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In her book “The Hiding Place,” Dutch Christian Corrie TenBoom recounts her family’s experiences hiding Jews in Holland during WW2. They were eventually discovered, and the entire family was sent to concentration camps. Corrie alone survived the camps. One of the most remarkable moments in the book happens when she is brought in to be interrogated by an SS officer. TenBoom was terrified of being tortured and prayed for God to save her. The officer came in and began questioning the young girl. She began to preach the gospel to the SS offic...
Greeting and here’s to a healthier new year. Masks, who likes them? No One! But here’s the thing, businesses are required to have signs on their doors asking people to wear their mask. I agree the signs should not say “It’s the Law” I think a better word should say “Out of Respect.” Respect not only for the businesses and their workers, but for your friends, family and community. When going to your home we take off our shoes and put out our cigarettes, out of respect.How soon we forget what our businesses and our Chamber have done for our...
Every morning, starting when I get out of bed, I find myself watching the clock. I have a certain amount of time to drink my first coffee of the day, walk the dog before my wife leaves for work, and get the kids out of bed and off to school. Once I get the kids out the door, I have a certain number of minutes before I have to meet with people, start writing the sermon for the week, do hospital visits, and tend to every other urgent thing that demands my attention now. I have to get it all done before the school day ends so I can pick up the...
The year 2020 was a "no good very bad year." But I'm a half-full kind of girl, so I choose to look at the year differently. I ponder thoughts like what can we learn from the year? How can I change to make any other year better? There are things I've learned, like it doesn't take much for neighbors and friends to be frustrated with one another, people I never thought would raise their voice. It has taught me how to love and support those who totally disagree with me. I have learned to study...
Our family tradition that does not deviate from year to year is taking a drive to find the “perfect Christmas Tree.” As years passed, our whole family would go, usually including a few friends, and of course, our dogs. We would spend the afternoon looking for “the tree,” hiking, eating special snacks we brought along, and photographing our family and nature. The area we go to is close to our ranch, also off the beaten path. We have been surprised by many wild animals, such as elk, deer, wild turkeys, pheasant, bobcats, and yet no bears,...
When I was in college, I had a comic strip hanging up in my dorm room. The single panel was from the nationally syndicated “Pluggers” comic. The text of the comic was simple: “An ounce of work is worth a pound of meetings.” I have long held this opinion and think back to the motto often. The fact of the matter is that 10 minutes of work will generally outproduce hours worth of meetings. This morning, I have found myself reflecting on this idea and applying it to a different subject altogether. In the past few weeks, I have had several people...
Holiday greetings from the Big Sandy Medical Services Foundation. You may have noticed we have not sent our annual fall fund raising letter. Due to the craziness of 2020 – especially the tragedy of Covid-19 – we have chosen this means of notifying you of our need for your support. Big Sandy Medical Center has always put the health and safety of their patients, residents, and employees as their main priority. With the challenges created by this devastating pandemic virus there are many new and changing restrictions imposed on healthcare fac...
When I think about Christmases I have had previously throughout my lifetime, I think about many different things. I think about where they were held, who was all there and of course what I got for the special holiday. What always really sticks out to me every time out of all of it is one singular moment. This moment was very integral as I learned two valuable lessons that Christmas in 2010; As everyone was being given their gifts in the living room of Grandma and Grandpa Genereux, a feeling of...
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who spoke out openly against Hitler during WWII. For his public opposition to the Nazis and his involvement in a plot to assassinate the dictator, Bonhoeffer was arrested, kept in a concentration camp for 2 years, then executed. In a letter he wrote to his fiancé from prison, Bonhoeffer reflected on Christmas with the amazing comment that: “I think we were going to have an exceptionally good Christmas.” The statement is a little crazy given his circumstances. Later in the letter, he explains his reas...
Hello Big Sandy, I am back from my first semester of college. Realistically, I could have decided never to have left the paper, but I thought it would have been best to leave it up to the other writers of this town to take their stab at it. I also thought I wouldn't have the time to get articles out through my schedule, but let me tell you, being a journalism major in their first college semester gives you all the time in the world. My courses were reasonably simple, courses such as...
Many years ago, my wife and I were on our way to a friend’s house for Christmas on a terribly cold and snowy morning in Northern Indiana. While taking a turn in our early 80s LTD, we slid on the ice and got bellied up in the snow on the side of the road. I did my best to shovel us out, but didn’t make a ton of progress. After a bit, a guy came along and helped me get the car loose. We talked for about 10 minutes while we worked. Afterward, I got into the car and explained to my wife that the guy was on his way to his ex-wife’s house. Her power...
Early in the book of Acts, Peter and John are arrested and put on trial for preaching. The pair refused to back down under pressure from the religious authorities of the time, at least partially because they hadn’t broken any laws. The court ultimately released them but warned them not to preach any more. When they got out, the first thing the two disciples did was go to the rest of the church, relay the message, and then spend time praying. This isn’t all that surprising, because it’s the sort of thing we expect people to do when we read...
The Virgelle valley has always been a beautiful place to visit. If you are like me, the sound of the moving water calms your heart and soul. The trees’ tranquility singing with the breeze and animals and birds sounds all around me makes me smile and say a prayer of thankfulness. The sunrises and sunsets are amazing also. God is the best artist I know. I try to capture his creations with a camera and on canvas. They do not compare. With hunting season, most of my traffic across the river has been hunters. I have taken many boats across the r...
