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Whose Land Is It Anyway?
Regardless of the pending Forest Service decision, TomMaclay says he will have chairlifts running and ski resort open for winter 2008.
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| By Carlotta Grandstaff, Staff Writer |
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The roots of Tom Maclay’s family tree are buried deep in Bitterroot soil and extend as far back as 1872. From the porch of his home high up on the west side of the Bitterroot Mountains between Florence and Lolo, he can look east across the river to his ancestral ranchlands and the rural residential sprawl of Eight Mile, and south to the new ski runs he’s cut into the side of the mountain. From his porch he straddles two worlds: the 19th century world of ranching and hard times, and the 21st century world that calls for a new model of land stewardship but looks to the Old World for inspiration.
Maclay, whose 48 years belie his boyish looks, has a vision as big as the family ranch. And it doesn’t include cows.
He plans a four-seasons ski and golf resort with about 2,500 mixed type homes, condos and hotel rooms. Nothing like it has ever been seen here.
The Bitterroot Resort is patterned after a European-style ski village. The center core, or village, will be a car-free, walkable, mixed–use community of shops, restaurants and art galleries with apartments on the upper stories. The village will be surrounded by walking, snowshoe or ski trails. Night lighting will be minimized for “dark skies” star gazing. Wildlife viewing areas will be scattered here and there. The rail line that runs the length of the valley may be used to bring visitors in from Missoula, and a Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course will lay below the village. The mixed use housing – condos, single family homes, time-shares, apartments, hotel rooms – is planned throughout the 3,000-acre property.
And “planned” is the operative word. “I’ve come to appreciate good planning,” he says, punctuating his comments with frequent winks and smiles.
As a young man, Maclay took the grand tour through Europe by bicycle. His half-year trip took him from Norway to Greece and introduced him to a continent that was settled long before his own but which had managed to incorporate the principles of good design into its ancient cities and towns.
Years after he returned home he found himself with a growing family to raise and a ranch to run at a time when the future of agriculture did not look promising. Maclay began to look for other land development models that would allow him to stay on his family land.
His challenge was to find a way to maintain quality of life while fitting in with the changes going on all across western Montana. The Maclay ranch, which he calls the “interface” between the largest wilderness area in the lower 48, and Missoula, which is predicted to become Montana’s most populous city, was a natural for planned leisure and recreational development.
His evolution from fifth generation rancher to would-be world-class ski resort owner did not come all at once, as in an epiphany. Instead, he looked at what was happening to the land all around him – helter-skelter development and rural sprawl – and called on his own family history as multi-generational stewards of the same plot of earth to come up with a new model.
“I didn’t start out to build a ski resort, but I looked at other options and decided it was a good idea. I was six years old when I first heard (of a Forest Service recommendation) of a ski resort at Carlton Ridge. In a lot of ways I’m just doing what I love.”
From highway 93, a ski area looks like a dubious enterprise. On an unseasonably warm March day, the runs were bare brown earth. He calls it a “wonderful optical illusion.” Atop Lolo Peak, snow depth was 120 inches, compared to 80 inches at Lost Trail ski area and 70 inches at Snowbowl the same day.
He’s got the water supply to make snow for the lower stretches, and unlike about a third of Montana’s ski areas where the runs are south facing, Maclay’s face north.
It’s not all smooth downhill skiing for Maclay, however. He faces formidable hurdles, not the least of which is needed permission from two forests, the Lolo and the Bitterroot, to expand his ski area to 12,000 of public land. A decision is expected sometime this spring.
The Friends of Lolo Peak also oppose his resort for a host of reasons, including their profound dismay at what they see as his incursion into deeply cherished undeveloped lands. They’ve vowed to file an objection if the Forest Service grants Maclay the permission he needs.
And he does need that access to public land if he is to keep his resort public. Without it, he says, a ski resort limited to his own property won’t be able to safely accommodate all the skiers he believes will flock to the Bitterroot Resort.
Maclay has too much riding on his dream to be easily deterred by opponents. He’s descended, after all, from a great-grandfather who also once flouted public opinion by doing the unthinkable with his land when he brought sheep to the Bitterroot, the first man to do so. In great-granddad’s day, people predicted sheep ranching would mean the end of the Bitterroot Valley as they knew it.
Change, especially on the grand scale Maclay envisions, is almost always unwelcome, and he recognizes that. But he also recognizes that stagnation is death to any community. Stopping growth, he says, “is a philosophy that hasn’t worked in the past,” and is just as unworkable in the present.
“This is a paradigm shift,” he says, and it’s not clear whether he’s talking about change in general or the Bitterroot Resort. It doesn’t matter, though, because they may be one and the same; only the scale is different.
