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The Big Sandy Swimming Pool is issuing an S.O.S. for the coming summer: Save Our Swim. They are currently facing a critical shortage of applicants to fill the needed lifeguards to run the pool for the season. If they are unable to find the necessary staff, the pool will either remain closed or will be forced to remain open only during a limited number of days and times. This is a particularly concerning development as the community has reached the $1.9 million mark in the quest to build a new...
With the final weeks of the 2024-2025 school year upon us, the annual FE Miley Extravaganza created the opportunity for elementary students to show off their projects, hard work, and share some of what they learned with parents and neighbors. The Elementary Extravaganza took place on the afternoon of Wednesday, the 14th. Each class showed off projects associated with a major area of focus for the school year. Superintendent Dan Schrock summed up the annual event quite well: "For me, personally,...
This summer's Big Sandy Homecoming activities will include some fun options for locals who enjoy athletic activities. Registration is now open for the Color Fun Run and the Bike Ride. Both events will take place on Saturday, June 21st. The Color Run begins at 8 AM, while the Bike Ride begins at 9 AM. A link to register for the Color Fun Run can be found on the Big Sandy Homecoming 2025 Facebook page. Registration for the Bike Ride will happen on the day of the event, though there is a dedicated...
Big Sandy’s up-and-coming young artists will be displaying their talents and artwork for their family, friends, and neighbors this month. The community is invited to the Big Sandy Historical Society (the museum) on May 16th between 5 and 7 PM, to see the work of our talented artists. There will also be a silent auction, treats, and other fun activities for guests of all ages. All proceeds will go towards starting a ceramics program at Big Sandy High School. Jessie Jaramillo, who teaches art at Big Sandy High School, described the excitement s...
I’ve been working in churches for over 25 years, and I’m quite certain that it is the most difficult Sunday of the year to preach. As a preacher, you spend between six and eight weeks building up to Good Friday and resurrection Sunday. They are the two events that define the faith, and I always spend a great deal of time digging into why they are such a big deal and how the entire Bible builds up to that handful of days. They are the fulfillment of God’s plan to overcome sin and death, reestablishing our relationship with Him. The whole purpo...
Our little town on the Montana Prairie has a history that stretches nearly 150 years. This week, I spent a little time looking at our community and some of the landmark and unusual events that have taken place here. On April 6, 1890 Big Sandy received their first postmaster. T.A. Marlow received an annual salary of $150 to run the local post office. Receiving a postmaster was no small deal for towns at the time. For starters, it meant that the community now had a local communications hub. At the time, it was not unusual for rural residents to...
The Big Sandy High School's Music Program had an exceptional showing at last weekend's District Music Festival in Havre. Our full band and choir scored perfect ratings in all areas of competition for the first time in many years, and a large number of our students will be going on to the state level competition. The Music Festival is the band and choir equivalent of regional competitions for sports teams. Soloists and ensembles perform for the opportunity to move on to the state competitions in...
The Foot of the Cross Christian bookstore in Great Falls has moved to a new location in the Holiday Village Mall and will be celebrating their grand opening all week April 14th through the 19th. The nonprofit store has been operating for 3 years, selling Christian books (both new and used) as well as other Christian products. The new location opens avenues for them to fulfill their mission in new ways. Mark Davis, who started the Foot of the Cross store, explained the recent move: "We were...
3 years ago, while attending a cousin’s wedding in Chicago, I broke my foot playing basketball with the guys in the wedding party. The doctor who treated me pointed to my two broken toes, said that was the problem, put a cast on me, and sent me on my way. 6 weeks later, the doctors at the military hospital in Northern Virginia took one look at the X-rays the Chicago doctor took and blew a gasket. After a series of meetings and a ton of additional X-rays, they let me know that the previous doctor had missed the crushed joint as well as n...
“‘Tarzan of Tetons’ Appears to Have Escaped Trap” shouted the headline on the cover of the Havre Daily News from March 24th, 1939. The story is nearing its 86th anniversary, which is perhaps why Doug Giebel sent the edition to me with a note about the unusual story. ‘Tarzan of the Tetons’ sounds like something that would have appeared on the cover of a tabloid rather than Havre’s city paper. I couldn’t help but dive into the story and research the background. While it’s not a Bigfoot style narrative, the real tale is no less interesting. The...
A man and a woman are walking down the street towards each other. When they get close to each other, both turn to walk into the same building. The man, realizing they share the same destination, runs ahead and holds the door for the woman. Somewhat offended by the gesture, she asks him: “Are you doing that because I am a woman?” Without missing a beat, he replies simply: “No. I am doing it because I am a gentleman.” The story is simple, but the point is important. The fellow did not choose to act based on who others are, but rather who he is....
Last week was the beginning of the season of Lent on the church’s calendar. I decided that it would be a good idea to teach my middle school Sunday School Class about Lent and the church calendar. When we started talking about it, the kids were full of questions, which made me think it would be worthwhile to explain a little about Lent, Ash Wednesday, and the church calendar. “Lent” comes from the German word for “Spring.” The observance of the season of Lent isn’t universal in the church, as many Protestant groups don’t observe various parts...