Halloween was two weeks ago. On Halloween night, my kids trick or treated for several hours and accumulated a treasure trove of candy that has been sitting in my pantry since. The problem with this arrangement is that I tend to head to the kitchen for a snack, consider my healthy options, and then eat 3 or 4 of the higher quality candy options from their bags. I do my best to steal their candy evenly, so that I am not taking too much from one or the other. This weekend, my wife finally had the kids hide their bags to keep the two of us from eat...
Fall arrived! It was time to prepare all the garden bounty for winter. I have only canned a few quarts here and there for the past ten years. It seemed like the more life got involved, and the more money I made, the less homegrown and the more prepared food I used. Thanks to The Grocery Store for case lot sales. I stocked up! I had all my jars packed in boxes in the shed. 1st spring projects were to clean sheds, build shelves, sort out all the canning paraphernalia and get some order for fall...
Before coming to Big Sandy, the organization I worked for was struggling. As a result, my job had stretched to cover work left undone by folks who had been laid off or whose hours had been cut. I was often working six and seven day weeks. At times, I worked 12 hour days. Because I was a salaried employee, I could fill in gaps where needed. This persisted for months. I eventually reached a point where I was always tired and all of my hobbies and outside of work activities fell to the wayside. I don’t blame my employer, and I was happy to fill i...
I want to give all the readers of my articles a thank you for the encouraging words for me to continue writing for the Mountaineer. I struggle with ideas. I usually get ideas when I visit with patrons using the ferry. This year I had many ferry crossings from people from the larger towns and cities. For most of them, it was their first time crossing the river on the ferry. The norm this year with the riders was, “I didn’t know this was here. We were looking for places to go and things to do in Montana with this pandemic. Man, I am so happy we...
“Worry is like a rocking chair. It’ll keep you busy, but you won’t get anywhere doing it.” I first heard this line from a 16-year old kid in a rehab program I was working with. I’ve repeated it hundreds of times because a great deal of the stress and anxiety we experience in life is related to things we have very little actual control over. In the current season of our lives, constant anxiety is easy to spot. Folks are worried about the pandemic, the election, instability in our cities, economic dangers, and a million other things. It seems...
Our “Trump 2020 sign was taken from our front lawn last week. We have since learned several others have had their signs taken as well as the “Trump Train” by the highway being vandalized. These are not acts owe expect to happen in Big Sandy. To me these actions represent the lawlessness the Democratic Party has tolerated and even supported. Such as many of Biden’s and Harris’ campaign staff contributing to funds to provide bail for so called peaceful protesters who are arrested. Also we see many Democrat prosecutors not file charges against t...
Dear Big Sandy Community: I am writing this out of an inherent obligation to be transparent with the Big Sandy community. By the time this letter is published, I will be fully recovered and back to work after testing positive for COVID-19. This is a personal health issue I am choosing to share because it is the right thing to do. First and foremost, according to the timeframe of my symptoms, there was no exposure to residents, patients, or other BSMC staff. I was not in contact with anyone, besides my immediate family, close enough or long...
Editor’s Note: Pam Gasvoda expressed to me their deep appreciation for Big Sandy for the care and support they have received; however, she didn’t want to have to keep repeating the following information over and over. In January 1998, Arnie Gasvoda had surgery because he had prostate cancer. In January 1999, he had six weeks of radiation treatments recommended by his urologist because his PSA kept going up. Now 20 years later, he has radiation cystitis due to the radiation way back then. He has a very weak, like hamburger, bladder. This sta...
Throughout elementary school, junior high, high school, and college, I was a poor student. I had brief spurts where I’d manage to bring my grades up to decent levels, but for the most part I did my best to not drop below C’s. I was a poor note taker, struggled to pay attention in class, and found homework to be unbearably dull. I was such a difficult student that one of my teachers suggested that my IQ was too low for regular classes. School was miserable for me. All of this changed when I went to graduate school. Between 5 years of cla...
One day, James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, came to him and asked for a place of honor in Heaven. It was a lofty request that Jesus denied by explaining that the Father decides who will be where in eternity. When the rest of the disciples heard about this, they began to grumble and get angry at James and John because each of them thought they deserved more honor than the others. Jesus called them all together and told his followers something revolutionary. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high off...
The Big Sandy Medical Center (BSMC) has remained a cornerstone business and healthcare provider for the Big Sandy community and surrounding area since its doors opened in 1965 and expanded to add the long-term care facility in 1985. Big Sandy Medical Center employs more than 50 people. Take a look at what the Big Sandy Medical Center has to offer our area. • Medical Clinic • Physician Assistant • Nurse Practitioner • Physical Therapist and Assistant • Routine and wellness care • Pediatric care • Sports physicals • Laboratory services • X-ra...
In 1884, George Eastman founded the Kodak company and patented the first roll of film. This invention revolutionized photography. In 1900, Kodak released the Brownie camera, the first camera aimed at mass ownership. It cost $1, was easy to use, and it quickly made Kodak a household name. Later, the company created the standard film that would be used by the film industry for nearly a century. Then in 1975, a Kodak engineer invented a truly groundbreaking piece of technology: the first digital camera. In 1975! Executives for Kodak quickly...