Regardless of the pending Forest Service decision, Maclay will have chairlifts running and the ski area open for the winter of 2008-2009.
In the meantime, a young couple from Geraldine is leasing his ranch to run a couple hundred head of cattle.
“I still love cows,” he says, with a wink and a smile.
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Meet Your Neighbors: Leo Staat
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| By Brian D'Ambrosio, Editor |
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A self-described “scrounger,” 80-year-old Stevensville man treasures the ability to make due from whatever materials are readily available.
Leo Staat’s interests and talents are made up of so many distinct characteristics, qualities, and elements, that spending three hours – or perhaps even three weeks – with him isn’t enough time to hear and appreciate them all.
From wool weaving, to mechanics, to harvesting bee hives, to cultivating 200 to 300 pounds of grapes in a thermal mass greenhouse, the results of Staat’s improvisational aptitude are ubiquitous. Indeed, this 80-year old Stevensville man possesses the special natural ability to make, provide, or arrange from whatever materials are readily available. A self-professed “scrounger,” Staat has handmade everything from a cider press out of a car steering wheel and wood scaffolding, to a felting machine made with logs, springs and a pulley belt, and he can concoct curious items with great ease and simplicity, the same way that most other people unthinkingly improvise a meal from yesterday’s leftovers.
Clad in plaid shirt, sporting a ponytail, with a fluted face maintaining profoundly etched lines revealing an openly friendly smile and a greater spiritual significance, Staat’s knack of transcending traditional ideas and rules and patterns, and creating meaningful new forms and interpretations, is where his originality and imagination lie.
While extensive reading has stimulated much of his creativity, most of it comes from within, from his spirit, vitality, and resoluteness.
“I live the way that I do to convey my spirit. I put my heart into everything I do. And I’ve tried to do things as right as I know how,” says Staat, who lives along the banks of the Bitterroot River on Stevi River Road, Stevensville.
The son of a rancher, Staat came with his family to the Bitterroot Valley from North Dakota in 1936, as part of a larger migration of regular folks striving to preserve their humanity in the face of social and economic desperation, brought about by dust bowl storms, later to be immortalized by John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath. He was nine-years old at the time.
As an adult, Staat worked for the Anaconda Copper Company for more than a decade operating a smelting concentrator, and he also found employment throughout the years as an iron worker.
In between working in the feverish world of rigorous and stern steel work, Staat spent much of his free time diving, including taking a six-month, 16,000 mile, scuba adventure in which he plunged his way from Washington to Costa Rica. In fact, Staat was one of the first people (if not the original person) to teach scuba diving in the state of Montana, which he did in Anaconda more than three decades ago.
“I’ve got lots of movies from those days, and I just found over 8,000 feet of reel to reel footage. I completely forgot what was on them...but, wow, some of them are pretty interesting. Today, I don’t crave diving. I’m fulfilled now.”
Throughout the years, Staat has been creating and inventing useful items for the three pieces of property that his family has owned since the early 1960s. Three years ago, the idea came to him to build another structure made solely out of recycled and reclaimed materials. Using thick bales of hay wrapped in chicken wire, stucco, and scratch coat, and more than 1,000 cement blocks, Staat built himself a home from scratch.
“You’ve got to do something to keep busy. See, I’ve got more energy than brains, and I didn’t have a single plan. I just knew I wanted a greenhouse. I don’t owe five cents on this place. Shows you what you can do when you put your mind on something.”
Staat has been fixing and improving his home for the past three years. He hopes to have the dwelling completely decorated and perfected to his liking by the end of 2007.
“It’s comfortable here, but a lot of work needs to be finished and needs to be done. My 80th birthday is on April 1 and I hope to finish this place while I’m 80. I love it. I have an inside and outside garden and I’ve got everything I need all under one roof.”
Staat’s crescent-shaped greenhouse is a structure enveloped by glass and insulated by plastic. Unlike some other greenhouse arrangements, Staat’s is set up near the entrance to the home as a way of reminding owner and visitor alike to be conscious of the fact that plants and food are indispensable means of sustaining life and human livelihood.
“I’m a greenhouse nut. It adds so much to a house. It warms the house up and adds energy. I have the greenhouse in the front, so I’ve got to observe it every day in order to get into the house. There’s a completeness here that comes from within. It’s my way of acknowledging my spiritual values and my Creator.”
In today’s world of greater ecological awareness and newfound sustainability concepts, Staat’s progressive living arrangement is at harmony with these somewhat novel, though increasingly appealing, notions.
“To me, sustainability is part of being raised in the country and it’s a way of life. Farming is sustainability. The joy of living isn’t always so wonderful in the country. It’s hard work. But my work is spiritual. I’ve made myself a complete person and I express it outwardly. With all the things I make, I have no plans, only a desire,” says Staat.
