Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Winston Churchill said, “If you’re not a liberal at age twenty, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative at age forty, you have no brain.” I’d amend that and swap the word “experience” for the word “brain.” My last three columns were an attempt to describe my personal journey from a liberal philosophy to one that is quite conservative. I’ve used examples from my own experience to try and explain that transition. I believe that most conservative thinkers follow a path similar to mine in terms of experience. Meaning simply that they ha...
Growing up in a small town, you think you miss out on some things. You can't just go to a mall or an arcade or a movie every day of the week. This summer, pools in both Plains and Thompson Falls were closed for much-needed repairs. We noticed a lot more kids walking around town, or down to Wild Goose Landing for a swim. What you do have in a small town are plenty of opportunities for summer jobs. Our first jobs included mowing lawns, babysitting and bucking bales. When kids are old enough, the Forest Service offers many a chance to spend...
“Any company that has a union probably deserves one.” “We didn’t need a union, Millar took care of us.” It seems almost a universal truth that we forget the reasons that caused great changes in society. The driving force behind the creation of labor unions was based on the simple concept that workers ought to be treated as human beings and not machines whose sole purpose was to enrich the company. The two quotes above neatly summarize the reasons for having a labor union; to take care of employ...
School has started and competition begins this weekend for local fall sports teams. This weekend is the Sanders County Fair and Rodeo. It's a busy time of year for local kids — and parents. 4-H members work on projects throughout the year. Feeding pigs, working with their horses and perfecting their woodworking skills takes a lot of time. Most spend their year working on record books in preparation for the fair Labor Day weekend. Helping them out are those 4-H parents. There always seems to be a mad rush the week of fair to finish projects for...
After 77th Division, I applied to and was accepted into Metropolitan Division (Metro). Metro was a phenomenal place to work and afforded me the opportunity to work dozens of different jobs without leaving the Division. Metro is primarily a crime suppression assignment, but is also home to SWAT, K9 and the Mounted Unit. Metro has citywide responsibility and platoons are sent to work areas as the needs arise. We spent the bulk of our time patrolling Central, South Central, and South Los Angeles....
Last week, we asked “Are you ready for school to start?” in our Question of the Week. With the long days of summer, most kids aren't quite ready to say goodbye to lazy mornings with days full of free time. But most of the parents we've talked to are ready to get back to consistent bedtimes and mornings, as well as the structure of school days. Summer days are fun and care-free, but having that everyday routine helps parents keep their lives organized, too. Summer seems to fly by when you're older. We spoke to a couple retired teachers who hav...
Years ago, when I was on the board of directors of my local hospital, I attended a seminar on the duties and responsibilities of a board member. One speaker pointed out that the board member’s loyalty was not to the physical structure of the hospital, but to the mission of the hospital; that is, our loyalty was not to the tangible aspect of the hospital, but to the idea of the hospital — what it stood for. I think that distinction is also what unites all Americans no matter how much we may dif...
Recently we were discussing the concept of thank-you notes. Now that we are middle aged, we definitely understand the appreciation of appreciation. Our parents were adamant about us writing thank-you cards when we got a sponsor for a bike-a-thon or a birthday gift. We'd like to say that we still keep up that practice, but sometimes we get busy or distracted and have to be reminded to give thanks. There are many ways to say thank you. Hugs, flowers, acts of kindness in return or a simple phone call. But there's something special about getting a...
A friend and I were talking about this column and how a person’s political perspective/philosophy evolves. I told my friend about my own journey. He was surprised (as are most people) to learn that as a teenager and then a young man, I had a very liberal perspective. Then, life happened! My perspective completely changed, and I became quite conservative based on all I was seeing and experiencing. When I told my friend my story, his immediate response was, “You’ve got to write that!” I decided...
Over the weekend we visited our favorite fishing spots and our favorite huckleberry picking spots. We love that there are places in Sanders County where cell service is impossible. Hiding away for just a few hours and disconnecting for everything is a pretty unique experience these days. After that, we challenged ourselves to "unplug" from TV, Internet and the phone for 24 hours. Long story short, we failed. TV wasn't that hard, but we caught ourselves reaching to Google for something a couple of times during a conversation. And setting up...
A crowd chants “send her back” referring to a United States congresswoman. They reason that because she is an immigrant and she criticizes the status quo, she is un-American. If those are the two criteria they are working on, then we might as well all go back. Except for the original Americans, the native peoples, we are all immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. No one asked us to come here, we just came, and ever since, every new wave of immigrants has been reviled and disparaged by the...
The U.S. Constitution required that the population be counted every decennial (10 years). It was simply a count. Today, the U.S. Census has turned into a data mining production and swerved from its original intention. In the first census in 1790, there were six questions asking the number of free white males aged under 16, the number of free white males of 16 years and upward, number of free white females, number of other free persons and number of slaves. In the 1800s, questions about economics, education, social statistics and mortality were...
