Yellowstone Valley Woman Magazine

COMPLIMENTARY

BILLINGS’ MOST READ MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

eather 34 H ergeson B

LETTING HER LIGHT SHINE

ILLUMINATING THE SEASON

CELEBRATIONS OF FAITH SPARKLE WITH HOPE

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

IDEAS FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST

COZY & CALM DECOR

IT'S WHAT THE HOLIDAYS ARE RINGING IN

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Better, Together.

Billings Clinic is proud to be part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. Our providers collaborate with specialists and subspecialists through the Mayo Clinic Care Network to improve outcomes and advance health care.

What is Mayo Clinic Care Network?

The Mayo Clinic Care Network is a collaboration between Mayo Clinic and other health care organizations. Through this network, the health care team at Billings Clinic has easy access to Mayo Clinic’s knowledge and expertise.

What does this mean for our patients?

Through this collaboration, patients with very complex some of the world’s most highly specialized clinical care at Mayo Clinic, and fewer patients will have to travel out of our region for certain specialized care.

As part of Mayo Clinic Care Network, physicians at Billings Clinic can consult with specialists at Mayo allows physicians to get input on patient care when they believe it would be helpful.

Community Corner

On the steps of the newly remodeled Alberta Bair Theater!

Victoria Brauer-Konitz 406.855.2856

Marissa Amen 406.855.7727

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Maya Burton Tony Contreraz Suzie Countway 406.591.0106 406.671.2282 406.671.1595

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YVW MAGAZINE

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TIERED CUTLERY DRAWER

Letter

FROM THE

APRIL 3, 2021, was a day that changed our family. I know some of you have heard this story, so bear with me. Here’s how it goes. My daughter and I had just spent the morning and afternoon bouncing about town. We had a nice lunch together and were contemplating our next move when out of my mouth came words I can’t believe I uttered: “Let’s go look at puppies!”

My daughter wasn’t going to stop this madness. She encouraged it. When we walked into a local pet shop and made our way back to the spot where they hold the latest litters, one little guy caught the eyes of both my daughter and me. He was a bit squirrely. He walked while wagging his little behind. He loved to snuggle into his sisters. When I picked him up, he nestled his little head right in the crick of my neck and I think my heart melted more than a little bit. I was smitten. I knew right then and there, he was ours.

I have to laugh. I used to look at some of my friends who talked about their fur babies as a bit “off.” What could possibly make someone so ga-ga over a dog or cat? I didn’t get it. I loved my border collie, Maggie. I even loved my Siamese cat, Ceaser, who could be a bit of an arse. But, I didn’t get the whole fur baby thing.

Until now.

As I was struggling with the topic of this editorial, I said to my husband, “I think I am going to talk about crazy dog moms.” He replied, “Why would you do that? People are going to think you’re a crazy dog mom.” I said, “Well, maybe I am OK with that!” He looked at me for a few seconds before leaving the room. His blank expression said, “I have no words.” Keep in mind, this is the man who talks baby talk to the same six-pound creature that now occupies a lot of our time.

A few days later, he found me sorting through fabric. “What are you doing?” I replied, “I am looking for things to make Baxter a

8

YVW MAGAZINE

Editor Christmas stocking.” “You’re making the dog a stocking?”

“Yep. I made you a stocking. I made the kids a stocking. I am making the dog a stocking.”

Exhibit A of said crazy dog mom status.

Of course, there’s other evidence — celebrating his half-birthday, taking him to doggy daycare (Perky Pawz is awesome, by the way), buying him a winter coat to make sure he doesn’t get cold when the temperature drops, having a treat drawer that, most days, won’t shut.

As the holidays move closer, I know I won’t be alone realizing this little cream-colored puff ball will bring a little more joy to our happy home. I am not sure if the Christmas tree will survive, but I guess we’ll see.

I’ll also realize that everything we need or want during the holiday will be found not in “things” but in time spent with those we love — both two- and four-legged types. I’m truly looking forward to it. I sure hope you are too.

Before I let you go enjoy all this holiday issue has jam-packed inside, I have a question for you. Do you know where one can get a Maltese Christmas ornament that can be personalized? I’m asking for a friend.

Blessings for a beautiful holiday season!

Julie

Our mission is you, and the well-being of our community.

Care is more than clinical, it’s personal. It’s why we work, every day, to help improve the lives of the people living right here in Montana. We’ve partnered with local organizations to provide support for our homeless and make sure they get the help they need along the way. Our focus on community means better health and happiness for us all.

Learn more at sclhealth.org.

SCL Health St. Vincent | Medical Group Our mission is you.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 On the Cover

34

LETTING HER LIGHT SHINE Heather Bergeson loves to be the catalyst that sparks giving

Features

14

ON BEING OLD

18

THE GOLDEN DANCERS

Reunited friends spill the beans on growing old in new book

(and themselves)

22

GRIEVING AT THE HOLIDAYS

26

CHECKING THE WIDOW BOX

28

AT HOME

42

SHARING STORIES, INSPIRING IDEAS

34

Senior women kick up their heels to bring a little joy to others

Pam Strong helps others cope with the emotions of loss

Book hopes to serve as a primer on what to do after losing a spouse

New program gives seniors safety and comfort in their own homes

Documentary chronicles entrepreneurship in south-central

Montana

48

ILLUMINATING THE SEASON

54

A HANDCRAFTED HOLIDAY

60

PATTERN OF SUCCESS

64

SERVING UP CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

68

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

80

18

During darkest months, celebrations sparkle with hope

For local makers, it’s a season of giving

Bonnie Ferguson helps friendship & creativity blossom

The kitchen is Donna Godwin’s happy place

80

PEARLS AND POWER

92

WHERE DO I BELONG?

106

Meet the Northern Hotel’s Executive Chef Sarah Seltvedt

IN EVERY ISSUE

Susan Devan Harness writes a powerful memoir

74

FASHION: Level Up Your Jewelry Game

86

TASTE OF THE VALLEY: The Delicious Flavors of Fall

90

KAREN GROSZ: So Simply

96 TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

104

LOOK WHAT WE FOUND: DIY at Your Doorstep

106 REVITALIZING A CENTURY-OLD SCHOOL

Colors of Fall story incorrectly stated Real Deals designer Jerry as the owner's husband. Real Deals is locally owned by Phil and Lisa Pugrud. The writer regrets this error.

