Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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As many of my readers remember, I really do miss having the dimmer switch on the floor on my vehicles. That thought came to mind again the other day and made me think of all the good progress auto manufacturers have made. Things like the ability to lock all of your vehicle doors with one click, as well as rolling your windows up or down. What about seat adjustments—not only up or down, but closer or further from the steering wheel, not to mention lumbar adjustments and heated seats. Makes me wonder what we will progress to. Though, electric c...
I know that I do not succeed 100 percent of the time, but I do try to steer clear of religion and politics. However on my way to church the other day memories flashed through my mind. Do you remember when nothing, school or social events, were scheduled for Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings? Sunday mornings were reserved for church, your choice of course, and on Wednesday evenings most church youth groups met. It could be my failing mind, but it seems that CYO, MYF and Luther League (those were the church groups active in my small town)...
How many housewives still save bacon grease? I have to admit that I still do, but it does not get used nearly as often as it was in past years. Gone are the days when you spooned some bacon grease into your cast iron skillet in order to fry your hash browns, etc. Some of us still use and love our cast iron, but that no-stick cookware is pretty “slick” also. Still on the bacon grease, I have a vague memory of some of my ancestors using bacon grease on some injuries, but please don’t try that as it could be a false memory. There were so many...
Remember all the hours spent wrapping Christmas gifts? The rolls of wrapping paper, the “to/from“ tags, the ribbon & bows? And the boxes. You saved boxes all year so you would have the right size for the gift. Many gifts were homemade so you needed boxes for those too. Now we have the luxury of gift bags. These bags sure help reduce clutter, as well as free up storage space. I am working on my old habit of saving all of that stuff. Any of you need to join me?...
Since my topic for the week is Remember, do you remember when the years, months and days took longer to fly by? As you read this it will be only days before Christmas. Where oh where does time go? I guess time goes hand in hand with age – when we are 12 we can’t wait until we are 15 – then we get to 15 and the goal is 21, and from then on it seems to be a downhill slide. Soon it will be time to take our Christmas decorations down and I just barely got a few up. So enjoy each day, make more memories to treasure and enjoy those fast moving days....
Remember when youth groups and others had Christmas caroling on their agendas? First, I must admit that I do not live in town and there may still be many carolers, however I think this might be a thing of the past. I am pretty sure the means of transportation for the young people is a thing of the past. I have vague memories of Christmas carolers singing from a sled pulled by a team of horses. This of course progressed to a wagon (complete with straw bales for seating) being pulled with a pickup, or “truck” depending on your location. The upd...
Some weeks ago I mentioned a friend that has shared old memorabilia with me. I sincerely hope this person did not take offense from my “who needs enemies” remark. I love to have readers and friends share thoughts and memories with me, and I will admit that the some sections of our Pioneer Museum have nothing over on me, as I treasure and keep most old items that trigger memories of our ancestors. This friend has shared many memories that trigger my thoughts for these articles, and I do owe that person many thanks. I will readily admit there are...
Dear Editor, I agree 100 percent with Sandy Laumeyer's article in the last addition of the Courier. I agree that the reporting of poll results before all polls are closed is wrong. A time frame for campaigning might be great. How about a cap on the amount of dollars spent campaigning? Why do we find it so difficult to feed our homeless, support our school systems, etc., when there are so many dollars available for some contestant's political campaigns? I know some things will never change, but...
Remember all of the different flavors of chewing gum that were available to us in our teen years? Remember the old song, “Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bed post overnight? If your mother says don’t chew it, do you swallow it in spite?” I am not sure why some of these things pop into my head, but several memories flooded my mind when I thought of that old song. How many of us remember, or have, bed posts that we might stick our gum on overnight, or for that matter, how many of us, young or old, would save our chewing gum for t...
Do you remember the days when men were always served first at the dinner table? Of course, this was at a time when you served big meals at a large kitchen or dining room table. I do remember my Grandmother telling us on many occasions to let the men eat first. Of course, in our little part of the world, most of the men of generations spent long hard hours working outside. Maybe they were served first so they could return to their outside work quicker, or maybe it was just a MAN’S world. I wonder if this carried over to holiday meals and o...
Dear Editor, I would like to thank all of the sponsors and hard-working individuals that worked to bring Heather McKay to Glasgow. I felt that her day of presentation to family, caregivers and others that have questions or concerns about Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia was very informative. It was a long day, but I think most of us attending felt it was well worth going. Thanks to all....
Recently, a friend gifted us with a large wooden cheese box full of pens and pencils of prior years. My thoughts kinda went to the “with friends like this, who needs enemies” but I will have to admit it was fun to look at each of these items and remember. Pens from Markle Tranfer were in the box. There are still many that can recall when Markle Transfer was in business and just what the business was. Another pen that really caught my attention was from Wonder Krust Bakery. Who remembers Wonder Krust? The Pledge of Allegiance was actually wri...
When reading a past issue of the Courier I commented on the photo on the Courier Memories page of the Northeast Montana Fair, date unknown. My comment was on the attire of the audience. Many men wearing suits and ties and all of the hats worn by the females in the group. It has been many a year since that picture was taken. I can’t picture many of our present-day fairgoers in that attire. Now my husband’s comment was a completely different nature, something like this was not the Northeast Montana Fair. We are definitely not on the same wav...