Napoleon said, “Never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake.” Recent events and behavior of the left are mistakes that will ensure a strong conservative voter turnout for the 2020 elections. The same voters who elected President Trump in 2016 will do it again in 2020. While remaining relatively silent compared to liberals, conservative voters are burning with anger because of what we see. I’ll try to explain my point with a couple of recent examples. Colin Kaepernick and Megan Rapinoe’s disrespect for the American flag and our Nationa...
Recently, we had the opportunity to visit the East Coast with a friend who is a native of New York. It was interesting to go back with her and see a different part of the country that is so foreign to us. The busy streets and the billions of people are a bit much for small-town Montanans. It was fun to visit, but it was great to come home and drive over Thompson Pass, only passing one car on our return. While on a layover at the airport in Boston, we started chatting with an airline representative. This woman had never been to Montana and was s...
Representative Justin Amash, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, may be the most principled man in American politics. Unfortunately, he is most likely going to wind up in the ash bin of principled politicians, most of whom sacrifice their career and their influence for the small pleasure of being able to sleep well at night. Amash recently left the Republican Party to become an Independent. He believed that unquestioning loyalty to a political party had led to Congress ceding its Constitutional powers...
'Tis the season for festivals, ATV runs and all those summer events we look forward to. Last month we had Plains Days, two Cabinet Ridge Riders poker runs, fundraiser events and reunions. The fun continues this month with the Fourth of July celebrations, and next month we have the Huckleberry Festival in Trout Creek and the Big Sky Blues Festival in Noxon, among other events. It's a busy time of year for our area. Talking to organizers and those volunteers who have been coordinating events for several years, there's a common theme. It's hard...
This past February, I was on a plane from Los Angeles to Seattle. I was already seated in an aisle seat, when I saw a really big guy about my age walking toward me wearing a kilt, knee high socks, a very colorful shirt and what seemed to me to be a funny looking hat. As luck would have it, this guy’s assigned seat was right next to mine. He slid past me and took his seat. We nodded at one another but didn’t speak. I have a routine when I’m on a plane. I listen to music through my earbuds while...
Two days of yard saleing sounds a bit like heaven to us. Not just for the chance to find vintage Fiestaware or John Denver records, but for the social aspect. When you're out at the Sanders Sale-ing event, you inevitably run into people you haven't seen in ages. The sales offer a great way to catch up with people, make new friends and see new parts of the county. While visitors are getting to know a little more about Sanders County this weekend, we'd like to remind them of some of the unique spots in Sanders County. While going down Blue Slide...
An inflammatory statement by an Oregon state senator has encouraged a militia organization to insert itself in a situation where they are neither needed nor wanted. This is of importance to Montanans because a similar militia activity in Oregon in 2016 elicited the sympathies of at least one prominent Montana elected official. Here’s the background. A bill having to do with climate change has been sent to the Oregon State Senate for a vote. It is assured of passage because there are enough s...
When you think about history, Montana isn't that old. We've only been a state for 130 years. The Ledger has been around for 115 years. That's pretty young for establishments, especially when you visit the East Coast and see landmarks such as Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts and St. Augustine, Florida, which claims to be the oldest city in the United States. This weekend, the Whitepine Church will celebrate 100 years. We have fond memories of participating in vacation bibie school and Christmas programs at the church. The tiny church with the...
As the long days of summer get into full swing, Montanans and visitors alike have begun to reconnect with our state parks, our one-of-a-kind outdoor recreation experiences, and the cultural treasures that define our state. Last week, I visited a crew of middle school students who spent one of the first weeks of their summer break instilling a lifelong dedication to our outdoors. As part of Montana Conservation Corps’ youth program, these students were introduced to conservation early, in a hands-on, dirt-in-the-fingernails way, by digging t...
In his book the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey listed habit number six as, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” I first read Covey’s book about 20 years ago when studying for a promotional exam. I enjoyed the book and really embraced the message. Habit number six resonated with me because I think an inability to effectively communicate and understand one another contributes to more problems than we probably realize. I don’t think people take the time to unde...
On Saturday, more than two tons of e-waste was gathered by the county for the annual recycling event. Shelly Mitchell and her crew from Oreo's Refining brought two trailers to fill with unwanted televisions, computers and other electronics. Mitchell told us how much work she puts into keep items out of the landfill. She strips down each piece of equipment by hand, even stripping much of the wires, to get down to the basics and sort out each nut and bolt. People were bringing old heaters, weed eaters, cellphones. It's amazing how much we as a so...
Ideological purity and consistency of opinion over time are two standards to which many Americans want to hold their political candidates. People want to elect candidates who think about things the way they do, sometimes it’s just about one or two issues, like abortion or gun control (whether pro or con), and other times it’s that people want their candidates to believe in everything they, themselves, believe in—no exceptions. People also expect that candidates do not change their opini...
Last month, the Plains community had a unique opportunity to be a part of history when the World War II Miss Montana airplane did a test flight from Missoula to Plains. Watching the parachutists jump from the plane into an open field was just a small glimpse at what troops experienced during WWII. The Miss Montana then took off to Normandy, France, where this week it will participate in events commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day. It's hard to imagine what the troops, and the families back home, went through during WWII. Even when...