Most of the materials Staat used to build his home, including more than 100 feet of glass, were donated or gifted to him. So perhaps not unsurprisingly, he spends ample time pondering the laws of reciprocation and mutual exchange. He believes that when somebody asks you for your help, you’re obligated to give it. The act of unconditional helping, he says, shouldn’t be something that comes with a price tag or an expectation of financial reward.
“You have to give from the heart. It needs to be true. Just when I’ve needed things in my life, somebody has showed up and asked me ‘can you use this?’ And I’d answer ‘you’re darn right.’ So, now it’s my turn to give back to other people and to take care of them.”
Staat, who’s the walking, breathing antonym of unengaged, has a few things that he’d like to do to his house over the course of this next year, including installing solar paneling and adding a 1500 gallon drum in the basement that will recycle rainwater from the roof and nourish the greenhouse.
“I’m 80 and I’d like to finish up this place. You know, the bricks may be getting heavier every year, but I’ll always be busy.”
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Is Your Exercising Doing You More Harm Than Good?
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By Dr. Kimberly Maxwell, For the Clark Fork Journal
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Spring has sprung. You can smell, feel and hear it. The birds are back chirping, days are longer, you can smell the earth thawing, barbeques “barbe-ing”, lawn mowers cranking up, yards are being revived, and people are out increasing physical activity and outdoor recreation, like walking, running, tennis, golf, baseball, and yard work.
In March and April, we see everyone ready to shed their winter coats and layers and “spring into health.” And, at Active Care Family Chiropractic, I hear: “My back went out when I was golfing”; “My neck kinked pruning”; “I can’t lift my shoulders past here, it started after I did push ups”; “I don’t know what I did, but now I can’t stand up straight or bend over to tie my shoes”, “I’m getting old!”; “How can I be active and lose weight, when my body breaks down each time I try?”; “I fell off my bike 5 days ago, and now I have a constant headache”; “I’ve run everyday for the last 3 years, my knees never hurt me before”.
You are only as old and you are only as healthy as your spine and nervous system are. The core of your body is made up of your spine and nervous system. When you have restricted spinal movement and misalignment of your spinal bones (vertebrae and pelvis) this is known as vertebral subluxations. The result of having subluxation is spinal core weakness, injury, disc problems, degeneration, headaches, to name a few.
One of the causes of subluxations in your body is trauma to the structure of your body. Your body is traumatized by acute injuries while doing activities (ex: falling off a ladder, crashing your bike, sliding into second, serving a tennis ball); it is also injured by repetitive movement or sub-acute traumas (ex: the impact of running on hard surfaces, hitting tennis and golf balls from left to right over and over again, raking the lawn, bending over repeatedly to pick up balls, branches, tools off the ground); and worse you can be injured doing healthy physical activity because you have undetected subluxations, or misalignments you are unaware of that have been building silently in your spine and nervous system.
In order to heal from acute and sub-acute injuries, or better yet, prevent them from occurring in the first place, you need to know how healthy your core or spine and nervous system are. If you are initiating new activities, learning new sports, or if you are wiping off the cobwebs and picking up where you left off last year, it’s good to consult a physician, so you will know if your new exercise is doing more harm than good. In addition, you should have your endurance, strength, balance and flexibility evaluated, to determine the best way to repair from injury and proceed safely conditioning yourself for your favorite outdoor past time.
Groups of people who should consider a chiropractic evaluation:
· Golfers/tennis players to address one-sided repetitive stress, and create efficient movement which helps to decrease fatigue and improve performance.
- Runners/walkers/hikers: to decrease repetitive impact strains, balance pelvis, and reduce strain to feet, ankles, knees and hips.
· Child athletes: participating in baseball, soccer, swimming, horse back/equestrian, track/field etc – this corrects injuries at childhood to reduce impact of these injuries years later in adult life.
· Weekend warriors: gardeners, yard workers, hikers, campers – it helps you transition from sedentary at-desk labor during the week and adapt to the physical demands of an 8 hour day in the yard.
It does not matter if you are gearing up to beat that one buddy of yours on the golf course, or win the state track championship, or claim “The Most Beautiful Yard in Town” community award, exercise plays a key role in your overall health. It is an elixir of youth, so don’t let your exercise do more harm than good.
Dr. Kimberly Maxwell’s Active Care Family Chiropractic is located at 504 Main Street in Stevensville. 777-1048.
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The Family Guardian
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| By Steve Whitson, For the Clark Fork Journal |
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I would like to thank the Clark Fork Journal for giving us this forum to discuss child safety awareness. There is nothing more precious than our children, and as parents we have a tremendous responsibility to protect our children from those who would cause them harm. Each month we will bring you new information about how you as a parent can better educate your children to be safe and live a life free of fear from child predators.