YVW Home

2021 = Cozy & Calm Décor

From classrooms to modern living spaces

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YVW MAGAZINE

CORRECTION: In our September/October issue, Celebrating the

Your family. Our privilege.

At RiverStone Health Clinic, we provide you with a healthcare experience unlike any other.

We assign you your own team of highly skilled medical professionals dedicated to your care. treatment plan based on your needs, and put you at the center of every healthcare decision.

123 South 27th Street, Billings MT • 406.247.3350 • RiverStoneHealth.org RiverStone Health Clinic receives Federal Health and Human Services funding and has Federal Public Health status with respect to certain health or health-related claims, including medical malpractice claims for itself and its covered individuals.

TUMBLEWEED RUNAWAY PROGRAM Tumbleweed Runaway Program provides hope to homeless youth.

Our Hands of Hope donation will be used to provide intervention services to local teen in crisis.

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silver & SENSATIONAL! SENIORS WORKING TO LIVE THEIR BEST LIVES YET

THEY ARE CALLED THE GOLDEN YEARS for a reason, and we’ve found some seniors who are basking in the glow of this stage of life. From a group of friends who decided to provide a humorous and insightful book on what it means to get old to a group of women who are no where near hanging up their dance shoes, we’ve found some vivacious seniors who are embracing their age and are more than willing to share their sage advice.

Of course, growing old can come with its own set of challenges.

You’ll meet a pair of women who are helping others navigate those trials. We’ll also give you an up-close look at a new program in Billings that is helping seniors stay independent at home with just a little help from some professionals who often become friends. ✻

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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ON BEING old

REUNITED FRIENDS SPILL THE BEANS ON GROWING OLD IN NEW BOOK written by ED KEMMICK photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

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o j y r a m HAVING DRIFTED APART

nadine

40 years earlier, three old

friends reunited early in 2019.

The first time they got together, they mostly talked about everything that had happened to them in the intervening decades. But they also talked about the aging process, what it felt like, what they feared about aging, and what old age was doing to their bodies.

It was so interesting and so much fun, says Nadine Ann Shirley, that the second time they got together, “we discussed the possibility of writing down what we were saying. By the third time, we had an outline for the book.”

That book, “On Being Old (with Acceptance and Gratitude)”, was published in June 2020, co-written by Nadine and her friends, Mary Jo MacIntyre and Sandra “Sam” Studiner.

sam

least — for what is to come. Those early chapters, dealing with the physical and mental changes that accompany old age, are mostly straightforward and factual.

But as the book moves on and tackles deeper subjects, including love, marriage and children, sex, money and power, spirituality, faith and religion, the three friends share more and more personal stories, each of them displaying a disarming honesty. There is plenty of WE JUST WANTED humor and light-heartedness, but more TO SHARE HOW OUR often they are unsentimental and serious, LIVES WERE AND HOW and impressively reflective.

THEY EVOLVED, AND IF SOMEBODY IDENTIFIES WITH THAT, IT MAY HELP THEM. — Sandra “Sam” Studiner

It is a slender book, just 149 pages long, and the first few chapters don’t quite prepare you — or didn’t quite prepare this reader, at

That honesty shows up on the fourth page of the introduction, where they write: “Two of us were pregnant when we got married, Yes, it happened in the good old days too.”

They got so personal, in fact, that when they finished writing the book, Sam was the only one willing to put her real name on it. Mary Jo and Nadine were tempted to use pseudonyms, but eventually decided it would be best to use their real names. They hope readers will benefit from their NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

15

insights as much as they did.

Nadine lives in Nye and Mary Jo and Sam in Billings.

“We didn’t want to give advice,” Sam says. “We just wanted to share how our lives were and how they evolved, and if somebody identifies with that, it may help them.”

Nadine and Mary Jo both divorced many years ago and never remarried; Sam has been married to the same man for 58 years.

Among them they have 15 adult children, 36 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Mary Jo, at 83, is the oldest of the trio, followed by Nadine, 81, and Sam, 77.

What they learned from each other, Mary Jo says, is that the aging process has the same basic effects on everyone, with differences mostly in timing and degree. “You learn to laugh and take comfort in the fact that you’re not unique,” she says of their conversations.

TIME FLIES AND WE “Everybody’s in the same boat. We found ARE THE PILOTS. ourselves laughing at ourselves.”

The three friends have similar backgrounds. All of them were reared in Protestant families, and all converted to Roman Catholicism after marrying Catholic men. Sam, Nadine and Mary Jo were living in Billings when they met at a Catholic retreat in the early 1970s, but after several years of close friendship, and after Nadine moved to California, they drifted apart.

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO TRY TO LIVE UP TO OUR OWN EXPECTATIONS.

— Snippet from On Being Old

Their reunion was sparked when Nadine and Sam, who had since moved back to Montana, ran into each other at a funeral in January of 2019. They made plans to have coffee together and decided to invite Mary Jo, too. They met weekly in Laurel, since 16

YVW MAGAZINE

They also share a great love of dogs, and an abiding interest in spiritual matters. Nadine identifies as Christian but not Catholic.

Sam and Mary Jo remain in the church, but neither of them is entirely a traditional Catholic. They are all independent-minded, still searching for answers, though Nadine has made her peace with what she calls in the book the “insurmountable mystery” of life and death.

One refreshing aspect of the book is that is entirely free of thoughts on politics. It was not intentionally left out. It was just that in deciding to talk about what was most important to them, politics simply didn’t make the cut. One wonders if the rest of us wouldn’t be better off if we had the same priorities.

As Sam says, the book does not dispense advice. It imparts something more valuable — the sense that complete honesty is good, that the examined life is a meaningful life, that there is

always something new to learn, that few things are as important as family and good friends.

We’ll leave you with a few more snippets from the book:

F O R M E R LY T A L L M A N D E R M A T O L O G Y & M E D I C A L S P A

“Time flies and we are the pilots. It’s never too late to try to live up to our own expectations.”

