6 Thunder athletes Compete at State

The Montana Class C state track meet was held in Laurel May 26-27.

Competing for the Thunder (shown left to right in photo) were Coach Kim Meyer, Graham Wright (100m); Erika Christian (4x100 relay), Coach Sue Meyer, Sydney Rudningen (high jump and 4x400 relay), Zoe Brandenburger (100m, 4x100 and 4x400 relays), Katelynn Folvag (100m hurdles, 4x100 and 4x400 relays, and Sayler Stewart (800m, 3200m, 4x100m and 4x400m relays).

TFri. June 2 - Sat. June 3: NE MT Treasure Trail - See advertisement*

Sun May 28: Services at Assembly of God, 10:30 am. Coffee hour at Immanuel, 10:30 am. Services at 11:30 am.

By Heidi Whitney

Reprinted from the June 10, 2022 Oracle.

Whether you were a seasoned expert who charted your course weeks in advance, a novice who got invited by a friend to come “sale” away, or were a seller of goods at one of 70 spots plotted on a map spanning 50 miles and marked with pink balloons, it was all smiles along the 2nd annual Northeast Montana Treasure Trail.

Tangible take homes were plentiful, but the intangible good times, laughs, memories made, and new friends met along the way probably comforted those who didn’t find that perfect buy or specific item they longed for. That along with an amazing car show at the Sheridan County fairgrounds and free Sheridan County Museum entry to boot and you’ve got yourself a perfect Northeastern Montana weekend. Diane Spoklie and friends were inspired to start the Northeast Montana Treasure Trail by an event in South Dakota called ‘21’. Visiting with her customers at her own sale along the trail in Antelope, Spoklie reminisced, “My girlfriends and I would go down for the weekend and just have so much fun.”

For those not familiar with the event, the trail’s map took hunters from Plentywood to Culbertson June 2-3 on a mission to search for “one person’s junk to take home as treasure” at dozens of garage and estate sales along the way. Stops between Plentywood and Culbertson included Antelope, Medicine Lake, Homestead, Froid, and Culbertson.

One of the first stops on the trail (if you started your journey in Plentywood) was sale #68, hosted by a trio of Westby natives who have since migrated to Plentywood; Ashley Moore, Elizabeth Samuelson, and Trisha Samuelson. “We literally started getting ready for this last night,” laughed Moore, as she looked upon the half dozen vehicles in her driveway still on the 3rd hour of day two of the sale. Moore said of the sale, “There was a lot of people, that’s for sure, from all over too.”

After seeing the increased response this year, Spoklie noted how the community came together.

“People are catching on to the concept and how profitable it is to do it together,” Spoklie stated. “Twenty dollars gets them a lot of people they wouldn’t get if they did it themselves. I know for sure it was over 70 people involved because of multi-party sales.”

The cost to be listed on the map for the event was $20.00, all of which goes back into advertising for the sale.

A few houses down from Moore, recent math teacher retirees (Todd & Crystal Johnson) from

Plentywood Schools, were enjoying socializing with all the customers that came through to peruse their impressive collection and take home some of their treasures.

Todd said he was trying to downsize. He also added with a grin, “You gotta get rid of stuff so you can get room for more stuff.”

This was a sentiment echoed by many sellers throughout the 50-mile trail.

A car show too you say? One exciting unexpected stop along the trail was the 47th Annual Sheridan Classics Car, Truck and Bike Show. Spotted here was Russell Samuelson of Westby ad- miring a Ford [Photo top right]. Samuelson said he remembered his grandfather driving the same vehicle he was admiring.

In conversations after the event, Spoklie was enthusiastic about the distances people had traveled.

“Everyone was very happy,” Spoklie said. “Many were surprised of the areas people came from; Canada, Washington, Glasgow, Billings, Sidney, Circle, Wolf Point, Peerless, Minot, Crosby, Williston, etcetera. One thing everyone loved was the visiting with new people. It was a fun weekend for all!”