One Nation, Under God
One Nation, Under God
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 1987
Dear Editor, I am writing this letter mainly to any Phillips County farmers or ranchers who are considering putting their property in block management. If you do, please consider your neighbors, their property, and their rights and how it will affect them. When the out-of-state hunters roll in, the block management soon becomes overhunted. Some hunters choose to trespass on neighboring farms and ranches to fill their tags. The signs placed for block management work only as good as the people who monitor them. Nothing ruins a quiet morning...
With swarms of feral hogs massing on our northern border, it’s time to take stock of our options. Montana wildlife officials warn against shooting them. Hunting, we’re told, only makes hogs harder to control. Trapping is the preferred alternative. A column I wrote a couple of years ago to that effect prompted a flood of responses. The mere suggestion that feral hogs be trapped instead of shot outraged an entire community of folks who are rabid about shooting pigs. Perhaps Montana should loo...
Ah, a deep breath and a breather…with the blessings of a calm and uneventful (at least at our house) Thanksgiving Day behind us, we take a moment to look back on the blessings from our bank of memories. What a year it has been in my world…eight months and several days ago, when I attempted a swan dive off my steps, my pace slowed down (somewhat). I am thankful my right foot and lower leg are still attached. I do not think I would’ve made a very good recipient of a prosthesis; surely the good Lord knew not to even test me. I am thankful for t...
To all the people who have read the Dodson column and helped and encouraged me to continue - thank you. You have been my inspiration and have made me feel good when you said you always read it. I am with my daughter in Choteau now, PO Box 1076, Choteau, MT 59422, or cell phone 406-861-2081, if you would care to drop a line or give me a call. Thank you all for your help and kindness for all of the years I was in Dodson. There are some wonderful people there. I spent my entire life in Phillips...
Happy advent! I don’t know if that’s the correct greeting but I hope everyone has an uneventful four weeks until Christmas! I was a lunch guest of Cindy Clark on Monday before Rod and I made the trip back to Billings on Tuesday. Becca and Robert Engum of Great Falls, Bud Erfle, Kenny and Brenda Clark, and children were Thanksgiving guests of Cindy Clark. After dinner, everyone tried their hands at decorating a Gingerbread house! By the pictures, there are some talented decorators in the gro...
Sympathy to all who lost family or friends in 2023, including Teresa (my daughter) who lost her husband (Jake) recently. “Happy Birthday” to President Biden! Also, to all who are celebrating birthdays this month. “Get Well Wishes” to all who are sick including Serena Green Venable of Miles City. Here in the Whitewater area, and many Montanans, hunters are out and about. Dale Green of Minnesota was hunting here. Pastor Wisher and friends from South Carolina were hunting here too. Persona...
Kris, Tricia, Shelbie, and Keenan LaBrie drove to Miles City along with Mike and Debbie Hammond over the Thanksgiving weekend holiday to watch Kora play basketball. Go Pioneers! Alex Murdock, along with his girlfriend, Kaliegh, and their boys Aidan, Aiden, and Kason stopped in to see Grandma Pat during the Thanksgiving weekend as well. Joe Wilcott from Columbia Falls was along with them and got some hunting in on a couple of days. Joe was a classmate of Alex's and his mother Gale Wolcott was a teacher in Whitewater for many years and is now...
I have a picture on my phone of Ace and a sharptail grouse I shot early this season. It was, I feared, the old dog’s last hunt. A couple of months shy of his 13th birthday, Ace is about done. Or so I thought. But I just took another photo of him with a bird last week, and I suspect it won’t be the last either. Like Joe Biden, Ace doesn’t know when to quit. He can’t hear. He stumbles. It’s often hard to tell if he’s dead or simply asleep. Barb and I have even been talking about getting a p...
There are many weeks, I simply don’t know what to write about in this section, this week should be a layup, right? Things that I am thankful for in 2023? The first answer is the most obvious. My family. When times get rough and my mental state isn’t positive, my wife and kids keep me grounded. I remember praying for years for my future wife. Boy, did I get blessed. It is because of Susan that I am even here in Malta. She was worth the move. I am thankful for the love that my family and I have re...
Happy Thanksgiving to all! I'm in Loring as I write this, but I’ll be back in Billings to have Thanksgiving with my kids and grandkids! I’m so thankful! Just as God promised, things come together as He sets out. Right now, I am having trouble with my left eye. I just can’t see the way I should. So, I don’t drive because it’s scary to not see correctly, right now. I think it’ll be figured out when I have my next tests. But anyway, Nancy Murdock wanted to see Mannheim Steamroller in Billings. S...
Montana’s own Senator Jon Tester is again running for another term. Good luck to him. He lives in Big Sandy, Montana where his family has farmed and ranched for three generations. Curt Reicholt of Whitewater is a cousin to Senator Tester. The Reicholts lived close to Tester. Back in Whitewater, the Penguins/North Country Mavericks girls’ volleyball took 3rd in State. Congratulations to all the participants. Now basketball season begins; practices start now. North Country attended the funeral of...
Michael Munoz: "I was in Detroit, my mom was taking a nap. I caught the news on the TV that the President had been assassinated and I woke her up and told her. I clearly remember this impactful event." Janeen Brookie: "I was probably two years old, watching tv, playing with my "Midge" Barbie doll, when the cartoons were interrupted for the President's funeral. I remember the horse pulling the casket." Don Voegel: "We were in history class, I was in Oakland, Calif., at Holy Redeemer College, I...