“This is our story of how we enjoy and survive old age, hopefully with grace, humor, and countless doctors’ visits.” “’If you don’t know, Grandma, Google it!’

That is what the kids tell us. Not all answers are on the internet, however. If you’re looking for an experience-tested response, it’s best to check with us old people.” ✻

Tanya Riddle, MD

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HOW TO GET YOUR COPY “On Being Old,” priced at $23, is available on Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble in Billings.

It may also be ordered through a bookseller or direct from Dorrance Publishing Co., Book Order Department at 1-800788-7654. You can also go to www.dorrancebookstore.com.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

17

golden THE

DANCERS

SENIOR WOMEN KICK UP THEIR HEELS TO BRING A LITTLE JOY TO OTHERS (AND THEMSELVES) written by JULIE KOERBER photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN 18

YVW MAGAZINE

AS SUE NELSON slips on her black gloves, Lynda Petersen is busy making sure her black felt hat sits on her head “just so.” Rachel Rosin stands nearby, buttoning up her red satin and sequin jacket, smoothing down the seams as she goes. This once chatty group of women grows quiet.

“Is everyone ready for music?” Mana Lesman-Seward asks as the women take their positions. In seconds, the tune “Do You Love Me?”

by The Contours blasts over the small boombox in the corner of the room. That’s when the eight women who make up the Golden Dancers come to life. Jazz hands abound, the smiles are electric and there’s little doubt that this group is having a good time.

To be in this spirited dance ensemble, there is only requirement: You have to be at least 55 years old.

“And, you have to be able to walk. Really,” says Mana, the group’s choreographer. “We take whoever wants to come and if they choose to eventually perform after they learn a few numbers, then they’re welcome to take part in the performance aspect of what we do.”

What started 33 years ago as a way for senior women to move has grown to help friendships blossom. The women meet to practice twice a week and before the music starts to play, everyone spends time getting caught up on each other’s lives. It’s been that way since the beginning.

a d n y l , e i bird ra and tama

WE TAKE WHOEVER WANTS TO COME AND IF THEY CHOOSE TO EVENTUALLY PERFORM AFTER THEY LEARN A FEW NUMBERS, THEN THEY’RE WELCOME TO TAKE PART IN THE PERFORMANCE ASPECT OF WHAT WE DO..

— Mana Lesman-Seward

“Sometime in 1987, I got a call from three or four ladies from the Widows and Widowers Association and they said, ‘We want a physical activity and we think dance would be fun. Can we join your group?’” At the time, Mana led a group of young adults. She laughs when she says, “I told them, ‘Well, I don’t think you are going to want to do hip-hop.’”

She urged them to come to one of her classes and maybe she’d start a new group with the choreography and music geared just for them.

“That’s when the Golden Dancers were born,” Mana says.

Since then, Mana says she’s watched three generations of dancers come and go. Some have moved on from dance. Others felt they weren’t physically able. Others still passed away.

“Little by little, new dancers come to fill in those spaces,” Mana says.

PICTURED ON OPPOSITE PAGE, L TO R: SUE NELSON, LINDA VAN SKY, DORIS HILL, RACHEL ROSIN, SONYA SKAGGS, & BIRDIE DAPPLES

is r o d , a d lin l and rache NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

19

Linda Van Sky was one of the women who filled in that space. This space ended up filling her soul.

They all brought their deckedout witches hats to compare their costume creativity.

“I had lost my husband,” Linda says.

“I lost my father. I lost my brother.

When I lost my sister — we were very close, she was my sounding board — I just shut down. I was in a dark place and I was growing roots in my recliner.” She decided that had to stop.

While this little number seems to be a favorite in the group, Doris Hill, the most senior of the group at 85, says with a smile, “My favorite is ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now.’ We use feather boas for that one. It’s got a really good ending.”

“I know myself well enough that I knew I needed to get out and do something,” she says. “This turned out to be such a wonderful group.

I was one who didn’t really know my right from my left.”

Without skipping a beat, Rachel chimes in, “Do you know that now?” The whole room erupts in laughter and it’s clear there’s something special here.

“Yes, we have members who just do their own thing,” Sonya Skaggs says. “We had one woman — her facial expressions were so great that no one cared what her feet were doing just as long as it was in time with the music.”

mana

Since more than half of their routines feature a kick line, when asked if any of the members once dreamed of being a Radio City Rockette, Lynda Petersen laughs and says, “Like we are tall enough or like our legs are long enough, are you kidding?” Doris adds, “Look how short my legs are! I need to hem petites!”

While Doris is the eldest, Tamara Liebmann is sure to share that she’s “one of the babies of the bunch” at 64.

Just like her counterparts, she loves this group and the camaraderie it provides.

“I like when we can bring a smile to people’s faces,” she says.

For Sonya, the need to move was her reason for joining. In the late 1980s, she noticed her weight start to creep up due to her sedentary job. She started taking tap dancing lessons before eventually joining the Golden Dancers. She’s been here ever since.

Rachel Rosin wasn’t sure if she’d be able to smile while dancing ever again. Dancing was a pastime she and her husband shared for decades. In fact, they met on the dance floor. After she lost her husband, Sue Nelson prodded her to join the group.

“I just love to move. And that goes way back,” Sonya says. “When I was very young in Chicago Heights, we danced. Everybody danced.”

“I said, ‘I don’t’ know if I can dance anymore. I don’t know if I can do that.’ Sue said, ‘Well, I am just picking you up,’” Rachel says. “I have no regrets. I wish I could pick someone else up. This is really good for the soul.”

The group performs about 10 times a year. Their circuit includes retirement communities, big birthday parties, retirement parties, plus events like Huntley Project Homesteader Days, SummerFair and Festival of Trees. They even put their dancing shoes on for a former member’s wake.

“I danced all my life,” says member Birdie Dapples. “I saw these ladies perform once and I went right over to them and said, ‘You guys are having entirely too much fun. How do I join you?’” Now she books all the group’s performances. “I go because I love to dance,” she adds, “I stay because I love the people.”

