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Frank Lenning is a passionate math teacher and is dedicated to teaching kids to the best of his ability. Anyone looking for proof of this claim needn't look any farther than the teacher's parking area in the school lot, where you will see Frank's van parked at nearly any hour of the day or night. Frank's long hours are a product of his class prep work and availability for tutoring math help. My conversations with our new math teacher quickly turned to teaching and often returned to the subject,...
This morning I found out that our adult Sunday school teacher wasn’t going to make it in for his class. Our regular backup was out of town, so I was the fallback teacher. I wouldn’t be truthful if I said I was excited. I enjoy taking the time before church to review the sermon material and get my mind focused on the service. Still, I got up, went to church, and taught the class without any preparation. I am not a fan of not studying in depth in advance of teaching anything, but I was blessed by the folks in the room and found a ton of thi...
Veterans Day was last week. The holiday always lands on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in recognition of Armistice Day, which was the day World War I ended in 1918. Woodrow Wilson announced the end of the war to the nation, and the holiday, Armistice Day was established. The day was later changed to Veterans Day, when we honor the men and women who serve in our military. Researching our community's history this week, I discovered that The Mountaineer ran a front page story on the...
I am nearly finished reading Tolkien’s novel “The Hobbit.” It is one of my all time favorite novels, and I have read it enough times that I have actually lost count. One of my favorite things about the novel is that the main character, Bilbo the hobbit, loves comfort and ease in life. He lives in a protected world where he never faces any difficulty or challenge apart from annoyance over inconvenience. For those unfamiliar with the story, Bilbo is recruited as a burglar to help a group of dwarves in their adventure. During the story, our hero...
Veteran's Day is nearly upon us, and it is important to take the time to remember the men and women who served our country, ensuring our freedom and safety. "Freedom isn't free. That has been my mainstay ever since I was a young lad. My dad was in the military. He was a Corpsman in the Navy. Since he did that, the Navy was my ultimate goal," explains Dale Morey in response to my question about his thoughts on the day. Dale served our country for forty years between his active duty and reserve...
In ancient Israel, every Jewish boy would learn the Torah in school. Specifically, they would memorize the Jewish religious writings starting at an early age until the rabbi teaching them decided they had reached their potential as students. At that time, they were sent off to work in whatever field their family had always worked in. Some students would be sent away early to work, while others would progress to the point that they were accepted as a disciple to a rabbi. This was sort of like earning your doctorate. Anyone who studied under a...
With the arrival of fall the air begins to fill with the signs of the season: crisp frost, the smell of fireplaces in the morning, and the odor of skunks wandering through town. This year is no different, as locals begin smelling and seeing the unwanted neighbors more prominently than normal. Lianna Heimbigner spotted one a few weeks ago outside her home: "(He) came by just after dark when I was letting the dog back in the house from the back door. One of the cats was still sitting outside, when...
The Big Sandy Theater will be putting on a production of “OZ” (a comedy drama) the first week of December this year. The community theater production returns after taking last year off. Tickets will be $2 and are available at the door on the day of the shows. Dianna Upham Keane, one of the directors, explains: “We have a fantastic cast and crew of all ages who are working hard to put on an entertaining and lively show… We hope the audience of all ages will laugh, be entertained, and be challenged.” The show, written by Don Zolidis, is a diff...
The last two years have seemed like the longest years I’ve experienced in my life. More than a few jokes were told about 2020 being the worst year ever between the murder hornets, Covid, lockdowns, toilet paper shortages, a crazy election, etc. By this time last year, it seemed as though 2020 was never going to end. There’s an interesting principle behind that idea that relates to our perception of the passing of time. It is a well known maxim that years go by faster and faster as you get older. Human brain research has uncovered the rea...
"I had someone say to me that Mom paid it forward to everybody in the community for 30 years. Now everybody is paying her back to her for paying it forward," explained Billy Pierce in describing the outpouring of love, support and generosity for his mother, Kandi Marino. Kandi, a well-loved member of our community, needs a new kidney. The weekend of October 8th-10th, the community gathered together to raise money for medical expenses. It all started with a bale of hay. Friday evening, a...
Big Sandy’s Trunk or Treat Halloween Party will be happening again this Sunday, October 31st beginning at 6:30 PM on Main Street. Trunk-Or-Treat is a community Halloween party where folks bring their cars to Main Street and hand out candy from their trunks. Heather Dilworth, who is organizing the event this year, explained: “I think for families with younger kids, it’s easier to go around to 10 or 20 cars and then visit with everybody for a while and call it a night.” She also pointed out that it provides a space for country residents to come...
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Ladies of the Pioneer Volleyball Team have raised $1900 with their Pink Night fundraiser. 6th grade teacher, Calista Worrall, explained: “October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I think because it hit closer to home with Maryetta going through her battle with breast cancer we really wanted to do it right… The girls did all the work. They went to businesses and got donations, hung up flyers, decorated the gym. This was a big deal to them, and they were proud of their hard work. I know the tot...
I have been a Christian for around 30 years. The first pastor who influenced my life was Pastor Mike. He was a young guy who spent the time to explain the Bible to me and answer my questions. I believe that he is the reason I am working in the ministry today. Along the way, many other men have influenced me through their ministries. Pastor Jim was my first boss as a youth pastor. I believe I am better at what I do because of how he explained people, church culture, and all sorts of other things to me. Denver, Barney, Rich, and many other men...
