Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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It’s bits and pieces time again. Yesterday, Easter Sunday, was an absolutely beautiful day. The joy of the day was enhanced many times over through a large family gathering, phone calls to and from relatives, and the making of lots of new memories. Cameras were recording the day in pictures that will be looked at and talked about over and over in years to come. Because of the number of people attending the family dinner, it was held in the basement of Queen of Angels Church in Nashua. As the food was being set out, I watched people visiting and...
Every once in a while, a person will have an experience that they will always remember. Such was the case with me several weeks ago. I had gone to church a little earlier than usual. There were about four or five other people there when I entered. Sitting down in my usual pew, I casually looked around, noting as I did so the simple beauty of this little country church. The sun was shining through the stained glass windows and I could hear birds greeting the morning with their songs. The quietness began seeping into me. My thoughts drifted to...
If you’ve been wondering why you’ve not seen my column in past weeks, it’s because my husband and I took a trip to Sun City, Ariz., to spend several weeks with his brother. We went on several day trips out through the desert. I thoroughly enjoyed attending a concert that was a tribute to the Carpenters. And I attended an art show, where I left owning a painting of pansies that had caught my fancy. Eating out at so many different places was fun, as were the evenings we played cards or just worked on assembling a jigsaw puzzle. On the flight home...
I’m celebrating. Actually my granddaughter and I are celebrating. She and I will go shopping and she will choose where we have lunch. And she is going to do all the driving. Because we are celebrating her receiving her driver’s license. When she told me she was taking driver’s education last summer, I promised her a day of shopping and having lunch to celebrate her getting her license. So now it’s time to keep that promise. But we are not only celebrating her obtaining her driver’s license. We are celebrating her determination to get that lice...
9:00 a.m.: A noise wakes me up. I blearily look around my bedroom and see the noise came from my cat brushing against the wind-chime in the window when she jumped up on the dresser in front of it. Crawling out from under the warm covers I take hold of my walker, and head for the bathroom. My morning routine has begun. As I get a cup of coffee and muffin, I stop for a moment to analyze a pain in one of my legs. Do I have another spot where my cancer has erupted? Or is it just a twinge from starting to move around? 9:30 a.m.: I’ve finished my bre...
“Did you hear about the new baby the Murphys had?” “No. Is there a problem?” “Yes. The child is retarded. What kind of life will she have?” Two people take seats at a table in a restaurant. As they look to the occupants at the table to their right, one whispers to the other, “Let’s move. I don’t want to sit by a kid who can’t keep his tongue in his mouth.” As a couple who have been looking at a house they are interested in buying are leaving they notice a man across the street pushing a young man in a wheelchair. The occupant of the wheel...
Last week I wrote a column titled To My Grandchildren. There was more I wanted to add to that column but wasn’t able to, so this week I’m finishing what I wanted to say. Refrain from gossiping. It isn’t good for anyone -- not for the person you are talking about and especially not for you. Many times when not all the facts are known about a person’s situation, people will add their own idea to the story. Don’t be a part of saying things about another person that are not true. Gossip has been known to destroy a person’s life. You don’t want...
Some of you are adults, others are in school, and one is in pre-school. But whatever your age, this is for all of you. For those still in school, you have a very important job -- getting your education. Pay attention in class and do your homework before you do anything else. Respect your teachers. Be honest and truthful. There will be people you may not like, but don’t be mean to them. It will not make you a better person. Being kind to others will. Once you’ve graduated high school, you will have to decide if you are going to college or tra...
Another year is ending. Seems like I just get started on a new year and it’s over, leaving me to wonder how it could have flown by so fast. With a new year approaching, people are going over resolutions they want to make - things they hope to do, goals they wish to reach, changes they want to make in their lives. I gave up making New Year’s resolutions a long time ago. Simply because the year ended without my resolutions being accomplished. It wasn’t for lack of trying to keep them. It was more because I’d eventually forget what they were. T...
As I wander through stores looking at all the items on display that can be purchased for Christmas gifts, memories of past Christmases come flowing back. Although some of the memories bring tears, they all bring me smiles. I remember a Christmas when I was very young and hearing my parents discuss how they were going to be able to buy gifts for my brother and me since the money they had set aside for Christmas had been used to repair our car. But on Christmas morning there was a new pair of jeans and a fire truck for my brother under the tree...
The last while I’ve been coming across stories on the internet about new medicines being approved as well as some that are on the verge of approval by the Federal Drug Administration. One of them is now in the clinical trial stage and is expected to become available soon for people who have Parkinson’s Disease. Another drug that has made it through all the stages and is now being distributed is for breast cancer. Then there’s a brand new medicine that helps those diagnosed with lung cancer. According to ads I’ve seen about this drug, it is h...
As Thanksgiving approaches, people are listing what they are grateful for. I, along with millions of other people in our nation, have much to be thankful for. But I am also thankful for things I don’t have. It isn’t necessary for me to be in a wheelchair because of my hip replacement surgery. I don’t have to travel miles for the simplest of medical care. And I can choose my doctor. When I want to travel to another town or state I don’t have to get permission from anyone to do so. And I don’t have to justify my reason for traveling. Although...
This past week an incident happened that reminded me of another time when the same thing occurred. I was staying at my nephew's in Billings because of medical appointments I had. The last day I was there, I ordered two pizzas delivered to his residence for our lunch. When the woman arrived with the pizzas, I gave my nephew's son $40 to pay for the food. He stepped outside the door to accept and pay for them. Coming back inside, he told me, "That girl who delivered the pizzas said she couldn't figure out how much change you had coming because...
