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By Robert Lucke Everyone going to Glacier National Park wants to see a grizzly bear or at least a moose or an elk. But few people know about the rare abundance of harlequin ducks that can be seen in the early spring on upper McDonald Creek from about the Lake McDonald Falls to Avalanche campground. These amazing small ducks get their name harlequin because they are brightly spotted and look for all the world like they are dressed in a clown costume. The Glacier National Park colony of...
The photograph of this painting by Charles Russell is called Deer Drinking at Lake McDonald. It comes from a wonderful book entitled "Artists in Glacier". For anyone interested in the people who have made Glacier National Park their backdrop for paintings, this is the book to have. As for Charlie Russell, most of his work in Glacier came from the fact that he had a cedar log cabin close to the mouth of where McDonald Creek dumps out of Lake McDonald. The cabin is just a half mile or so from...
The Big Sandy American Legion Post 50 celebrated a big birthday on March 17. They were charted on November 19, 1919 and this year the twenty-five members plus the Women's Auxiliary celebrated their 98th birthday. Fifteen men were charter members when the Post was founded. They were Clyde Eckhart, Ben Walden, Ralph Weidrope, Arthur Tucker, Hans Henniksen, Frank Lyons, Arthur Borg, A. F. Wall, L. F. Cormody, J. Bert Britenbucker, Will Bowman, Roy Arnold, K. D. Arnold, Morris Arnold and A. M....
When Charlie Russell met the lady who was to be his wife he was living in Cascade. He had given up the range and was painting full time to try and make a living. Nancy was a housekeeper for some friends of Charlie’s and they met over dinner one night. It seemed to be love at first sight so they got “hitched up” as Charlie often said, and lived in a tiny house in Cascade for a time until the two of them found they would have a much easier time selling his paintings if they moved to Great Falls. So, they moved to Great Falls. It was there that Na...
It seems that the latest technology for ranchers who calf this time of year is a camera or two which saves much stress on getting up during the night several times, putting on warm clothing and checking cows ready to calf. Down the Judith road toward the mighty Missouri, at the Darlington ranch, there are two of these cameras in operation and even though it is too early for Dana and Lisa to know all the pros and cons about having those cameras, so far nothing but good is happening with the camer...
Don’t forget to buy your tickets soon for the annual Rotary Banquet which is March 18 at 6pm and held in the high school gymnasium. There is lots of fun to be had and enough good work done to last the Big Sandy community until next year all at that one banquet. Remember that tickets are a hundred dollars a couple and include a prime rib dinner and a chance to win three thousand dollars just for being there and called up on the stage! Proceeds, as usual go toward the Big Sandy community and youth activities. The grand prize is, of course the thr...
The late 1960’s was a strange time for my family. I was teaching in Glasgow. Mother was getting her feet wet in politics and my sister LouAnn was still in high school. My dad had died in a car accident in front of our Clear Creek cabin in 1964 and we continued to use the cabin even though it was never the same after that accident. As a family we had spent a lot of time in the Flathead, around Whitefish Lake and even more at Lake McDonald. We knew that sooner or later we wanted to at least have a summer home there but in order to make that h...
The regular March City Council meeting was held on March 6. There were no visitors. After the Pledge was recited there was a call to order and the minutes of the last meeting were approved. Deputy Hale was on hand. The sheriff’s department had a citation for a dog issued. The Water Line project was discussed. Things are on hold until further word from Rural Development. Bear Paw Development had nothing to report at this meeting. The Montana Department of Transportation sent an amended agreement for care of the highway park. MDOT agreed to p...
March 24 and 25 the Farmers Union is putting on a Producers Conference at the Havre Best Western Plus That is a Friday and Saturday. Farmers Union President Allan Merrill said that for a long time that conference used to be held at Fairmont but did not seem to be doing the job. Then one of the conference organizers who went to MSU Northern asked why not put the conference right in the middle of Montana agriculture and close to the Agricultural Research Center south west of Havre. The conference...
March 18 is the 33rd Annual Rotary Banquet. It will be held at the high school gym in Big Sandy and will feature as its theme this year, "Spring into Paradise". As usual the huge grand prize to be won by some lucky ticket holder will be three thousand dollars. Some grand prize winners in the past have been Lindy and Ilene Ray, Jennifer Thompson, Doris and Francis Gasvoda, Walt and Judy Sivertsen, Keith and Midge Edwards, Ken Evans, Marilyn Swanson, Ken Denning, Andy and Peggy LaBuda and Darrin...
Today is Ash Wednesday. It is a time when an old, old church tradition takes place in many churches around the world. In our church, Van Orsdel Methodist, in Havre, we save our palm leaves from Palm Sunday, burn them and the ashes of those palm leaves are applied to the foreheads of people participating in Ash Wednesday services in the form of a cross. That signals that Lent has begun and will continue until Easter Sunday which, this year is April 16. Traditionally in many families, Lent is a time to sacrifice like giving up drinking or...
John Fery painted many huge oil paintings for the Great Northern Railroad. His paintings are dramatic, exciting and in many cases breath taking. They are also very large! From 1910 until 1913 Fery was on the payroll of the railroad and was expected to paint a number of paintings each year. Many of Fery's paintings can be seen in Glacier Park Lodge, Many Glacier Lodge and Lake McDonald Lodge. The painting featured here is similar to one that hangs on one side of the huge inglenook fireplace at La...
