumpkin pie, and ideally a day of grateful hearts for the gifts and blessings God has provided to us in the past year. Growing up, I remember learning about the Puritans, though they were always called Pilgrims, having their first harvest meal with the natives in the new world while making “hand turkey” crafts for my mom to hang on the fridge. When I got older, I heard all manner of other tales, myt...
In late October, a team of 6 recent high school graduates set sail for adventure on the Missouri River in a boat they designed and constructed themselves. The Boys with a Bus' Instagram account documenting their 5-day journey and other adventures has attracted the attention of over 2.4 million followers on Instagram. Their vessel didn't resemble the barges Louis and Clark used to travel the Missouri River or the raft Huckleberry Finn and Jim used to travel the Mississippi. It's safe to say...
The youth groups at Christ Lutheran Church and Big Sandy Church of God held their annual trick-or-treat food drive to benefit the Big Sandy Food Bank last Wednesday, October 30th. Organizers described the event as very successful, with students collecting around 1,000 non-perishable food items through the course of the evening. The food drive has historically been run as a friendly competition between the two church youth programs; Ultimately, Christ Lutheran squeaked out a tight victory with 6...
The Big Sandy Last Best Ruck Club of Big Sandy held their first official "ruck" to qualify for membership in the national Go Ruck organization. Rucking is simply walking with a weighted backpack. The exercise routine is based on military workouts and is a simple, low impact workout that the Go Ruck website describes as activity that "humans are naturally good at." The fledgling club's first official foray into qualifying for membership was held on Sunday afternoon, October 27th. What was slated...
Big Sandy High School students were regaled by the popular Instagram group, "Boys with a Bus" and YouTube David Rule in a special assembly on Monday morning, October 14th. Their presentation followed the successful completion of a 5-day river rafting adventure on the part of the 6 young men over the preceding 5 days. The group consists of recent high school graduates are taking a "gap year" before attending mostly Ivy League schools next fall. They designed and built a three-story tall river...
The Big Sandy Medical Guild held its annual rummage sale last week, raising money to benefit the Medical Center and the surrounding community. The event itself was a rousing success, attracting a larger than normal quantity of donations of rummage for the sale and more traffic than in a typical year. I spoke with Lisa Sipler, the president of the Big Sandy Medical Guild, about the sale. She reported that as of Sunday evening they had raised $13,000 between the rummage sale, pie counter sales,...
Theodore Roosevelt was once praised by another man for his prowess as a marksman. The man had heard stories of several spectacular shots the president had pulled off while hunting and gushed over the level of skill required, including hitting a pair of pronghorn at long range from the back of a moving horse. Laughing, Teddy responded that he was actually a poor shot. He explained that he had poor eyesight, a fact that was exasperated by a detached retina he suffered in a boxing match at the Whitehouse that rendered him partially blind. Rather,...
Situated on the edge of town, the local shooting range and gun club are one of the best kept secrets of our little community. Though many people know about the range itself, far fewer are familiar with or take advantage of the Bear Paw Sportsman Club's full offerings and facilities. With an archery range, skeet, and clay shooting facilities, safety courses, and other opportunities, the organization is a potential source of fun and education for any local who wants to engage in recreational...
With the recent start of the school year comes the opportunity welcome new Pioneer educators to our small town community. The new FE Miley Fourth Grade Teacher, Brittany Barnett, moved to Big Sandy specifically seeking a small Montana town to call home. The young educator came to our community from Wyoming with her husband, Clay, and Lane, their 11 month-old son. Brittany and Clay grew up in Winnett, MT and were High School Sweethearts. They've been married for two years, but have been a couple...
Big Sandy Church of God held its annual Brisket cook-off this past Sunday, featuring 12 local cooks competing in the barbecue competition. This year's event also featured a Pie Baking competition. The event was well attended, the food was excellent, and a good time was had by all. This year, the judges awarded Tyce Bahnmiller with the first place award in the brisket competition. Tyce has been a frequent recipient of accolades and prizes in the competition over the years. For his victory, he...
If you search for the town of "Verona, MT" on Google Maps, you will discover that the small town sits 5.4 miles southwest of Big Sandy on Highway 87. Whether you blink or not as you drive by, you are likely to miss it. Years ago there was a picnic table sitting at the pull off at Verona, but that is gone now. At one time, there was a train station (of sorts), stores, two grain elevators, and other businesses. The strange little town was nestled so close to our community, but now gone without a...
Fifth graders at FE Miley Elementary School were greeted by a new face on the first day of school this year. Connie Reichelt, a long time Big Sandy resident, stepped in to teach this year. She was born and raised in Columbus, Montana, but has called our town home for many years. Connie has 14 years of classroom experience, having started her teaching career in Havre at the alternative school. After one year there, she moved to Box Elder schools, where she worked for the next 13 years. Connie...