School is the topic once again. Do you remember getting your school supplies for the school year? I have put a little thought into my past school years and cannot remember ever having a list of supplies for the first day, let alone for the year. About the only pre-purchased supplies before starting school consisted of pencils and paper. The early years called for the Big Chief, wide-lined tablet and maybe a couple of lead pencils, and progressed to spiral-bound notebooks. Nope, nobody put their names on them either. I do remember having wooden...
School will be starting soon. Do you remember your after school time in your early teen days? I remember that many of the town kids gathered at the local drugstore after school. Can you remember peanuts in a bottle of Coke or Pepsi being the “thing?” Of course, there was a jukebox to play while you were being refreshed by this drink. I don’t remember that it cost us much either. Of course, a couple of you could share the package of Planters salted peanuts. I also remember that I would occasionally see my dad at the local implement shop on my...
Dear Editor, I am not sure where I want to start with this article, but I am concerned about the future of our NEMT Fair. Yes, I am old generation, and my memories of the fair start back to early years when my family and I lived in town, that being the city of Glasgow. I could see the lights of the carnival from our front yard. The years and a few moves changed my memories to 4-H and getting entries ready for the fair. By that time I was old enough to be aware of the efforts made by persons in the rural areas to get their fair exhibits to and...
It is time to submit an article to my Courier friends and I am sitting here a complete blank. Since the fair is fresh in my mind I have decided that will be my topic for the week. Remember when the exhibit buildings used to be full? Remember when most area citizens made entries in the fair? Here was tables full of fancy handwork, including embroidery, crochet work, tatting (and what is tatting you ask), machine-sewed and hand-sewn items such as clothing and quilts. Then, on to the canned and baked goods. Garden produce and on to the area of...
Does anyone remember Dement Beach, which was located about 12 miles northeast of Opheim and 8 miles north of Glentana? Having spent most of my teen years in this area it is mind boggling to me that there was actually a swimming resort, or bath resort, in that area. I was fortunate to be given a panoramic picture of this unbelievable resort taken in the 1930s. There are a number of vehicles lining the bank. It was noted that there was not a single one of them that supported the present day rounded top. Of course there were many patrons in their...
Do you ever drive down 2nd Ave. So., and try to remember what business was in a certain location? I think of Buttrey, the grocery and clothing store, and wasn’t there a furniture store also? The old Orpheum theatre, Strom Logan, Farmers Stockgrowers Bank (or was it Stockman’s?). Friedl’s Menswear with the scale located outside the front door. Then we had Adrian’s women’s apparel, Newton Motors, and Glasgow Bakery. I lived in one of the apartments located above the bakery. What a smell to wake up to in the morning. The Valley Drug and lunch cou...
Sunday was a day of reviving old memories. We took a scenic drive to the North Country, using a few back roads, and trying to remember who lived where back “then.” I will admit we were prompted to make the drive when I made a comment about not remembering how to get to the John Richardson place. My girls were in the bum lamb business at an early age, and we often made a trip to John Richardson’s or Don Spear’s to pick up lambs. After a day of touring, I watched the Great Falls news and caught a segment on rising wool prices. Sheep and wool, t...
My first thought is to address the dishes that we used to see in days gone at restaurants. Yes, I did mention them just a short time ago, but when cleaning a few areas of my cupboard, I happened to wash a cup from that era. I found it interesting to see that it was a type of china, made in the USA. Today’s coffee mug is no doubt not china, but made in China. Now on to other memories. Remember the fire crackers and other fireworks that we used to set off as kids? It is even scary to think about how lucky most all of us were to have not s...
Do you remember drinking your morning orange juice out of juice glasses that had colorful flowers, little animals, maybe cartoon characters and Disney figures painted on them? These were no doubt recycled glasses as they originally held various jellies and jams. I doubt anyone gave a thought to recycling, only wondered if the next trip to the grocery store might allow one of the younger siblings to have a glass of their own. If you were lucky, your family may have accumulated a half dozen or so. Sounds crazy, but remember this was the era when...
With this past weekend being Father’s Day, there were a lot of songs on radio and TV honoring our fathers. The one that caught my ear was “They Don’t Make ‘em Like My Daddy Anymore.” Having just spent some time with my father’s family reminiscing, I have to agree. There are still many of us around that had parents that survived the ‘30s. How many breadwinners of families in that era actually finished high school? I am not promoting quitting high school or not going on to college by any means. I am just remembering past history. They learned...
Remember days of the past when gifts from your female friends were most always homemade? I remember the fancy hankies that were tucked in your birthday card. Weddings found many gifts of hand-embroidered tea towels (dish towels) or pillow cases. I remember that we had a lot of bath towels with fancy crocheted edging on them. Well, that was back in the day when women didn’t work outside of the home unless it was gardening, canning, childcare, helping hubby with the farming and maybe working cattle, so I guess we had more time. But I also r...
When eating out the other day I happened to think of the dishes we used to always see in the cafes. Of course, I am from the middle of nowhere so my experiences were limited, but do you remember the coffee cups and saucers, not mugs like today? Of course, the plates, platters and soup bowls matched the cups. I remember white dishes with green strips around the top edge of cups and bowls and around the outer edge of the plates. There were also those beige colored dishes. You still get to see them in a second hand or antique shop. I have to admit...