What a difference a year makes. By this time last November the ground was covered with snow. It didn’t bare off for more than five months. Today it’s sunny and 50 degrees with more of the same in the extended forecast. Sunny and warm is hard to complain about, but sunny and warm in Montana this time of year never bodes well. We live with the ever-looming specter of drought. Last year’s bountiful snowpack and spring rains hardly got us through July before it all dried up once again. The stock...
I had the honor of seeing the North Country Mavericks take third place at the 2023 State C Volleyball Tournament in Bozeman this past weekend. Last year, I missed the 2022 State Volleyball Tournament where the Mavs earned third place and made history as a co-op with their first state trophy in the sport. I thought I could have eye surgery and then drive to Bozeman a few days later. I was wrong. As most of us that have been around know, a state trophy in volleyball is unheard of in this part of...
Congratulations to the North Country Mavericks on their third place at state volleyball! The November weather has been phenomenal! Temps are in the 50s and low 60s with low temps in the 30s! It’s been windy, of course, but not too terrible. The geese are still working their way south and some sharp tails have started coming into my yard at Loring. The town of Loring looks good, and you might wonder how I know that. I’m home for a few days right now! My sister Debbie drove up with me on Sat...
Sincere sympathy and prayers to the family and friends of Leroy Simonson. He was a lifelong rancher north of Whitewater and will be missed. Again, Happy Birthday to all celebrating in November. Congratulations to the Penguin/Mavericks “North Country” volleyball and cross-country participants and players. Now basketball season begins in Whitewater and the Hi-Line. Here in the Whitewater area, shipping cattle is almost complete. They are trucked to market now. When I grew up the cattle were shi...
I made it past PSA security at Billings International Airport and headed to Gate C to wait for my flight to Wolf Point. The call to board the aircraft was delayed due to cold weather and the possibility of a snowstorm. Passengers were getting restless from the uncertainty of the flight. The flight was finally cleared for departure and five relieved passengers made their way to the gate. Twenty minutes into the flight, we flew into a blizzard and lost sight of light from small towns along our...
To the Great Folks of Malta, On November 1, 2023, one of our travel companions on the westbound Empire Builder Train experienced a medical emergency. That emergency necessitated a trip to the Phillips County Hospital by the Malta EMTs. Many thanks to the first responders who transported our friend to the hospital and the Sheriff Deputies, Faith Robinson and Taylor Matthews who transported my wife and me, and our large quantities of luggage to the Edgewater Inn & RV Park. There, we were welcomed on short notice and with the offer of some...
Dear Editor, I was reading in a recent Montana Senior News issue that veterans can go to the Double-H Ranch in Bozeman, Mont., and start getting their lives back on track after leaving the service. Now young people should take note of this when they are fooling around with their idle time getting into trouble. These veterans have all kinds of problems and want to heal themselves and have something to look forward to. A lot of you young people are healthy or were healthy, and opportunities are right at your fingertips, while these veterans have...
No longer gainfully employed, I nonetheless try to accomplish something every day. It’s usually a task assigned to me by my wife, added to a list she continuously updates. Typically it’s a chore on the home front, such as laundry, dishes or making the beds in the guest room. Occasionally it involves fixing something, a never-ending task that comes with living in a 108-year-old house. I like checking things off the list. More precisely I like checking one thing at a time off the list. For yea...
We have had some sun which has taken away some of the snow, but it is staying cold. We like it better when winter moves in more slowly. It actually got a little muddy in places on Friday for a while. Some cowboys were moving some cattle around on Friday to fresh pasture. Little cool job. Polly Solberg had some therapy on Thursday to "put" her bones back on straight! Hope it works. They have finally been able to burn the dumps a little with the moisture we have had. Good to see the pile get a lit...
The Loring/Whitewater community has lost another resident and our sorrow for the family is deep. Leroy Simonson passed away from a massive heart attack on Saturday. He was a classmate of mine in Whitewater. Sympathy for the family. Anne Boothe was in Billings for a few days and took me out to lunch and to a home décor store. I really enjoyed visiting with someone from “home” and actually liked to see all the merchandise in the store! If you don’t know, I do not like to shop! I remember when w...
Week of November 1. Sincere sympathy to the families of the shootings down south. Are they ever going to pass gun control? If people want to shoot, why don’t they join the US Army? They are always hiring. Greetings from the North Pole, your Whitewater, Montana. We have two or three inches of snow, and it is cold. This is Montana, at least we don’t have shootings. However, we do have scams. The MDU Gas Co. and/or employees repaired and charged me for a house that has a nonexistent address. The...
Bob Kapp: "I think they should have a four-day school week; I have talked to people outside of Malta who have gone with it; it is an adjustment, I think it works out better." Sommer Waters: "I don't think they should do a four-day school week, because they would go longer; and there would be no Boys & Girls Club." Rose Alexander: "I don't like the thought of a four-day school week because it's so much harder to get on track for next week; you have to cram five days of work into four." Katy...
Bird hunting at its most basic level is a relatively simple endeavor. Dog flushes bird. Hunter shoots bird. Dog retrieves bird. When it all comes together it’s a beautiful thing to experience, a well-orchestrated bit of teamwork between man and animal. Seldom, however, does it all come off so simply. More often it’s a different scenario ending with dog flushes bird out of range. Or hunter misses easy shot. Or dog can’t believe hunter actually hit something and has no interest in finding dead...