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Hasn’t this weather been tough on so many of us? Just hot and hotter and hotter and little or no rain and the National Weather Service says it is going to stay that way all through the rest of July. I was afraid to ask them about August. I can well remember going through drought periods like this before. Now, this is not really true but I once said that in the 1980’s there was a period of one summer what there was never a cloud in the sky. Never! Only the incessant sun day after day after day. Then in the 1990’s in another very dry perio...
Q: Sometimes I feel like God is very close to me, but then something happens and I begin wondering if He's even there. I wish my faith wasn't so up and down, but it is. Am I always going to be this way? A: No, you don’t always need to be this way—because God doesn’t want you to be this way! In fact, He has given you everything you need to strengthen your faith and help you know He is with you every moment of the day. Let me explain it this way. I note from your email that you are married—but how do you know? You know you are married because...
My bedroom is a wonderful gallery of some of the best art that I own. It started out as a tribute to Grandma Moses. I love her art and through the years have collected seven large prints covering such subjects as winter scenes, Halloween, harvest time, and the Fourth of July. The Grandma Moses prints did not seem enough for that room. I have a lot of pictures of relatives; two buffalo head ducks that were mounted by Grandpa Lucke in 1925, a couple Pasma “Thinkum Happy People”, and some of my own art on the walls. Two of my favorite pai...
I am just glad that it is not football season right now much as I miss the game. With this horrible July heat wave, it would be difficult to play football or any outdoor game that requires exertion. One would hope that when August rolls around, it will be more like fall than this very hot and dry summer. Not that we have not had these summers before. In the 1980’s there were several years that were dry in the mountains and out on the prairie. And for those following the story of the Little Rocky Fire, remember 1936 when practically the e...
I have written before that I am not a big fan of potato salad. That is strange because I like everything that goes into potato salad. The other day I found a very old recipe in a Betty Crocker cookbook and thought I would try that. The biggest difference between that potato salad and today’s potato salads is that today, cooks recommend adding the dressing while the potatoes are hot so the dressing gets in the potatoes themselves. This salad recommends the potatoes be very cold when applying the dressing. Anyway I did like this potato salad. It...
The University of Montana football team is getting a new and better schedule as the years roll on. Most know that when the Grizzlies started playing the University of North Dakota, that brought a whole new level of football to the Big Sky much as it pains me to say that. Nothing should be as good in North Dakota as in Montana but that University of North Dakota football team is not good. Try great! In 2024 the regular Big Sky season will move to twelve games and that will make some extra slots to fill. One that the Grizzlies are going to use...
One of the worst things about getting old are all the wonderful memories and all the wonderful people that will not ever be seen again. As most of you know, I have written again and again about my life as a boy and young man on Clear Creek. But apart from Clear Creek itself and the incredible beauty of that part of the Bear Paw Mountains, it was the people who summered there and others who lived there winter and summer that were so intriguing for me. I have not written much about Dan, Jim and Veronica Murphy but at one time they were large in...
We are not even two months from the start of college football along with the NFL. So, there is news about football and a little more is coming out every day or so. Not only that but the Cleveland Cavaliers seem to be in chaos is one headline reported after their General Manager David Griffin left at a critical time. Apparently Griffin could not get along with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert who is not satisfied with much of anything about his organization. This latest flap looks to be all about Dan Gilbert who is never satisfied with much of...
When I was a mere sapling, how I loved June. School was finally out and I could spend my summer doing the things I loved to do the most, work at the Lou Lucke Company and spend all the rest of the time at a cabin out on Clear Creek. At the Lou Lucke Company we were open from 8 until 6 six days a week and you might think that with a schedule like that it would be impossible to get much cabin time in at all. But we got a lot of cabin time in. My friends and I would head for Clear Creek on Friday after work. We would cook up a meal usually consist...
This is the time of year that I like best. I can watch my garden take off in a flurry of buds of all sorts and I am amazed at what can be done being a plain dirt gardener. Most impressive this year has been my sweet rocket. It was a flower that grew in alleys and on hillsides in early Havre, planted by women hitting the ground with the dried seed shells of the rocket and having it come up as if my magic. On Clear Creek there are hillsides that are simply filled with rocket which was mostly planted by Mary Ashline and Laened Black. Imagine my...
With the NBA Finals between Golden State and Cleveland all but over at this writing and I will be having more about that next week, but with that over I am really looking forward to football season. It is the middle of June and the start of college is not far away and that will lead to a whole bunch of wonderful college games and NFL games too. Matter of fact, I do see a tad of football news in various newspapers around the area even now. For example there was a Patriots story this last week. Patriot’s tight end Rob Gronkowski is just g...
Q: Since the Bible says God created everything, doesn’t this mean He also created the devil? And if He created the devil, doesn’t this mean God is actually responsible for all the evil in the world? A friend of mine who likes to argue about religion asked me this, and I didn’t know what to say. A: I seriously doubt if your friend really wants an answer to his question; I suspect instead that he is only using this as an excuse to keep from facing his need to repent of his sins and submit his life to Christ. Unfortunately some people are like...
Do I think that LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to win another championship? As I write these words it is Saturday afternoon and Golden State is ahead one game and only one game has been played. I do think that LeBron James is simply the best player playing professional basketball at this time so if he can get his team going his way, and he is very good at that, he should be able to take this series. However, I will say that there is something about Golden State winning the first game that is unnerving. There is something else that...