Every Monday afternoon and late Thursday morning, you’ll find these ladies polishing up their moves for whatever performance they have next on the books. When we visited with them, they were working on a routine to the music “Witchy Woman” for a Halloween shindig at the Adult Resource Alliance in the Heights.

YVW MAGAZINE 20

As she looks around the room, Rachel adds, “This is a sisterhood.”

Sitting in a chair nearby, Sonya Skaggs nods and says, “This is a special place.” ✻

THE GOLDEN DANCERS are always looking for new members.

If you’d like to learn more about the group and how to join, call Mana Lesman-Seward at (406) 252-5780.

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grieving AT THE

HOLIDAYS

PAM STRONG HELPS OTHERS COPE WITH THE EMOTIONS OF LOSS written by SUE OLP photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS can be the most difficult time of the year for anyone grieving the loss of a loved one.

If you are one of those people, Pam Strong feels your pain.

Pam, 70, not only coordinates the local Grief Share program at Faith Chapel in Billings. She has experienced grief almost beyond comprehension, losing her husband and two of her three sons over a period of 4-1/2 years, starting in 1995.

Her husband, Gary, and son Nathan both died after lengthy illnesses. Son Joshua died suddenly after he sustained a head injury. Both Nathan and Joshua were 18 when they died.

These days, Pam finds joy sharing life with her surviving son, 22

YVW MAGAZINE

Andrew, 38, and his wife, Jennie, along with their three daughters, who “bring hope and light and love to my life.” She also facilitates the biblically based grief recovery group, something she’s done for 17 years.

“Grieving is hard work,” Pam says. “The more you deal and work on that, the quicker and the more resolution you’ll find.”

When faith is woven into that healing, “you grieve with hope,” she says.

She and Gary married in 1971. By 1978, he had completed dental school and she had earned a degree as a registered nurse.

“I helped him with getting his office going and then I got pregnant,”

Pam says. Nathan, born with Down’s syndrome that same year, dealt with health issues throughout his life, though that didn’t him from finding joy in his family, friends and faith.

Nineteen months later, in 1981, Joshua was born, Pam says, “full of vim and vigor and just curious.”

Then, in April 1982, Gary, busy with his practice and home and church life, was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer and given an estimated 10 to 13 years to live. During that same time, Pam discovered she was pregnant with Andrew, an unexpected blessing, she says.

Nathan had open-heart surgery at age 7, and in 1987 he nearly died. Pam says it felt like she and Gary lived with the threat of death and dying hanging over their heads, though they did all they could to keep it at bay. Gary finally lost his battle in April 1995, and Nathan, in 1997, two years and four months after his father.

Joshua was a freshman at Oral Roberts University in fall 1999 when, while playing basketball with friends, he fell and hit his head, dying within days from his injuries.

Though she had had time to prepare for Gary’s and Nathan’s deaths, Pam says Joshua’s sudden death was devastating.

During that time, she held onto three thoughts: God is true, God can be trusted, and Josh is happy in heaven.

“Those three things got me through a long way,” she says.

GRIEVING IS HARD WORK. THE MORE YOU DEAL AND WORK ON THAT, THE QUICKER AND THE MORE RESOLUTION YOU’LL FIND.

Pam’s extended family and her friends also provided tremendous emotional support during that time. Andrew, who graduated from high school in 2001, went to ORU while Pam, still in Billings, attended the Yellowstone Valley Bible Institute at Faith Chapel.

— Pam Strong

In 2004, Pam was asked by Faith Chapel if she would coordinate a Grief Share program at the West End church, and she agreed. Her reason was simple: “I didn’t want to waste my sorrows.”

She had learned a lot going through her own grief journey, leaning on God, and she hoped to give others hope that they, too, could make it through.

Rev. Gary Matsdorf, one of the church’s pastors, led YVBI and taught classes. He helped Pam dig into the Bible and also helped her work through her grief.

The sessions run 14 weeks, with a different topic explored each week for 13 weeks and a potluck that celebrates life at the final gathering. Weekly videos featuring experts and other grievers are followed by small-group sessions that allow participants to share with one another.

Something else that aided her soon after Joshua’s death was a thought shared by one of her sisters: Ask God to show her his tender mercies. Pam describes that as the little ways God shows “how much he loves you and is caring for your specific needs.”

Week two focuses on the “Tangled Ball of Emotions,” during which participants are handed a ball of rubber bands. As the Grief Share leaders read through a list of emotions, class members peel away one for each that applies to them.

It might be a butterfly in flight or the words of a song or a scripture, but the key is focusing on the one who provides them.

“When they see the huge pile of rubber bands in front of them, they realize they are not just dealing with the grief emotion,” she says. “It’s an amazing visual which helps them understand this significant journey.”

“We were both in college and I loved it,” she says.

“Over and over, I saw and experienced God’s tender mercies, both then and now,” she says. “We must intentionally look for them and we will find them.”

By the third week, Pam starts to see people in the group smiling again. At the 10th week class, people bring a favorite snack NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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their loved one enjoyed and then relate that person’s story.

Journaling is encouraged as another step in the healing process. So is sharing with others experiencing grief.

“Grief comes out sideways if you don’t deal with it,” she says.

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It can also ambush people, especially during the holidays and on significant dates during the year, including birthdays, anniversaries and death dates. For holidays, Pam says grieving people don’t have to feel tied to past traditions if they feel overwhelmed.

Instead, they can start a new tradition or maybe just put the old tradition on hold for a year or two. Maybe take a trip. Or make a donation to a cause that was dear to their loved one’s heart, or pay it forward by buying coffee for the car behind them at a drivethrough coffee shop.

Grieving is a lifelong process, she says. Life continues and gets easier as time goes by, but the sadness is never completely erased.

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“I’m not at the same place as I was, but you never forget,” she says. ✻

GRIEF SHARE

Helping to grapple with the loss of a loved one

What if you had a partner not just a policy?

The next session of Grief Share at Faith Chapel will begin Jan. 16, and people don’t have to attend the church to take the class. For information, call Faith Chapel at 6568780 or Pam Strong at 861-4975.

