Articles written by Betty Vanderwielen
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Paying the government's bills
SEELEY LAKE – Graduating high school in 2002 with no clear career path in front of him, Mike Brent joined the United States Navy. He knew he eventually wanted to pursue higher education. Serving in...
Throw under the bus
Sportscasters, political pundits and social media propagators have become enamored with reporting about people thrown under buses. No physical violence has actually been perpetrated, of course. The phrase is only used metaphorically. But how did it...
Costumes, sound effects enhance the tragedy of King Lear
SEELEY LAKE – This year marked Montana Shakespeare in the Parks (MSIP) golden anniversary-50 years of performing live outdoor productions of Shakespearean and other plays for the people of Montana....
Ingenuity, camaraderie keeps 20-year Naval career underway
SEELEY LAKE – Looking back over his 20 years in the U.S. Navy, Bryce Smith said, "It's such a beautiful collage. There were people from every walk of life and every corner of this country that were...
Pathfinder wins 2022 awards
SEELEY LAKE – The results from Montana Newspaper Association's Better Newspaper Contest (BNC) are in and the Seeley Swan Pathfinder continues to be recognized as an award-winning newspaper. The...
Military life provides many opportunities for Thompsons
SEELEY LAKE – Steve Thompson was born, raised and educated in Missoula, Montana. He met his wife Cheryl at Camp Paxon in Seeley Lake and, after a stint in the United States Air Force, brought his...
Veterans and Families of Seeley Lake
The Seeley-Swan and Blackfoot Valleys are home to many non-profits. All these non-profits play a vital role in our communities and most are run by volunteers. Over the next several months we will... Full story
Alpine Artisans, Incorporated
The Seeley-Swan and Blackfoot Valleys are home to many non-profits. All these non-profits play a vital role in our communities and most are run by volunteers. Over the next several months we will...
Halls interspersed four children among high-ranking military careers
CYGNET LAKE – Part I of the Veteran Spotlight on Mike and Robin Hall covered each of their commissions in the Army – Mike in the Ordnance Corps and Robin as a JAG lawyer – their marriage in...
Halls interspersed four children among high-ranking military careers
CYGNET LAKE – Neither Mike Hall nor his wife Robin planned on 20-year military careers when they commissioned into the Army. But that was before they met each other. Graduating from Belgrade,...
Weltzien extolls Savage as one of Montana's best writers
SEELEY LAKE – In 2018, when award-winning movie director Jane Campion began thinking about transforming Thomas Savage's "The Power of the Dog" into a film, the person she contacted for more...
Seeley Lake Nordic Ski Club
SEELEY LAKE – Though originally created in 1978 on United States Forest Service property, in 1990-91 the Seeley Creek Nordic Ski Trails on Morrell Creek Road were widened and redesigned under the...
Seeley Lake Lions Club
The Seeley-Swan and Blackfoot Valleys are home to many non-profits. All these non-profits play a vital role in our communities and most are run by volunteers. Over the next several months we will... Full story
Jette went from '58 Ford to patrol car
SWAN VALLEY – In 1957 Dennis Jette was working road construction, helping to build the Condon section of Highway 83. By the following year he was making enough money to get a new 1958 Ford Convertib... Full story
Euphoniums and tubas alternate solemn and big bop sounds
SEELEY LAKE – The overhead stage lights of the Seeley-Swan High School auditorium bounced off the bronze cone-shaped bells of seven tubas and five euphoniums Feb. 13 as University of Montana...
The making of a combat medic
SWAN VALLEY – Bill Jones was in college in 1969 working on his degree in psychology when he was drafted. Apparently psychology was close enough to a medical degree for the Army. They gave him 10...
Chadwick advocates fundamental reset of our thinking about nature
SEELEY LAKE – Doug Chadwick presented his latest book "Four-fifths a Grizzly," to Alpine Artisans' Open Book Club Jan. 15. The book is less about grizzlies and more about us as humans and our...
Ovando students get back into the Holiday spirit
OVANDO – Though COVID canceled Ovando School's Dec. 16 play, on Jan. 12 the Ovando community put their holiday spirit back on and gathered to enjoy the students' performance of "The Life and...
Offering comfort to dying patients and their families
SEELEY LAKE – The first thing the woman asked when Partners in Home Care Hospice Volunteer Laurel Deniger came for an initial visit was "Do you give foot massages?" So every week when Deniger visite...
Supplying military needs for more than 20 years
SEELEY LAKE – Howard Montgomery, more familiarly known in the Seeley Lake area as Monty, served 22 years in the military, first in the United States Navy and later in the United States Air Force.... Full story
Toasting the New Year
Traditionally, the New Year is welcomed in by raising a glass of champagne and offering a toast. Toast? Lightly burned bread? In the Middle Ages people sometimes did put a piece of toasted bread into...
Sunset School's holiday program was all music
GREENOUGH – Matthew Nord of Tangled Tones Music Studio in Missoula drives up once a week to teach music to the students at Sunset School. On Dec. 16 the students presented their holiday program for...
Expressing their inner colors
SEELEY LAKE – Uncorked and Creative Artist Instructor Kris Gullikson invited guest artist Sissy Miller from Frenchtown to introduce the Dec. 10 class to the art of paint pouring. Following Miller's...
Fun at Historical Society meeting
SEELEY LAKE – The Dec. 5 Seeley Lake Historical Society and Museum's annual meeting combined a little bit of business with a large portion of pleasure as the assembled members watched two brief...
Swan Valley crafters display their wares
SWAN VALLEY – For the second year, COVID dictated the cancellation of the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society's Annual Frostbite Festival and for the second year a group of crafters opted to rent...