There are three key principles you must remember when educating your children about child predators. The three principles discussed here are what our child safety workshops are built upon.
The first principle is PEOPLE ARE BASICLY GOOD. You must always remember that the vast majority of people are good and would actually protect your child rather than do harm to them. Never educate your child in a way that makes them live in fear of every new person they meet or see. Rather then teaching your child that all strangers are always bad, teach them about actions people take that are inappropriate or actions they should be cautious of. For example, if they are lost in a store it is okay to ask a store clerk for help. Teach them who they can recognize that can help them and how to calmly deal with the situation.
Otherwise they will be scared and alone if they ever become lost in a store and too afraid to seek help from the appropriate person. Use the fact that most people are good to your advantage rather than the fact that there are a few bad people out there to your disadvantage. Remember when it comes to their safety, we want smart children not scared children.
The second principle is IGNORING THREATS DOESN’T MAKE THEM GO AWAY. As a parent it is horrific to even consider the possibility of losing your child to an abduction or having their innocence stolen by a child predator. As a matter of fact it is so horrific that most parents just block it out and avoid taking the proactive steps to avoid tragedy.
The things that we fear can not be avoided or prevented by simply convincing ourselves that it will never happen to us. Odds are every child at some point will be approached or eyed by a child predator, no matter what we do to keep them from that scenario. Ignoring the fact that there are a few bad people out there will do nothing to prevent our children from being preyed upon by a child predator. Leaving it up to someone else to educate your children about child predators is also a very poor approach. You the parent must be actively involved in educating your child so they are savvy enough to avoid situations in which a child predator could take advantage of them.
The third principle is COMMIT YOURSELF TO YOUR CHILDREN’S PROTECTION. Teaching your children about how to avoid child predators is not a one time thing. It is not something you do once and then forget about it. Your children’s circumstances are always changing and you need to be vigilant in keeping them educated about their safety. You certainly don’t teach your six year old the same thing about their safety as you do a 14 year old. Our lives are constantly changing and we must always be teaching our children how to deal with the new situations they face. It is very important that you make a commitment of teaching your children about the things they need to do to stay safe. This knowledge will stay with them for the rest of their life.
When educating your children about their safety please keep these basic principles in mind. Keep up with the information we will be providing in these articles in the coming months and remember your children can’t be replaced and it’s up to you to make them smart when it comes to their safety.
If you are interested in hosting a child safety workshop give us a call at 369-2443, or email us at contact@familyguardian.info. Our free Child Safety Workshops are for parents and can be hosted in your home for friends, neighbors, and relatives or hosted by any organization for its members and the general public. You may also contact us if you have any questions regarding your child’s safety.
Steve and Carrie Whitson operate The Family Guardian, which provides free Child Safety Workshops for parents. The Family Guardian is part of the ChildShield USA Network, which works to recover missing children and, most importantly, works to prevent them from becoming missing.
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Meet Your Neighbors: Whitney Melton
Peru Bound: 2005 Hamilton graduate Whitney Melton invited to participate in USA International Sports soccer program in South America.
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| By Shannon Selway, Staff Writer |
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Whitney Melton, a graduate of Hamilton High School’s class of 2005, has taken her soccer talents to a new level. She has been invited to play soccer in Lima, Peru this summer (May 24 - June 1st) with the USA International Sports soccer program - an extremely prestigious honor, second only to the Olympic program in international athletics.
Through its athletic programs, US Athletics International encourages international goodwill and friendship among nations, as well as promoting the game of soccer. When the program contacted Whitney, it was by invitation, not “try outs.” That’s a rare and coveted invitation that has been extended to only 16 distinguished athletes in the United States, whose presence at the games are not only as soccer players, but also as ambassadors.
Getting to that point for Whitney was the result of years of practice and perfection. That invitation follows Whitney’s prestigious soccer career. She stacked up major accomplishments at her four years at Hamilton High School where she received All-Star Academic Awards, Coaches Award, All-Conference and All State. After high school, she also played in the Shodair Classic - where the state’s “best” battled.
Currently, Whitney is receiving her education at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on a soccer scholarship where she solidified earning that scholarship. In her sophomore year alone, she raked in 11 goals, and she and her team were in the playoffs.
Then, something awful happened. In a practice held the day before their playoff game, she tore her ACL and partially injured her MCL! She was unable to participate in the playoff game and her team lost.
Whitney endured surgery last December, and has dedicated herself to the long and difficult rehabilitation process. She is doing everything to be “back to normal” and expects to arrive at that state by mid-May. On this journey, she packs her determination, motivation and inspiration.
