White crosses mark Montana highway fatalities

Two people died here.

On every highway in Montana except the interstates, you will see white crosses every so often alongside the road. Most often there will be a single cross, but sometimes two or three, even more.

They all mark the place where people died in a traffic accident. It breaks your heart to see a marker with four or five crosses attached. You know that some of them were families.

All of the markers are part of a program started in 1953 by an American Legion member who hoped small, simple white crosses would warn other motorists to slow down and sober up. The crosses are made by local machine shops from donated or recycled scrap iron. Metal posts are supplied by the state highway department. American Legion posts around the state erect new markers and maintain those already there. The crosses bear no names or dates unless added by family members or friends.

Many families place wreaths or other decorations on the white crosses. But most are plain.

Traveling on Montana highway 212 just north of tiny Charlo I passed six different sets of signs on one wide bend in the road — not more than a quarter mile from end to end. The old Jan and Dean song "Dead Man's Curve" came to mind.

It's sad to see all the crosses, mile after mile.

Small town crime: July 3, 2015

Interesting news reports from small town newspapers

Here are a few items from the police blotter in July 3 edition of the Western News of Libby, Montana:

•A man called to report that he just hit something in the parking lot. He thought it was a dumpster, but was unsure.

•A woman called to report that her ex keeps texting and calling her.

•A man called to report that he ran out of gas on Highway 2 and was hoping an officer could give him a ride to a gas station.

•An individual reported he had two domestic geese in his yard. His neighbor had one and they are unsure of what to do with three domestic geese or who they belong to.

•A man called to report that a raven in his yard is being picked on by others.

Beagle locks owners out of their RV!

The campground here at Montana's Thompson Falls State Park is abuzz over an amazing feat performed by a beagle named Bailey. What Bailey did is almost certainly something that no other beagle has ever done in history.

Bailey locked his owners out of their Minnie Winnie motorhome. Yes, you read that right — he locked them out!

The owners, a couple from San Diego, were preparing to drive to town to watch the finals of the women's World Cup Soccer competition. Before they left, the man of the house walked to the nearby comfort station for a little bladder relief while his wife waited outside the RV. Their keys were inside, which is where Bailey was, too.

Well, the dog did something unexpected and out of character while his owners were outside the RV: Somehow he pressed down a door lock on the Class C motorhome, which then automatically locked all the others. It's highly doubtful that Bailey did this intentionally. No beagle would do that.

The result was that the man and woman could not get into their RV!

AS THEY STOOD BY HELPLESSLY, wondering what to do, Bailey stared out a window with a puzzled look on his face, most likely thinking something like "Okay, open the door so I can go for a ride." 

Well, there was nothing to be done except call AAA. Forty-five minutes later, help arrived. Soon, the door was opened. Bailey, of course, was clueless about his misdeed. His owners, realizing that Bailey did not intentionally lock them out, simply patted him and said "good dog." And that was that.

Unfortunately, by then it was too late to drive to town to see the soccer game, which the American women won in a stunning, historic victory.

Eating bugs. Wedded bliss. Hair curling from the past

Here are a few things I found interesting in the last couple of days.

EAT SOME BUGS
First, if you would like to dine on some grasshoppers and other insects, then you may wish to scoot over to Republic, Wash., for its July 4th Grasshopper Festival. Chef David George Gorden from Seattle will cook up some of the creatures for your dining pleasure. Gorden is the author of the book "The Eat A Bug Cookbook," so I'd assume he knows what he's doing. He will also demonstrate how to prepare bugs once you get back home. Festival promoters promise, "This will be something you will never forget the rest of your lives."

WEDDED BLISS
Henry and Donna Odean of Spokane have celebrated their 65th anniversary as reported in the Omak/Okonogan Chronicle. They celebrated with their family which included eight grandchildren and one great grandchild. How wonderful to be together with someone you love for such a long time.

I was married once. I think we were together for about 12 years. If I get married again I would be in my 130s before I'd celebrate my 65th anniversary. I'm pretty sure that will not happen even though my current plan is to not die.

MAJOR HAIR JOB
This woman is not being electrocuted for a terrible crime! Nope, she is just getting a perm on an old-fashioned electric curling machine. I found this photo in the Stevens County Historical Museum in Colville, Wash. Nobody gets a perm like this anymore. But if you had gone into a beauty shop maybe 60 years ago, this would have been how you would get your hair curled. Of course, if one of the hot metal curlers touched your scalp, "Ouch!"

By the way, the Colville Museum told me that taking pictures is not allowed, which is a totally stupid thing considering Colville is not exactly on everybody's travel path and anyone who wants to take a pic and maybe post it Facebook or even show their friends might drum up a little traffic. The volunteer ladies at the desk told me that the museum bigwigs were afraid crooks would come and steal all the valuable stuff. Maybe they think their museum is the Smithsonian, which the last time I visited let me take all the photos I wanted. Oh well, this is a small town and sometimes people in charge of things in these places are not the most marketing-savvy.

