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Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who spoke out openly against Hitler during WWII. For his public opposition to the Nazis and his involvement in a plot to assassinate the dictator, Bonhoeffer was arrested, kept in a concentration camp for 2 years, then executed. In a letter he wrote to his fiancé from prison, Bonhoeffer reflected on Christmas with the amazing comment that: “I think we were going to have an exceptionally good Christmas.” The statement is a little crazy given his circ...
Hello Big Sandy, I am back from my first semester of college. Realistically, I could have decided never to have left the paper, but I thought it would have been best to leave it up to the other writers of this town to take their stab at it. I also thought I wouldn't have the time to get articles out through my schedule, but let me tell you, being a journalism major in their first college semester gives you all the time in the world. My courses were reasonably simple, courses such as...
Many years ago, my wife and I were on our way to a friend’s house for Christmas on a terribly cold and snowy morning in Northern Indiana. While taking a turn in our early 80s LTD, we slid on the ice and got bellied up in the snow on the side of the road. I did my best to shovel us out, but didn’t make a ton of progress. After a bit, a guy came along and helped me get the car loose. We talked for about 10 minutes while we worked. Afterward, I got into the car and explained to my wife that the...
Early in the book of Acts, Peter and John are arrested and put on trial for preaching. The pair refused to back down under pressure from the religious authorities of the time, at least partially because they hadn’t broken any laws. The court ultimately released them but warned them not to preach any more. When they got out, the first thing the two disciples did was go to the rest of the church, relay the message, and then spend time praying. This isn’t all that surprising, because it’s the s...
The Virgelle valley has always been a beautiful place to visit. If you are like me, the sound of the moving water calms your heart and soul. The trees’ tranquility singing with the breeze and animals and birds sounds all around me makes me smile and say a prayer of thankfulness. The sunrises and sunsets are amazing also. God is the best artist I know. I try to capture his creations with a camera and on canvas. They do not compare. With hunting season, most of my traffic across the river has been hunters. I have taken many boats across the r...
Halloween was two weeks ago. On Halloween night, my kids trick or treated for several hours and accumulated a treasure trove of candy that has been sitting in my pantry since. The problem with this arrangement is that I tend to head to the kitchen for a snack, consider my healthy options, and then eat 3 or 4 of the higher quality candy options from their bags. I do my best to steal their candy evenly, so that I am not taking too much from one or the other. This weekend, my wife finally had the k...
Fall arrived! It was time to prepare all the garden bounty for winter. I have only canned a few quarts here and there for the past ten years. It seemed like the more life got involved, and the more money I made, the less homegrown and the more prepared food I used. Thanks to The Grocery Store for case lot sales. I stocked up! I had all my jars packed in boxes in the shed. 1st spring projects were to clean sheds, build shelves, sort out all the canning paraphernalia and get some order for fall...
Before coming to Big Sandy, the organization I worked for was struggling. As a result, my job had stretched to cover work left undone by folks who had been laid off or whose hours had been cut. I was often working six and seven day weeks. At times, I worked 12 hour days. Because I was a salaried employee, I could fill in gaps where needed. This persisted for months. I eventually reached a point where I was always tired and all of my hobbies and outside of work activities fell to the wayside. I...
I want to give all the readers of my articles a thank you for the encouraging words for me to continue writing for the Mountaineer. I struggle with ideas. I usually get ideas when I visit with patrons using the ferry. This year I had many ferry crossings from people from the larger towns and cities. For most of them, it was their first time crossing the river on the ferry. The norm this year with the riders was, “I didn’t know this was here. We were looking for places to go and things to do in Montana with this pandemic. Man, I am so happy we...
“Worry is like a rocking chair. It’ll keep you busy, but you won’t get anywhere doing it.” I first heard this line from a 16-year old kid in a rehab program I was working with. I’ve repeated it hundreds of times because a great deal of the stress and anxiety we experience in life is related to things we have very little actual control over. In the current season of our lives, constant anxiety is easy to spot. Folks are worried about the pandemic, the election, instability in our cities, e...
Our “Trump 2020 sign was taken from our front lawn last week. We have since learned several others have had their signs taken as well as the “Trump Train” by the highway being vandalized. These are not acts owe expect to happen in Big Sandy. To me these actions represent the lawlessness the Democratic Party has tolerated and even supported. Such as many of Biden’s and Harris’ campaign staff contributing to funds to provide bail for so called peaceful protesters who are arrested. Also we see many Democrat prosecutors not file charges against t...
Dear Big Sandy Community: I am writing this out of an inherent obligation to be transparent with the Big Sandy community. By the time this letter is published, I will be fully recovered and back to work after testing positive for COVID-19. This is a personal health issue I am choosing to share because it is the right thing to do. First and foremost, according to the timeframe of my symptoms, there was no exposure to residents, patients, or other BSMC staff. I was not in contact with anyone, besides my immediate family, close enough or long...
Editor’s Note: Pam Gasvoda expressed to me their deep appreciation for Big Sandy for the care and support they have received; however, she didn’t want to have to keep repeating the following information over and over. In January 1998, Arnie Gasvoda had surgery because he had prostate cancer. In January 1999, he had six weeks of radiation treatments recommended by his urologist because his PSA kept going up. Now 20 years later, he has radiation cystitis due to the radiation way back then. He has a very weak, like hamburger, bladder. This sta...