“I’m working my tail off to get healthy! I’m going on this trip no matter what!” Whitney says.
She can take all of that talent with her to Peru, but just getting there is another challenge - funding. She’ll need close to $3,500, which doesn’t include her connecting flight to Houston (where she joins her team), or the insurance required for traveling. The $3,500 needed covers her team’s expenses, round-trip airfare, exchanges, hotel accommodations, meals, uniforms and athletic apparel, and excursions (such as visiting Machu Picchu, The Sacred Valley and a city tour on Cuzco).
Though she has generated some funds for the trip, she still has a ways to go.
On March 25, Whitney sent in what money she has generated for the program, but she still needs to raise quite a bit more. If businesses and individuals out there can help make Whitney’s dream a reality, there is ample time to help. Tax-deductible donations can be made to the order of USA Athletes International, tax identification number 74-281-0044. Whitney asks that donations be sent in care of her mother at: Whitney Melton, c/o Rhonda Melton, P.O. Box 237, Hamilton, Montana 59840. She will then forward the donations to the program. By submitting this way will ensure that Whitney will receive full credit for those funds.
After Whitney’s amazing trip, she intends to join forces with another college soccer athlete, Kayla Needles, to host a Kiwanis Soccer Camp from June 11 - 15 at the Daly fields in Hamilton. The all-week event is designed for groups of kids 8 - 11 years old and 12 - 15, with the camps running from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for the youngsters ($40 per child fee) and 1:00 - 4:00 for the teens ($50 fee). The camp is a way for Whitney to “give something back,” as well as another fundraising tool for the Peru trip. It’ll likely be a wonderful way for kids to discover some of Whitney’s soccer secrets and learn about her recent trip!
Best wishes for a fantastic trip to Peru, Whitney! You make Montana proud! Buena suerte!
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Business Focus: CT Kemp Woodworking
Hamilton’s Craftsman’s Workshop undergoing a change in name, but not in niche or technique.
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| By Brian D’Ambrosio, Editor |
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Deft, nimble, or handy – you choose the word and craftsman Caleb Kemp suits the description. Adroit in the use of both his hands and mind, Kemp is slowly carving out a life in the pantheon of woodworking.
Dexterous is still most often used to refer to manual or physical skillfulness but can also refer to mental agility, and Kemp is doing his best to be both a dexterous wood carver and business owner. This is the reason why he’s discontinued the retail end of The Craftsman’s Workshop and switched its name to CT Kemp Woodworking. In the future, Kemp looks to focus on producing more of what’s gotten him the most recognition: hand-crafted furniture.
“I want to move in a new direction and concentrate on custom work, building trusses and furniture, and doing beam work and interior work. I’d like to focus on building beam packages or dining sets, and other things like that,” says Kemp.
Kemp intends to create a showroom of photos in the front of the building he works out of – a former welding shop at 107 Bedford Street, Hamilton – to replace the retails items. Picking those pictures that best exemplify Kemp’s abilities may be harder than he thinks; he’s got too many choices.
“We’ve done some nice stuff and that’s because we start with the best, hand-selected red oak hardwood. Then, we cut and shape our furniture to precise dimensions; we also hand-sand every piece for a smooth surface.”
In 2006, after working as a timber framer in the valley for more than six years, Kemp decided it was the right time for him to try and develop his passion for woodworking into something else – namely, a business of his own. Timber framing is a centuries-old building style that unites sound construction techniques with attractive materials to produce a natural, yet beautiful, result.
“Timber framing gave me good experience. But, I was burned out and wanted to experiment with a new type of woodworking. Today, we’re using hard woods, walnut, cherry and mahogany – basically a finer product. With the trusses we make, we can add curves and arches, and, especially with the furniture, we can take creative liberties,” says Kemp, who when he uses the word “we” means himself and his “younger, taller, bigger” brother Erik, a like-minded timber framer whom Caleb trained in furniture assembling.
True to the tradition of the clever craftsman, Kemp, who holds an associates degree in Construction Technology, enjoys shaping objects, forming them, and creating utilitarian items from scratch.
“I think that a nice piece of woodwork changes the feel and the look of the room. Plus, looking at the work after it’s done, gives me great satisfaction.”
With woodworking, says Kemp, much of the finished project is the result of improvisational intellect and creative carte blanche. While many conceptual designs as well as some of the drafting and detailing can be formulated in the craftsman’s head, computer software enables the creation and exploration of ideas like never before. For imaginative support, Kemp uses AutoCAD, which conceives, edits, and navigates solids and surfaces in an extraordinarily simple and intuitive manner.
“AutoCAD is a huge help. I can use it in anything: framing, furniture, or timber work. Computer automated software produces designs faster, saving time in the process,” says Kemp.
