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I was so surprised to pick up a recent issue of “Bon Appétit” Magazine and find a picture of Spaghetti and Meatballs on the front cover. I had thought spaghetti and meatballs a much too plain food for that magazine and further, I knew of few people who thought that spaghetti and meatballs is as comforting as it is for me. They wrote what I had known for many years, “Last winter, my wife invited an old friend over for Sunday dinner. Craving something simple and homey, I suggested spaghetti and meatballs. Someone agreed, adding garlic bread...
I have always loved it when October rolls around. When I was a teacher and a hunter, I could hardly wait for the MEA Convention in October as that usually coincided with the first day of hunting season and maybe three other teachers and I would head from Glasgow, where we were teaching to Zortman or to Clear Creek where we would cook up all sorts of comfort food, drink a little whiskey or brandy and just enjoy two or three days of roughing it. If I recall there was never much hunting that went on. It was more just getting out of the groove and...
Many years ago I wanted to become a teacher and had gathered enough credits at Northern Montana College to do that. Dr. Harrison Lane was my mentor for Student Teaching and he wanted me to do my Student Teaching with Lawrence Green in Big Sandy. He said the school system was simply wonderful as was Mr. Green. Lane was right on both counts! I went to Big Sandy and remember well teaching English to Big Sandy kids very interested in learning and I learned a lot from my brief stay with the Big Sandy schools. That was a wonderful school system. It...
At one point during Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign in the spring of 1862, he wound up in a position where his force was on one side of a river while it needed to be on the other side. Jackson first approached his engineers and asked them to plan and build a bridge to safely get the army to the other side. They immediately set to the task they’d been assigned. He then spoke with his wagon master, telling him that it was urgent that the wagon train get to the other side. The Wagon master immediately began gathering logs, stones, and fen...
Q: My friend keeps telling me that I need Jesus, but I don’t understand what he means. Why do I need Jesus? A: I’m thankful for your friend’s concern; he obviously cares about you, and he senses that something is missing in your life—something only God can supply. I pray that you’ll take your friend’s concern seriously. Why do you need Jesus? You need Him first of all because you need His salvation. You see, you aren’t here by accident; God created you, and He put you here for a reason. In fact, He loves you, and life’s greatest joy comes from...
A friend of mine loved to hunt and he loved most of all to hunt alone. Just his horse, his pack horse his tent, his gun and some food was good enough for him. What reminded me of this friend was that the October he went hunting in what is now the Bob Marshall but then was called just Big River, Montana had experienced a very hot, dry and smoky summer, much like what we are going through now. It was October when my friend set up his camp in the wilderness and proceeded to scout for an elk or even a large buck deer to take home. One day he had...
One of Jesus’ most popular parables is that of the Good Samaritan. Most of us know the story: a man is attacked while traveling and left for dead on the side of the road. Afterward, a series of travelers pass him as he is laying in the road. The first two are a priest and a Levite who go around him. The third is a Samaritan who takes the poor traveler to an inn, where he tends to his wounds and pays for the man to stay at the inn while he recovers. The whole story is told when Jesus answers a question. Jesus is talking with a group of s...
Q: I can’t help but wonder if we’re living in the last days. Are we? There’s so much conflict and turmoil in the world, and I don’t see any answer unless God intervenes and brings it all to an end. Am I being too pessimistic? A: You’re right; we do live in a world that is constantly torn by conflict and chaos and fear. And because of the development of nuclear and biochemical weapons of mass destruction, the world is arguably the most dangerous it has ever been. Jesus warned that as the end of the present age approaches, “You will hear of war...
How about the most wonderful casserole I have ever eaten? My friends call it Sloppy Robby and it is the perfect way to start the fall season. Don’t make it while the weather is still hot. Make it when cool and you will love it even more. It is three parts. Let’s start with the top first. It is your favorite Sloppy Joe recipe or use this one. You will need two small cans of tomato paste, a pound and a half of hamburger, an onion diced, two packages of Sloppy Joe Mix and a couple cans of water along with a cup of good beef broth. Sauté the hamb...
September is National Sewing Month!! It started in 1982 in recognition of the importance of home sewing to our Nation. How many of you are saying you used to sew and just have not been able to get back to it, the sewing machine is buried or you do not have a spot to set it up, you have always wanted to sew but just did not ever take the time to learn or, the one I hear the most often, my mom made me sew and I hated it? If you really want to get back into sewing or want to learn, make it happen in September. Even if it is in the next few...
Q: Why didn’t God just destroy the human race and start all over again, after Adam and Eve rebelled against Him? In fact, why doesn’t He go ahead and destroy the human race now? We sure don’t live the way He wants us to live. A: No, we don’t live the way God created us to live; we have rebelled against Him and gone our own way. Even when we know what is right, we still resist God and leave Him out of our lives. As the Bible says, “All have turned away … there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12). Why, then, doesn’t God s...
September Horticulture Management Managing horticultural landscapes in September is essential to healthy production during the growing season. Below are a few recommendations for Chouteau county gardeners. • The average first frost is September 15 (Carter), September 18 (Kenilworth and Highwood), September 20 (Big Sandy), September 25 (Fort Benton) and September 28 (Geraldine). All fruit and vegetables should be harvested before temperatures drop below 40° to 50°F. • Ripen tomatoes in a paper bag along with an apple, or hang the entire plant up...
