Week of December 5, 2024
The Seeley Swan Medical Center will undergo schedule changes in the new year beginning Jan. 1. Two medical doctors, Dr. Jesse Charles and Dr. Jackie Ordemann, who were available for in-person appointments in Seeley Lake prior to the change, will now be available for telehealth or in-person appointments at Missoula’s Partnership Health Center location. Partnership Health contracts with the Seeley-Swan Hospital District to offer services at the Seeley location. Dr. Ordemann will remain available onsite in Seeley for OB care once a month....
It was a Saturday morning in late October and Seeley Lake Senior Center volunteers were gathered for the hunters' breakfast. Many of the volunteers had been there since the breakfast started at 5 a.m., including senior center board member Michelle Wretling. Wretling was talking about the more familiar services the center offers, like weekday lunches and the Meals on Wheels Program, but she brought up something else, a program called Peggy's Pals. The program was created by Michael Richards,...
The "Harry Morgan Story" was recently published by the Ovando Historical Society and written by Sheri Ritchlin, Ovando resident. Harry Morgan was one of the first game wardens in Montana. He served in northern Powell County and parts of Missoula and Lewis & Clark Counties from 1913-1946. Ovando was his home base while game warden. An interview with Harry Morgan in the 1960s by Deer Lodge High School history teacher Thelma Wells served as the foundational research for the book. Since then...
It was a cloudy but still day when Cowboy Claus rode into town for the 27th Annual Christmas Fest in Ovando on Nov. 29. Visitors were treated to a craft show in the gym, wagon rides by the Henrekin family from the gym to the town square and the Stray Bullet, Blackfoot Angler, Ovando Museum, Red Shed and Blackfoot Commercial Company welcomed visitors with gift items as well as standard fare. Chili and fry bread were served from the Hoosegow (original jailhouse) and Gingerbread houses and fire...
Thirty five years ago... Thursday Nov. 30, 1989 Vandals shoot insulators; MEC schedule shut down Friday Continuing acts of vandalism will result in another shutdown of electrical power by Missoula Electric Coop this Friday while crews repair damage. Kirt Flynn, MEC spokesman, said insulators on power lines were shot at and damaged near the Placid Lake turnoff sometime in recent weeks. “The entire transmission line from Helmville to Ovando and up Highway 83 from the Clearwater Junction to Goat Creek, including Placid Lake, Seeley Lake and...
Editor's note: We're revisiting some fall colors and sentiments this first week of December for the Fly Fishing Journal. We hope you enjoy a little throwback. This October I shall go fishing. I haven't done so yet, but I will soon. This is a statement of purpose, not the expression of an idle wish. There aren't many fishing days left. The changes in the weather as we enter October reminds me of that. While it is still a bit sunny, pleasantly chilly, or softly overcast but not too cold, there is...
Oral histories provide us with wonderful experiences from the past with those who actually lived them. Arnold “Smoke” Elser’s memoir, Hush of the Land, covers six decades of his life as an outfitter and a passionate champion of the wilderness. It’s a well-crafted look back, built upon hundreds of hours of interviews. Elser, and his co-author, Eva-Marie Maggie, will present this memoir on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Foundation Building as part of Alpine Artisans’ Open Book Club. Free. Everyone is welcome. Early on,...
Is there anything more delectable than a Cheeto, save a whole bag of Cheetos? It is a perfect combination of salt, crunch (I prefer the fried Cheetos), cheesiness and a triumph of food chemistry. There are at least 30 ingredients, and likely more, as one of the ingredients is listed as “natural and artificial flavors.” Being a Cheetophile is much like being an oenophile (wine lover, for you peasants). There are 21 varieties of Cheetos in North America alone, many more globally (apparently a cream cheese variant in China). Like wine, you...
A headline and a movement may have tipped the election but what does it mean for individuals and families? The U.S. population is not thriving and the numbers are not in our favor. According to the now touted American College of Cardiology and Tufts University study, 93% of Americans are considered metabolically unhealthy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six Americans have a chronic disease. Inflammatory, autoimmune and chronic diseases continue to rise and the number of younger people diagnosed with cancer...
This winter both the boys' and girls' basketball teams are prepping for a thrilling season. The Lady Blackhawks, which made it to divisionals last year, is buzzing with optimism about their chances of going even further this time around. "We have a lot of potential for this season not losing any seniors from last year. It's really exciting. I can't wait to get to work," Aubrey Matthew, a senior on the girls' team, said. Coach David Cahoon is anticipating a strong season, but he knows the girls...