Grief Share offers other resources to people who are grappling with the loss of a loved one. Those include: “Surviving the Holidays,” on Nov. 7, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Faith Chapel, 517 Shiloh Rd. All are welcome and the cost is $10 for an informational booklet.

People can also receive daily emails sent out by Grief Share, and 48 free videos are available on the organization’s website for parents and grandparents wanting to help grieving children. Find them on the Grief Share website at www.griefshare.org.

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SUE OLP, writer Sue Olp worked for many years as a reporter at the Billings Gazette, covering everything from healthcare and education to county government, tribal issues and religion, not to mention plenty of humaninterest stories. Now retired, she is a freelance writer and enjoys gardening, reading and spending time with her family, including her grandchildren.

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BOOK HOPES TO SERVE AS A PRIMER ON WHAT TO DO AFTER LOSING A SPOUSE written by SUE OLP photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

WHEN CAROL LONGENECKER lost her 49-year-old husband, Gordon, suddenly in a 2005 hunting mishap, the shock paralyzed to the point that she couldn’t write down her thoughts.

“When they told me in the hospital that he had died, my arms weren’t numb but they were weak,” she says during an interview at a Billings coffee shop. “It was three weeks before I could write anything but checks for his business.”

So she rehearsed the words in her head, the things too important to forget. And when the strength returned to her hands, she put her thoughts on paper. That was the start of her journey in grief, which the Billings woman recorded in a journal and 12 years later turned into a small but insightful book, “Checking the Widow Box.” Carol was 52 when she got a call the evening of Nov. 6 that her husband hadn’t met up with his hunting partner at the end of their one-day hunting trip. Searchers eventually located Gordon, who was taken to a nearby hospital but died two days later of injuries sustained from severe hypothermia.

Over the months and years after his death, Carol jotted down her thoughts. She marked the entries specifically about Gordon or grief with red hearts.

She still remembers the moment in January 2015 when God put it on her heart to share her story with other widows, as a way to encourage them.

“I’ve had a few very compelling things in my life and that was probably one of the most compelling,” Carol says.

She was determined to keep the paperback book short, to make it accessible to anyone looking for a boost during an incredibly difficult moment in their lives. The book, she said, is not just her story or Gordon’s 26

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story, it’s also God’s story, and her faith is woven throughout the 65-page memoir. It is filled with vignettes that deal with everything from loss of identity to a new normal, loneliness, major decisions and firsts, dreaming again and journaling.

Under the heading “Sacred Spaces, Sacred Things,” the author wrote that widows have to deal with the spaces their spouses occupied, what she called “sacred spaces,” and the belongings that are left behind. She and Gordon had their own distinct sides of the beds, and it took her more than a year to cross over to his side.

She kept his work shoes in the same spot outside the couple’s closet for years because they gave her comfort.

During the interview, Carol retold the story of how her daughter, Megan, helped her to start dreaming again. She and Gordon had talked for over a year about driving up to Banff in Alberta, Canada, but that idea died with him. When she spoke with Megan about having no one to do anything with, including that trip, her

daughter suggested that she and brother Brian could join their mother on a trip to Canada.

“That really meant something to me,” Carol says, tears welling up in her eyes. “I didn’t have to say ‘never.’ I could sort of start to dream of possibilities again.”

In 2017, she paid to have her book published by Covenant Books.

It is available locally at Barnes & Noble and at online retail outlets in paperback ($12.95) and as an e-book for slightly less.

Longenecker has heard from women who have found help and comfort in the tiny volume. One 80-year-old reader, who was blessed by the book, said it was as if Longenecker had peeked inside her life.

“It touched a chord in her,” Longenecker says. “I just want the book to be used, and I really feel it already has been.” ✻

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At Home Home NEW PROGRAM GIVES SENIORS SAFETY AND COMFORT IN THEIR OWN HOMES written by JULIE KOERBER

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kathy SHARON WOZNIAK

has always prided herself on being smart and independent. She has two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. She worked as a psychologist her entire career. So, when her brain wasn’t acting as a healthy 72-year-old’s should, anxiety began to creep in.

“I began having problems with my memory and that was worrisome,” Sharon says. “The other day brought another crisis.

This is what happens when you get old and you have memory problems. I couldn’t remember how to get to WinCo.,” she says.

“God, I couldn’t remember how to get to the grocery store.”

sharon “I have my two cats,” Sharon says. “I love where I live.”

Since her mother lived her last days in the memory care unit at St. John’s United, Sharon felt comfortable reaching out to talk about options. That’s how she learned about a relatively new program called At Home.

“I knew what my genetics were,” she says. “It was there.”

At Home, run by St. John’s United, allows people to thrive in the comfort of their own home with a little outside help. With a monthly service fee, each member is provided a care coordinator who takes an in-depth look at what a member might need. They might need a little help with house cleaning, home maintenance or yard work. They might need someone to go grocery shopping for them. Others might need help keeping track of medications.

The program helps with all of it and even does meet-ups with all its members to add some activities to their social calendar.

Sharon also suffers from Type 2 diabetes and knew she might not always be able to keep tabs on her blood sugar levels. Without any family in the area, she needed help. What she couldn’t come to grips with was leaving her home.

“Everyone has parents or grandparents that you worry about. I think the ability to stay home is crucial,” says Sarah Schroefel, the director of At Home. “For those who love their homes and would do anything to stay there, these services provide them

Dementia runs in Sharon’s family. Her father had it. So did her mother. A few aunts succumbed as well.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

29

an opportunity to live out the rest of their lives in that wonderful place, in the place with their memories where they are comfortable.”

Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s isn’t easy.

Kathy Nguyen, Sharon’s care coordinator, proved to be just what she needed.

“Kathy will take me to the doctor’s,” Sharon says. “I am at a point with my memory impairment that it isn’t good for me to be driving. It is certainly nice to have someone you know take you to the doctor rather than getting a cab or asking a neighbor to take you. She’s someone I can call.”

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“Sharon was a total introvert,” Kathy says.

“She was so independent she didn’t want anyone to come into her bubble. I started spending more time with her and she just opened up. Now, when I leave, she will say, ‘Do you have to go?’”

