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 of the current year calf crop has been finished by a lot of our rancher friends. Who remembers the days of a wood fire for the purpose of heating branding irons? I know that many of us have seen an occasional branding using a wood fire, but have you ever wondered about the early day brandings, and just where the wood for these branding fires came from? Sometimes, in the eastern part of our state, we can drive for miles without seeing a tree so it is pretty certain that preparing for those early day brandings must have included wood...
It has been a crazy spring but a lot of you have your gardens planted already. Do you remember what a chore planting a garden was? Some people were lucky enough to have a horse that pulled a walking plow to work the ground for planting. Others had to spade the garden with a shovel (spade). I remember my mom hiring a couple of young neighbor boys to spade our garden, but at the time we lived in town so maybe using a walking plow pulled by a horse was not an option. Never having to do much more than experiment with either method, I can’t say that...
It is the time of year when most farmers are working to get crops planted if they are not already in. Observing some of the huge outfits that are currently used for most field work made me think of what it must have been like for my father’s and grandfather’s generation. Are there any retired farmers, or for that matter, ranchers, that remember putting in their wheat and barley? Or preparing hay ground for the season, that remember not fertilizing? That is right, no commercial fertilizer. That probably meant there was no need for soil sam...
I received a message from a former classmate regarding an article printed concerning livery stables in Glasgow. He reminded me of a house and barn located on corner of Third Ave So. I do know the house and barn he was talking about as I have several pictures in my possession of my Dad and siblings sitting on the roof gable outside a second story window. The outside structure has changed little today. I also remember Dad telling me how the family moved the chickens and milk cow calf to the loft of the barn during a flood in the late 20’s or m...
My first memory of The Glasgow Courier was when it was published in the office located in the Rundle Building. There have been many changes since that time, not only in location, but staff and editors. And what a change to have colored pictures in our newspaper! And now another change. I received a call from publisher Jim Orr the other day. I understand that this will be his last issue before leaving our community to return to his home state of Pennsylvania. Being a family person myself, I understand how nice it is to live close to family....
I just spent a little time renewing family ties in Missouri. I always enjoy driving in and around some of the towns there that have preserved their brick streets. Brick streets make me reach back into my history lessons and consider the manual labor required to lay those. Then I wonder about the wooden boardwalks that were a part of our local history. Is anyone able to recall any of those walks in our local area? Of course, I am sure it would have been next to impossible to have preserved those boardwalks which may, or may not have been,...
Another Good Friday and Easter have passed without me getting any potatoes planted. Why some things stick in your mind is unknown to me, but planting potatoes on Good Friday and “If it rains Easter Sunday, it will rain for the following seven Sundays” always comes to mind. I will admit that the old saying concerning rain for seven Sundays is probably like rain in 90 days following a fog. I have marked all of that on a calendar occasionally; however, I must confess that I forget to follow up on it. Another Easter memory – ham has long been the m...
Shoe repair shops? Not many of us remember when it was common to have a shoe repair shop located on one of the main streets of your community. I have been told there were a total of four located in Glasgow. I am going out on the limb to say I am pretty sure that was four at the same time. Pretty hard to believe, when no one other than the occasional cowboy gets repairs done anymore. I can vaguely remember getting shoe repairs done. Maybe an occasional buckle sewed back on or a new heel. There was a shoe repair shop located under the present...
Once again I am searching for information. I have had several readers ask me about a talc mine located in the North Country, which I assume could be anywhere from Baylor to the Canadian Border, maybe from Richland to Thoeny. This is an unknown to me. I know of coal mines that were used by many for winter heat, but I have never heard of anyone mining talc. I am not even sure just what form it would take or type of country/soil where it might be found. If any readers of this column have any knowledge of this I would be delighted to have you give...
I have been rather interested in the various political stands regarding a measles vaccination. It made me remember how parents in earlier days used to intentionally expose their young children to the measles, mumps and chickenpox. I think the theory was to have them get the measles, etc., at a young age. That was so they would not be missing school at an important time, or maybe parents didn’t want the children sick when they should be helping with harvest or other numerous chores. If you were lucky enough to be exposed to any one of those c...
This past Sunday was such a delightful day. I had the opportunity to be on the north side of Glasgow in the early afternoon to enjoy the water running down the streets. Can you remember all of the fun that can be had playing in water like that? You could devise a boat out of most anything, from paper to a small chunk of wood. Lots of kids were kept busy floating things down the stream of water, building dams out of debris that always accumulates along the curbs of streets, and even having races with whatever they had that would float. I had to...
Some days my mind is just so filled with the present that I forget about the past. However, today I spent some time looking at the painting of Glasgow, 1914, that is located in the lobby of the courthouse. What really interested me were the buildings that remain standing to this day. I could pick out the spire of the Evangelical Church in the background and of course the cool building on the corner across from the present day Farm Credit Services. (Cool, when you think of those lovely green...
Do you remember your parents or grandparents keeping a diary or journal of each day’s activities as well as what the weather was for that particular day? Some people may still do that, but I am willing to bet that it is a small minority. I am not sure why any of us would actually take the time to do that anymore. After all, we are all so busy with our lives and if you want to know what the weather was like two years ago all you need to do is Google weather on your computer or “smart phone.” What is missed by not doing journals anymore is the a...