“The Mountaineer” asked Mayor Stiles to write something about President’s Day for our President’s Day issue of the paper. Mayor Stiles wrote a great piece of history and hope that, unfortunately, got lost in cyber space for a week. Finally we retrieved it and it was too good not to include in the newspaper, even though it was not the President’s Day issue. So, here it is. Thank you Mr. Mayor. You do credit to us all. Presidents day By Stephen Stiles President’s Day which is still called “Washington’s Birthday by the federal government was...
Most all towns, little and large, have heroes. The thing about that is that maybe that hero is not known in the next block down or the heroic act he or she performed is lost after a few years have passed. And yet those heroes are still always in our midst. And, once in a while, there are heroes that are so outstanding and so filled with tenacity and grit, that most everyone knows that they are heroes. Three ladies from Big Sandy fit that bill perfectly. Not only have Marla Ray, Dee Pribyl and...
In the spring of 2016 some people from Great Falls, Cascade and Fort Benton, Montana formed a proposed National Heritage Area for this part of Montana. At first their idea was huge with boundaries that stretched almost from Helena to Big Sandy. Later, and that is part of this story, that the boundaries have been changed to more reflect the areas that would be most affected by the National Heritage Area. Of course there are always two sides to each story and one of the problem areas for those who...
Presidents Day is February 20. It takes the place of Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays that are both in February. Many years ago the holiday would alternate between the two birthdays but then it was decided to honor all the presidents with their own holiday. If I were to make a list of favorite presidents Franklin Roosevelt would be first on that list, then John Kennedy and Harry Truman because I met both Truman and Kennedy and never did quite get over the assassination of JFK. But there are other great presidents. My list would include Was...
The following article about Fort Assinniboine as seen through the eyes of Dr. John Carroll was written for “The Mountaineer” in 1930. Dr. Carroll was slated to go on an adventure to the North Pole during his tenure at Fort Assinniboine but did not go. The article was given “The Mountaineer” by Midge Edwards. Why coal banks are not capitalized in the story remains a mystery. It was 51 years ago, June 17, 1879 that Dr. John V. Carroll, now a resident of Great Falls but at that time a private soldier in the 18th United States Infantry, stepped...
I started my teaching career in Glasgow, Montana in 1964. I loved the town and the people in the town. It was a very welcoming town to a stranger like I was. The school administration told us young teachers to join groups and join in the community happenings. All fall and winter long various teachers would have Friday night parties. I don’t think I missed a one of them if I was in town. In Glasgow the winter alcoholic drink of choice was a little white devil called Moose Milk. It sure was good but three or four of them and I was ready to fly t...
We have had a long bout of below zero in the Golden Triangle. Many of us spent a lot of time inside and, as a result, many of us have an old fashioned case of what is called in the Yukon, Shack Fever or to put it another way, we are Shack Happy. That simply means you have been in the shack with your buns and your bread far too long. What to do about it; that is the question? Happily there are many various remedies for this dreaded illness. They fall into two different categories. Go away if you...
Super Bowl 51 will be played in Houston on February 5 and might just end up as a battle between two quarterbacks, Tom Brady of the Patriots and Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons. The teams are unevenly matched if looking at this season’s wins and losses. The Patriots record 16 and 2 winning nine consecutive games and have not even trailed since November 27. Atlanta’s record is 13 and 5 and they have won the last six in a row. That is what each team is facing going into Super Bowl 51. However, folks from all over know that a Super Bowl is muc...
At the January 11 regular meeting of the Big Sandy City Council there were two visitors present. The Pledge was recited. There were no public comments and there was no sheriff’s report. Mayor Stiles said that the new Big Sandy web page is about finished and should be up and running before very long. “The Mountaineer” will print how to access the page. The new water line project is on hold right now because Rural Development has discovered some costs they were not anticipating. They are working now on how much each match is going to cost. Bear...
Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner. Maybe this would be a good time for a couple of recipes for a couple of good dips. The first one, a shrimp dip, comes from my mother and if you are having many people in for Super Bowl Sunday you will need to make a double batch of this one. It is very good. You will need three quarters of a cup of mayonnaise 1 can baby shrimp, drained with a tablespoon of the liquid reserved 1 tablespoon sugar 1 small onion diced in a tiny dice 1 8oz package of room temperature cream cheese. A dollop of hot sauce Th...
Thursday, February 2 Home basketball vs. Box Elder Friday, February 3 elementary school ski trip Saturday, February 4 basketball at CJI. Games start at 4:30pm. Tuesday and Wednesday, February 7 and 8 FFA goes to Grass Range for District Meet. Breakfast and lunch menus for the coming week are as follows: Wednesday, February 1 breakfast is egg and cheese sliders, assorted cereals, fruit, juice and milk. Lunch is Pizza with green beans, fruit, salad bar plus buns and milk. Thursday, February 2 breakfast is muffins, gogurt or a cheese stick,...
Each year on the first Wednesday of January, "The Mountaineer" reviews the most interesting and best stories of the last twelve months. We review the most noteworthy stories and maybe even a noteworthy picture or two. It is a good way to get started with our stories of 2017. The 2017 stories are all pretty much mysteries yet but the 2016 stories; well here we go on a fun journey back through the last year in Big Sandy, Montana. One could say that this is 2016 in review, the Good the Bad and the...
I have given this recipe for scalloped potatoes to many people. Most of them have raved about it. I cooked it for Christmas Day and proclaimed it to be the best scalloped potatoes I have ever eaten. Part of it is the fact that it has plenty of ham in it. It also has plenty of whipping cream in it, lots of onions, lots of cheese and just plain old dry mustard. But the single most important ingredient of all is the brown sugar and while the recipe calls for a cup and a half, I think that two cups is not too much. Anyway here is what you will...