The At Home program was launched close to three years ago thanks to a $500,000 grant from Lutheran Services of America.

It’s been so successful that St. John’s United received a second $700,000 grant to get the program up and running in both Missoula and Sidney.

“It’s been really rewarding to watch the team nurture and manage this and watch the connections between our caregivers and the clients themselves,” says St. John’s United CEO David Trost. He had been wanting to create a program like this for close to a decade. “Senior communities are not going to be for everybody, but community is. How do you create community without having folks move to such a place?”

The result has been pairing a care coordinator who is also a certified nurse assistant to each member to be an extra set of eyes for a senior living on his or her own.

David says family members who have been helping as caregivers often breathe a sigh of relief when their loved one signs on for the service.

“The family can spend time being the family without doing the lawn or having to maintain the house or getting the 20th phone call about the internet being down when all they have to do is restart their computer,” David says. “We take that

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WANT TO REMAIN IN THEIR CURRENT HOMES AS THEY GROW OLDER. burden off the family or adult child.”

With the At Home Program, I don't touch the yard, and I get to spend time with my mom, which is amazing. So, I can be a daughter again, instead of just the caretaker and the housekeeper. ‐ Leslie Converse

What happens more often than not, Sarah says, is that in time, the care coordinator becomes like family.

“I went to an appointment with a member, one of the first members we had, and she introduced me as her granddaughter.

‘This is my granddaughter, Sarah.’ l get tears in my eyes. It’s so meaningful to me because she trusts me beyond belief,” Sarah says. “She treats me like family. It’s the sweetest gift.”

Right now, the average age of people in the program is 84.

According to a recent poll of members, 100 percent would recommend the service to a friend and 42 percent say the program delayed their need for a higher level of care. When that time comes, however, Sarah says the At Home care coordinator is right there to help a member navigate the transition.

“What’s beautiful about our program is that as these older adults age, we can layer on services as needed,” Sarah says.

Sharon knows that one day she will have to make those tough decisions.

“The day will come that I can’t be in my home,” she says. For now, she just soaks up the time she can spend with her care

St. John’s innovative At Home program helps you live your fullest life in the home you own. For you or ones you love, it is a great way to meet friends and enjoy activities in a new community of older adults.

Let us meet your needs.

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31

“I FEEL SAFE. I FEEL COMFORTABLE. I FEEL CARED FOR.” — Sharon Wozniak

coordinator Kathy. “I am incredibly thankful, incredibly, incredibly thankful,” Sharon says. “I feel safe. I feel comfortable. I feel cared for.”

And that makes Kathy smile.

“I go home every day knowing I hopefully made a difference in someone’s life,” she says. ✻

TO LEARN MORE about At Home, visit stjohnsunited.org/living-options/athome or call (406) 655-7722.

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How Can You Prepare for the “New Retirement”?

by Morgan A Reif, AAMS®, Financial Advisor A generation or so ago, people didn’t just retire from work – many of them also withdrew from a whole range of social and communal activities. But now, it’s different: The large Baby Boom cohort, and no doubt future ones, are insisting on an active lifestyle and continued involvement in their communities and world. So, what should you know about this “new retirement”? And how can you prepare for it?

• Family – Retirees get their greatest emotional nourishment from family relationships – and they’ll do anything it takes to help support those family members, even if it means sacrificing their own financial security. Conversely, retirees lacking close connections with family and friends are at risk for all the negative consequences resulting from physical and social isolation.

For starters, consider what it means to be a retiree today. The 2020 Edward Jones/Age Wave Four Pillars of the New Retirement study has identified these four interrelated, key ingredients, along with the connected statistics, for living well in the new retirement:

• Purpose – Nearly 90% of Americans feel that there should be more ways for retirees to use their talents and knowledge for the benefit of their communities and society at large.

Retirees want to spend their time in useful, rewarding ways – and they’re well capable of doing so, given their decades of life experience. Retirees with a strong sense of purpose have happier, healthier lives and report a higher quality of life.

• Health – While physical health may decline with age, emotional intelligence – the ability to use emotions in positive ways – actually improves, according to a well-known study from the University of California, among others. However, not surprisingly, retirees fear Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia more than any physical ailment, including cancer or infectious diseases, according to the “Four Pillars” study.

• Finances – Retirees are less interested in accumulating more wealth than they are in having sufficient resources to achieve the freedom to live their lives as they choose. Yet, retirees frequently find that managing money in retirement can be even more challenging than saving for it. And the “unknowns”

can be scary: Almost 70% of those who plan to retire in the next 10 years say they have no idea what their healthcare and long-term care costs will be in retirement.

So, if you’re getting close to retirement, and you’re considering these factors, how can you best integrate them into a fulfilling, meaningful way of life? You’ll want to take a “holistic” approach by asking yourself some key questions: What do you want to be able to do with your time and money? Are you building the resources necessary to enjoy the lifestyle you’ve envisioned?

Are you prepared for the increasing costs of health care as you age?

Have you taken the steps to maintain your financial independence, and avoid burdening your family, in case you need some type of long-term care? Have you created the estate plans necessary to leave the type of legacy you desire?

By addressing these and other issues, possibly with the help of a financial professional, you can set yourself on the path toward the type of retirement that’s not really a retirement at all – but rather a new, invigorating chapter of your life.

You’re Retired.

Your Money Isn’t.

To learn about the different options for your retirement accounts, call my office today.

Morgan A Reif, AAMS® Morgan A Reif, AAMS® Financial Advisor Financial Advisor

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This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

Edward Jones, Member SIPC

Edward Jones, its employees and financial advisors are not estate planners and cannot provide tax or legal advice. You should consult your estate-planning attorney or qualified tax advisor regarding your situation.

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Shine

LETTING HER LIGHT

HEATHER BERGESON LOVES TO BE THE CATALYST THAT SPARKS GIVING written by LAURA BAILEY photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR, the Alberta Bair Theater hosts

performances for students from Billings and the surrounding area. The theater fills with youthful energy as expectant, chattering children wiggle in their seats. The theater has hosted hundreds of performances and entertained thousands of children, but every single time something akin to a miracle happens as the lights go down and the curtain goes up. In that instant, the whole theater is silent as a moment of wonder falls over the expansive room.

