Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Branding time is here. Many cattlemen have already branded their calves for the year, while others still have the event looming before them. To those not directly involved, there would not seem to be a lot of changes over the years, but do you remember? My memories start with the preparation, packing and getting the meals to the branding corral so those memories first. If you could reach the branding site by vehicle the cook brought lunch to the branding crew. Now, this was not what we currently think of as lunch. Mashed potatoes, pies, baked...
Do you remember getting the Current Events paper when you were in school? I was reading the Courier Archives of 92 years ago and noticed a paragraph concerning a dance at the Cherry Creek Schoolhouse. Part of the proceeds from the dance was to be used to pay the subscription to Current Events for the second semester of the school year. (I thought it rather interesting that the total income to be spent was $5.95). The really fun thing about that item in the Courier was that I had just found a whole binder of Current Events from my school years....
I attended the Doo-Wop Dance at Prairie Ridge on April 20. This was an outstanding two hours of entertainment. The performers and staff of Prairie Ridge are to be commended. Great Job. And on to memories. When I decided to mark my calendar and take in the Doo-Wop, I remembered that I had a poodle shirt, saddle shoes and a can-can slip taking up room in my closet, so I decided to dress for the dance. I bet most of you gals of that era have forgotten what fun it was to get all of that skirt crammed into your car. Then I remembered the cars of...
Not many of us remember using kerosene lamps as our evening light. To my knowledge, my family always had electricity, but the very young only remember specific things. It was always a real treat to me, even in my early teen years, to get to spend the night with some older friends that did not have electricity. Evenings were spent around the kitchen table, playing cards or other games. These particular friends had cats in the house, so you could entertain yourself quite awhile watching the cats play with a piece of paper tied on string. Very...
Do you remember learning to drive? Learning to drive in years gone by, those years when you had to have a pillow or pillows to sit on and maybe have one behind your back. You immediately think of your youth, but for some of us “short” people, we never got past that time until automobiles came equipped with adjustable seats. How wonderful to find the lever located at the lower front of the driver’s seat. You no longer had to sit on the edge of the seat and still only be able to reach the gas pedal with the ball of your foot. Then some enterprisi...
My memories are a jumble today. My first thought was hunting Easter eggs in the snow. I honestly do not remember ever hunting them in the snow, but as I tried to make my mind go back that far, it occurred to me that I really do not remember hunting for Easter eggs at all as a child. Yes, I have hidden my share of them, but how many of the “older” generation remembers spending the Saturday before Easter, hunting eggs, or finishing Easter dinner, impatiently waiting for the adults to finish up so that you could get on with the important bus...
My grandson just returned from an out-of-state band trip. His trip made me remember the band trips of my school days. If you lived in the North Country, you may have gotten to take band trips out of the USA. I remember trips to Canada to take part in band festivals, but what I do not remember is crossing the border. Today, I would bet that each instrument case, as well as any luggage, etc would have to be inspected at the border crossing. If that had been what happened many years ago, I think it would have been something we all remembered. At...
I have no idea how many miles of road there are in Valley County, but I do know that we are a very large county. I want to express my thanks to those of you that spent many hours opening and keeping open our roads during this last storm. Thanks to tractors and 4x4’s, my family was never “snowed in,” but what a great surprise to see the snow plow made a run down our road to the house, from the county road. Not only do we have a great path to the main road, it is now a wide path that will not blow shut near as quickly. I am sure I can exten... Full story
Do you remember when we did not have Daylight Savings Time? I was thinking about the time changes when I decided I might need to wear a watch today. (When you are retired and in the house all day, it is easy to not wear a watch). That, of course, involved setting it to the correct time. It made me think of how many clocks we have that needed resetting that magic morning of time change. Since we have more than one clock in our house that needs to be wound weekly, changing time is just one more little thing. Yes, I do love my old things like...
Do you remember the “Spit Test” of the past? No, this test had nothing to do with DNA or drugs. I am sure that wasn’t even thought of in past generations. A friend recently made me a gift of a “sad iron,” assuring me that it might be just what I needed for shoulder therapy after my surgery. I decided to take that with a grain of salt, but it did make me think of how often I would see my grandmother and mom do the spit test, checking to see if the iron was ready to be used. This was done by dampening your finger with spit (at least in my world,...
I was thinking about some of those comments that used to show up in conversations some years ago. Things like “two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar.” Just what was a bit? “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” that one pretty much explains itself. Then there was the one I disliked the most, used by my grandmother a lot, “Birds of a feather flock together.” I used to argue with Grandma and Mom a lot about that one. What about, “Can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” I must say many of us of the older generation relate to this one well. Then the...
Do you remember darning socks? Or maybe you remember having to wear them. Some years ago my grandmother lived with us and was always looking for something to do. My girls hated it when she decided it would be a good thing to darn their socks. I don’t remember them being uncomfortable to wear, but maybe the comfort depended on the skills of the person doing the darning. I found a wooden darning bulb in my treasures the other day. This consisted of a light bulb-shaped wooded piece and another piece that served as the handle. Two separate p...
These chilly mornings when my hubby brings me coffee in bed has made me think of days when “Bed Jackets” were common. I remember seeing some of these bed jackets in my mother’s and grandmother’s things. I never knew how they came about, but the bed jackets that I remember were fancy. I am sure that the wealthy may have had jackets made of silk, however the ones that intrigued me the most were hand crocheted. (Was there any other kind of crocheted items available in that era?) Stories of early days do not help me picture women lounging in bed,...