I took this photo anyway, and the cops didn't show up to toss me in the slammer. The museum is okay, but not that great, considering it costs $5 to get in.

Trees topple: Wicked storm goes unnoticed

Big trees, shattered in an instant.

It was a warm, quiet evening in tiny Colville in eastern Washington. 

But 11 miles to the east on the mountainous Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge, a violent, unpredicted storm unleashed its flurry.

Aside from the few dozen residents of the area, nobody noticed. Not then, not now — nearly a day later.

Tree roots were pulled from the earth.

At 6:30 p.m., along about a six mile stretch of sparsely populated state route 20, a hurricane force wind came out of nowhere. The National Weather Service had predicted winds of up to 50 miles per hour. But these were stronger — a lot stronger.

At least a thousand (my guess) large pine and fir trees were split in half by the powerful winds, or their roots completely yanked from the earth. Some were two to three feet thick. Luckily, no one was hurt.

Paul and Marty Schroeder were going about a normal evening in their home of 30 years. "We've never seen anything like it in all that time," Marty told me.

Marty and Paul Schroeder

I found the couple along the highway, piecing their mailbox back together. "It was like being in a Mixmaster," said Paul. "Pine needles were flying everywhere, they covered our front window."

At first, the winds were from the south. And then in an instant they switched north and got mean. They only lasted a few minutes.

I SAW THE RESULTS OF THE CARNAGE this afternoon as I crossed the mountains on my way to Newport. At first I thought the forest was being thinned, perhaps because of a bug infestation. Trees were strewn about every which way — unusual, I thought, but not impossible. Then I saw them crashed on cabins and toppled over downed power lines. The road was littered with small branches. No, as improbable as it seemed, this was Mother Nature's doing.

Trees toppled onto homes.

A few miles up the road during the storm in the Flodelle Creek Campground, only one space was occupied. The campers were gone by the time I arrived this afternoon, so I couldn't hear their story. But it must have been a terrifying experience. A National Wildlife Refuge worker who had spent the entire day clearing roads with heavy equipment told me it took two hours to reach the two campers. "Trees fell everywhere except right where they were," he said.

Everywhere, trees on the ground.

There was nothing in the news this morning about the storm. Not a peep. How could that be? Hurricanes don't happen in Washington. So how could countless uprooted trees three feet thick be explained? How could other trees of similar size be split in half without anybody noticing?

I didn't stick around to investigate. I'm not a news reporter. But I am telling you, I have never seen anything like this, and I've been on a lot of roads, in a lot of forests, and in a lot of storms in those places.

I'll never see this again.

I have learned since I wrote this that the storm that caused this damage is called a microburst. You can read about them on Wikipedia.

Sheepherders Wagon sure looked like an RV!

This wooden wagon was built in 1937 on the chassis of a Model T Ford by Buford (Buck) Kinman of Riverside, Wash., to be used by sheepherders of the Warden Sheep Company. 

It was home to a sheepherder and his dog for about half the year. They would trail a herd of a couple of thousand sheep over mountain pastures from May to October. The sheepherder's only companion besides his dog was an occasional hiker or fisherman passing by. Every couple of weeks someone from the company would drop off supplies and something to read. This particular wagon was used until the early 1950s.

Although primitive compared to our modern recreation vehicles, it has most of the same amenities. You can see this at the Okanogan County Museum in Okanogan, Washington.

Fake women. But they sure look real!

I visited the Okanogan County Historical Museum in Okanogan, Washington today. I found the mannequins fascinating. They are remarkably lifelike! I wonder if they are based on real people? My guess is yes. If so, I wonder if the women who posed ever come upon their likenesses? 

Wouldn't it be strange to walk into a store or museum and see yourself, especially if years had passed and you had aged? Or what if the mannequin was your mother and maybe she had died. So there you would be, face to face with your mother when she was young and beautiful. Now, that would be really strange! I bet it has happened. Has it ever happened to you? I know that's a long shot, but I'll ask anyway.

The museum itself is excellent if you like Pioneer Museums. It costs $2 to get in, which is a really good deal. Don't miss the Sheepherders Wagon. It looks like a primitive travel trailer. And don't miss the thumbnail collection of the late Freda M. Henderson. You will be amazed at how many special thumbnails are displayed — ones with photos of Queen Elizabeth, Princess Di, and others from World's Fairs and Olympic events. There's even a few displayed side by side that feature a Burma Shave slogan.

I may write more about the museum later because there are some excellent exhibits. But for now, here's a look at some of the interesting mannequins that model clothing from yesteryear.