Articles written by erik sietsema


Sorted by date  Results 301 - 325 of 644

Page Up

  • Food Bank Trick-or -Treating Drive, Oct. 20

    Erik Sietsema|Oct 20, 2021

    With Halloween fast approaching, an annual Big Sandy trick-or-treating tradition is approaching: the youth group food drive. This Wednesday, October 20th the youth groups of Big Sandy Church of God and Christ Lutheran Church will be going door to door around town collecting food stuffs for the Big Sandy Food Bank. Trick-or-treating will take place between 7 and 8 PM with kids going out in small groups. If you are interested in donating, you can wait for students to ring your doorbell or leave food on your porch in a box with the light on for...

  • The Church of God Celebrates 100 years

    Erik Sietsema|Oct 20, 2021

    Big Sandy Church of God held its 100th Birthday and 10th annual Brisket Cook-Off on Sunday, October 10th. The worship service was particularly well attended. The church used the occasion to baptize 9 young people. A 30-minute video created by Craig Edwards was shown throughout the afternoon commemorating the century of history. Photos of events, families, and landmark moments in the church’s history were featured. Roberta Edwards decorated the church with photos throughout the years, including a name-those-people type contest. Throughout the a...

  • Patching Cracks

    Erik Sietsema|Oct 20, 2021

    In college, I was in a production of “12 Angry Men.” A few weeks before our show date, I struggled with the lines for my mid-sized part. I just hadn’t put in the time and effort to memorize my lines. A few of the other guys began to complain about me to the director, who was my roommate. He sat down with me one evening and encouraged me to put in the work to master my lines so well that it would shut the mouths of everyone who was complaining. Then he told me something that has stuck with me for over 20 years: “You practice like you play....

  • There's been a murder at the Library!

    Erik Sietsema|Oct 13, 2021

    October is upon us and it has brought a murder to the Big Sandy Library! A killer is on the loose, and the game is afoot, and by game, I mean Clue. The Library will be running a game of Clue for the community throughout the month of October. Though the full story has yet to be revealed, the cast of characters in our local game won't include Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Colonel Mustard, or any of the others from the classic game. Instead, the game will be stocked with a cast of local suspects. A...

  • A little Trivia, a bit of everything

    Erik Sietsema|Oct 13, 2021

    While reading earlier this month, I came across a bit of information that prompted a question I passed around to friends and coworkers. It was interesting enough that I thought I would share it with the Mountaineer readers. There are some other bits and pieces of information added to make it interesting. Let me know if this bit of trivia is interesting and if you would like to see more of this in future issues. “Who is the wealthiest athlete of all time?” Most people guess Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. Those answers are correct if the que...

  • Patching Cracks

    Erik Sietsema|Oct 13, 2021

    Last year, while appearing on Saturday Night Live, Comedian John Mulaney told a joke that I will find funny for the rest of my life: ““It’s hard to make friends when you’re an adult. I think that’s the greatest miracle of Jesus. He has 12 best friends in his thirties, and they weren’t his wife’s best friends’ husbands.” It’s mainly funny because it hits so close to the truth. There is a ton of research pointing to the sad fact that men are increasingly isolated in our culture. The number of men who report having “No close friends” has quintupl...

  • Monica Winderl, Art teacher extraordinaire

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 29, 2021

    Monica Otto Winderl has been introducing Big Sandy students to the fine arts for three years, which has rounded out her 22 year career as an art teacher. Though she isn't from Big Sandy, Monica spent her growing up years visiting family in the area. Her father is first cousins with Ron Otto. An accomplished artist, her work has been on display in galleries around the state, including Fort Benton. Monica didn't set out to go into either art or teaching as a career. She explains: "I fell into it....

  • Patching Cracks

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 29, 2021

    This week, I finished reading a biography of Joseph Stalin. I learned a great deal, but the one thing that stood out to me more than anything else in the book was about during Stalin’s early days as an activist before the revolution. The author talked about how Stalin, and many of those he worked with, were aiming to improve the lives of the working class in Russia. The whole purpose of the movement was to raise up the working class. However, Stalin and his co-revolutionaries considered workers to be entirely too stupid to know what was best f...