A while ago I wrote about companies that include sexual overtones in their ads. One such ad was for a popular candy. Since then I’ve been asked how to contact a company who uses this type of ad and register an opinion. You can usually find an 800 number on the product's packaging. There will also be a physical address as well as a website address. So you have three options to send in your opinion: call the company, send them a letter, or submit your message on their website. Never underestimate the power of one person. On Sunday, I attended a...
By the time the sun set on Dec. 28, 1983, it had started to sink in that my family and I were homeless. We had found shelter with my husband’s parents. The reason we were homeless was because we’d lost our house and everything we had in it, other than the clothes on our backs, to fire. The morning after the fire my husband said, “I just realized we don’t even own a comb so we can comb our hair.” Basic needs. A comb, a toothbrush, a change of clothing, a washcloth and towel, shampoo, soap. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we soon foun...
Saturday was a perfect Fall day for a Homecoming parade, bazaar, a hot bowl of soup, and the last home volleyball game in Nashua. A pink convertible in which were seated Nashua Homecoming King Joe Dunning and Homecoming Queen Emily Skyberg was preceded by the Nashua School Band. Though the parade was short enthusiasm generated by it was not. Once the parade was over, onlookers flocked to the Nashua Civic Center to do some early Christmas gift shopping at the Nashua Lions Club Fall Bazaar and Cra...
Recently, Montana's Gov. Steve Bullock joined with Canadian Consul General Marcy Grossman in welcoming guests to a retirement reception in honor of Honorary Consul Shirley Ball of Nashua. The reception, held in the governor's reception room at the Montana State Capitol building, was hosted by the Canadian Consulate and attended by about 50 people. Ball retired after serving for 10 years as the Honorary Consul for Canada in Montana. The Honorary Consul job requires that the person provide...
Last Saturday, as I was walking to the Nashua School to watch the volleyball games, one of my grandsons met me. He walked beside me for a few moments, then took off skipping. He returned to my side, still skipping. I smiled as I observed his energy. I mentioned I used to enjoy skipping. He replied, “I like to skip. And if I skip fast enough and take the biggest steps I can, I feel like I’m flying. Skipping is fun.” This same grandson is on the JAM basketball team for Nashua. The JAM team and junior high basketball team were in Opheim on Frida...
I’d been experiencing increasing pain in my right leg and decided I needed to find out what was causing it. So for most of the past month I’ve been in Billings for medical tests and consultations that resulted in the total replacement of my right hip. On Sept. 23, Dr. Robert Schultz informed me that the only choice I had to get rid of the pain and lethargic feeling I was having was to totally replace my right hip. I was released from the hospital on Sept. 28, and returned home the following day. I returned to Billings to have the staples rem...
Some years ago there was a program on television called Dragnet. One of the detectives in the show would say “Just the facts, ma’am.” So, here are the facts. In October of 2014 I was told my cancer had metastasized to my bones. A malignant tumor had been found in my right hip. Since then I’ve had six radiation treatments and they have helped considerably with my pain. About two months ago, I began having pain in my right hip, along the top of my right thigh, and in the lower part of my pelvis . . . the sit bones. I made a call to the radiati...
This coming Sunday, the congregations of Queen of Angels in Nashua, St. Albert’s in Hinsdale, Holy Family in Glentana, and St. Raphael’s in Glasgow will gather for an outdoor Mass followed by a potluck picnic at Kiwanis Park in Fort Peck. As I was perusing my recipe book—recipes I’ve gathered over the past almost 20 years—I was remembering other parish picnics and remembering what dishes I’d taken to share. I’d have 10 times the recipes to look through had it not been for losing my recipes twice to house fires. Not only did memories of a...
Every once in a while we are surprised at what happens in this journey called Life. Our day-to-day existence often becomes rather routine, but occasionally our lives receive a bit of a jolt to remind us how good life really can be. Several weeks ago a string of surprises in my life began with a visit from my 17-year-old grandson whom I’d not saw for quite a few months. Although his stay was a very short one, just several hours, it was indeed a pleasure to talk with him, give him a hug, and even a couple of little treats for him to eat on his w...
While watching my granddaughter vacuum the carpeting in my house not long ago, the thought struck me that she has never known any other way to clean carpets. As child of 11 years of age, I remember the carpet in my folks’ living room. It wasn’t a wall-to-wall one because it would have been too big to handle. Every spring, Dad would take the carpet outside, drape it a across the three clotheslines then turn it over to me and my brother. We would then wield our carpet beaters, which were built something on the order of a tennis racket. The dif...
Last Saturday there was a flea market in Glasgow. As I looked around at what people had brought to sell, I was struck by the thought of how creative people can be. There were several tables with handmade jewelry. One vendor had collages she had made that could be framed and put up on a wall. Each one featured pictures that had words of emotions as the theme. For instance, one dealt with hope, another with family, and so forth. They all made a person stop and think what the words meant to them. Then I got to thinking about handmade items...
In a couple of weeks, the parishioners of Queen of Angels Church in Nashua will have a special service and a potluck dinner to celebrate their parish. In June of 2017, the 100th anniversary of Queen of Angels will take place at the church. As I was working with several other ladies on decorations for the upcoming celebration I got to thinking about other churches in the immediate area that have had celebrations honoring their 100th anniversary. I thought about the people who built these churches. They didn’t have construction equipment like w...
