Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Last Saturday night I went to a dance at the Nashua Senior Citizen Center. The Cap Holter family provided the music. As I listened to the songs I thought how great it was that Cap Holter, who is in his 90s, was joined by his daughter, Joyce, who played the guitar and sang, and his son, Curt, who played his fiddle. Cap played his accordion with an ease gained over the years. Although there weren’t many people there, you could tell they all enjoyed the music. Granted, it was classic country, but it’s the kind of music that still draws people to...
Sometimes when looking at nature, I get curious about things I see. For instance, have you ever seen a rainbow that has jagged edges? I haven’t. And the colors are always in the same order. Why is that? Watching rain or snow falling, I wonder what determines its rate of fall. Why does it fall at different rates ... from slow to downpours or blizzards. And then there’s the branches on a tree. Two trees of the same variety, side by side, do not have the same number of branches nor are they of the same exact formation. Trees are like people in...
Once again it seems time for a bits and pieces column. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to dye my hair. No particular reason for it other than I thought it would be fun to do. Because my hair was completely white, the light golden brown dye I chose turned my hair to a copper color. It’s been a good 30 years since my hair was that color. But that’s okay. I like it enough I just may keep it that color for a while. One of my sons said he wasn’t shocked at the color change. He told me that he and his siblings know to expect the unexpected from...
This column originally ran Aug. 27, 2014. We are reprinting it due to its author's recent win for Best Column Writing at the 2015 Montana Newspaper Association's Better Newspaper Contest. In church last Sunday, I felt a very light touch on the back of my hair. Wondering what was touching my hair, I suddenly realized it was my almost 3-year-old granddaughter, who was ever so carefully using one tiny finger to gently go from about the middle of my hair to the end of the strands. And then I smiled as I heard her whisper to her mother, "Mom, I...
Beautiful, harsh, breathtaking, difficult, inspiring. What do these words describe? The prairie. With the arrival of spring, bright yellow sweet peas begin to open their petals to the sun, followed by bluebells covering the prairie with beauty and color. Not long behind, the cactus starts flowering, adding their brilliant colors to the palette. An abundance of life can be found on the prairie. Throughout the day and into the night you can hear one symphony after another. Life on the prairie presents challenges that take courage and strength to...
Last week Tom Brokaw appeared on the Dr. Oz show to talk about his cancer diagnosis. Because of prior commitments, I missed seeing it. I’m sure it was a very moving interview, as Brokaw is a master of words. As a cancer survivor since 2010, and now once again fighting it, I decided to put to paper some of my thoughts about having cancer. Cancer is an ugly word and an ugly disease. Not only does it destroy one’s body physically, it can also destroy a person emotionally, mentally, spiritually and their family as well. It can take away all hop...
A longtime friend, Bill, sends me a trivia question each day. So far I’ve managed to answer each one correctly. One of the more recent questions was to give the name of a game he described. the answer was jacks, a game I played for hours on end either by myself or with friends when I was a child. In commenting that I had given the right answer, Bill said it’s sad how video games and computer games have become so popular. He noted how, when we were children, we could entertain ourselves for hours and hours using our imagination. In the winter, a...
Up until November of 2005, the only trips I’d taken were to southeast Iowa to my birthplace to visit my brother, nieces and nephews, and some lifelong friends. Over the last eight years or so, I’ve been able to take some long desired trips. For instance, I was fortunate in getting to spend three weeks with a friend who lives a few miles from London, England. With each journey, I’ve learned many little tricks to packing. An example. If you are visiting family and friends who live in or near large towns, you don’t need to pack half your closet of...
Spring is here and with it comes planning vegetable gardens and which flowers to plant and where. And, of course, spring housecleaning. Going through closets, dressers, storage containers, and those hidden corners in the basement and attic. Washing windows and walls isn't what takes up the most time during spring cleaning. The most time is spent sorting through containers. There are pictures that demand being looked at and this time, a note written on the back to identify them. Old letters, notes, school work - all require they be read word...
Many times I've heard someone say "All I want is to be happy." When a person is asked about what would make them happy, you'll hear, "Winning the lottery," "Being able to buy a new car," "Getting a bigger house." And the list goes on and on. Well, there is a very simple way to experience joy and happiness every day. And the more you do, the happier you are. Do simple, happy things. When you buy groceries, drop a nonperishable item in the local food bank collection box. It doesn't have to be necessarily food. It can be a box of facial tissues... Full story
Since I don't have access to cable television, and refuse to pay $60 a month or more for a satellite dish, I decided to sign up for a company that offers a person the ability to choose not only movies but television programs to watch on their television via the Internet. Once I received the equipment and it was set up, I was excited to see what was available to watch. Scrolling through a listing of some movies, I chose one that sounded like it would be interesting. Within the first seven minutes of the movie, the "F" bomb was used at least a... Full story
I will get a check on Friday for $400," a young man told his mother, "and I won't get to keep one penny of it because my car insurance is $400. It just isn't fair." My answer would be, "There's a lot in life people think isn't fair. But there's a positive note to what you are saying. You have a job and can pay that $400. What about the person who has that bill and can't pay it?" It isn't only the people in their 20s who struggle. There are people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, even 60s, who wonder how they are going to meet their obligations. They... Full story
For quite a long time now immigration has been a hot topic in our nation. There are so many facets to this it is extremely difficult to address all of them. In reading article after article concerning immigration, I was reminded of all four of my grandparents who were immigrants. My mother's parents arrived here from Croatia. My father's parents were married when they took the long journey to become American citizens. Grandpa was from Prussia and Grandma was from Germany. What drove my grandparents to leave where they were born and take on the...
