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The Montana Highway Patrol 2015 Annual Report is out and, as usual, there is much to be learned about car crashes and the like right here in Chouteau County. The Mission Statement for the Montana Highway Patrol is to focus on safeguarding the lives, property and constitutional rights of people traveling the highways of our state. Division goals are to work to build relationships with our citizens and communities. We will also work to continue building partnerships with other state, federal, county, municipal and tribal agencies. Enhance the...
Normally the first column of each month is a recipe. I will get to that next week but do you realize that our Senior Citizen Cooks are being treated like Second Class Cooks by the State of Montana? All of the cooks were ordered to attend a meeting in Fort Benton June 28 where they were to learn more about how to cook commodities and how to cook different food than is being cooked at the Senior Citizen Centers around Montana. Two flaws in all that. First, the cooks cook what goes over well. They are told to cook more fish and yet they have no...
Amy Wortman, south east of Big Sandy provided an old paperback book by Jim Arthur called, “Retracing Kipp Trails”. Tavie Kipp married into the famous Kipp family when she married Jim Kipp who was the son of Joe Kipp, an icon of Glacier National Park and James Kipp who was instrumental in opening the upper Missouri to trading. In her later years Tavie Kipp joined the Chinook History Group and it is suspected it was then she wrote several stories of her life in Montana. In this story she talks about coming to Montana. We take up the story when sh...
When Don Sorensen heard that "The Mountaineer" wanted him to tell some Fourth of July stories, he brought in a picture of him when he was probably around 8 years old. Don thinks the picture was probably taken around 1953. Anyway, in the picture is Don, attired in clothes too big for him. Beside him is a big Dutch oven smoking away and behind him is the river that he loves so much. Not much has changed except these days Don's Clothes fit better. He is teaching Dutch oven cooking on the river at t...
By Robert Lucke Headline might read, "Coburn can't go to the Malta Rodeo but meets his Hero." It was July 3, 1901. The Coburn ranch just north east of the Little Rocky Mountains was bustling with summer chores. Wallace Coburn, about age 15, was trying to figure how he could get to the Fourth of July Rodeo in Malta a day early. Wallace Coburn was the youngest of the Coburn children. He lived with his mother and father in Great Falls where he went to school but when school was out he was on the...
When Linda Rutledge at the Senior Citizen's Center told "The Mountaineer" that Dee Pribyl is the 2016 Senior Citizen of the year, we couldn't have been more pleased. There is no harder community worker and genuinely nicer person than Dee. Singlehanded, she and two friends were responsible for a new library in Big Sandy. That is as it should be as Dee is and will always be a librarian. Her love of books is shown in the interview we did with her last week. Congratulations Dee Pribyl. If anyone sho...
This must be about the umpteenth time I have taken pen in hand and written something about the Fourth of July. Usually, most of my Fourth of July stories are about the Fourth in Glacier National Park, the Fourth on Clear Creek in the beautiful Bear Paw Mountains or the Fourth of July on Flathead Lake where there are so many people, that is probably the very worst of all times to visit tiny towns like Lakeside that have been made huge by friends of friends, tourists and families from all over the world. Wherever I am writing about, I never forge...
For years and years in this part of Montana there was only one place to be on the Fourth of July. That was the rodeo at Warrick. There were hundreds and hundreds of spectators, hundreds of participants, numerous fights and one of the best dances Fourth of July night seen in all of Montana. Matter of fact the entire Fourth at Warrick was not to be missed year after year by many Montanans! The first Warrick rodeo was held in 1927. The last one in 1984. Sometimes the rodeo went dark for several years but then someone would always get it up and...
Leslie Gregory, who is the lady in charge at the Big Sandy Swimming Pool, said that the pool is up and running and, as usual, there are a few changes from last season. "Our hours are different this year," Leslie said. "Hours are 12 to 2, 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 for open swimming seven days a week. 8 to 9 am five days a week is adult swimming as is 6 to 7pm five days a week." Gregory said there are eleven life guards from the Big Sandy area. Many people have commented this is a great place for summer...
Looking on line, "The Mountaineer" came across a story entitled fifteen places in Montana you must see before you die. We decided to include the list for our readers to see how many of those places they have actually been to or are planning on seeing. But, then there is the real list of places that are little known or seen for what they are but they are places in Montana that if you don't want to miss. Don't wait until you are ready to croak. See at least some of them this summer. But first the...
This is the eighth year former Big Sandy High School graduate Ellaraine Lockie has provided the English students at BSHS the opportunity to participate in the Walter Gerson Poetry Contest. Each year Ellaraine Lockie judges students’ poetry, makes comments about the poems and awards students for their excellent poetry and participation. This year is no exception. There are several cash prizes and several honorable mentions. Two teachers at Big Sandy high school have been involved in the poetry contest. Lauren Clampitt handled the Gerson poems f...
Tis the season for thunder and lightning rolling out of the mountains and onto the prairie. Farmers always hope that those thunder and lightning storms will come with no hail. Everyone hopes those storms will come with no funnel clouds. Last week I got to thinking about thunder and lightning storms I have been involved with or heard about. Some are just plain wonderful. Others lead to great tragedies and as a result are nightmares from hell. I was reading the Media Report last week from the Chouteau County Sheriff’s office. The report said t...
Thomas Dilworth has taken over management of the Kracklin' Kamut enterprise of Bob Quinn. Dilworth is originally from Idaho but has been in Fort Benton for a time and while in Fort Benton, he helped Quinn on several projects. "I love Montana. It is like home," added Dilworth. "I did some construction work for Bob's wife Ann then Bob took over. I then had a lot of construction to do. You know Bob. The list just got longer and longer and we became close as well." When Bob Quinn offered Dilworth th...
