Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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I know, the fair isn’t as good as it used to be. The carnival is held together with bubblegum and duct tape (or so the refrain goes around here). The vendors are dwindling. The music was better in Dodson. The rodeo wasn’t as good as the Wolf Point Stampede. The midway was middling (or maybe just ‘fair’). And it could all be seen at a brisk pace in about five minutes. At least, that’s what I heard from the folks who didn’t make it. Whether sentiments like these are true, false, or something in-between is a little bit beside the point. The...
Two very important things in my life came to an end this past weekend: swim team and Reds baseball. I must admit, I'm more than a little thankful, but only because I'm tired. My son started his baseball career with T-ball and never looked back. I don't think he could love doing anything more. I enjoyed every minute I was able to watch him play. I especially enjoyed watching him play Cal Ripken baseball at the Jeff Jurgens Field. More than that though, I have watched the best group of young men g...
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...
I’m surprised, James, that out of the whole story, you and Ms. Honrud would nit-pick numbers as your main retort! I could have said that out of the 600 NHL players there are only 31 players listed as African-American or biracial. Let’s see now.... 600 players, 30 teams, 31 minority players equals one-plus-a-tad, player per 20 player team. That’s pretty close to “There aren’t any.” Yeah, yeah, I know. Close only counts in road apples and hand grenades as I’ve heard it. There are 47 blacks who are listed as “past players” having played in...
Virgil Vaupel's column this week will probably illicit a response from the community (for better or worse). In the interest of civility and balance, I'll take the first crack at it. But first I have to give a shout-out to a couple of National Guardsmen who came to the aid of Stan Sonsteng in his struggle with esophageal cancer this past week. Without relaying too much in the way of personal detail, I can say that among the many difficulties that Stan and his family and friends have faced recently, a batch of critical medical supplies was...
On behalf of the Laurel Dodgers American Legion Baseball Club, we wish to thank the City of Glasgow for doing a fantastic job hosting the 2015 Eastern District Baseball Tournament. The Board and Team for the Glasgow Reds had an outstanding effort organizing, preparing and running the tournament. The people and businesses in Glasgow were great with their hospitality and helpfulness. Anywhere we went in town during our five day stay, we were greeted by a community that was proud and excited to host the tournament. Thank you very much! -Brent...
This subject has been ever on my mind for 30 or so years. I just haven’t had the opportunity to voice in on the issue until now when a feller named Glenn Nelson had a story in the New York Times titled “Why Are Our Parks So White?” thus opening the discussion. He’s a thirty-something white guy living in North Carolina (or maybe South) who had a story in the NY Times about the lack of black folks visiting our national parks. He advocates “racial diversity” by luring more African-Americans to one or more of the 400 locations managed by the Nati...
FMD is a very contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals, wild and domestic. It causes high fever, lameness so severe the animal often refuses to stand, severe slobbering, and refusal of food. Most animals recover after an outbreak, but the disease can lead to permanently unhealthy individuals. The viral strain involved and the species sickened causes wide variations in signs of the initial disease and the lingering after effects. Just like the annual debate about which flu strain will be prevalent this winter, the disease strain can...
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...
Occasionally, as a reporter, you come across a cache of high quality information about a pressing subject of both local and broader significance. The immediate question is what to do with it. When it comes to the Stoneberg/Holts and the cast of regulars at their storied Horse Ranch south of Hinsdale (MT) at Timber Creek, the answer is clear: Share it, especially when it comes to bison. Ron and Rose Stoneberg and their daughter Sierra Holt are the sort of Montana conservationist/ranchers (around...
Sometime after 12:30 a.m. last Sunday, July 12, on Millionaire Mile at the Fort Peck cabins, a person decided that a Canadian flag flown on private property was somehow offensive – even though it was being flown along with an American flag. That person snapped the Maple Leaf off its flag pole and took it. My husband, Don, and I, who were flying these flags, regard this as a hate crime, and he has reported it to the police. I don’t need to explain why we were flying this flag, but I will. I am American, raised right here near Glasgow. My husband...
Mr. Vaupel, Regarding your “dilemma” about my signing the original letter as Paul Harvey, which wasn’t published: You asked what my reaction would have been if you would have told your readers (and me) you had received a letter from “the” Paul Harvey… and then went on to wonder whether I would have written, “Hey Virgil, you Dumas. Paul Harvey is dead. Or didn’t you know?” Even if I had your talent for that “causerie” (informal but intelligent) writing style of yours, I wouldn’t have disrespected you in that way in a public format, any more...