Last Saturday I attended the basketball games at the Nashua School. When the school band started playing the national anthem, three elementary students – I'm guessing third or fourth grade – began singing the words. How wonderful, I thought, that they not only know the words but sing them with such sincerity. Part way through the girls' game, a girl ... possibly 9 or 10 years old ... was telling the teacher who was selling admission tickets that she is already saving up her money so she can go to college. She said she knew there were a cou...
Victory. It doesn't always have to be a huge one. In the case of people working to overcome serious health issues, the little victories can be and often are the sweetest. For almost five months, I was unable to turn over on my left side in bed at night. The pain that accompanied this particular movement was enough to make me stop trying. And then one night, I decided to see if I could accomplish turning over. When I did, I had to smile and give a sigh of relief. To celebrate my achievement, I bought a book I'd wanted for quite a while....
The music world has lost a true legend with the passing of Little Jimmy Dickens. No one promoted the Grand Ole Opry and country music any more than the diminutive Dickens. During the early 1960s, the KRNT Theatre in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted a country music show the first Sunday of every month from September through May. My mother loved hearing Dickens sing, so when I saw that Dickens was on the schedule, I immediately purchased tickets for us. When he came out on the stage, my mother was completely mesmerized. Afterwards she told me that day... Full story
In just a few days another year comes to an end. Somehow the years seem to pass much more quickly than they used to. Before I know it, I’m looking at a new year beginning before I’m finished with the old one. Each year fills our lives with happiness, sadness, milestones and achievements. I received word yesterday (Sunday) that a woman I knew for 50 years had died. For a long while afterwards I walked back through the years of our friendship. I’d met her on my very first weekend trip to Chicago. Her father was a brother to my uncle. We conne...
There are small moments in a person’s life that are huge. Other small moments turn into victories. As I stepped out of the church pew at the end of the service, one of my grandsons looked up at me and said, “Grandma, I’m going to light a candle for you.” I put my arm around him, gave him a hug, and replied, “Thank you. You are very special to me.” With a very serious expression on his face, he told me, “You are very special to me!” A small moment but one filled with complete love and compassion. Lately there’s been other small moments fil... Full story
23. Christmas. It was going to be a great Christmas because my brother had returned safe and sound from a year's tour of duty in Vietnam and had reached the end of his two years of service in the U.S. Army. He'd been discharged early in November. On his leave of absence before being sent to Vietnam, he made a comment that the Army issued T-shirts could be a little longer. It was a remark that was to result in a practical joke. The day I started shopping for Christmas gifts, a catalog filled with novelty items arrived in the mail. Browsing...
Not long ago, I read of a high school science teacher and how he has inspired a love for science in his students. The article reminded me of my science teacher when I was a freshman. His name was Max Cousins. Of course, he was Mr. Cousins to the students. He had a deep love for teaching. When you were in his class, you were always paying attention because he presented the day's lesson in a way that made you not want to miss any part of it. As well as teaching science, he was also the assistant football coach. Besides instructing the football...
This seems to be another week for a this and that column. For the past several months we've been attending Nashua volleyball games and the JAM basketball games as our granddaughter plays volleyball and we have two grandsons playing basketball. The time all these athletes have spent in practice was quite evident in their games. And I was impressed by the team work and sportsmanship displayed. A sports expert I'm not, but I feel that in a couple of years, the boys' JAM basketball team is going to be a tough team to go up against. Congratulations...
Ranchers are busy rounding up their cattle and getting the calves ready for market. Roundup can take from a few days to several weeks. One of the most impressive sights is when the cattle are being gathered up and moved to corrals on the Wittmayer Grazing Association. Watching association members on horseback urging the cattle on evokes thoughts of long ago roundups. While my husband was out on the range helping to round up the cattle, I was in our pickup, driving along our fence lines checking for any break in the fences and repairing them....
Halloween – a time for costumes, ghosts, goblins and monsters. It's always so fun to see the children dressed up as their favorite character. For me, Halloween brings back the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and the Friday night horror movie. Every Friday during my teenage years, I made chocolate chip cookies. All but one dozen of them would be put away. That dozen cookies were put on a plate and covered to keep them fresh and moist. Because they were for me and Dad when he got home from work. My dad worked the second shift in a... Full story
I am writing this column from Billings, where I am undergoing five radiation treatments. The drug I was taking to keep my breast cancer at bay failed. I was told by two oncologists that some active cancer cells developed a resistance to the drug, allowing them to travel to my right hip. After tests and discussion, it was decided to give me two new medicines and do five days of radiation. This development was totally unexpected. I had been having quite a bit of pain in my right leg. On Oct. 4, I went to the ER because I couldn't handle the pain...
Many of you have probably heard about Robert Back, a high school student at Belt, who sustained a head injury while playing in a high school football game. Word spread quickly about his injury and condition. A fund was set up to help with his medical expenses. The outpouring of support for the Back family has been tremendous. And no more so than at the Nashua School. During the past several weeks, the students organized a drive to collect change – pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters -- to be sent to the Back family. And Saturday night, a...