In late May there was a meeting in Valier, Montana. Over 200 people showed up to talk about bears, both black and grizzly, coming onto their old stomping grounds on the Montana prairies. We know that the Montana prairie was the first home to bears in this country from the notes of explorers like Lewis and Clark who reported they had bear troubles all through Montana. Now those bears reside for the most part in the Rocky Mountain Front from the Rattlesnake wilderness area, to the Bob Marshall,...
Montana is filled with really great eating places. Only most of the really great ones are not readily known about. Like one fellow said, when having a memorable meal at a cabin by Duck Lake, “It was just a tiny cabin but it had some of the best food I have ever eaten.” Some of these eating spots are connected with bars, some are simply dives or holes in the walls and some are very grand and beautiful restaurants the most everyone has heard of. How about starting with Ciao Mambo in Whitefish? It is in a dive like building but if you love the...
This is the eighth year former Big Sandy High School graduate Ellaraine Lockie has provided the English students at BSHS the opportunity to participate in the Walter Gerson Poetry Contest. Each year Ellaraine Lockie judges students’ poetry, makes comments about the poems and awards students for their excellent poetry and participation. This year is no exception. There are several cash prizes and several honorable mentions. Two teachers at Big Sandy high school have been involved in the poetry contest. Lauren Clampitt handled the Gerson poems f...
This is a great time of the year to visit Glacier National Park. You are going for several reasons. First, there is never a bad day in Glacier and you will experience that for yourself. Second, Going-To-The-Sun Road should be open around the sixteenth of June so you are seeing it when it has the most snow on it of the season which is a wonderful time to traverse this great road. Third, this is a great time to come in the Lake McDonald area so that you can see that wonderful phenomenon called Alpenglow. Look up at the north end of Lake McDonald...
The unofficial minutes of the May 17 School Board meeting showed all trustees were present. Staff present was Superintendent Moore, Clerk Engle and Lead Elementary teacher Heather Wolery. Visitors present were Colby Cline, Joe Bahnmiller, Dan Matthew, Pat Matthew and Mary Ophus. The Pledge was recited after Chairman Strutz called the meeting to order. Guests were welcomed and minutes were approved from the previous meeting. The agenda was rearranged. There were no public comments to the Board and there was one thank you received from the Class...
Linda is marred to David Schwarzbach and has three children, Shaud, Scott and Shelly. Linda and Dave have eight grandchildren. Linda was hired as a cook in the school lunch program in 1983. She wanted the job although knew little about institutional cooking. When her children were little, she wanted to be home with them when they were home. And coming from Eureka, Linda wanted to spend more time in the summer at her family home on Glen Lake than a regular job would afford. It looked to Linda that a job with the school would be just perfect to f...
There is a very important meeting at the Senior Citizen's Center June 8 at 3pm. The Big Sandy Conservation District officials will be there to discuss their proposed new ordinance to keep grazing bison from destroying conservation lands. Dana Darlington is the head of the Big Sandy Conservation District. He stated, "This meeting is about the Big Sandy Conservation Ordinance. It is to inform the public about protecting the soil and water if wild or domesticated bison are grazing in the Big Sandy...
Here are a couple of recipes to make your summer picnics even better. The first puts a hot dog into a whole other world of delicious! All you need is a charcoal grill, your favorite hot dog or sausage, strips of your favorite cheese and two slices of bacon per an average size hotdog. First split the hot dog open and stuff a strip of cheese inside. Then take your two slices of bacon and wrap them tightly around the hot dog so that when the cheese melts it does not run out. Toothpicks work well for the job of holding the bacon on the dog but...
When Big Sandy native George Rice was drafted in 1952 he could hardly believe it. After all he was in college at Montana State College. That didn’t seem to matter and Rice was drafted into the United States Army. Drafted he was and he went to Fort Lewis, Washington for his basic training. After that Rice went to school at San Louis Obispo in California. Rice was trained there as a small engine power maintenance mechanic. Rice says it was a good course with good instructors. It lasted about three months. Then Rice was sent to Fort Hood, T...
There are three candidates running for one Chouteau County Commissioner seat in the June primary. Since all three are Republicans, it probably can be assumed that whoever wins the primary will be the new Chouteau County Commissioner. The three candidates running for that office are Jim Olson from the Spring Station Road, Clay Riehl from the Bootlegger Trail and Dean Rominger from Floweree. "The Mountaineer" asked a series of five questions of the candidates that were either county related or...
At the May 4th regular City Council meeting there was one visitor. After the pledge was recited minutes of the last meeting were approved. There was no Sheriff’s Report. Regarding the Wastewater Project, the mayor said that finally they are closing out phase 2 and 3. The wastewater lagoon was seeded and hopefully grass will come up this time. In the new water project, funding is coming along. Already Big Sandy has $750.00 from the Treasure State Endowment fund. The rest of the project could be funded by a loan from the State of Montana R...
I have written about this again and again but it is so beautiful in my back yard I have to write about it one more time this spring. When my mother and I bought the Sixth Street house in Havre, we had moved back home from Lakeside and Somers on Flathead Lake. One thing mother loved about living in those locations was that winter or summer she saw a huge amount of green evergreens out her windows. I knew that we had to have that in Havre as well. The back yard of our house was just mainly dirt but you know I had known I wanted to grow dahlias an...
