Imagine this. In Big Sandy the same person has been running blood drawings for the last 28 years. She is Twila Cline and she is a happy camper when she talks about her blood drawings through the years.
Cline is as close to a life time resident that Big Sandy has without living here full time. Twila was born and raised in Box Elder but has made her home here in Big Sandy for the last 47 years. And in that time Twila has learned a lot about blood drawings.
"Like be sure that the donors have something to eat and drink," added Twila.
Sometimes when people don't have enough to eat and drink they feel bad during the draw. As a result many organizations around town prepare soups, sandwiches, cookies soft drinks and the like for either of the two Big Sandy blood drawings that help each year.
Those draws are in March and October. Matter of fact, the morning we did this interview at "The Mountaineer" there was a blood drawing going on later that day. And Twila Cline was, as they say, cool as a cucumber. Of course after 28 years, most would be quite cool by this time!
They don't call it the Fire Department anymore but blood drawings are held in the hall next to the Post Office that is called Memorial Hall these days.
The hall made for one of Twila's most unusual draws because one year when the workers came in the hall to set up, it was flooded. Twyla said that many donors and workers did a wonderful job in getting the water cleaned up but the hall could not be used as the standing water could have contaminated areas in the draw portion of the hall.
Like other things, the amount of people giving blood is lower than Cline is comfortable with.
"We used to get a hundred donors for a draw," said Cline. Now we get around 25 and that is not really enough."
The older generation is sometimes full of medications that make drawing their blood impossible to it is a younger generation that blood draws are turning to for better quality of blood.
In Big Sandy Randy Beaudette gives the most blood. Then he turns around and goes to Great Falls where he gives blood and platelets too.
Runners up are Larry Brumwell and Robin Pearson.
Twila Cline has a question for Big Sandy to answer.
"Somebody tell me how to get the young people interested in giving blood," Twila queries.
She added that there is no substitute for blood. It has to come from somewhere!