Still, computer software can only take you so far: a human being that’s passionate about the product and willing to take the time to sculpt, cut, mold, add the jointery, and finish the object so it looks and functions correctly, must exist.
Great woodworkers, says Kemp, must possess strong design skills and optical abilities and should be able to combine them with the natural talents drawn from their own set of hands.
“You must be able to visualize things and be able to do them. Being able to draw helps, too. Some guys can draw but can’t create it. They like to dream but they may not be able to build it. What it boils down to is this: If you’ve created something that people like then you’re a woodworker.”
While Kemp is comfortable in his position, his craft, and his calling, he’s still trying to find a harmonious balance between business and enjoyment, hobby and exacting work.
“Honestly, I think the hardest part has been trying to not suck the fun out of the business. I wish that I could just woodwork and that I didn’t have to worry about the other stuff,” says Kemp.
Plus, he says, putting the finishing on furniture – the treatment given to a piece when it’s fully constructed – can be tricky. “There are lots of different finishing techniques and you can get lost in a world of possibilities.”
Aside from getting stuck in an occasional quandary as to how to finish a creation, Kemp has learned the ropes well. In fact, over the past few months, Kemp, who says he’s never been interested in operating a rapid-fire production facility, has been given more custom-piece work, so much so that he recently reconsidered his business plans and abandoned the retail end of things.
“Woodwork has kept us alive and that’s the direction that we’re going in. Lately, we’ve been pretty busy, and that’s good,” he says.
Indeed, facing the daily grind isn’t a problem for Kemp. Presently, he’s working on a truss for the interior of the new business moving into downtown Hamilton where the Don Rand Gallery had been. Entertainment units and furniture sets are in the design plans for future projects as well.
“Typically, I have no problems coming in and getting focused. As soon as I get here, I set some goals and go forth making sawdust.”
For more information about CT Kemp Woodworking, visit in person at 107 Bedford St., downtown Hamilton, or call 375-0020.
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Pantry Partners Food Bank
Dedicated volunteers the backbone of Ravalli County emergency food assistance program.
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By Matt Smith, For the Clark Fork Journal
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Four years ago Natalie Darnall carried her first food box to a client’s car and witnessed the near-frantic excitement of a hungry little boy. That experience convinced her that she had finally found a way to help provide a worthwhile service for her community—something she had always yearned to do.
“The kids need to be fed—everybody needs to be fed,” she said. “The biggest misconception about our clients is that they don’t work. That’s not true. So many of these people are minimum wage earners who can’t make it because of daycare, fuel costs and rent—lots of them work multiple jobs.”
I arrived just after 9 a.m. on a chilly mid-February morning at Pantry Partners Food Bank in Stevensville, Mont. Part of the Montana Food Bank Network, the pantry serves clients in Ravalli County between Tucker Crossing just north of Victor, and County Line Road between Florence and Lolo.
Located on Park Avenue just south of Stevensville High School, the old farmhouse that Pantry Partners operates out of is the third location occupied by the emergency food provider since its inception in 1986. Like the two previous locations, Pantry Partners has all but outgrown the Park Avenue location.
“We’re making it work, but it’s difficult to serve all the people in need out of our current facility,” said Darnall, who serves as the pantry’s director.
Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Pantry Partners provides sustenance for Ravalli County families whose finances regularly fall short of providing an adequate supply of food.
“Unfortunately it is a much needed service in the valley,” said Lynn Mosher, a recently installed member of Pantry Partner’s 13 person board and dedicated volunteer for the past three years.
Mosher and his wife, both Michigan Bell retirees, moved to the Bitterroot from Michigan about six years ago.
In the first moments of our mutual introduction his firm handshake and determined demeanor provided an indication of Mosher’s level of commitment to serving his community by volunteering at the pantry.
Obvious too was that an active lifestyle for the past 60-something years has taken its toll on Mosher, a 25 year veteran of the Michigan Air National Guard. He favors a right shoulder that his doctor has all but guaranteed will need major surgery soon due to arthritis.
“My wife always reminds me—light on the right, heavy on the left,” he said as he carried a box containing four frozen turkeys from the back of his truck into the 1940s structure that has housed the pantry for the past five years.
The former farmhouse is crowded with sturdy shelves constructed from two by fours and plywood. Well stocked, the shelves hold a portion of the tons of food distributed by the Pantry each year; over 13,000 pounds moved through the facility in January 2007 alone. Besides the shelves, four refrigerator-freezers crammed in what was once a kitchen preserve milk, other assorted perishables and frozen meat items.
While Mosher and I were getting acquainted board member Cleo Guenther had driven her mid-size sedan up the drive to the edge of the covered porch that wraps-around all but the north side of the building.
