News you can use
News you can use
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If you asked my husband why his wife volunteers, his answer would be "Because she doesn't know how to say 'No.'" Honestly, I have thought about that for a long time. But it isn't the same as you might think. Frankly, I can't say "No, thanks" because I am compelled as a Christian to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Would Jesus say "No, thanks" to being the dean for Children's Camp? Would Jesus say "No, thanks" to working at the local museum to preserve our local history for...
Have you ever wondered, like I recently have, how such an awesome ministry has been going on for years, and you didn't really know anything about it? Being a retired chaplain, I have attended many funerals and services at First Lutheran Church in Havre. I've seen glimpses of a room downstairs that looked like they might be sewing something. But it wasn't until last fall when I walked into the sanctuary and saw each of the 40 pews draped in beautiful quilts, that my interest...
"Ila, could you check with the hospital and see if it would be possible to give a baby blanket to every newborn?" I had just started working as the chaplain for Northern Montana Health Care. I wasn't quite sure what the answer from the hospital administration would be. I was surprised when the answer was "Yes." And I have been continually surprised (and proud) as year after year after year Fifth Avenue Christian Church has continued to make a baby quilt for every baby born at...
Time is running out for finding the perfect Christmas gift. Christmas is just around the corner. A gift for an adult sibling? A grandchild? A good friend? Someone who loves Montana history? Someone who has connections to the "Out North" Country? Look no further than "In the (Even More) Days Gone By"! This recently published book was updated from a book written in 1964 about the homesteaders in the Simpson and Cottonwood areas north of Havre. It includes the first book "In the...
Are you looking for the perfect Christmas gift? For an adult sibling? A grandchild? A good friend? Someone who loves Montana history? Someone who has connections to the "Out North" Country? Look no further than "In the (Even More) Days Gone By!" This is a recently published book updated from a book written in 1964 about the homesteaders in the Simpson and Cottonwood areas north of Havre. It includes the first book "In the Years Gone By" with added stories and information...
"If you've been walking the same old road for miles and miles; if you've been hearing the same old voice, tell the same old lies; if you're trying to fill the same old holes inside, there's a better life. There's a better life. If you've got pain, He's a pain taker. If you feel lost, He's a way maker. If you need freedom or saving, He's a prison shaking Savior. If you have chains, He's a chain breaker." Fifth Avenue Christian Church invites every lady and teenage girl on the...
It's hard to imagine what the early homesteaders would think of what their descendants are doing today. Would they approve? Or disapprove? Would they be proud? Or not? Well, I know one homesteader named Inga Lager who would be "bursting her buttons" of what her granddaughter Judy Anderson is doing today. Let me explain. Inga Larson Lager was a sister to my grandmother Thora Larson Clausen. They were born and raised in Skein, Norway. Inga and her husband, Carl Lager, came to...
A hero is a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities. Heroes come in many forms in life. We look up to our heroes. They are role models, shining examples of what we should be. They are selfless, genuinely good persons. Often, they are willing to risk their own life to save another. If you are in need of a hero, someone to look up to, a role model and a shining example of what we all should be, someone selfless who think...
A hero is a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities. Heroes come in many forms in life. We look up to our heroes. They are role models, shining examples of what we should be. They are selfless, genuinely good persons. Often, they are willing to risk their own life to save another. Sometimes life takes you where you never expected to go. Such was the case about a month ago at church. I spotted my friend Jolene Ophus...
A hero is a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities. Heroes come in many forms in life. We look up to our heroes. They are role models, shining examples of what we should be. They are selfless, genuinely good persons. Often, they are willing to risk their own life to save another. Oct. 25, 1982, was a good day for the Hi-Line when Northern Montana Hospital hired Judy Solomon. It was a great day when Northern Montana...
A hero is a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities. Heroes come in many forms in life. We look up to our heroes. They are role models, shining examples of what we should be. They are selfless, genuinely good persons. Often, they are willing to risk their own life to save another. About a month ago, Kip Van Valkenburg walked to the front of our church just before the closing prayer. "Excuse me," he said, "but I just...
A hero is a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities. Heroes come in many forms in life. We look up to our heroes. They are role models, shining examples of what we should be. They are selfless, genuinely good persons. Often, they are willing to risk their own life to save another. Let me introduce you to a hero named Dale Mueller. Most people in Havre and on the Hi-Line aren't familiar with the name Dale Mueller....
Note: I recently found this article written for the Havre Daily News that my mother Gertrude Whaley wrote about in 1983. Due to family circumstances, I must travel by Amtrak from Havre to Portland, Oregon. I was to leave Havre December 23 at 3 p.m. Due to severe weather conditions the train did not leave Havre until 2 a.m. on the 24th. The Amtrak crew had fought the severe cold all the way from Chicago, and in many places, they could only go 35-40 miles per hour. It was 35...
