The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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In the 1860s, as large deposits of gold, silver, copper, and other valuable minerals were discovered in Granite County, many mining settlements sprung up along creek beds and mountainsides. As a reminder of that frenzied search for prosperity, today, 24 ghost towns are left scattered throughout the county. The town of Philipsburg, founded in 1867 and named for Peter Deiesheimer, is the lone survivor and remains intact and lively. The key to this longevity is an inherently beau...
The term, "blessings in disguise" is use to describe good things that happen in our lives that, at first, may not seem like a blessing at all. Losing, or even leaving a job may seem like the worst thing ever. I know; I've been there. But losing "that" job may have opened a door that normally would have remained closed, or offered you a different path leading you to something better or more fulfilling. That's what happened to me. I had a job I liked very much at the University...
Welcome to December! While I always view November as a month devoted to gratitude and Thanksgiving, December is the month I remember all of the blessings in my life as I prepare again for a new coming year. A lot of people think gratitude and blessings are one in the same. It can feel this way, and that's not a bad thing – it's good to have both in our lives, but by definition this is how they differ: according to the Meriam Webster dictionary, gratitude is the quality or feel...
In December, I'll be moving into the theme of blessings, but for my last column in November, I want to continue my thoughts on gratitude. Something that seemed so random ran into me like a freight train this weekend. I've heard the words "be present" and "live in the moment" before, but never, in all of my life, have those words smacked me right across the face as they did on Saturday. I'm sure you've seen or heard those words, hundreds of times, right? So have I, and until...
I’ve been writing about gratitude for the past couple of weeks. We’ve also experienced a lot of loss in Lincoln over the last several months. Like many others, these losses have left me feeling incredibly sad. Rather than focus on the sadness, and probably because I’ve been hyper-focused on being grateful, I thought I would offer my own tribute to some of those we’ve lost who have impacted me along the way, and to remind myself and others not to focus on the loss, but rather t...
Last week, my column focused a lot on gratitude, which I'm going to continue with through the month of November. It just seems like the right month to do it. I'm wondering if anyone accepted my invitation to write ten things you were grateful for over the last week or start writing in a gratitude journal? Of those who did, is anyone planning to continue for the month, and maybe even beyond that? Did you notice anything different in the way you felt, or how things around you...
November, of course plays host to Thanksgiving. For me, it's a sign that "fall" is really here. There is a quote I've seen over the last few years that says, "The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go." Maybe that's why I think of fall as more of my new year, and a time of year that signifies new beginnings. What better way to start anew than to let go of the old? As I began writing my column for this week, it occurred to me that with the weight of...
What would you do if you knew you could not fail? Would you start a business, raise a family, fulfill a dream of yours or someone else, foster world peace, find a cure for cancer or find another way to make a difference? Maybe you would become the person you have been afraid to be and live your own dream, rather than that of someone else’s expectations for you. What would you do if you had all the time and money in the world? Would you travel, live in your dream home, b...
Lewis and Clark County 911 Center received fifty-seven calls for service during the weeks of Oct. 11 to Oct. 24. Deputies performed three civil services in the Lincoln area. Two of those calls generated a case report in the last two weeks: A deputy took a sexual assault complaint in the Lincoln area Monday, Oct. 19. The investigation was turned over to the Criminal Investigation Division. A deputy responded to Highway 200 near Hogum Creek for a welfare check Monday, Oct. 19....
Rather than writing yet another piece about how divided we all are, I thought maybe it was time to start writing more about coming back together. Coming back together for the good of our town, for the good of our country, for the good of our families, and for the good of us all as individuals. It seems strange to talk about the good of individuals when talking about coming back together as a group, but truly, on an individual level is where it all begins. It starts with each...
So, this past week I participated in a worldwide spinning competition. I've done this every year since 2013 during the first week of October. That week is known as National Weaving and Spinning week. In past years, the competition was run by The National Needlework Association and was called "Spinzilla." Two years ago, the TNNA decided they would no longer be hosting the competition and a couple of individuals got together and began "Spin Together." A couple of people who had...
Nowadays, we have labels for everything, and everyone. The labeling has separated and divided us. Instead of being human, we are now labeled based on our skin color, religious beliefs, political beliefs, sexual preference or orientation, beliefs about the environment, the friends we keep, and the hobbies we engage in. We have labels that define our status in the world based on our income. Upper class, middle class, lower class, or upper echelon, blue collar, and impoverished....
Where in the world did our summer go? If you're anything like me, the list of the "stuff to get done before the snow flies," is still as long as it was at the beginning of summer. I had such high hopes for getting things done, being organized and ahead of the game. Instead, it's the end of September and I want to know where the summer went. I know a lot of people have blamed a lot of things on COVID this year, and rightfully so, but somehow I don't think I can lay this one on...