I quickly recognized that the retired administrative assistant who spent twenty-five years keeping an orthopedic surgeon’s bustling office running smooth is more than adequately fit for the duties of organizing and implementing the distribution of the high volume of food that moves through the pantry each week.
Proof that Guenther’s day began well before her 9:20 arrival at the pantry was evidenced by the trunk-load of food picked up at a local grocery store on her way to the Park Avenue location. After a quick “it’s nice to meet you” and “we’re glad you’re here,” Guenther was in high gear as she immediately set about readying the pantry for its 11 a.m. opening.
As Mosher and I carried the boxes of assorted food-stuffs that ranged from milk, bakery products and canned foods to individually wrapped deli sandwiches from the car to a scale located just inside the door, Guenther quickly recorded the weights while briefing me on a few of the procedures to come.
Early-on at the pantry on that blustery morning, I figured out my day of experimental volunteering wouldn’t be spent idly observing others.
“We’re going to put you to work,” Guenther announced as she handed me a pair of disposable latex gloves. “Put these on and I’ll get you started sorting the vegetables.”
The porches on the east and south side of the old house serve as display space for donated produce and bakery items. Soon after pulling on the gloves I was kneeling over boxes of produce that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, the chilling wind stung my neck, ears and cheeks. At a quick pace, Guenther schooled me on how to cull the undesirables and organize the keepers. Boxes of peppers, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and other assorted varieties of appetizing vegetables soon began to cover the porch. Arranged on pallets, the foods are easily accessible when clients begin to arrive at 11.
While I hunched over the boxes of fruits and vegetables, feeling the need to work fast and efficiently in an attempt to match the efforts of my two co-volunteers, Clifford “Kip” Hiscoe, “volunteer gleaner,” arrived with an additional car-load of food he had picked up from another local grocer.
A retired truck driver, Hiscoe began volunteering at Pantry Partners three years ago. He can’t even remember how he heard about the need for volunteers, but says he’s committed to serving the community by starting each Monday by picking up donated food, transporting it to the pantry, and pitching in wherever he’s needed during the usually hectic distribution hours.
Hiscoe’s never ending smile and his twinkling eyes sparkled as he eagerly played along with Mosher’s bantering, which began immediately after Hiscoe arrived and continued all day. The pair teasingly exchanged taunts about the other’s physical and mental inadequacies, playfully shadow-boxed, but ended the scene with an obviously sincere embrace.
The camaraderie that exists between the volunteers at Pantry Partners is obvious.
Just before 11a.m. a pair of clients arrived with a supply of boxes and grocery bags that other clients will need to carry their sustenance home in. The elderly woman shared with me that the man she arrived with is a neighbor who helps her get around since she doesn’t own a car.
He appeared to be in his early fifties and noticeably struggled as he gingerly made his way—toting an oxygen tank with each trip to and from his van to deposit the boxes and bags before graciously collecting his food.
The pair is typical of the pantry’s clients; they’re people who just aren’t getting by financially, said Mosher. “You get to know these people—there’s lots of stories here, I always listen to them.”
Clients are provided one food box per month from Pantry Partners. The amount per box varies according to how many people live in the home. Meat, a variety of canned foods, sugar, coffee, pasta, rice or beans and other foods like peanut butter, cocoa and slight quantities of candy are generously packed into the boxes. Even hungry pets are provided for, thanks to a local feed store that donates its broken bags of dog and cat food.
“We’re suppose to be an emergency service—a three day supply is the guideline that’s been set up, but we send clients away with as much food as we can—most boxes will last them closer to ten days,” Darnall said.
An initial registration document is required to help determine a client’s needs according to what, if any, assistance they may already be receiving. Then every month a food box pickup form is signed by each client, but no other needs-verification is required.
“When they come to the door and say they’re hungry, we feed them—that’s it,” said Guenther.
By 11:15 retired U.S. Postal Service employee Jack Darlow has arrived, just like he has at least once a week since 1991.
Immediately, Mosher and Hiscoe engaged Darlow.
“Boy Jack, we thought you’d never get here,” chided Hiscoe. “You’d better watch it—you could get fired if you’re not careful,” Mosher scoffed.
“I know—I’ll try to work on getting here on time,” Darlow amusingly quipped in response.
More reserved but willing to play along, Darlow joined his counterparts in the cleverly mastered mockery, seemingly a means to keep spirits high in an atmosphere where a level of despair could likely thrive.
Throughout the day I observed Guenther as she studied the men’s interactions. Several times as she witnessed their ongoing boyish antics she shook her head and rolled her eyes, but acknowledged the spirit lifting benefits of their act when several times she directed an approving wink and nod my way.
