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The Montana Actor's Theater (MAT) closed out its theater calendar year with three showings of Shakespeare's 12th Night in Beaver Creek State Park over the weekend. This year's Shakespeare production was accompanied by a Renaissance Faire, which had vendors, games, children's activities, and plenty of delicious dining options. The show continued the high standard of quality entertainment patrons have grown to expect from MAT, with great production values, engaging performances, and a level of ent...
In the book of Mark, there is a story about Jesus coming into a town where he is quickly surrounded by huge crowds of people. As He walks through the town, with the crowds pressing in from all sides, he is approached by a woman. This woman had a health problem that resulted in her bleeding for 12 years. Mark records that she had suffered through many treatments from doctors, spending all of her money and only seeing her condition worsen through the process. For first century Jews, this illness would’ve been terrible in the extreme. During a w...
Dan Matthews is retiring from the school bus business after 46 years of transporting students to school in Big Sandy. Dan and Pat Matthews officially gave up their bus routes at the end of the school year and sold their last two buses. The sale of the vehicles was finalized last week. When I caught up with the the newly retired Dan and his wife, they were sitting on their deck overlooking their beautifully manicured lawn and gardens. I asked Dan why he decided to retire now, after so many years...
Many years ago, while I was working as a chaplain for a mental health facility that worked with children, we would take a group of clients on a trip to canoe, camp, and fish in the Boundary Waters Wilderness in Northern Minnesota. One year, on the last day of our week-long trip, we were traveling to the spot where our outfitter was going to pick us up. We were competing with a deadline for pickup, and were traveling a long way. I was sharing my canoe with a young lady from our addictions treatment program. A terrible storm was bearing down on...
FE Miley Elementary bid farewell to three retiring staff members last week. Cinda Pearson, Alma Terry, and Cheryl Ostrom were celebrated at their retirement party on the last day of the 22-23 school year. Laughter and tears abounded as each spoke of their love for the school, its staff, the community, and the students. Alma started the goodbyes with a speech thanking her coworkers. "I have had 27 years of great memories! I want to give a special thank you to my two co-retirees! Cheryl and I...
F.E. Miley Elementary school closed it’s academic year with their traditional Open House/Extravaganza last week. The extravaganza is an opportunity for the community to come into the school and see what the students have been working on during the spring semester. This year’s extravaganza featured some changes over previous years’ offerings. I spoke with Superintendent Dan Schrock about the event. He commented that the year end open house events are common to schools throughout Montana, but “I am biased. I think we do it a little bit better...
The F.E. Miley kitchen has faced several years of change and fluctuation. Staffing changes, challenges that came with Covid, old equipment wearing out, and new regulations have prompted a significant face lift for Big Sandy Schools’ food service. Last year saw the replacement of floors and other upgrades. In recent weeks and in the coming months, the kitchen will receive the next round of upgrades. I spoke with Lianna Heimbigner, the Food Service Director/Head Cook at Big Sandy Schools about r...
in ancient Israel, the Jewish people followed a very strict set of dietary laws. There are a lot of reasons for these laws, most of them having to do with reminding the Jews that they were separate from other nations and holy. In Acts 10, the apostle Peter has a vision in which he is told that the dietary laws are no longer in effect. There are two huge reasons for this taking place. First, because Jesus fulfilled God’s law and filled the need for holiness a spiritual effort rather than a matter of washings and diets. (This is a really s...
The 10th annual Chouteau County Ag Day took place last Thursday in Fort Benton. 4th and 5th grade students from all over the county were taken on a field trip to the Chouteau County fair grounds to participate in Agricultural themed eduction activities. Connor Echols, a 4th grader at F.E. Miley Elementary School, described the activities for the day: “There’s like different rotations” where you go to different learning stations. The stations covered things like “sheep and wool or how to bake bread.” Connor explained that his favorite education...
While visiting the annual flea market sale at the Loma Hall a few weeks ago, my wife and I stopped in to check out the food offerings at the concession stand and the vendors that surrounded that part of the hall. In addition to some old favorites, like the amazing gourmet rice crispy treats sold by Cassie Bahnmiller of Big Sandy, we discovered a new treat. Specifically, we discovered Sweet Treats. Sweet Treats is a local small business based out of Loma. It is run by Lynelle Showalter and her...
Big Sandy Public Library will be celebrating National Library Week April 24th through the 28th. "National Library Week is an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities. In the mid-1950s, research showed that Americans were spending less on books and more on radios, televisions and musical instruments," according to the National Library Association, which puts on the event every year....
Big Sandy High School put on its annual carnival last weekend, complete with the triumphant return of a classic event: the class skits. As always, the evening of fun was well attended. Superintendent Dan Schrock summed up the event well: "I just think it's so great. It's springtime, and our kids can have fun. The community can come out and celebrate our kids. There's a lot of smiles. It's great to see." The return of the skits to the evening came about as a result of English teacher, Marla Ray...
The reopening of the bakery in Big Sandy is fast approaching. Emily LePinnet, who moved to Big Sandy last September with her family, will be opening "Elevated Grains." Right now, the goal is to open the first weekend in May. "I'll do all of the standard bakery fare. I've got a bunch of sourdough offerings, cinnamon rolls, cookies, muffins, and croissants. As soon as I'm able to organize my daily plan to execute it, because I will be most working mostly on my own, I'd like to have a breakfast...