It’s a familiar scene at the Alberta Bair Theater, and for many, it may not seem profound, but for Heather Bergeson, that awefilled moment shaped her career in the nonprofit sector.

“Many of these kids have never experienced a live performance,” she says.

Twenty years ago, Heather joined the staff at the Alberta Bair Theater in the executive and development office. Those were the early days of the theater’s children’s program. It’s grown since then. In 2019, about 22,000 kids attended performances at Alberta Bair. Every performance has been paid for by philanthropic dollars, and a sizeable portion of those donations have come from within the community of Billings.

“Everyone needs medicine at some time in their life – healthcare touches everyone,” Heather says. “People’s experiences often guide their giving, and I love matching people’s passions with opportunities to give. It fills their heart to be able to make a difference.”

Not long ago, Heather had the opportunity to reach out to a donor and tell him he was an official “superhero.” Thanks to his sizeable gift, some much needed technology was purchased to assist doctors in telemedicine. It came just in time.

A boy fell and suffered a severe head injury. It was so severe that he wasn’t stable enough for transport to the children’s trauma center in Salt Lake City. He had to be treated at St. Vincent, which has the only pediatric intensive care unit in the region. Doctors used the new technology to coordinate treatment with specialists in Utah and now the boy is on his way to a full recovery.

That piece of equipment – and the donor who funded it – saved the boy’s life.

It’s that story, and many more like it, that feed Heather’s soul and give her the unique ability to ask people to give again and again.

And that’s when Heather was hooked. Community and giving became her passion.

As the director of special events, Heather organizes four major fundraisers over the course of the year, two golf tournaments (one for men and one for women), the SAINTS Benefit for the St. Vincent neurology department and Call for Kids, which supports the St. Vincent pediatrics department.

Now she’s the director of special events at St. Vincent Foundation and helps to raise about $1 million a year to support the hospital and its programs.

“None of these events would ever happen without our generous community and donors,” she says. “I’m just that middle person, the vehicle.”

“That’s where I really learned the impact of giving on our community,” she says.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

35

HEATHER & MEMBERS OF THE WEST HIGH BOOSTER CLUB CONTINUE THE TRADITION OF FEEDING THE FOOTBALL TEAM THURSDAY NIGHTS BEFORE THEIR GAMES.

to some may not seem like a big gift to others.”

Through 11 years of fundraising events, Heather has helped to raise more than $10 million for St. Vincent Foundation. Dennis Susler, former executive director of the foundation, says her strength has always been her focus on people.

The success of each event depends on a small army of volunteers, many of whom have helped with events year after year. Their contributions are not lost on Heather.

“For them to donate their time when there are so many other things they could be doing in the community is really precious to me,” she says.

Heather’s favorite event is the Call for Kids. It gives her an opportunity to gather and share stories about how St. Vincent Children’s Healthcare, which includes the pediatric ICU, neonatal ICU and pediatric surgery center, has helped save the lives of children from throughout the region.

THIS COMMUNITY HAS GIVEN ME AND MY FAMILY SO MANY GREAT OPPORTUNITIES OVER THE YEARS, I JUST HAVE TO GIVE BACK.

The Call for Kids event relies on local media outlets, including Q2, Cat Country 102.9, and 103.7 The Hawk to spread the word and help with fundraising. Giving runs a wide range from $5 to $500 and up.

“Truly every gift matters.,” Heather says. “What may be a big gift

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Heather has lived in Billings since she was 10, except for her college years, which she spent at Montana State University Bozeman. She went to college on a volleyball scholarship and graduated with a degree in finance. She met her husband, Robb, after returning to Billings following graduation. They have two children, Riley, 18, and Finley, 13.

When she graduated from college, she thought she’d end up in the world of banking, investments and money, but she underestimated how fulfilling it was to be a part of the powerful dynamic of giving and fundraising. Making the community better motivates her.

— Heather Bergeson

“So many times, I’ve had to fight back tears,” she says.

“It’s amazing to be a part of an organization that has that kind of an impact on people’s lives. It’s really inspiring.”

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“She always puts people first in everything she does,” he says.

“And she’s very tenacious. She’s not going to let anything stand in her way.”

“This community has given me and my family so many great opportunities over the years, I just have to give back,” Heather says.

That’s one reason why she was moved to help last year, when three students from West High School were killed in a car crash. The

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accident took the lives of Conner Devere, 16, Kylie Larsen, 18, and Thomas Lindsay, 16, and the school suffered a collective broken heart.

Riley, who was a junior at West High at the time, knew those who died, and Heather saw firsthand the heartache students were experiencing. When Scott Mackney from Graphic Imprints approached Heather with an idea and a design – a golden bear, identical to the West High mascot, with a broken heart – she sprang into action.

Graphic Imprints donated the T-shirts and Heather called on a few volunteers to sell the T-shirts at West High during lunch.

They kept the price low — $10 — so kids could afford them, and they gave all the proceeds to the families of the students who died in the accident.

“If there’s ever any chance I can lighten someone’s burden in any way, I’m going do it,” Heather says.

Heather and several other parents work fundraising magic, and the community responded with spectacular generosity.

Not only were they able to replace the flooring, they also were able to upgrade some of the fitness equipment.

“She really was the driving force behind that project and went above and beyond,” Doug says. “The West High community is better off thanks to her involvement” For Heather, the opportunity to help with the project was a privilege and an honor.

“Wherever there is a chance to improve our community, I’m there,” she says, adding that she rarely tackles a project on her own. “I feel like a lot of times I get credit for some of these projects, but I don’t feel right about that because I believe there are so many others walking along beside me.”

She’s also channeling her I’M JUST HELPING talents as a community WHERE I CAN AND Heather isn’t the organizer and fundraiser SPREADING KINDNESS. only one in the as the co-leader of the IT REALLY MAKES YOUR Bergeson family West High Football HEART FEEL GOOD TO HELP who knows Booster Club.

