Articles written by erik sietsema
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Patching Cracks
For the last several days, I have been studying the ancient Greek idea of citizenship. Like so many foundational ideas in our culture, the Greeks were the first to conjure up the idea of citizenship in our culture. It was a revolutionary idea and...
MAT Brings Shakespeare's Twelfth Night to Beaver Creek Park
The Montana Actor's Theater (MAT) closed out its theater calendar year with three showings of Shakespeare's 12th Night in Beaver Creek State Park over the weekend. This year's Shakespeare production w...
Patching Cracks
In the book of Mark, there is a story about Jesus coming into a town where he is quickly surrounded by huge crowds of people. As He walks through the town, with the crowds pressing in from all sides, he is approached by a woman. This woman had a...
The Matthews Retire after 46 Years of serving Big Sandy Schools
Dan Matthews is retiring from the school bus business after 46 years of transporting students to school in Big Sandy. Dan and Pat Matthews officially gave up their bus routes at the end of the school...
Patching Cracks
Many years ago, while I was working as a chaplain for a mental health facility that worked with children, we would take a group of clients on a trip to canoe, camp, and fish in the Boundary Waters Wilderness in Northern Minnesota. One year, on the...
FE Miley Says Goodbye to 6 Staff Members
FE Miley Elementary bid farewell to three retiring staff members last week. Cinda Pearson, Alma Terry, and Cheryl Ostrom were celebrated at their retirement party on the last day of the 22-23 school...
Annual Extravaganza Featured Many New Projects And Some Old Favorites
F.E. Miley Elementary school closed it’s academic year with their traditional Open House/Extravaganza last week. The extravaganza is an opportunity for the community to come into the school and see what the students have been working on during the s...
FE Miley Elementary Kitchen gets a series of upgrades
The F.E. Miley kitchen has faced several years of change and fluctuation. Staffing changes, challenges that came with Covid, old equipment wearing out, and new regulations have prompted a significant...
Patching Cracks
in ancient Israel, the Jewish people followed a very strict set of dietary laws. There are a lot of reasons for these laws, most of them having to do with reminding the Jews that they were separate from other nations and holy. In Acts 10, the...
4th & 5th Grade students go to Ag Day
The 10th annual Chouteau County Ag Day took place last Thursday in Fort Benton. 4th and 5th grade students from all over the county were taken on a field trip to the Chouteau County fair grounds to participate in Agricultural themed eduction...
Loma couple offer Sweet Treats
While visiting the annual flea market sale at the Loma Hall a few weeks ago, my wife and I stopped in to check out the food offerings at the concession stand and the vendors that surrounded that part...
Celebrate Our Library (And all it has to offer) Next Week
Big Sandy Public Library will be celebrating National Library Week April 24th through the 28th. "National Library Week is an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians,...
BSHS' Carnival brought smiles and joy last weekend
Big Sandy High School put on its annual carnival last weekend, complete with the triumphant return of a classic event: the class skits. As always, the evening of fun was well attended. Superintendent...
Elevating Grains Bakery is getting set to reopen
The reopening of the bakery in Big Sandy is fast approaching. Emily LePinnet, who moved to Big Sandy last September with her family, will be opening "Elevated Grains." Right now, the goal is to open...
New Computers at the Big Sandy Library
The Big Sandy Public Library looks a little different today than it did at the beginning of the year. When you walk in the door, the first thing you notice is the new hexagonal table with a computer...
Public House in Fort Benton has moved to a new location
The Public House in Fort Benton has moved to a new location, For the first few years of the Public House’s life, it shared front space with the Wake Cup, but now it has moved to The Courtyard on River Drive in Fort Benton. In an interesting twist, Th...
Patching Cracks
A Boy Named Sue is one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs. Most people are familiar with the tune, but for those who have never encountered Cash’s humorous song, it tells the story of a man whose father was a worthless drunk who abandoned his f...
Craig Edwards honored at the Charlie Russell Auction
Craig Edwards, a local artist and farmer, received special recognition at the Montana Western Art Week show in Great Falls 2 weeks ago. Craig has been participating in the art show for years, but for...
Patching Cracks
Over the weekend, my wife and I went to Great Falls to run errands. While we were there, we stopped at Goodwill to look for a few odds and ends. Before we stepped out my wife started looking through the books. She came across 4 volumes of “The G...
Why do we celebrate Easter?
Easter eggs and egg hunts, the Easter rabbit, fasting for lent, and even the name of the holiday itself all have fascinating origins that have become increasingly obscured by the passage of time. Over the last few weeks, I’ve explored the b...
Moon Eyes Coffee Roasters in Fort Benton now open
My wife and I moved to Big Sandy from a community with nearly the same population as the entire state of Montana. The peace and quiet are amazing. Having a tight knit community and the lack of traffic are even better. The one thing we find ourselves...
Where did the Easter Bunny come from?
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been researching questions about the origins of various Easter observances, traditions, and practices. As I’ve progressed, I’ve had folks approach me and add their own curiosities to the list. There is one quest...
Patching Cracks
Recently, the testing scores for Intelligence Quotient (more commonly known as IQ) have been observed to be in decline. Specifically, scores related to abilities in verbal reasoning (logic, vocabulary), visual problem solving/analogies,...
The Senior Center makes a much needed upgrade
The Big Sandy Senior Center purchased a new oven with the help of a $10,000 grant. The grant also helped with the purchase of several additional items that were in need of replacement and upgrade. I s...
Where do we get the word Easter from
Where did “Easter” come from? This question isn’t about the Christian observance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Rather, it’s about the name of the holiday. Though some churches call it “Resurrection Sunday” in order to avoid the more common...