Blackfoot Valley Dispatch - The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980

Editor's note: As some of our readers may know, Dick Geary passed away early last week. Dick's recollections of Helmville and the Blackfoot Valley he knew growing up, as well as... — Updated 2/25/2020

Ranchers get a bad rap. Agriculture is portrayed as a destructive industry, composed of corporate-owned operations that practice aggressive farming techniques, abuse their... — Updated 2/4/2020

My father was 91 years old the last time I lied to him. He wasn't a demanding father, so there were never many falsehoods necessary in our lives – usually just the teenage ones,... — Updated 1/28/2020

"It is impossible to please all the world and one's father." Jean de La Fontaine Fables (1668) Family owned ranches and farms demand a familial unity not found in most professions... — Updated 1/21/2020

My father and two of his brothers spent their entire lives on the ranch. Two served in WWII, but the other never left the property. They were adequate when working cattle, but... — Updated 1/14/2020

Unearned suffering is redemptive. - Martin Luther King I had been in Barra do Bugres for about six months when a stranger knocked at my door. I could tell he was American by the... — Updated 1/7/2020

While in Barra do Bugres during my third year in the Peace Corps, Sr. René stopped by my house and asked me to attend a churrasco at his place on the upcoming Jan. 1st. René was... — Updated 1/1/2020

The Brazilians don't trade many presents during Christmas, preferring to have family/friends gatherings centered around "churrascos," or meat roasted on a spit. Some will offer huge... — Updated 12/23/2019

Work and pray, live on hay, You'll get a pie in the sky when you die. - Joe Hill (Joseph Hillstrom) The Preacher and the Slave I've written a number of times about the changes in... — Updated 12/17/2019

I had been back in Helmville about six months when the bear showed up. A number of people in and around town had mentioned that he had been on their decks or in their garages, but... — Updated 12/11/2019

God never send'th mouth but he sendeth meat. John Heywood c.1497 - c.1580 Via cell video calling I visited with some friends in Brazil this week. They were at a churrasco... — Updated 12/4/2019

A man said to the Universe: "Sir, I exist!" "However," replied the Universe, "the fact has not created in me a sense of obligation." (Steven Crane, WAR IS KIND) COW A digestive... — Updated 12/4/2019

The best of men That e'er wore earth about him, was a sufferer, A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit, The first true gentleman that ever breathed. Thomas Dekker Growing... — Updated 11/13/2019

"Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed" - Alexander Pope. It was during the mid 1960's. I was 17 or 18, and Dan, my hunting partner, was a... — Updated 10/29/2019

I had been in Barra do Bugres, Mato Grosso for six months when they had to kill Pedrão. He was one of the four professional assassins, or pistoleiros I got to know during my six... — Updated 10/22/2019

I watch a lot of baseball during the season, which runs from April to the end of November. I enjoy the other televised sports, but with the disinterest of a cat looking out a window... — Updated 10/16/2019

Brazil is burning the Amazon again. Their new president has declared an open season on both the environment and indigenous people. I liked his rhetoric as a candidate, but that was... — Updated 10/9/2019

Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul. Mark Twain  Inscribed under his bust in The Hall of Fame The U.S. owes the world an apology and a lot... — Updated 10/1/2019

Matt announced to his family that he was finally going to clean out the horse barn. With the passing of the work teams and the introduction of ATVs, horse barns are little used any... — Updated 9/24/2019

As post-war baby boomers, most of us had parents who had suffered through the Great Depression, and then WWII. They faced the poverty of the 1930s and then the scarcity caused by ra... — Updated 9/18/2019

The leaves fall early this autumn, in wind. The paired butterflies are already yellow with August. Over the grass in the West garden; They hurt me. I grow older. - Ezra Pound The... — Updated 9/11/2019

I spent a large part of my youth fishing: the Blackfoot River, Nevada Creek, Brown's Lake, the small creeks near Helmville, plus the pond behind our house. We fished for a large... — Updated 9/4/2019

I have an old Peace Corps friend visiting for a few days. In 1972 we met in New Orleans, along with a group of 160 other new volunteers. The orientation took five days, then they pu... — Updated 8/28/2019

I knew my father was dead when the helicopter flew low over my house. The ambulance had gone past with lights and siren a few minutes before. I didn't look to see where it went,... — Updated 8/21/2019

It was in Summer School where we Catholic kids learned catechism in preparation for our first communions and confirmations. Two nuns would come to Helmville each summer and teach... — Updated 8/14/2019