When I write about my childhood on Clear Creek sometimes I make it sound like we spent lots of time there in the winter. We did not. There were no four wheel drives then and in our family the first day on Clear Creek was often the first day of stream fishing which was around the third weekend of May. That was a big doings no matter what old fishing shack we were at. We were fishermen, after all, even if some of us did not fly fish but just dipped a worm engorged hook in the water and tried to bring forth a big brookie or rainbow to have for bre...
Sympathy is extended to Connie Cornell and her family after the passing of her mother, Leatrice Faber. Funeral services will be Friday, May 19th at the Methodist Church in Chinook. Thoughts and prayers are with you all during this difficult time. Kirsti Cederberg was in Great Falls for a couple days this week taking a continuing Ed class. She visited with Nellie Cederberg while there. Mary Hake and Nellie Obrecht have been to Quilting classes in Havre this weekend. Bette Jo Snider visited her Mother, Rose Van Voast, on Sunday. Kevin, Kimberly,...
On Saturday, Issac Klindworth celebrated his 4th birthday. Those attending, were Bill and Betty Hay, and Nancy Mahns. Morgan Klindworth and friend Jessica and her daughters, Eva and Emma, Kelsey Klindworth, Larry Spadoni, Carol and Duane Klindworth,and Issacs parents, Annie and Matt and his siblings . Loretta Beck attended the confirmation of Shay Humphreys and dinner following at the Hogeland Lutheran Church. Chad, Valorie, and Chloe Beck visited Sunday with Sandy Beck at her home. Harley Jo Beck visited with Grandma Loretta and Grandpa Wally...
Q. How old does a child have to be before he or she can learn about God? Neither my husband nor I come from a church background, but we have two small children now, and we'd like to give them a different religious experience than we had. A: You and your husband probably realize that you missed something by not learning about God when you were younger, and I’m thankful you want something different for your children. We live in a world that is growing more and more confused and chaotic, and your children will need strong moral and spiritual f...
I love May. It is because of the flowers. They come out, first the tiny yellow buttercups, and then a whole host of flowers follow them. It all starts in May. It is confusing. Old timers from Montana call yellow bells buttercups. So do I but actually the buttercups come out very early and hug the earth as if to get warm. On sunny and warmer days, in Beaver Creek Park, sometimes huge displays of buttercups can be seen in the flat just west of Eagle Rock close to the Beaver Creek Highway. Then come the crocuses. They are not crocuses either but...
Q: I don’t think it matters what people believe about God. Everybody has their own opinion about religion, and they can’t all be right. In fact, maybe they’re all wrong. I’ve decided I’m not going to think about God. A: If you refuse to think about God, it means you are refusing to think about the most important truth in the universe! You wouldn’t ignore anything else that’s important—so why ignore God? God’s promise is for you: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). How can we know God—and not j...
It is Saturday afternoon and the nags are running at Churchill Downs as the Kentucky Derby got underway. It is too close to my deadline to tell you much about the race. More about that next week. For now though it has been raining most of the day in that part of Kentucky and the track is muddy. Classic Empire is the 4 to 1 pre race choice but there is no really dominant horse in this year’s Derby. What there is are lots of women’s large and floppy hats, lots of men in seersucker suits and strange hats, and many, many mint juleps. When I moved i...
It is May. Easter is past us and we all are ready for a long and quiet spring with enough moisture to keep everything growing but not five feet of snow which can happen especially around Memorial Day. I was amazed because as I looked over spring recipes for Easter and the like, I did not see a single recipe anywhere for Hollandaise Sauce. Hollandaise is one of the Mother Sauces and is perfect for spring due to its bright yellow color. It is especially good on asparagus but equally good on roasted vegetables too like roasted potatoes and...
Q: Our church’s education committee really wants me to teach the high school class, but I’m not sure I want to take it on. I’ve never done anything like this, and to be honest I’m not sure I want to give up my time. Am I just being selfish? A: Only you can answer this question, of course, but I hope you’ll be honest about your motives—and if they are selfish or wrong, I hope you’ll ask God to change them. The Psalmist prayed, “Search me, God, and know my heart. … See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psal...
First thing this week is to look at where the NBA playoffs were on Saturday last. Remember when one team is playing another team it is the best of seven games that wins the series. On Saturday it was Houston winning their series over Oklahoma City 4 to 1. In a beginning series it was San Antonio over Memphis 4 to 2. Utah leads the LA Clippers 3 to 2. It is Washington over Atlanta 3 to 2. How about Boston over Chicago 3 to 2? Toronto won their series over Milwaukee by 4 to 2. Cleveland won their first series and for them it is playing Toronto...
Let me preface this story by saying that there are log cabins in Zortman called the Buckhorn cabins. They are nice places to stay the night or a week. But that was not always so. When I was in high school and college and stayed at the Buckhorn sometimes they were not so nice at all. I remember one time in around 1960 when I stayed there and did not get much sleep at all. The owner took Jim Dullenty, a school chum, and me to a cabin and we went in. The then owner said there was a small propane leak in the stove that he had not been able to find...
On this day in 1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. He had just been sworn in for a fourth term in January of that year. It was war time and that was the reason President Roosevelt ran for a fourth term in the first place. He was very ill at that time. In fact the ceremony of celebration of his fourth term and the swearing in of him for that term was held at the White House, not the capitol as he was too ill to go through all the ceremonies that going to the capitol would bring. Then he went on a long and...