Big Sky Blog

The lights are on at Wrigley Field, and now they’ll be on at Washington Grizzly Stadium for the first time, as ESPN2 will be broadcasting the Grizzlies quarterfinal football game against the Wildcats of the University of New Hampshire.

If you’re going to the game, don’t forget to make a sign for the camera crews!

“There is little or nothing moderate about Montana, the fourth-largest state, stretching 650 miles across the northern plains and the Rockies, a region beautiful and grim, parched, windbeaten, lonely under its big sky and in its seemingly infinite distances. It is indeed an uncommon land.” — A quote from the NY Times in an article commemorating 115 years of Montana statehood (sent to me by the ever-thoughtful Randy)

Found: Fifteen Sheep. Lost: Little Bo Peep. Yep – the sheep are missing their shepherd!

Sunglasses. Car keys. A wallet. These are things people lose. But taking absentminded behavior to a new level, a “FOUND” item listed in last week’s Missoulian announced that a herd of 15 wandering sheep had been found …

I know that most of you are thinking that they must be MY sheep, but my Little Bo Peep costume was JUST a costume!

HELENA – One of the few remaining members of World War Two’s infamous Devil’s Brigade has died. Brigadier General Emil Eschenburg died yesterday in Helena of an undisclosed illness. He was 88.

A Michigan farm boy, Eschenburg was hand-picked to train for the elite U-S-Canadian First Special Service Force at Fort Harrison. The force was activated in 1942.

The force — nicknamed the Devil’s Brigade — is best known for capturing German forces in the mountains of Italy. The Germans called the soldiers “Black Devils” because they blackened their faces with shoe polish before nightly raids.

Eschenburg rose to brigadier general as a member of the brigade.

He also served in Vietnam and received 115 decorations — including the Purple Heart — before retiring in 1970.

Services are scheduled Monday at First Lutheran Church in Helena.

Source: Montana’s News Station

*salutes*

Hey,

I just wanted to let you know that I will send out the addresses which a few of you graciously volunteered in a e-mail to the other folks. However I need David to send me his mailing address (again) because something happened with it!

:-)

In the community of Ringling, Montana, “A wild adventure pitting man against the forces of time ended happily, when, in spite of overwhelming odds, a personal check written by Greg Lippman, 33, cleared Monday.”

OK, so it’s an Onion article, but it’s written with such poignancy and human interest that it felt *real*! Heh…

List courtesy of MT Blogger Supreme, CRAIG, of MT Politics:

Just a hearty “THANK YOU” to everyone in Montana who has made living here such a joy. Truly, I have never met such friendly, honest people. You have made Montana the first place I’ve ever lived that truly feels like HOME. Thanks.

As we approach Thanksgiving, there are sure to be many folks driving along the highways and byways of Big Sky Country — so be sure to check the road on-line or on the phone or via webcam (or via 511?) before you hit the road! And remember — be sure to take some pictures of your T-Day feast to share with everyone else!

I am always interested in any information that is broken down by state to see how Montana is doing compared to the rest of the US. This one suprised me though. Prison population growth. If you look, Montana’s prison population grew at an annual rate of 8.9%. Only three other states had a faster growing population and the funny thing is all four states are in the same area here. North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming and Montana are the top four. So, is this area of the country that lawless or are they cracking down on law breakers that much? It would be curious to know.

The police are not here to create disorder, they’re here to preserve disorder. Richard J. Daley