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Big Sandy was truly rockin’ around the Christmas tree on Saturday, December 6th, as the community gathered for the annual Christmas Stroll—an all-day celebration filled with holiday cheer, hometown traditions, and the unmistakable small-town magic that has long defined the season here. From dawn to dusk, Main Street and the surrounding venues buzzed with activity as families, friends, and visitors moved from event to event, taking in the lights, laughter, and Christmas spirit that flowed thr...
Big Sandy Schools’ music program has a busy December in the works. The High School and Elementary School Christmas concerts are coming up next week. In addition, the honors band and choir concert took place on the 1st and 2nd at Choteau High School. The Christmas concerts are a highlight of the holiday season for many locals, who look forward to hearing and seeing the young people of our community singing and performing Christmas classics. The festivities kick off with the High School band a...
Montana State University (MSU) Extension will host its annual cropping seminar series January 5-9, 2026, in the Golden Triangle area. The Fort Benton seminar will take place on Monday, January 5 at the Ag Center, 1205 20th Street. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the seminar will begin at 9:00 a.m. A special thanks to MaxAg of Montana for sponsoring the lunch. Below is a list of the topics and presenters. (60 minutes) Marketing and Risk in a Price Crunch: Kelsey Larson MSU Agriculture Economics and Economics Specialist and Andrew...
1 Years ago December 10, 1925 The sixth annual Big Sandy High School Carnival proved to be the most successful one yet, bringing in a remarkable $684.44 for school activities. The Queen’s coronation was a highlight, with Hazel Flatness receiving the crown, accompanied by Joe Moore, who won the King’s title. Local sports were lively as well. Harry Green and Floyd Vallie traveled to Great Falls to attend a prize fight, and the Big Sandy bowling team headed to Havre for a rematch. The M.P. Moe, M.S.H. Porter, and E.B. Newhall families were amo...
Alvin Clarence Kober March 7, 1931 – October 14, 2025 Alvin "Al" Kober left this world just as he wished-peacefully at home on the family farm after an evening of Monday Night Football with his daughter, and without a prolonged illness. He leaves behind four daughters, seven grandchildren, and a lasting legacy of kindness, mentorship, and positive influence on the countless students, athletes, and community members whose lives he touched. Al was born on March 7, 1931, to Emil and Amalia Kober, G...
Barbara Magda Ophus died Dec. 2, 2025, due to traumatic injury from a fall. Barbara Betty Magda was born June 20, 1939, in Havre, Mont., to Frank and Agnes (Tordik) Magda. She attended country school at Lone Tree Bench in Blaine County and Chinook High School for two years and graduated from Great Falls Central High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Northern Montana College (now MSU Northern). The day after graduating from college, she married Lyle Ophus on Aug. 20, 1...
From the English Department at Big Sandy High School By: Marla Ray Freshmen through Seniors are currently writing several forms of poetry and doing a beautiful job expressing themselves! These poems are posted on the English room walls for all to enjoy. One type of poem that is less familiar is the Nonet: a 9-line poem that begins with a 9-syllable phrase and decreases one syllable per line, all the way down to the last line, a one-syllable word. The poem has a theme, and each line must relate to the overall “story” of the poem. All stu...
Each December, as winter settles over the Hi-Line and Main Street glows with holiday lights, the community of Big Sandy pauses to remember an event far from home but forever woven into our nation’s story. Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day marks the anniversary of December 7, 1941—the morning when a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii claimed more than 2,400 American lives and propelled the United States into World War II. Though thousands of miles from Montana, the impact of that day reached families across the prairie. Young men fro...
MONTANA – Cutting your own Christmas tree can be fun for all ages, and six Bureau of Land Management field offices in Montana are making it simple and inexpensive to get a permit. Personal-use Christmas tree permits issued by the Butte, Dillon, Lewistown, Malta, Miles City and Missoula field offices cost only $5 per tree and can be applied for online. Contact the North Dakota Field Office at 701-227-7700, and/or the South Dakota Field Office at 605-892-7000 for information about Christmas tree a...
On winter nights in Fairfield, when the band is thundering and the student section is shaking the bleachers, it’s easy to focus entirely on the athletes on the floor. But behind every well-run game stand the people in stripes—officials who keep the contest moving, fair, and safe. In Fairfield, six of those officials have a story worth telling. All six began in the 127 Sports Intensity Junior Referee program. Today, they are fully registered members of the Montana Officials Association (MO...
On the 19th of November Sheriff’s Deputies worked in conjunction with US Marshals and Montana Highway Patrol to serve a felony warrant on Richard Joseph Winslow in Fort Benton. Winslow was wanted out of Cascade County and was an unregistered violent offender. Deputies and MHP assisted Marshals in gaining local knowledge of the offender’s residence. Winslow had been living at the Sunrise Bluffs located at 711 21st St in Fort Benton. At 2:18 pm this law enforcement team successfully arrested Win...
PAX stands for Pioneers Acting Excellent. It means acting respectful, responsible, peaceful, and positive. You get tootles by being kind and helping others. PAX is when you are respecting others. Remember to strive to be a PAX leader!...
1 Years ago December 3, 1925 A scientist announced that it cost approximately $4.05 to stop an average train, while starting one required only about a quarter of a cent. Meanwhile, community life around Big Sandy was bustling. Mr. and Mrs. A.O. Lee, along with Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Robertson—who welcomed a daughter on November 27—were among the week’s visitors. Mr. and Mrs. George Cook of Kenilworth also spent time in town. Travelers came and went: Mrs. Harry Green and daughter Ruth returned from Havre; Miss Helen Tingley visited family; and t...