Jesus was raised in the town of Nazareth. Nazareth has been the topic of some controversy over the last 50ish years, with some archeologists arguing that the town itself didn’t exist in the early first century. The reason for this argument was that there was no archeological evidence for it until recently. As it turns out, Nazareth was really small. It was so small, it went undiscovered for many years. Jesus was raised in a town so small that it wouldn’t likely have a name on a modern map of Montana. After his childhood years, he moved to Caper...
If you pay property taxes you should be very glad you live in Chouteau County and Big Sandy specifically. As most property owners know, property taxes are going up this year due to the recent legislature taking funding away from education. By doing that I wonder if the legislature is telling us what they really think about education? Thank heavens we have a couple of good legislators representing us in Chouteau County. they wrote a column that “The Mountaineer” printed last week along with reasons taxes are going up written by Sup...
Q: My wife and I didn’t grow up in religious homes, but we don’t want this for our children. How old do they have to be before they can understand something about God? We want to do the right thing, but I guess we’re not sure how to go about it. A: Small children won’t understand everything we wish we could teach them about God and His will—but they can understand something! Don’t hesitate, therefore, to go ahead and begin teaching them about God and Jesus. Think of it this way: How old does a child have to be before he or she understands...
Summer Pneumonia in Beef Calves Summer pneumonia in nursing beef calves is not uncommon, but occurs with low frequency. A wide variety of risk factors for summer pneumonia exist including relative success of colostrum antibody transfer, commingling of groups, weather changes, nutrition changes or deficiencies, pathogen exposure, handling stress, calving difficulty, and operation-specific risk factors like lack of labor. The immunity a calf receives through colostrum is called passive immunity, and is the major source of immune function in the n...
It might be said that Bert was a dandy. He dressed in a strange way, had a tiny moustache and drove around in a very large and long green Nash. Bert (and his last name will not be used to protect the innocent) worked in the shoe department of the Lou Lucke Company for many years. In fact one could say that Bert grew old selling shoes at the Lou Lucke Company. He wore black and white saddle shoes all summer long and even wore something that I think were called puttees and what had gone out of style in the 1920’s. Puttees were strips of cloth t...
Q: Since I was a child I’ve been told that God hates sin, and because I don’t always do what’s right, I’ve always assumed that He must hate me also. But now that I’m older I’m beginning to wonder if I’m wrong. Am I? A: Yes, you are wrong—and I’m thankful you’re beginning to realize it! God loves you, and the greatest discovery you or anyone else can ever make is that you are deeply loved by God. Does this mean God doesn’t hate sin? Does this mean He simply ignores it, or even laughs at it and pretends it doesn’t matter? No, not at all. But the...
I went to a large high school in Northern Virginia, where most of the classes had over 30 kids. It was a good school, but I was a lazy student. I spent most of my class time sitting in the back row reading novels or daydreaming. My grades were mediocre and I’m certain I was the source of much consternation to my teachers, largely because I put little effort into my education. Algebra is a perfect example. I hated math in general. It frustrated me to no end because it didn’t come easy. Strangely enough, after a poor grade the first sem...
This has been a tough year for trying to keep grass green and flowers growing. One large Green Spruce in my front yard has lost a whole branch to what I think is simply drought and not enough water on everything around the house. Once my water bill gets over a hundred dollars I start looking at places to stop watering and this year I let the whole front yard dry up which I hope will not kill all the lilacs and spruces that make up my private front lawn. Meanwhile in the back yard, no matter how much water I put on my dahlias, Zinnias, glads...
Q: When you ask God to do something for you, but then nothing happens, does that mean He’s giving you a definite “no,” and you shouldn’t keep bothering Him about it? A: We should never think that we are “bothering” God when we turn to Him in prayer! God loves us, and just as parents take delight in their child’s first words, so God takes delight in the prayers of His children. Jesus said, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask h...
Sometimes I sit down at this old computer and just stare at it, wondering what to write about this week? Getting started on the writing process sometimes is just finding something to write about. Here is something. It is happening already. A lady from far away sent us an email saying how she loves the stories I write about Charlie Russell and Ace Powell. She went on to ask about Ace and Nancy Powell who were both good artists in their own right. I hardly ever write about Nancy and yet her grasp of Native American art was fantastic. She and Ace...
Q: I don’t go to church anymore, because the people in the last one I went to weren’t very friendly, and all they did was criticize and gossip about everyone, from the pastor on down (probably including me). That’s not the way Christians are supposed to act, is it? A: No, it’s definitely not how Christians are supposed to act. When we commit ourselves to Jesus and become His followers, our lives should be marked by love and compassion, not criticism and gossiping. The Bible says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned...
Jesus, Matthew tells a story in which Jesus and the 12 disciples are in a fishing boat crossing the Sea of Galilee, which is known for sudden and violent storms. Halfway across the inland sea, one of those storms set in and threatened to capsize the boat. The disciples were terrified, while Jesus just slept in the stern. Finally, they woke him up and asked: “Teacher, do you care if we drown?” Jesus got up and commanded the storm to stop, then asked his disciples if they had any faith at all. The story is interesting for a few reasons. Fir...
Q: I graduated from college last December, and I was excited because the job I got meant I’d be moving to a large city—which I’ve always wanted to do. But I’m so lonely here that I’m beginning to wonder if I made a mistake. Do you think I did? A: Elsewhere in your letter you admit that you never thought to pray about your decision or seek God’s will for your future. One reason I wanted to reprint your question is because I hope it will encourage others to pray when they face decisions like this. God is concerned about every detail of our lives,...