In general, I'm a pretty early riser. I've always been this way. When I was younger, there were animals that needed caring for before heading off to school, and in the summertime, they needed caring for before the heat of the day set in. When I was a new mother, it was the hour of silence before my kids woke up, giving me time to think and plan for the day ahead. When I was a young working mother who decided to go back to college, those two quiet hours before anyone in the...
Where I grew up in Southern Cal-ifornia, I remember learning about seasons in elementary school. The teacher had it up on a bulletin board. Winter began in December and end-ed in February. March through May was springtime, June through August brought the heat of summer, and Sep-tember through November equaled fall. Honestly, in Southern California, I feel like seasons are more of a myth than a reality, but it was some-thing we all learned about in school nonetheless. When I...
It’s said that if you have one good friend, you have been blessed. I’ve been blessed with very good friends, and some not-so-great friends throughout my life. I’ve learned lessons from both and I’m grateful. I’ve unfortunately had to learn the same lesson from those not-so-great friends on repeated occasion. And, sometimes, it’s been my really close friends who point it out and help me through some of those repeatedly difficult lessons to learn. As most of you who know me kno...
My musical taste is eclectic to say the least, and I have many people to thank for my wide variety of musical likes. To start, I come from a long line of music in one sense or another. My grandparents, my parents, aunts, uncles, school, friends and, well, even myself. When I was very young, I remember listening to "The Day the Music Died" and "Cats in the Cradle" because they played on a small radio that sat on my parent's dresser while I helped my mom make the bed. My Uncle...
Let’s face it, life is all about choices. The ones we make, the ones that are made for us, and even the ones we don’t make, which technically are still a choice. There are everyday choices, like what do I wear or what do I have to eat, to life-changing choices, like do I take this new job, or do I move across the country or marry this person, and every choice in between. We’re making choices from the time we are very young, usually right up until the time our lives on earth ar...
This past week, I enjoyed not one, but two days off. It's been awhile since I've had two in a row. It was glorious. I slept in, spent time with my other half and our pets at home. He and I got out briefly on the back of his motorcycle, and I spent a long afternoon in the saddle with my horse. For me, these days are treasures as they are so few and far between. I'm working to change that. Everyone I meet reminds me how busy I am. And I am, but not nearly as busy as I was even...
We find the things we love when we take the time to encourage growth in ourselves. Think about it, did you just wake up and realize one day that you like to (fill in the blank) or, was it something you learned? Better yet, was it something you learned from someone special, important or influential in your life? For me, it was learning how to crochet with my grandmother. I remember growing up as a child watching her create the coolest things. They may not have been cool to...
Hummingbirds are stunning creatures: not only for their jewel-like beauty and gravity-defying aerial acrobatics but also for their sheer fortitude. Every fall, they migrate thousands of miles to Mexico or Central America. Their wings thrum at up to 80 beats per second. When they sleep, their body drops into a state of torpor: their heartbeat and breathing slow to a state almost near death. Yet when they awake, their first order of business is hovering about trees and...
When the Corps of Discovery passed through Montana in 1805 Capt. Meriwether Lewis described a "new kind of white or silvery trout,"-the Arctic grayling, a member of the salmon family that depends on clean, cold-water streams. Montana is now the only place in the lower 48 states with native populations of fluvial (river-dwelling) Arctic grayling. Over time, its historic range has been drastically reduced due to habitat loss, fragmentation, overharvest, nonnative species, and...
Remember way back when this whole virus thing started? Yeah, although it's only been about four months, it feels like forever to me too. But, think back, I wrote a column about it, probably in early April. In it, I talked about fear, and how I was less scared of the virus itself, and far more frightened by the ugliness of people and the divisiveness that I was feeling. Sadly, my fears have become more of a reality than I could have imagined, and believe it or not, they are...
There was a song that came out back in the early 80's when I was in high school: "I Can't Drive 55," by Sammy Hagar. Well, with my moving, I have been taking my things down to Drummond in my little blue van, with the many ducks glued on the roof. I find that as I am getting older, the song I sing is "I Can Drive 55." Occasionally, I will go 65 but my little van is getting old and I have to take 'er easy, especially when it's loaded down. I think back when I was a young kid,...
This past weekend I was able to attend and teach at my first fiber festival for the year. In any other year, this would have been my seventh or eighth show of the season. It felt strange, in a way, loading up the car to make the trek, but once headed to my destination, it felt right. Most of the trips I make are by car, but I'm usually so far behind and in such a rush, I rarely get to "enjoy the ride" so to speak. This trip was different. I was ready ahead of time (this is a r...