The Cancer Support Group will once again be lighting luminaries along the Levee and across the walking bridge on Saturday, December 6 at dusk. If you would like to have a name placed on a bag in memory of someone or in honor of someone, please contact a member of our board or mail the name(s) to: Cancer Support Group PO Box 213 Fort Benton, MT 59442 You may put anyone’s name on a bag; a cancer diagnosis is not required for someone to be acknowledged with a luminary bag. There is no charge to participate, but donations are welcomed. The art c...
My oldest loves basketball. He loves playing, watching, reading about, and every other element of the game. I’m trying to be interested and engage with the sport because he is important to me. One facet of the sport that actually fascinates me is the argument about which player is the greatest of all time. I don’t know enough to engage it meaningfully, but I’d argue that Michael Jordan has had the greatest cultural impact. From the game itself to pop culture to how the business of baske...
1. Why was the cell phone scared to go to the dentist? • Because he didn’t want him to remove his Bluetooth. 2. What did one bug on the windshield say to the other bug on the windshield? • I bet you don’t have the guts to do that again! 3. Why was the Roomba late for class? • It overswept. 4. Who makes money by driving their customers away? • Uber drivers. 5. Why did the motorcycle not want to go hiking? • Because he was two‑tired. 6. What do you call a medieval lamp? • A knight light. 7. Did you hear about the kidnapping in the park? • He wo...
On Nov. 16th twelve players showed up for a fun afternoon of pinochle playing 6 rounds. Winners of the day were as follows: 1st place was Sue Knight with a score of 6750 earning her $25.00. Second place went to Joe Landinger with a score of 5980 earning him $15.00. Third place went to Dan Leader with a score of 5260 earning him $10.00. Fourth place went to Maggie Cline with a score of 5250 earning her $5.00. Low was Charlette Silvan with a score of 4210 earning her getting her $5.00 pay in back. The next playing dates are set for Dec. 14th and...
Forecasting and reflecting I just checked the weather forecast. At this next time week, the day’s high temperature is supposed to be 45 degrees cooler than today. That’s not a bad thing. It’s late November, and it’s time to actually have some winter weather. It’s an opportunity to be grateful for the upcoming change and reflect upon our recent journeys. Here in Montana, during this time of year, we’re given the gift of incredible sunsets. An especially magnificent one provided an exquisite backdrop for last night’s run. I snapped a few picture...
January 1905, Big Sandy, Montana; Bertha Muzzy Bower signed her first writing contract with The Popular, a fledgling magazine whose circulation soared when Bower’s stories of Chip of the Flying U gave rise to life in the wild west as told by a woman. B.M. Bower began earning a living writing popular western novels and short stories from a cabin a few miles from Big Sandy. She was one of the many colorful people who brought recognition to the lifestyle of the American Cowboy. Whether it was because she was a woman, or because her writing d...
Every November, kitchens fill with the scent of roasting turkey, pumpkin pie, and traditions passed down through generations. But beyond the recipes and parades, Thanksgiving remains something deeper — a day rooted in history, reflection, and the enduring spirit of gratitude that still runs strong across rural Montana. The story of Thanksgiving reaches back nearly 400 years, to the autumn of 1621. After a difficult first year in the New World, the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony gathered to celebrate their first successful harvest. Joined by the Wa...
Editor's note: One of our favorite holiday traditions is seeing the creativity of our local kids shine. This year's Christmas Stroll buttons were once again drawnby students- and the stroll committee chose the winning designs, completely anonymously. It's a sweet reminder that talent knows no age, and that our community's holiday spirit often begins in the hands of our yougest artists....
1 Years ago November, 1925 The usefulness of the club was already becoming evident. Members assisted the state nurse with health clinics, entertained mothers during the year, and took charge of Christmas Seals sales — a tradition they continued with pride. That same year, The Mountaineer received a letter from Mrs. T.B. Pickton, who had moved to Yuba, California the previous December but made sure the paper still reached her family. Another letter came from Chas. Genereux, who wrote from Sterling, Colorado. The Genereux family had spent n...
The MCSN in cooperation with the Montana Extension Service, local Conservation Districts and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, offers low-cost tree and shrub seedlings for use in conservation plantings. MCSN seedlings are for conservation practices and cannot be used for ornamental or landscape plantings. Landscape plants can be purchased at your local private retail nursery or garden center. The Montana Conservation Seedling Nursery (MCSN) will begin taking orders for shelterbelt trees at 8:00 a.m. on January 21, 2026. MSCN operates...
It’s pretty safe to say that we Americans are obsessed with dogs. Our comic strips and cartoons are full of them—Snoopy, Scooby Doo, and the Paw Patrol, to mention a few. Favorite television shows and movies feature dogs as the stars—Rin Tin Tin, 101 Dalmatians, Lassie, and many more. Retailers are well aware of our love for our four-legged friends. For example, every coffee drive-through offers some version of the Pup Cup, and our furry friends know that, too! We dog owners take pride in giving them a good life. Our best efforts to treat...
As the holiday season unfolds, we take a moment to express our heartfelt appreciation for the good fortune we've experienced throughout the year. Here at the senior center, we extend our sincerest gratitude to all those who support us, including the grocery store that sponsors our menu featured in the Mountaineer, those who dine with us, and those who contribute their time, resources, and necessities. With December approaching, we are delighted to announce that we will be the starting point for the winter stroll. Breakfast with Santa is...