On June 5, 2012, my wife, daughter, and I drove into Big Sandy for the first time. A couple of months later, Robbie Lucke interviewed us for a story on “the new pastor in town.” After our conversation, he asked me to consider writing a weekly column, which I agreed to with a great deal of excitement. After 13 years of pastoring in our little community, writing Patching Cracks, and in the neighborhood of 6 years as a regular reporter for the paper, I am going to indulge myself by sharing a little of what I have learned and seen from our com...
Big Sandy High School senior Severin Heimbigner was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout on Saturday, February 22nd in a ceremony held at the Big Sandy Museum. Eagle Scout is the highest rank achievable in the Boy Scouts of America. The ceremony was attended by the local scout troop (Troop 1450), area representatives of the Boy Scouts, friends, and family. Bill Lanier, a fellow Eagle Scout and the District Advancement Chair for the Boy Scouts, has known Severin throughout his scouting career and...
The Missoula Children's Theater put on two showings of Alice in Wonderland this weekend with the children of Big Sandy as the stars of the show. Two volunteers from the Children's Theater came to Big Sandy on Monday, held auditions, gave every child a role in the play, spent the week rehearsing, and finally put on two shows for the community over the weekend. The Children's Theater had been putting on shows in communities all over the world, bringing high production values as well as...
My brother-in-law is a marine, and he served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He once told me that they would sometimes face an odd challenge when they would experience their first time in firefights. Some soldiers would collect their spent brass in the middle of combat. It seems weird, until you recognize that, in the intensity of those situations, fight-or-flight kicks in and folks replay what they did in training. This includes collecting their spent brass after they finished shooting. It’s a crazy reality that however we train is a strong i...
February 2nd was the 55th anniversary of the Big Sandy Cornfield Bomber's landing in a field north of town. What made the story so remarkable is that the pilot of the F-106 ejected from the airplane to escape a flat spin that would've inevitably resulted in a crash. The act of ejecting seems to have corrected the spin on the aircraft's flight path, causing the aircraft to level out and slowly descend, ultimately executing a near perfect belly landing, with minimal damage done to the aircraft. Tw...
I have been dealing with intense headaches for years and have experimented with all sorts of cures and solutions for dealing with the strange ailment. While Christmas shopping with my wife last December, she noticed that the florescent lights in stores like Sam’s Club or Walmart seem to trigger my headache symptoms. I researched the phenomena and found that it isn’t uncommon for light to cause headaches, particularly florescent lights. I quickly picked up various types of filtering glasses, including blue light and florescent light fil...
The generosity of the community of Big Sandy has shined through in the community's support of the Food Bank over the past year. Now the Food Bank wants to thank the community for their exceptional efforts. In particular, the First Bank of Montana and Big Sandy Schools went above and beyond in their efforts to make certain that locals in need would have both food and paper products over the 2024 holiday season. The Big Sandy Food Bank wants to extend their thanks to the community, First Bank of...
Next week marks the 55th anniversary of the February 2nd, 1970 unmanned landing of an F-106A Delta Dart in a field north of Big Sandy. The story of an emergency landing alone is more than enough to be memorable in small town lore. The event's significance is amplified by the fact that the jet completed its near perfect "belly landing" without a pilot at the controls. Dubbed "The Big Sandy Cornfield Bomber," the jet was quickly collected by the Air Force, returned to Malmstrom Air Force Base,...
Big Sandy Public Library is closed this week for carpet replacement. The renovation work began last week on Thursday and will continue for the duration of this week. The library will reopen next week for regular operating hours. The decision to replace carpeting is based on wear and tear the facility has experienced due to heavy traffic from local patrons. Darlene Cline, the head Librarian in Big Sandy, explained the decision to replace the carpet: “We had the funds to be able to do it. There are rips that create tripping hazard areas and n...
The Fort Benton City Council is considering a proposal to erect an enormous 20' by 38' American flag. The flag is to be donated by the Flying Freedom Forward project, which also proposed the idea. The initiative is the mission of Nate Duram, from Eureka Montana. If the city agrees to go forward on the project, it will be the second in Duram's larger mission to see a large flag flying over every town in the state of Montana. Duram is a physically large man, with an even larger personality, who de...
It is the first full week of 2025. Many of us are setting goals and resolutions for the coming year, in hope of making positive changes to our lives in the coming months. I have written more than a few columns on how to make resolutions and goals that stick and a couple on new year’s observances in Big Sandy history. However, until this week I never asked where the practice came from in the first place. It has always seemed like something we just do because it’s what everyone has always done. Where did the modern practice come from? The mod...
Over the weekend, I was talking with a friend of mine who has an upper management job in a large international organization. He was telling me about a documentary he watched on happiness that featured the story of a Vietnamese rickshaw cab operator. In the interviews, the man talked about his life and was surprisingly positive given the level of poverty he experienced. He spoke of how much he enjoyed his job because he got to work outside and be active. At the end of the day, he had enough money to eat a good meal with his son, who he was...
Big Sandy High School's Christmas concert highlighted the hard work and talent of young musicians last Tuesday evening, December 17th. The High School choir, individual musicians, vocalists, and the full band performed Christmas classics, setting the mood for the holiday season. TJ Bond, the Big Sandy music teacher, opened the program by pointing out that many locals tell him that it isn't really the Christmas season for them until they attend the High School Christmas concert. True to this repu...