I was visiting with Bernie today as he combed loose hair off three or five of his 10 dogs. See, Bernie rescues dogs from the pound and people bring him old dogs to take care of. Mostly black labs. I have to drive (slowly) through his yard in order to get to Chisholm's alfalfa field to pick bales. Chisholm grazes cows there in the winter. He's one of several young Valley County folks who have graduated from MSUB with degrees in farm and ranch management and have returned home to work on or actually take over the family farm/ranch. twenty-five ye...
I am sorry to say that today’s update brings no good news. When I wrote the Legislative Update on May 4th just after the conclusion of the Legislative Session I had explained that SB 157 (Tax Reappraisal legislation) had been signed into law by Gov. Bullock and that more than likely it would cause the real estate taxes to be raised throughout most of Eastern Montana. Those of you who have received your tax bill already know this to be true. I have had phone calls from individuals whose tax bill has doubled, tripled and even quadrupled! Many o...
People around here aren’t afraid to fight. It even seems to come highly recommended on occasion. It could be the pleasant release of a street (fight) dance in Hinsdale, as I experienced on a fine July evening a few Fridays back. Or it could be the calm but spirited discourse that seems to be unfolding between Virgil Vaupel and an anonymous reader right here on this page. Take your pick. In either instance, a counterintuitive truth about living the good life in America is on full display: Namely, the idea that mutual understanding frequently c...
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...
I decided to take a vacation to visit my granddaughters Lily (11) and Maggie (9) out in Washington and to get out of the smoke from all the fires up in Canada that have inundated Hinsdale recently. Most of my 12.783 faithful know the problems I have had with cars and pickups since I kilt the Crown Vic and I should have known better, but I did it again. I took an untested 1994 Ford Ranger 4X4 that I had just bought at a farm auction to see what it needs to make itself whole. Remember four years ago I took the Ford half ton I got from my son in...
Do you remember the hours you spent in grade school drawing circles on lined paper? Actually, I don’t think you would really call them circles, but it was an exercise we all did in preparation of learning cursive writing. I think that we can all recall the cursive writing charts, which were usually located above the black board behind the teacher’s desk. I have noticed that persons that went to the same country school often had very similar handwriting. I can’t come up with any idea of why that might be, but maybe each teacher had a disti...
I'll admit I've been a little hesitant to report in on the goings-on at the intersection of Boxcar Road and Hwy 117 near Park Grove. Recent calls into the Courier office over the holiday weekend about the demolition unfolding at the site would doubtless have prompted a story of some kind in the coming weeks. My concern stems from the fact that I, as many readers will already be aware, am in the process of purchasing the place. So in a way (gulp), it's a story about me. My plan is 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...
Mr. Vaupel’s “causerie” style plays well here in rural N.E. Montana. I enjoy it myself. But, to this observer, he lacks the broad perspective and open mind necessary to objectively seek out facts beyond those that serve his occasionally ill-informed and seemingly prejudiced opinions. The conservative Mr. Vaupel appears to play as free and loose with his facts as liberals on the opposite side do. At a time when our country is in dire need of unity, and citizens willing to stand up to the divisiveness of ideologues on either side, it was refreshi...
This week, I'm happy to include a letter from one of our staff on the subject of gay marriage. I should say a thing or two about that. Firstly, we welcome letters from anyone who wants to have their voice added to the broader discussion on virtually any topic relevant to this community. That said, if a staffer wants to chime in, I tend to err on the side of featuring their commentary as a column. Given more time, we would have done just that with Georgie Kulczyk's fine letter. In this case, the letter in question is short and was originally...
To our community: I’m seeing a lot of posts (Facebook) about gay marriage. Lots of words being used like abomination, sinners, Christians, opinions, morality, etc. (I’m no expert, but I’m thinking a lot of those words were used during the civil rights movement). I can only say how thankful I am that I live in America where people can express their opinions freely. I am thankful for the men and women who fought and continue to fight for our freedoms. I am thankful that I am alive to see the world changing. I am thankful for those who are not i...
Youth today face many challenges in terms of financial management, decision making and the use of credit, which may either lead them to or prevent them from, achieving financial success. Student loan debt, estimated at over $1 trillion is just one example of how young people today begin their adult lives in a less than ideal financial position. Credit scores and wise use of credit also play a role in the success or lack of success of today’s youth. The need for improved financial knowledge and behaviors is increasingly important and as adults,...
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...