Darlow says it’s nothing like his early days of volunteering at the pantry. “I used to bring a book to read while I was on duty—back then hardly anybody came in. But as you can see, it’s quite busy now.”
“Fortunately the pantry is currently operating at its highest level of efficiency. That helps make it a really satisfying place to be—it gives us all a chance to give back to the community,” said Jacque Lyons, pantry secretary since 1998. When she began, just 55 families per month accessed the pantry’s service, but 700 families are entered into the organization’s data base now, she said.
With help from Elders Lopez and Castillo, two LDS missionaries who volunteer nearly every Monday and Friday, Darlow diligently worked at repackaging sugar, flour, and liquid soap products into smaller containers than the five and ten pound bags and two gallon jugs that Pantry Partners purchases. The trio worked together meticulously, deflecting the verbal bombardment from their counterparts across the room, always ready to pause and fill a food box when necessary.
In the middle of the busy scene a woman entered the cramped building and made her way to the crowded makeshift desk where Guenther greets each client with a kind smile and “are you here to pickup a box today?”
Mosher immediately set about stocking a box for the woman.
“Would you care for rice, beans or pasta, Miss? “O.K., spaghetti or macaroni,” he said.
His movements were swift and deliberate while the questions as to the woman’s preferences flowed with a gentle tone of care and compassion.
“Can you use a chicken, he asked over his shoulder as he dug into one of the four freezers, “How about some moose burger?”
When the woman asked “where did you get it,” from three areas of the crowded room the answer from Mosher, Darlow and Hiscoe was delivered in unison; “from a moose,” they all replied, each following the response with a chuckle, obviously pleased with themselves.
The woman surrendered an amused grin, accepted the burger and other foods and headed for the porch to select some produce. But before she was out the door, Mosher consoled her about physical ailments she endures and assured her, as he grasped her hand, how much they all cared about her well being.
I surmised that hers was a story that Mosher had listened to and remembered.
Except for one individual performing her court ordered community service at the pantry, elders Lopez and Castillo are the only young people who volunteer at Pantry Partners.
But volunteers aren’t in short supply.
“I have a standing list of 35 volunteers, and 28 of those I know I can count on to show up and work on short notice,” Guenther said. “And we work the missionaries pretty hard too,” she added with a chuckle.
A little more subtly, but with just as much vigor as her male co-volunteers invest, I observed Guenther taking advantage of most opportunities to contribute to the light-hearted humor that permeates the pantry.
Monetary donations to Pantry Partners vary from regularly donated monthly pledges up to $500 to one-time per year gifts, many of which are contributed during the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. Donated money is used to purchase laundry, dish and bar soap, canned foods provided at bargain prices by area grocers and staples like flour and sugar. Processing costs for donated livestock and game meat are also covered by cash donations.
And a golf tournament to benefit Pantry Partners began in 2005 thanks to the organizational skills and vigor of Darnall, Guenther said.
With overwhelmingly broad based support from throughout the county, the Pantry Partners Golf Tournament has raised nearly $7,000 its first two years, Darnall said. The third annual tourney is scheduled for July 13 this year at Stevensville’s Whitetail Golf Course.
In 2006 the pantry provided for 400 Ravalli County families at least one time each. An average of nearly 145 families per month accessed the pantry. Besides the once a month food boxes, clients may visit the pantry weekly to fill two grocery bags with produce and bakery goods and pick up a substantial supply of fluid milk.
Besides the foods purchased with donor contributions, the pantry receives commodities from the USDA sponsored Emergency Food Assistance Program, a few local individuals who’ve notified the board to call whenever they need “anything,” local farmers and ranchers and dozens of gardeners who willingly deliver fresh produce throughout the growing season. Churches, clubs, schools and other organizations organize food drives during the year that help keep the main structure and two adjacent storage buildings stocked with the goods that keep the pantry operating.
Located just down the street and around the corner from Pantry Partners’ current location, and thanks to a generous individual, Guenther said a city lot has been purchased “for next to nothing,” where a permanent facility can be built. She acknowledges that the new facility is over $500,000 and a lot of fund raising away but she remains optimistic, she said.
According to Kathy Belke, a soon-to-be retired flight attendant and committed volunteer with grant writing abilities, a federal grant proposal is in the works. And if the proposal is funded, she said construction of a new facility could begin in early 2008.
Since Pantry Partners owns property and has never received federal funding before, Belke shares Guenther’s optimism. “But whatever happens, nothing will stop us from providing food for our clients,” she said.
By the end of my day at the pantry 14 families were provided with food boxes and their choice of produce, milk and bakery products; a slower than usual Monday according to Mosher.
But without a doubt—the pantry is a worthwhile service to the community.
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