  • The Public House has delicious BBQ in Fort Benton

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 22, 2021

    If you're looking for delicious barbecue in the area, you can't go wrong visiting The Public House in Fort Benton. The Public House offers a range of smoked meat options, prepared by their resident barbecue chef, Alex Salazar. Alex has been cooking at The Wake Cup (and more recently at its sister restaurant, The Public House), but he has been smoking food most of his life. I met Alex when he competed in the Big Sandy Church of God Brisket Cook-Off 2 years ago. Then, he was just beginning to...

  • Shamrock Hotel a part of Big Sandy History for over a 100 years

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 22, 2021

    After 9 years in the town of Big Sandy, my family and I took a major step toward becoming permanent Big Sandy residents by purchasing a house of our own. We feel particularly blessed to have bought the Brumwell's house as they retired and moved closer to their kids. Not only have we bought a neat home, but we are now living in a piece of Big Sandy history. The newly dubbed "Sietsema House" bears all sorts of signs that it is over a century old, from the ornate "old west hinges and moldings, to...

  • Erik is fundraising for kids' cancer research

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 22, 2021

    A couple of months ago, I wrote an article about my upcoming participation in the Great Cycle Challenge. I am about a week away from finishing my fourth year of riding in the largest cycling event in the United States to raise money for fighting kids' cancer. I committed to raising $500 and riding 200 miles during the month of September. So far, I am about halfway through my miles and have nearly reached my goal for fundraising. Though I have almost cleared my goal, that doesn't need to be the...

  • Patching Cracks

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 22, 2021

    The first pastor I remember knowing was at the church I started attending as a teenager. Pastor Mike was very down to earth. He drove a beat up old car that I remember him having to push start on more than one occasion. When I was 13 or 14, I heard a story about how he was frustrated with ministry one week because he bought diapers for a young woman who came to the church asking for help. After the encounter, he walked out of the store and decided to go back to buy formula as well. When he did, he witnessed her returning the diapers for cash....

  • Patching Cracks

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 15, 2021

    I am currently reading a book on speed reading. I have tried to learn speed reading in the past, but have struggled with the discipline and practice elements of the process. An interesting element of the process set for in the book I’m currently reading is the idea of a set of “pre-reading” disciplines. This isn’t like warming up before exercising, but rather is more like surveying the path in front of you. The first is to decide why you are reading the book or article in the first place. What do you hope to accomplish?Having decided on that...

  • The Church of God Celebrates 100 years

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 8, 2021

    Big Sandy Church of God is preparing for its 100 year birthday celebration, which will be held October 10th at the Church of God. The congregation is planning on celebrating the day by inviting the community to a barbecue with games and activities for families. The decision was made to combine the anniversary event with the annual Brisket Cook-Off. Lunch will feature barbecued brisket, as well as grilled hamburgers and other options. Anyone interested in learning more about the celebration,...

  • Chandee Bomgardner catering, a fair favorite for 32 years

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 8, 2021

    This year marked the 28th year that Chandee Baumgardner has sold Indian Tacos at the Choteau County Fair. I spoke with Chandee while she was cooking flatbread in the deep fryer. It was obvious that she has prepped 3 decades worth of the local favorite, while she answered my questions and engaged customers at the counter. She explained that she could mix and cook the bread in her sleep at this point. When I pointed out that the first time I had ever eaten Indian Tacos, they were from her...

  • Patch Cracks

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 8, 2021

    As a child, I lived near the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico at different ages. One of my favorite things to do at the beach was building sandcastles. On many occasions, I remember hurrying to finish our sand fortresses in the afternoon as the high tide moved closer and closer to its walls. With the high tide came the knowledge that the waves would threaten to tear down our hard work and leave the sand exactly the same as it was before we started building. We tried all sorts of strategies to defeat the dreaded tides, from digging deep...

  • Patching Cracks

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 1, 2021

    A few months ago, during our church’s family camp event at Beaver Creek State Park, I had the opportunity to spend a large amount of time studying and reading in preparation for my sermon. Because we were in the mountains, I had no access to email, social media, texts, calls, or anything else that might distract me. I spent 7 or 8 hours a day reading, thinking, writing, and reflecting. It was a unique experience for me, because I rarely have large chunks of time to spend working in a focused way without any huge distractions. This is e...