The Big Sandy Public Library looks a little different today than it did at the beginning of the year. When you walk in the door, the first thing you notice is the new hexagonal table with a computer set up on each side. If you happen to walk in after school has let out, you will also notice a crowd of nearly 30 kids surrounding the computers and talking excitedly. Four of the machines are new computers donated to the library by Triangle Communications. Big Sandy librarian, Darlene Cline,...
The Public House in Fort Benton has moved to a new location, For the first few years of the Public House’s life, it shared front space with the Wake Cup, but now it has moved to The Courtyard on River Drive in Fort Benton. In an interesting twist, The Courtyard was the original location of the Wake Cup. Alex Salazar is the BBQ cook and owner of the restaurant. “I just wanted to be my own man. We’ll keep it simple, short, and sweet. I wanted to work for myself. It had been a long time coming, and after Amanda sold the business I found it to be a...
A Boy Named Sue is one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs. Most people are familiar with the tune, but for those who have never encountered Cash’s humorous song, it tells the story of a man whose father was a worthless drunk who abandoned his family. Just before leaving, the drunk cruelly named his son “Sue.” The monicker brought teasing and mockery from an early age, which forced Sue to get tough, fighting anyone who picked on him. Intent on revenge for his unfortunate name, Sue hunts down his father with murder in his heart. Eventually, Sue f...
Craig Edwards, a local artist and farmer, received special recognition at the Montana Western Art Week show in Great Falls 2 weeks ago. Craig has been participating in the art show for years, but for the first time was included in the Charlie Russell Auction, which took place at the CM Russell Museum on March 17th. Craig's inclusion in the silent auction is the first time photographic art was included in the auction. Craig explained the auction itself and the significance of his inclusion: "The...
Over the weekend, my wife and I went to Great Falls to run errands. While we were there, we stopped at Goodwill to look for a few odds and ends. Before we stepped out my wife started looking through the books. She came across 4 volumes of “The Great Books of the Western World.” The Great Books is a little like an encyclopedia, only it includes all of the major books of literature, history, philosophy, and science produced by the western world. What makes the set especially useful is the index books that identify important ideas at dif...
Easter eggs and egg hunts, the Easter rabbit, fasting for lent, and even the name of the holiday itself all have fascinating origins that have become increasingly obscured by the passage of time. Over the last few weeks, I’ve explored the background of some of the most popular Easter symbols and customs. But, what about the holiday itself? Most people know that Good Friday and Easter are the the days we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. But, why was Jesus crucified? What is the significance of the resurrection? Why did it take p...
My wife and I moved to Big Sandy from a community with nearly the same population as the entire state of Montana. The peace and quiet are amazing. Having a tight knit community and the lack of traffic are even better. The one thing we find ourselves missing about living in a larger community is in the things-to-do-when-we-go-out category. Over the years, we have discovered that the Golden Triangle has plenty of amazing options as well, though it might take some exploring and searching to find them. This is why I will be sharing the hidden...
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been researching questions about the origins of various Easter observances, traditions, and practices. As I’ve progressed, I’ve had folks approach me and add their own curiosities to the list. There is one question, which I’ve alluded to in other articles but have avoided mainly because I haven’t been able to come up with a conclusive (or even vaguely satisfying) answer. “Where did the Easter rabbit come from?” Like so many other traditions we observe today, no one is really sure. Worse, the research that exists o...
Recently, the testing scores for Intelligence Quotient (more commonly known as IQ) have been observed to be in decline. Specifically, scores related to abilities in verbal reasoning (logic, vocabulary), visual problem solving/analogies, computation/mathematics, and spatial reasoning have gone down. For context, scientists have observed the opposite trend for nearly a century. It’s called the Flynn Effect, and it involves various factors influencing the rise of IQ points. Better nutrition, increased availability of education, children being r...
The Big Sandy Senior Center purchased a new oven with the help of a $10,000 grant. The grant also helped with the purchase of several additional items that were in need of replacement and upgrade. I spoke with Brenda Darlington, who is the board chair and oversees operations at the center. "We got a grant from Vitalogy, and it helped us purchase a new oven, which we desperately needed. We just got that in on Friday, and we love it." Brenda explained that the replacement was necessary because the...
Where did “Easter” come from? This question isn’t about the Christian observance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Rather, it’s about the name of the holiday. Though some churches call it “Resurrection Sunday” in order to avoid the more common name, which has become associated with all sorts of secular observances. Regardless of the less used names, “Easter” is the most common name, and it doesn’t seem to be obviously associated with the holiday. So, where did the word come from? When did the observation of Christ’s resurrection become...
During the first few centuries that the church existed, it face a handful of internal struggles on top of persecution from the Roman Empire and hostile neighbors. Most of the struggle, both internally and externally, came about because the gospel was intellectually/culturally unacceptable throughout the ancient world. One of the first internal struggles the church faced was a movement called “Gnosticism.” Gnosticism was an attempt to take Christianity and mix it with Roman mystery religions. These mystery religions were very popular thr...