I am sure that many of us senior citizens received “new tech” gifts or have needed to purchase a new cell phone, new appliance or even a new vehicle. The sad part of these purchases is that they do not come with a training session. We all have experienced that frustrating period of trying to make the new gadget work. I recall my dad getting a new vehicle and being very upset because he couldn’t get the air conditioner to work. Now just how many folks in the older population would look for a “snow flake” icon on the A/C button, rather than the...
How many of you remember Howell and Ellen Davies? When I first became acquainted with them, they lived in the North Country and worked for the Ruffcorn Ranch. I remember the first time I was at their home – you got your drink of water from a dipper in a water bucket. Wow, that impressed me. Well, I was pretty young and we didn’t worry about germs much. The thing that most will remember about Howell Davies was his magic entertainment. He loved to do magic shows any place there might be an audience. I think he might have entertained at the Nor...
7 comes to an end and 2015 rolls in. How many of us will stay up until midnight to bring in the new year? I am going to go out on a limb and guess that many of you that read this column may decide that the New Year will make it in, with or without our help. If you are a Glasgow local, you will remember the New Year’s Eve dances held at the Ridgerunners after it was built. There was always music at other places too. Who remembers the Shannon Hotel? Was there a Rose Room there where music was played? And Ken’s Club, located on the Fort Pec...
Christmas shopping? Do you remember when a Schafer or Parker fountain pen and ever sharp pencil were a sure gift for someone in your life? This was way before ball point pens. You needed a bottle of ink to fill this pen. Put the pen in the ink bottle, extend the lever on the pen and let it fill. Good for another several letters. Then there was the nice blue bottle of Evening in Paris cologne. I think that every mother looked forward receiving at least one of these bottles under the Christmas tree. The lovely blue bottle was an enticement for...
This is definitely the season of coughs and colds. Do you remember when the standard treatment for a chest cold was getting your chest rubbed well with Vick’s Vapor Rub, or Mentholatum. I think that “Mom’s” personal preference dictated which of these ointments were chosen. After you got your chest all covered with whichever ointment, it was usually followed with a nice warm cloth cover. Probably a piece of old flannel sheet that was pulled from the rag drawer and big enough to cover your chest and then be pinned around your neck. Was that fo...
Do you remember “mock weddings?” There was recently an invitation in The Courier inviting friends and relatives to attend a mock wedding and 50th anniversary celebration. It was hard for me to believe the number of people who had not heard the term “mock wedding.” Many assumed it was a renewal of wedding vows. I guess the term MOCK escaped them. I cannot believe people of the North County invented this entertainment. Surely other communities shared in the fun. Mock weddings most always took place when a couple celebrated a 25th or 50th anniver...
I've heard comments from many that remember the huge Christmas tree that stood at an intersection of 2nd Avenue South. As I remember, it was located in the intersection of the street where Markle's Hardware, Gaffany's, Soma-dis, and Nel's Kent are currently located. I am not sure what the businesses were at that time, maybe Woolworth's, Adrian's, the old Smith Clinic and Newton Motors. Just a guess. Has it really been 20 years since we have had a tree that graced 2nd Avenue during the holidays?...
I know that the Thanksgiving turkey has not even been prepared yet, but we are forced to think of Christmas every time we go into a store or pick up papers or magazines. Thinking of Christmas makes me remember when every young child wanted to find a train set under the tree. I say that knowing that there were little girls that wanted a train set just a badly as the young boys. Many daddies were bitten by the bug also, and it was not uncommon to see a very extravagant train set up in a grandpa’s basement. The most well-known scale model train se...
Election time brings to mind my early years of voting. I do not remember how, when, or where I registered to vote, but I do remember that we had a very community-minded lady in our area who was always on top of getting the young people, or those new to the area, registered to vote. I understand that she kept voter registration cards at her home year round and she would deliver the newly filled cards to the courthouse. No same-day voter registration but dedicated, patriotic, volunteers worked to make sure people did vote. Most all of the rural c...
Have you traveled in your home area lately and thought about the original location of the highway or road you were traveling on? The highway between Nashua and Glasgow, for instance. I remember that highway as being one of my first highway driving experiences. Seeing some of the old highway grade brings to mind how narrow the road was and how big the cars were that we drove. How about the highway between Glasgow and Malta, or even Opheim and Glasgow? Of course all roads of the early times followed the lay of the land and were built with...
Do you remember the original date of Columbus Day? I did ask several of my acquaintances on Monday if they remembered the date, but ended up checking it out on the Internet. I was right, it used to be celebrated on Oct. 12 for many, many years. Now it is another three-day holiday and not recognized by some due to racial prejudice. Some of us do remember from our history lessons that Columbus was actually Italian. And thinking of school history, I remember learning a poem about Columbus, but the only lines I can come up went something like...
Do you remember when we did not have Daylight Saving Time? Everyone got up an hour earlier to begin their day and probably went to bed before dark because they had already put in a long day. I remember a lot of the comments when DLS officially came into effect. Comments regarding energy savings to how good the extra hour of daylight would be for the roses. Since DLS has been with us for so many years, I started asking some of the older generation (there are some still older than me) what they remembered. DLS goes clear back to Benjamin Franklin...