  • Autumn Stauffer's Heart Surgery

    Erik Sietsema|Sep 1, 2021

    Autumn Stauffer, the four month old daughter of Caleb & Hannah Stauffer, underwent a second heart surgery August 23rd to treat a heart condition she was diagnosed with in utero. Most people around Big Sandy are familiar with Hannah, but know her by her maiden name: Hannah Anderson, daughter of Brook and Renee Anderson. Hannah and her family are well loved in our community and have made an impact on the lives of many people. Autumn is Caleb & Hannah's second child and has already been through...

  • Chouteau County "Pullin for the Fair" had something for everyone

    Erik Sietsema|Aug 25, 2021

    The 2021 Chouteau County Fair drew some of its largest crowds ever after the 2020 hiatus. “It’s been very good. We’re happy to have the fair back again. We didn’t do it last year because of the Covid issue. Everybody seems to be happy to be coming to the events,” explained Shirley Embleton, who has served as the Fair Manager for over 15 years. The 109-year Montana tradition saw its largest ever attendance for Pig Wrestling. “Pig wrestling was better than ever. We had over a hundred people more than two years ago. We had 32 teams… we shoot for...

  • Casten Heppner & Demolition Derby

    Erik Sietsema|Aug 25, 2021

    Casten Heppner's 2002 Crown Victoria made an impact on the competition while he represented Box Elder/Big Sandy in the Chouteau County Fair's demolition derby last weekend. "We are at the Mayhem on the Mighty Mo getting ready to wreck some cars," Heppner explained with, what he called, a 'cheesing it' grin on his face in advance of the evening's fun. This was Casten's 12th appearance in the local derby since his debut drive 17 years ago. At the age of 14, before getting he'd gotten a drivers...

  • Patching Cracks

    Erik Sietsema|Aug 25, 2021

    While researching the history of the home my family bought this summer, I came across a series of articles by Pastor John Bruington. Pastor John worked in Havre and wrote for our local paper for several years. One article in particular jumped out at me, and I’ve been considering it for weeks. I’d like to take a moment to share my thoughts. ‘The ‘Magnificent Failure’ was the title of his reflection, which detailed his career before moving to pastor a small town church. In the piece, he talks about his past struggle pastoring a larger church be...

  • Staffing Shortages hit Big Sandy

    Erik Sietsema|Aug 18, 2021

    Big Sandy businesses are feeling the effects of the national labor shortage, particularly the larger employers in the area. The school system, the Medical Center, and Big Sandy Activities are all dealing with staff shortages, which is a particular problem because all three organizations provide services that cannot simply be cancelled. The needs of residents, patients, and students do not take a day off simply because there aren’t enough people to do the work of caring for, treating, teaching, or transporting them. The Big Sandy Public S...

  • Liana Heimbigner starts new school year as Head Cook

    Erik Sietsema|Aug 18, 2021

    With the start of a new year for Big Sandy Schools, there has been a staff change that will be noticed by students and staff at every level: Lianna Ophus Heimbigner is the new head cook for the school system. She takes on the position after Kelly Pursley Owen took a job as head cook for a school in Havre. Lianna is going into her 5th year with the school in Big Sandy. She is following in the footsteps of her great grandmother, Pearl Ophus, who was a cook in the Big Sandy schools during the 60s...

  • Patching Cracks

    Erik Sietsema|Aug 18, 2021

    “We have become a nation of thoughtless rushers, intent on doing before thinking, and hoping what we do magically works out. If it doesn’t, we rush to do something else, something also not well thought-out, and then hope for more magic.” Len Holman spoke these words in critique of our culture’s tendency toward staying constantly busy. I think a shorter quote by John Maxwell captures the idea almost perfectly: “The greatest enemy of good thinking is busyness.” The truth is that our culture has adopted the mistaken idea that being busy is a v...

  • Jacobi talks about Nursing staff shortage

    Erik Sietsema|Aug 18, 2021

    “It’s like a family. I spend as much time with my nurses as I do with my kids and my husband. They’re part of the reason I want to go to work. Knowing that you have a good crew on at the start of your day, just makes your day start better,” explained Ashley Jacobi, Director of Nurses and Infection Control at Big Sandy Medical Center. Ashley’s praise for the nursing staff was glowing and ongoing. After nearly two years of pandemic restrictions, the trials of the times have refined the nursing crew into a close-knit team whose goal is to provid...

Page Down