When I was in Junior High, I watched the movie Glory. The 1989 war epic tells the story of the Massachusetts 54th Infantry regiment, one of the first black regiments to fight for the Union army in the Civil War. The story follows Col. Robert Gould Shaw, played by Matthew Broderick, as he raises and leads the regiment. It is one of my favorite films. I’ve lost count of how many times I have watched it. I’ve also worn out several cassette copies of the soundtrack. The closing credits of the movie run over photos of a bas relief sculpture dep...
Locals and Big Sandy Alumni are eager to get together once again after a 10-year interval between celebrations due to the cancellation of the 2020 Homecoming due to the pandemic. In anticipation of the event, invitations for Homecoming 2025 have been sent, and you can register either by mail or online, an option that is intended to make the process easier and more convenient for all. The attached QR Code will bring you to the registration page. The homecoming committee is eager to hear from attendees and has a full slate of activities planned...
In the age of wooden sailing ships, navigation was a matter of life and death. A small navigational error that put a ship off by a fraction of a degree would compound over the miles, days, weeks, and months, resulting in a vessel missing its target altogether. The problem with ocean travel is that the ocean is big and flat with no landmarks to use for directions. Early sailors used the stars, in particular the North Star. In fact, sailors from cultures all over the world throughout history have used the North Star as an anchor point for navigat...
Every summer, I take part in the Great Cycle Challenge, the largest cycling event in the country to raise money to fight Children's Cancer. Many in the community have seen me peddling out on Kenilworth Road, Judith Landing, on the highway or around town to tick off miles toward my distance goals. Your generosity has helped me raise over $3,000 for the Children's Cancer Research Fund. This year, I am asking my friends, neighbors, family, and community to help me raise more than ever before. In th...
2,627 weekly newspapers in America shuttered their doors between 2004 and 2023. The rise of internet news sources, increased costs of doing business, and other factors have decimated the print media industry. It's not unusual for new technologies to push older ones out of the marketplace. However, the slow disappearance of local newspapers isn't quite the same as the disappearance of the horse drawn buggy industry when the automobile industry drove them from the market. Small town newspapers...
The 2024-2025 school year will be kicking off in a couple of weeks. The new year will be bringing new faces to Big Sandy Schools. Big Sandy only needed to fill two teacher openings this year, which is fewer than previous years. Specifically, the fourth and fifth grade teaching positions have been filled. The fourth grade teacher for the coming school year will be Brittany Barnett. Superintendent Dan Schrock explained that Barnett, "was the student Educator of the Year at U M. Western a few...
Legendary professional golfer, Arnold Palmer, shared a story about the 1961 Masters tournament. He reached the final hole with a one stroke lead. After a good tee shot, he was becoming quite confident of his win. Approaching his ball on the faraway, Palmer spotted a friend of his on the edge of the crowd. He detoured to shake hands and visit. Palmer explained that “as I did, I knew I had lost my focus.” His next two shots were unimpressive and were followed by a missed put that cost him the tournament. He remarked that, “You don’t forget...
The Saint Margaret Mary Catholic Church Youth Ministry's raffle to raise money for a pilgrimage to Rome is complete and the results are in. The effort was a smashing success, raising around $19,000. The drawing was streamed on Facebook Live on July 5th. Judy Yirsa, who runs the youth program, shared the results of the drawing: "Our first prize winner was Katrina Benjamin from Fort Benton. Later, when she picked up the Can Am from my house, she said she only bought one ticket. She bought it at...
The Great Falls Farmers Market offers an interesting outdoor shopping and dining options. The Market is held on Saturdays from 8:30 AM to 1 PM through the end of September. The city blocks off Park Drive from the corner of Park and Central Ave to the intersection on First Street for the market, which extends into the parks on either side of the road. The Market draws large crowds most weekends from all over the area and Canada. A visitor to last Saturday’s Market would have encountered food on Park Street ranging from Hawaiian food and Poké Bo...
Most people know the Biblical book of Daniel from the stories of Daniel and the Lions Den, Daniel’s dream interpretations, or maybe the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being cast in the furnace for refusing to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s idol. Some folks know Daniel from the Apocalyptic prophecies contained in the text. During the pandemic and lockdowns, I taught through the book on Zoom. The book itself has a much bigger message to convey. It is actually about how God is in control, even when it seems as though he isn’t. After more...
While walking down the Main drag in Fort Benton, waiting for the annual parade to get roiling, I caught sight of a young man running up to a table in front of the Fort Benton Hardware carrying a good-sized carp. Instantly curious, I approached the table moments after the young fisherman headed back to the river after having his fish measured and recorded. A handful of conversations with the staff and bystanders revealed that the hardware store was hosting their annual fishing contest, with prizes for the largest fish caught on Saturday morning...
