Your Community Builder
Your Community Builder
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When our son Bret bought into our ranching operation when he came back to the ranch after college, I no longer had to be the unpaid hired hand man in this operation. I was demoted to Assistant Nobody, which is a great title. I love my life of part-time cowgirl and part-time school teacher/dishwasher/journalist. However, occasionally I come to the conclusion that I need to get a full-time job. The problem with a part-time job is that the ranch manager/CEO/husband person feels that since my hours are somewhat flexible, I can be on call as needed...
February 26, 2024 Ronda Cordell’s trip to the Little Missouri Soup Supper, last Sunday, turned out to be quite interesting. A half mile west of Chancey and Megan’s, she ruined a tire. It was dark by the time the doughnut was mounted, but she managed to get there in time to enjoy the delicious soup. She ended up catching a ride home with the Zolnoski’s, as the doughnut was hissing air when she arrived at the Camp Crook Area Community Center. On Monday morning, the barn building crew was back at their job. The barn has really taken shape this...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, ‘S. B.’ stopped over, wanting to share his birthday, and to chat about his family so – here goes: “One granddaughter worked in Probation another one was a wiz at computers. If our grandparents were alive, he said, wouldn’t they be totally amazed at what their off-spring had accomplished as well as be proud of all things they can do. Some cousins have covered numerous occupations: farmers and ranchers North and South; Engineers are East and West. One guy, an engineer, ‘J. B.’ is a fantastic photo...
Calving season is almost upon us. It is a time that fills me with both enthusiasm and dread.There is nothing more rewarding in ranching than helping calves come into the world. The dreaded part is the small percentage of mamas that have delivery problems and/or attitude problems as in they seem to have both severe pre and post partum depression and resent human intervention. Once they are on the ground, it seems like the hard part is over, but that is not always the case especially if a nasty spring storm blows in. For years, a nasty night...
February 19, 2024 Capitol and Tie Creek had snow again this week, but the last snow had mostly melted before this two inches came. The weather stayed below freezing most of the time, but by Sunday, things were melting again. Monday began the week with some light snow flurries, but Ronda Cordell made a quick trip to Ekalaka, and the road was good, except through the pines out of town. Toney and Linda Hannah came for supper that evening. Clint, Denise and Abby Zolnoski drove to Spearfish after feeding. Clint hauled a tele-handler back from...
It has been a busy couple of months for Ekalaka Public Library. Pat Kalstrom is taking some time off, so I (Torey Spring) am the interim director until she returns. Get well soon, Pat! The library has been making monthly visits to the country schools in our county including Hawks Home, Hammond, and Alzada schools. In January I was able to see 26 kids, in total, who checked out 58 books. Visiting the country schools and delivering books is one of my favorite parts of the job. Loading and unloading the books repeatedly is maybe not my favorite...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes, friends share interesting things; THIS for Valentines Day! Just quoting: “You should probably tape this to your bathroom mirror where one could read it every day. You may not realize it, but it’s 100% true. 1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for. 2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way. 3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you. 4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t lik...
The best part about winter used to be skiing, ice skating, and ice fishing. However, as I have grown older, it has become harder and harder to find a winter sport that I can participate in, because I don’t dare risk my knees, my hips, my skull, etc. So when our friends, Keith and Holly Williams from Virginia, suggested a snowmobile outing, it sounded fun and harmless. We met them in Jackson, Wyoming and headed out for a three day ride through Yellowstone Park, and then one final day in the Grand Tetons along the Continental Divide. Even t...
February 12, 2024 The Capitol News may be limited this week. Super Bowl Sunday is not the best time to gather news. It may not be the game that keeps people busy, but the tail-gate parties are especially interesting. Dick and Erma Albert made a trip to town, on Tuesday, where Dick got a haircut. They also did some shopping. Their week was filled with usual activities. They went to the Senior Center for the Friday dinner, and Erma stayed to play cards for a while. Then, she stopped by at Delores Sperle’s for a short visit. Dick and Erma went to...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, when we ask You to bless us or to bless others, we are asking YOU to impart Your favor, protection and peace. Blessings prayed for others have a way of returning to bless the one who prayed. Yes, we ARE born to die and several folks we know, have recently passed on to You. Can’t we just imagine how ‘John’ kissed his son, Fred, tucked him into bed, and said, ‘Good night, and God bless you, my precious son.’ Then, years later, when ‘Freddy’ was visiting his frail dad in the nursing home, he bent to kiss...
Covid 19 effectively ended our ranch vacation business when all of our summer guests cancelled during the spring of 2020. The silver lining of the pandemic was we found that it was much easier just to rent out cabins than offer guests a full-fledged ranch experience. During our years of hosting ranch vacations, we hosted several travel writers and journalists. I recently found this column written by a New Jersey journalist, Erin Boyle, who visited the ranch with her Northern Irish friends, Cathy and Jules. The following is Erin’s account of m...
February 5, 2024 February has come around already, with mild weather. The beginning of the week was beautiful, and warm for this time of year, while the last of the week became foggy mist for three days. Some people are figuring 90 days until rain or snow, that may come about the first part of May. Dick and Erma Albert made a trip to town, so that Erma could have a wisdom tooth removed. It was such a fun time, that she also went on a diet for a few days. On Wednesday, she went to the chiropractor in the morning, and then got a haircut in the...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, ‘Twas fun checking February Calendar pages, seeing who had birthdays and who got married. We ‘knew’ one child who’d been born on Valentine’s Day! Neither of us knew anyone who claimed the 8th, 15th or 16th. But family and friends, loved ones, near and far were included! Alexia thought February was well-ordered, especially since she knew one guy in his late 90’s. Her daughter peeked in – she’d been eavesdropping, she said; “Mommy, don’t forget, we know a baby who is only one day old today.” She giggled,...