As I write this, today is Halloween, Oct. 31. I realize this won't be published until Nov. 7, but I have some things that I've been thinking quite a bit about and thought I would "put pen to paper." As a kid, I can't remember going Trick or Treating very much. One year my brother and I dressed up in some antique clothes that mom had been given. Dad drove our friends Cindi and Calvin Couch, my brother and I around to the neighbors: Draegers, Springers and Rismons. We happily...
Dear grandchildren, Have you ever gone to bed with a smile on your face and true joy in your heart? I know most of you are so busy that when your head hits the pillow it doesn't take long before you are in dreamland. But last Sunday when my head hit the pillow there truly was a smile on my face and joy and contentment reigned in my heart. My day started about 6:30 a.m. with soft voices from the room next door. Knox and Janessa had spent the night at our house. I couldn't make...
To my dearest and beloved grandchildren, I know in my last letter to you I said that that one would be my last about growing up riding horses. But the other night Grandpa and I were sitting outside enjoying a cool evening after a very hot summer's day. As you know, from where we live just off the Amos Trail, we have a wonderful view of the Bear Paw Mountains. They are probably 35 miles away. Grandpa (from Wyoming and Nebraska) asked "Now, what do they call that tall mountain i...
To my beloved grandchildren, For now, this is the third and last letter that I am going to be writing to you about my life growing up riding horses. It was a great life and I will always, always be grateful for the childhood I had here on the beautiful prairies of northern Montana. I wish I could ride Roxie, and you ride Rosie, and still another one of you ride Midge, our treasured Shetland pony. We would go west through the pasture and search for teepee rings. We'd ride throu...
To My Beloved Grandchildren, Most of the time when I share my childhood memories with you, your reaction is “That couldn’t be true” or “So what, no big deal.” You’ve been trained well not to say something like that out loud but I can sense it. I am writing this letter so that in 20, 30 or 40 years you just might like to know what your Grandma Ila’s childhood really was like. I grew up in the saddle. From a very early age until I got married, I helped my father herd and chec...
Funny, isn't it, how something suddenly triggers a memory that you haven't thought of in years? Such was the case when I was working the 2020 Census. Part of the area I surveyed was the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation. One day I entered the reservation via Taylor Road on the east side. Much later in the day, I left the area at Box Elder. Turning onto Highway 87, I glanced to my right and then I saw it. A floodgate of memories deluged my innermost being. I pulled over and wept....
It all began with a shopping visit to "North 40" in late 2020. Kip Van Valkenburg spied the perfect Christmas present ... for himself! It was a picture of a combat soldier wrapped in eagle's wings. The wings were colored like an American flag. Wilma, Kip's wife, agreed that it was indeed something special and bought it to be Kip's Christmas present. The more Kip and Wilma looked at the beautiful picture the more they began to recall the members of their families who had...
In 1964, as a Centennial Project, The Cottonwood Home Demonstration Club took on a project to gather information about the early homesteading days in the Simpson and Cottonwood areas. The book was titled "In the Years Gone By." The Introduction page includes a paragraph that explains the reason for compiling the book: "With each year that passes, we lose more of the old-timers, and it was our desire to print some of the tales and woes of the early homesteaders, while there...
“A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and brings it out of you.” — Bob Proctor In writing last month’s article, I mentioned a lady named Madelia “Rusty” Jones. Growing up Rusty was my Sunday School teacher and Junior Youth leader at Havre Christian Church. She not only encouraged me to memorize Luke 2:1-20 for the Christmas Pageant but instilled in me a love of teaching and a commitment to world missions. When I was but i...
Dear friend, It’s been quite a while since I’ve written. I thought I’d answer a question that folks ask me. The question I get asked the most often is, “How is retirement?” Most often my response is, “Well, I’m pretty tired.” I miss the residents at the care center and I miss making a difference in their lives and in the lives of those that I would meet through my work as the chaplain for the hospital, care center and hospice. Many members of our community have told me ho...
Be assured of this one thing: I love spring! Recently I took a pole of my grandkids of what their favorite season is. Kami likes fall because of the pretty colors. Karter prefers summer because there's no school and he likes to go swimming. Kord likes spring because it is fun to play outside. Kace is keen on summer because of rodeos. Knox prefers spring because his birthday will soon be here. Katy and Ila love summer because they get to go swimming. They live in Miles City...
I’ve got to admit for a people person like myself, self-distancing has been a challenge. Living three-and-a half miles from the nearest neighbor helps. I’ve done a lot of sewing projects and cleaned out areas that were long past due. My mind has gone back to some thoughts about self-isolation in history. The first is 1918 and the Spanish Flu Epidemic that WWI soldiers returned home from Europe with. In reading “In Years Gone By” about homestead families in the Simpson and Cot...
