Whitewater News and Opinion for August 14, 2019

8-7. Sympathy to victims of gun violence and to victims of fires near Helena, Mont.

Get well to Tricia (Hammond) LaBrie, to Steve Young, and Ion Simanton, all of Whitewater.

Congratulations to Janice and Curt Reichelt on their 40th wedding anniversary! They celebrated it, combined with a wonderful family reunion on Saturday, July 27. In attendance from outside of the area were Curt’s sister from South Carolina. Also, many of his family of Reichelt's from Big Sandy, Mont. Kirk, Henry, and Kalvin Reichelt (Janice and Curt's sons) all came from Denver, Colo. Others from out of the area were Janet Brown (my sister) of Billings! Also, Clay and Marie Dunlap of Lewistown (a former Whitewater School teacher) as well as Patsy Donich of Seeley Lake, and Sally Austin attended the party. There was plenty of food and it was a great time.

Sunday, July 28, many went to Fort Peck to the theatre. The play was the children’s fantasy “Peter Pan” and the star of the show was Kalvin Reichelt’s fiancé from the Glasgow area. It was a successful play with a huge attendance.

Janet Brown, Gayle Young and I attended a party on Saturday and then the play on Sunday. Gale drove us around Fort Peck, and we viewed the scenery. The Fort Peck Dam is supposed to be the biggest man-made dam in the US and maybe the world. We had a very nice time. There is a lot of local history surrounding the dam and my uncle, Ted Austin, and also Gus Guslander, both of Whitewater, worked on the dam’s construction in the 1930s’

When I was in school in Whitewater, we had a trip to Fort Peck, and it was very informational and a wonderful time.

This week, Janet Brown had been visiting and it is nice to have my sister here.

Now, everyone is going to the Phillips County Fair.

Enjoy.

8-14. A special thought to Dennis and Joyce (Austin) Donoven of the Kremlin area as over 500 acres of their pastureland was destroyed by fire. This made it necessary for them to sell more cattle early, as there is not enough summer grazing for them. Good luck to them and sympathy to all dealing with forest fires this summer. Beware of fires, as the land is so dry. If combining, beware of sparks, which is what caused the fire at the Donoven's.

In Whitewater Penguin Country, some are currently combining. Most ranchers and farmers are almost done haying.

It’s August, so happy birthday to all August birthdays including Mitchell Moore, my son, to two of the Simonsons, and Sally Austin.

My sister Janet Brown was here in Whitewater for a week. We had a wonderful time visiting and we also attended the Phillips County Fair’s concert and it was fantastic. Before the concert, we rode the Phillips Transit with many of the band members who would play later that night. They were mostly from Texas and were a very fun group.

Of course, we both visited the 4-H concession stand where Whitewater’s 4-H Club was working and serving burgers. Janet has since gone back to Billings, but I went to the fair for three days and looked at all the exhibits. Congratulations to all the winners of exhibits and animals entries.

A special congratulations to the Hellie boys on their cattle and the Green children on their sheep!

Also, congratulations to Jeremiah Huffman LaBrie on his swimming accolades. Great!

Now that the fair is over, it is hard to believe that school is starting here in Whitewater and other Phillips County towns. When I was growing up, school didn’t start until September, usually after Labor Day. Things change as time goes by.

In Whitewater and most of Phillips County, the weather has been hot, but there was a nice breeze today which cooled things down.

Enjoy the rest of your summer,

Helen A.