Throughout elementary school, junior high, high school, and college, I was a poor student. I had brief spurts where I’d manage to bring my grades up to decent levels, but for the most part I did my best to not drop below C’s. I was a poor note taker, struggled to pay attention in class, and found homework to be unbearably dull. I was such a difficult student that one of my teachers suggested that my IQ was too low for regular classes. School was miserable for me. All of this changed when I wen...
One day, James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, came to him and asked for a place of honor in Heaven. It was a lofty request that Jesus denied by explaining that the Father decides who will be where in eternity. When the rest of the disciples heard about this, they began to grumble and get angry at James and John because each of them thought they deserved more honor than the others. Jesus called them all together and told his followers something revolutionary. “You know that the rulers of the...
The Big Sandy Medical Center (BSMC) has remained a cornerstone business and healthcare provider for the Big Sandy community and surrounding area since its doors opened in 1965 and expanded to add the long-term care facility in 1985. Big Sandy Medical Center employs more than 50 people. Take a look at what the Big Sandy Medical Center has to offer our area. • Medical Clinic • Physician Assistant • Nurse Practitioner • Physical Therapist and Assistant • Routine and wellness care • Pediatric care • Sports physicals • Laboratory services • X-ra...
In 1884, George Eastman founded the Kodak company and patented the first roll of film. This invention revolutionized photography. In 1900, Kodak released the Brownie camera, the first camera aimed at mass ownership. It cost $1, was easy to use, and it quickly made Kodak a household name. Later, the company created the standard film that would be used by the film industry for nearly a century. Then in 1975, a Kodak engineer invented a truly groundbreaking piece of technology: the first digital...
A couple months ago, my Facebook feed showed me a handful of videos of of baby skunks wandering around town. I’m sure I didn’t see all of them, but I’ve heard stories of folks filming themselves feeding the babies and heard all sorts of discussions about keeping them as pets or how cute they were. Last Tuesday at 2 AM, my dog surprised a large skunk in our backyard. The skunk sprayed him in the face. The smell instantly filled my home. Clothes, furniture, carpets, my keys, and all sorts of ot...
Dear friends and neighbors, I have placed an ad in the Mountaineer promoting what I have called an “America Rally” in Big Sandy on Friday evening, September 18th. Let me explain my rationale. First, the public health restrictions imposed by the pandemic has caused our usual civic and patriotic gatherings to be canceled. Memorial Day observances were canceled. July 4th observances were more private and quiet. The fall Chile Feed event was called off by the fire department. Many of us are just itching to get together with neighbors, observing saf...
Importance of Vaccination for Influenza 2020 By Dr. Ann Rudinger (Editor’s note- Dr. Rudinger is the wife of Ed Blazek, Class of BSHS ’72) With all the attention given to COVID-19, it is easy to overlook a basic health care step- the annual FLU SHOT. I have heard many people express reluctance to get a shot, saying, “It will give me the flu”, or “I got the flu after the last one”, or “Someone I know got very ill after getting it”. I thought I would share a few basic flu shot facts. -Every year, 20-50 MILLION people get the flu in this country...
“Wealth should be like a light coat on a cool day. It should bring us comfort while we have it, but it can throw off at any moment without worry.” I read this line years ago in school, but I can’t find the name of the speaker. At the time, it inspired me enough to remember the gist of it for years. It was easy to be inspired by it at the time because I didn’t have much money. The idea that money, comfort, and possessions should bring comfort, but not be something that we depend on for surviva...
For the past 3 years, I have maintained a fairly rigid morning routine that began at 4 AM, when I would get out of bed, read for an hour, walk to the gym, and exercise. 6 months ago, the Covid lockdowns began and my carefully established routine fell apart. I no longer needed to get up so early to do my morning exercise, because the gym was closed and the kids didn’t need to be pushed out the door to school. Though my schedule continued for a little while, I slowly began to enjoy the bliss of sl...
4 has been, at least to this point, quite a year! We tend to concentrate on what's wrong, I mean, what else can go wrong! We are trying hard not to step on people's toes, not to express an opinion that will alienate our friends. Joyce Meyers wrote, "Statistics prove that 10 percent of the people we encounter will not like us. There is nothing we can do about it, except worry, but even that won't change their minds." On Friday, while I was in town working on getting the paper out early, I rece...
Summer is nearly gone, and I cannot say I will miss much of it. I was dealing with back pain most of the summer, which definitely puts a damper on gardening and doing the work I usually enjoy. Generally, we have an enjoyable summer, busy working, but still having time to stop and smell the roses. Nevertheless, this summer, it seems the wind blew more, the grasshoppers were overwhelming, and irrigating and watering was never done; we just went from one field or garden to another. The respites were not there from an occasional rain shower or...
Harvest and haying time is always a stressful time. It's hot, sweltering, equipment breaks down, and everyone is exhausted! We have little time to take a break, little time to get a good night's sleep. This year is more stressful than most. We have poor prices, and grass hopers by the millions! The political bickering is getting out of hand. Political maneuvering is more than outspoken. It's downright ugly. And then you add COVID, not necessarily massive in our area, but it affects food and...