Do you remember when you were 20? Of course, what a stupid question as most of us like to remember those “good old days.” I know that we all have a tendency to exaggerate our hardships, like walking to school x number of miles and probably in the snow, packing a lunch while you were at it. Actually, today my thoughts on remembering are not on the inconveniences we had, [but] rather the lack of some of the irritating and annoying things that we endure today. Those little things like turning on the radio or TV, remember very little TV back the...
Do you remember outside skating rinks? Being a long-time resident of Valley County, I remember when almost every community had an outdoor skating rink. If you lived in a larger community like Glasgow, you had the luxury of several different skating sites. On the other hand, if you were from one of the surrounding smaller communities, there was one skating pond where the skaters gathered. No age limits either. I assume time of day had a lot to do with the age of the people skating. It does make me sad to think of the fun the young miss out on...
Do you remember saving all of the plastic sacks that your bread came in? Many of my parents’ generation, as well as mine always recycled those sacks. Waste not, want not. That expression must have come from depression days. Anyway your plastic sack was not thrown away when empty, but washed, dried and put away for reuse. I remember these sacks being rolled on an empty wax paper tube for storage. I must admit I still have some in my cupboard. If you were not a crust eater, this part of the bread was put in the oven or someplace to dry, saving f...
To my readers, I have no real excuse for not sending an article for your weekly reading, except, I had a hard time REMEMBERING which day it was. Like so many, my family got to battle that cold bug that seemed to make the rounds during the holidays. It seems that one of the current home remedies is the use of Vicks vapor rub. Of course, my generation has used Vicks for years. How many of you remember having Mom grease your chest with Vicks at night before bed? Now, you couldn’t just crawl in bed and let Vicks get all over the bed sheets, so y...
It is the time of the year when everyone is frantically shopping, and I am guessing that a lot of shopping is done online anymore. Do you remember when getting store bought items was a really cool thing? Getting “store bought” things was really exciting, especially when school shopping, but equally so when you received that item for a gift at any time. I am willing to bet that many of our ancestors never considered what a luxury it would be to be able to just turn on the computer, or use their phone, to get their Christmas shopping done. Ins...
If you have listened to the news in recent days, you have no doubt heard about all of the North Korean conflict, which in turn has prompted the State of California to implement safety drills in schools. How many of you remember having similar drills in your local schools during the 50s? My history is a little hazy, but was that during the Korean War? Regardless, there are some of you that will remember scrambling under your desk at the sound of the alarm. I have it pictured like the fire drills we used to do; only without the nice orderly...
I am wondering if any of you that enjoyed deviled eggs for your Thanksgiving holiday happened to remember the days when it was not uncommon to break open an egg and find it was a “double yolker?” This is something that we hardly ever see anymore. I am sure that chickens still lay an occasional egg or two that has two yolks (and for those that prefer yolks over the whites, it was always a nice surprise) but since the eggs that most of us eat anymore come from the shelf at the grocery store, those little surprises have been culled out. Back in th...
I think that this memory might be area specific, but do you remember when the three meals of the day were breakfast, dinner and supper? I have been made aware over the years that terminology can be very confusing. It seems the more acceptable terms are breakfast, lunch and dinner. Wow, this can cause a lot of confusion, and I have tried just referring to meals as breakfast, the noon meal and the evening meal. With Thanksgiving upon us, this crazy thought crossed my mind. Why do we refer to our Thanksgiving meal as DINNER? Almost everyone that...
How many of you think of all the wonderful conveniences our present day vehicles provide us? The other day I had the opportunity (or necessity) to drive my older model pickup to work. Oh my, no heated seats or steering wheel, no back-up camera or phone connection, no information system telling me that my tire or oil pressure was low. Could I make it to town without all of this information? And it is a manual shift. (Since it was Halloween, it was fitting that I do know how to drive a stick. Just not sure I can park a broom stick as well as the...
In the past I have often wondered what might have been in those jars with such a small opening. I now have an answer! I have found several brands of coffee came in glass jars, as well as Crisco (this one is hard for me to imagine). Then there jars of this size that had laundry starch. I am sure that there were many more items but my memories do not go back that far. It is funny how just one small item like a glass jar can take so much time out of my day. On that thought, remember how many grocery items came with a key on the lid (like the pop...
My family has a love for old things, and I must admit we are almost running out of room for all of our treasures. Just the other day my husband and daughter retrieve some glass canning jars from one of his childhood homes. Many of these jars have a Ball emblem on them, so I assume they were definitely canning jars, but—the opening is smaller than our present day “regular mouth” jars. Of course this is not the first time I have seen them and have to admit that I even have lids somewhere that fit them, but the question is, what might have been pr...
What a hornet’s nest has been stirred by the column submitted by Mary Honrud ["The Brouhaha," Sept. 27]. Sorry Jim that you could not find anyone that was willing to pen a note representing the “other side of the question” as this has proven to be quite a read on social media. I will admit that I was rather taken aback when I read the article and promptly decided it was my duty to respond, although I am sure there are others much more qualified than I. I hate trying to do research on any given controversial subject. I have even resorted to Sn...