I just love those helpful hint columns, books, and posts full of tips on how to remove every stain known to man or cure anything from warts to arthritis with a home remedy. Sometimes though, I have to question the effectiveness and efficiency of the remedies and helpful hints. I have actually had less than miraculous results with many of those tips. A tomato juice bath is supposed to be the cure-all for skunk spray. Do you know how much a tomato juice bath for a small boy costs? Back in 1992, it was $92.00 cheaper and much less stressful just...
January 29, 2024 We enjoyed the warmer week at Capitol and on Tie Creek. The snow began melting, and by Sunday, most of the snow was gone. Each day was a little icy, until it warmed up. Even with the warmer air, some days still produced a cold wind. Ross Phelps was at Ronda Cordell’s, several day this week. He finished up all the current projects for her, on Saturday. On Tuesday morning, Ronda left for Spearfish in dense fog. When she got to the Belltower Curve, and looked west from there, she saw clear blue sky. As she looked east from H...
I always dread when our kids ask us to babysit the grandpets, because it is more responsibility than I want to tackle at my age. I worry that one of the pets will get injured or worse yet--die on my watch. I am much less worried about keeping the grandchildren safe than the grandpets. In fact, I remember the first time our daughter Brooke asked us to “babysit” for her when she went on a little trip. She didn’t have children yet, but she brought us her boxer and her cat for the longest four days of my life! Boston, her boxer, was a very large...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, ‘Elvina’, a supporting friend, stopped by, sharing some thoughts/actions, she’d been privileged to be part of; she thought she’d share: ‘You know, it snowed the other day so I shouldn’t have been surprised when the snowplow guy showed up – mercy, he was good, he got everything done like I like and in hardly any time at all! He was fast; reminded me of me elder brother – point him to a job, off he went; got it done in no time and did it perfect ‘You know, I’m near the ‘bottom’ of my family group which...
January 22, 2024 The deep freeze was broken on Sunday at Capitol and on Tie Creek. We had had nearly three weeks of below zero weather, that never seemed to even approach positive numbers. There was a few inches of snow on the ground that the sun’s warmth hadn’t even softened. The good thing was that the snow was still crystals and not ice. Sunday morning was hazy, but one step outside and it felt like spring, and already things were beginning to melt. Ronda Cordell got most of her taxes organized during the nasty days. She went out every day...
I heard on the radio the other day that children get their intelligence from their mothers. That might explain what has happened to my brain. Perhaps I drained part of it for the first child and the rest for the second. I can almost buy that theory--except for the fact that I have another theory that makes more sense to me: the Full Brain Theory. I believe my brain is like a computer that has no memory left. My brain is full, and my folders cannot be compacted. In fact, my brain is so full that according to the bathroom scale, my body is...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, good news or good messages abound. For example, unsettled weather plays havoc with roads so when family or friends have visited and we’ve all had a jolly good time, it’s good news when they let us know that they’ve arrived safely back home. It’s good news when tires only need to be rotated, not replaced or when ‘Marylee’s’ grades go up, or when friend ‘Annemarie’s’ blood tests come back with a good report, plus a dozen other ‘pieces of good news’ that reach us. And for ‘little ones’, maybe up-c...
January 15, 2024 When it’s springtime at Capitol and Tie Creek, it might just be 30 below. The winter has come to Capitol and Tie Creek. Karen Odell took a look at the forecast, and decided to go in to Wolffy’s at Camp Crook to stock up on some groceries, and to send out her mail. The warning weather prediction was that the temperature would soon drop, drastically. Previously, even up through the New Year, things had been mild, but everyone knew it just couldn’t last, and everyone was right. Early on Saturday morning, the temperature had dropp...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, listening to some gals talking about their Christmas, even though most had already taken down their Christmas decorations, was interesting – they chuckled. ‘Jane’ shared that she was so pleased to have gotten some cookies from a neighbor, and hoped she’d said ‘Thank you!’ ‘Anna’ mentioned the lovely bouquet she’d received from friends’, way across the state! What a lovely surprise. She taken a picture to send, to show and thank them for the lovely bouquet; the Flower Shop had done a great job it! ‘Cind...
This week I am feeling particularly old. In the last two months I have officially become an old person with nothing to talk about but old people maladies. The first thing I came down with was a venous stasis dermatitis ulcer. (Yes Google the images of that and just imagine how fun that has been! When I Googled it, I stopped feeling sorry for myself for having just one on the inside of my ankle bone.) However, my ulcer grew for six weeks, because it was misdiagnosed and treated with antibiotics for six weeks while it got worse. I ended up going...
January 8, 2024 The storms are still holding off, at Capitol and on Tie Creek. There has been lots of fog and dustings of snow, but the fall has been mild. The cold weather is finally predicted. Guests at Ronda Cordell’s on Christmas Eve included the Zolnoski’s families of Chad, Curt and Clint and Cristen and Jayda Westling. Chad’s family headed home that evening, to go to Denver on Christmas. Cristen and Jayda spent the night with Ronda. On Christmas morning, they went for breakfast at Clint and Denise’s, where Curt’s family and Gene and...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, a New Year has dawned and as we flick the calendar to the New Year, we come face to face with the fact that our days on earth are numbered. As we turn to this clean, fresh, new page on the calendar we’re also aware that we have a new day, a new year, in our lives. It is up to us to fill in those pages. Please help us to choose wisely, Lord, as we forget about the past and begin to look forward to what You have in store for us. Your Word is full of promises for us, all-be-it, we are Your way-ward, stubbo...