With Halloween fast approaching, an annual Big Sandy trick-or-treating tradition is approaching: the youth group food drive. This Wednesday, October 20th the youth groups of Big Sandy Church of God and Christ Lutheran Church will be going door to door around town collecting food stuffs for the Big Sandy Food Bank. Trick-or-treating will take place between 7 and 8 PM with kids going out in small groups. If you are interested in donating, you can wait for students to ring your doorbell or leave food on your porch in a box with the light on for...
Big Sandy Church of God held its 100th Birthday and 10th annual Brisket Cook-Off on Sunday, October 10th. The worship service was particularly well attended. The church used the occasion to baptize 9 young people. A 30-minute video created by Craig Edwards was shown throughout the afternoon commemorating the century of history. Photos of events, families, and landmark moments in the church’s history were featured. Roberta Edwards decorated the church with photos throughout the years, including a name-those-people type contest. Throughout the a...
In college, I was in a production of “12 Angry Men.” A few weeks before our show date, I struggled with the lines for my mid-sized part. I just hadn’t put in the time and effort to memorize my lines. A few of the other guys began to complain about me to the director, who was my roommate. He sat down with me one evening and encouraged me to put in the work to master my lines so well that it would shut the mouths of everyone who was complaining. Then he told me something that has stuck with me for over 20 years: “You practice like you play....
October is upon us and it has brought a murder to the Big Sandy Library! A killer is on the loose, and the game is afoot, and by game, I mean Clue. The Library will be running a game of Clue for the community throughout the month of October. Though the full story has yet to be revealed, the cast of characters in our local game won't include Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Colonel Mustard, or any of the others from the classic game. Instead, the game will be stocked with a cast of local suspects. A...
While reading earlier this month, I came across a bit of information that prompted a question I passed around to friends and coworkers. It was interesting enough that I thought I would share it with the Mountaineer readers. There are some other bits and pieces of information added to make it interesting. Let me know if this bit of trivia is interesting and if you would like to see more of this in future issues. “Who is the wealthiest athlete of all time?” Most people guess Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. Those answers are correct if the que...
Last year, while appearing on Saturday Night Live, Comedian John Mulaney told a joke that I will find funny for the rest of my life: ““It’s hard to make friends when you’re an adult. I think that’s the greatest miracle of Jesus. He has 12 best friends in his thirties, and they weren’t his wife’s best friends’ husbands.” It’s mainly funny because it hits so close to the truth. There is a ton of research pointing to the sad fact that men are increasingly isolated in our culture. The number of men who report having “No close friends” has quintupl...
Monica Otto Winderl has been introducing Big Sandy students to the fine arts for three years, which has rounded out her 22 year career as an art teacher. Though she isn't from Big Sandy, Monica spent her growing up years visiting family in the area. Her father is first cousins with Ron Otto. An accomplished artist, her work has been on display in galleries around the state, including Fort Benton. Monica didn't set out to go into either art or teaching as a career. She explains: "I fell into it....
This week, I finished reading a biography of Joseph Stalin. I learned a great deal, but the one thing that stood out to me more than anything else in the book was about during Stalin’s early days as an activist before the revolution. The author talked about how Stalin, and many of those he worked with, were aiming to improve the lives of the working class in Russia. The whole purpose of the movement was to raise up the working class. However, Stalin and his co-revolutionaries considered workers to be entirely too stupid to know what was best f...
If you're looking for delicious barbecue in the area, you can't go wrong visiting The Public House in Fort Benton. The Public House offers a range of smoked meat options, prepared by their resident barbecue chef, Alex Salazar. Alex has been cooking at The Wake Cup (and more recently at its sister restaurant, The Public House), but he has been smoking food most of his life. I met Alex when he competed in the Big Sandy Church of God Brisket Cook-Off 2 years ago. Then, he was just beginning to...
After 9 years in the town of Big Sandy, my family and I took a major step toward becoming permanent Big Sandy residents by purchasing a house of our own. We feel particularly blessed to have bought the Brumwell's house as they retired and moved closer to their kids. Not only have we bought a neat home, but we are now living in a piece of Big Sandy history. The newly dubbed "Sietsema House" bears all sorts of signs that it is over a century old, from the ornate "old west hinges and moldings, to...
A couple of months ago, I wrote an article about my upcoming participation in the Great Cycle Challenge. I am about a week away from finishing my fourth year of riding in the largest cycling event in the United States to raise money for fighting kids' cancer. I committed to raising $500 and riding 200 miles during the month of September. So far, I am about halfway through my miles and have nearly reached my goal for fundraising. Though I have almost cleared my goal, that doesn't need to be the...
The first pastor I remember knowing was at the church I started attending as a teenager. Pastor Mike was very down to earth. He drove a beat up old car that I remember him having to push start on more than one occasion. When I was 13 or 14, I heard a story about how he was frustrated with ministry one week because he bought diapers for a young woman who came to the church asking for help. After the encounter, he walked out of the store and decided to go back to buy formula as well. When he did, he witnessed her returning the diapers for cash....