The SOMEONE WHO NEEDS IT. how to rally for booster club helps — Finley Bergeson a cause. Finley is support the football an accomplished program in a variety of fundraiser as well and ways, including paying players’ has been at it since the fifth fees for families who can’t afford grade.

When Boulder Elementary them. Heather, along with other booster needed a new playground, she helped club volunteers and parents, helps feed 150 raise more than $6,000. While many football players and coaches every Thursday of her classmates were talking about night after practice. And most weeks, Finley penny drives and bake sales, Finley comes to help as well. decided to ask the executives at First “When someone approaches me to be a part Interstate Bank for a donation. She of a project, rarely do I say no,” Heather says. remembers the butterflies in her stomach, her dress, new shoes, hair This year, she’s also helped to raise more than carefully combed and the plans for a $150,000 for improvements to a new weight new playground neatly tucked into a room at West High. While the football team folder. will most certainly benefit from the space, it will be open to all students. About 850 kids “I was very nervous, but when I thought a year use the facility, and it was sorely in of what the outcome could be, I wasn’t need of new flooring – the carpet was more so nervous,” Finley says. than 20 years old.

She also asked the Downtown Exchange The goal of the “Build a Bear” campaign was Club, and it donated $5,000. Her work $100,000, says Doug Van Zee, the activities caught the eye of the Montana Chapter coordinator at West High. He watched of the Association of Fundraising

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I FEEL LIKE A LOT OF TIMES I GET CREDIT FOR SOME OF THESE PROJECTS, BUT I DON’T FEEL RIGHT ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I BELIEVE THERE ARE SO MANY OTHERS WALKING ALONG BESIDE ME.

Professionals, which honored Finley with the Outstanding Youth award. She was recognized at the organization’s annual awards banquet and even gave a short and inspiring speech about her experience.

“Her father and I are very proud of her,” Heather says.

Finley didn’t stop there. She went on to collect more than 1,000 books for Head Start and the Billings Public Library. She also collected 11 giant black bags of kids hats, mittens and coats, which she gave to local charities to distribute. And she collected some 500 jars of peanut butter and jelly for Tumbleweed and school food pantries.

— Heather Bergeson

“It doesn’t seem like a lot of peanut butter until you have to deliver it,” Heather says, remembering the day they dropped it off at Tumbleweed and how the car was squatted low in the back because of the weight of the peanut butter.

Finley has also helped with the St. Vincent Foundation golf tournaments and does her own Call for Kids fundraiser for the St. Vincent Foundation at her school.

This fall, she’s out to break her 500-jar record and is collecting peanut butter and jelly again.

“I’m just helping where I can and spreading kindness,” Finley says. “It really makes your heart feel good to help someone who needs it.”

Heather remains involved at the Alberta Bair, recently co-chairing the theater’s grand opening. She previously served two three-year terms on the board and served on several committees. She worked alongside Jan Dietrich, the Alberta Bair Theater executive and development director, for more than 20 years.

“She’s made so many contributions to our community,” Jan says. “She just always wants to make things the best they can be, and she has a unique talent for bringing others along.”

There’s always an event on the horizon, but this fall, Heather is working on a special project. She’s collecting donations for gift baskets, which will be delivered to St. Vincent Healthcare staff in their break rooms. The baskets include snacks, and goodies like lip balm, candles, hand lotion, fuzzy socks and other creature comforts.

“It’s a very trying time in healthcare right now and it’s a way for us to say that we see you and we know that you are making a difference, and we recognize the amazing work you do,” Heather says.

Though they are a small gesture, the baskets perhaps best illustrate Heather’s style of putting people first and bringing the community together. It’s evident that she lives the mission of St. Vincent Healthcare which hopes to improve the health and healing of the people and communities it serves.

“There’s nothing like coming to work every day,” Heather says, “knowing you’re going to make a difference.” ✻

If you'd like to help with the Caring for our Caregiver's Drive, drop off items at the St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation office at 1106 N. 30th. They are looking for snack items, gum, candy, fuzzy socks, chapstick, lotions, etc. For information, call (406) 237-3638.

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41

SHARING STORIES,

inspiring ideas DOCUMENTARY CHRONICLES ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN SOUTH-CENTRAL MONTANA written by LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA photography by KRISTIN STEINGRABER

IT HAD BEEN “one of those days” for Alicia Moe. After a long day at a trade show, the owner of Montana-made Cream of the West cereals was about at the end of her rope.

That’s when Riza Gilpin, a friend and fellow entrepreneur, stepped in. Riza, owner of Tumblewood Teas in Big Timber, invited Alicia to take a breather and spend the night at her house before she headed home to Harlowton.

Alicia took Riza up on her offer.

“By the next morning, I was back on my feet and ready to take things on,” Alicia says. “That kind of support, at the right time, makes a huge difference.”

The real-life scenario is one of many stories shared during the documentary “Edge of the Plains.” The movie is a project of Rock31, an ecosystem builder for entrepreneurs, with support from Big Sky Economic Development and the Montana Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

The film profiles eight start-ups across central and southeast Montana. Of the businesses showcased, three are owned by women. In addition to Alicia and Riza, the film features Riza’s business partner Laurie Rennie as well as Veronnaka Evenson and Ronna Klamert, daughter-and-mother founders of Swanky Roots outside Billings. In one way or another, all have taken advantage of resources associated with Big Sky Economic Development and/or Montana SBDC. 42

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“They’ve been stellar – so very beneficial to our growth,” Riza says.

The exchange between Riza and Alicia illustrated a theme that Kevin Scharfe, director of Rock31, has witnessed while working with entrepreneurs.

“Entrepreneurs learn the most from other entrepreneurs,” he says. “The importance of relationships and community – it’s a need, not a nice-to-have.”

The idea for “Edge of the Plains” was born in a coffee shop less than a year ago. Envisioned as a way to showcase successful entrepreneurs in rural areas of Montana, Kevin hopes it will inspire others to take that first step.

“We decided the best way to promote that was to actually share stories,” he says. “Business owners don’t have time for meeting after meeting, so we decided to make something that’s timeless.”

Filming was underway by spring and, in a quick turnaround, Kevin was taking “Edge of the Plains” on a five-stop roadshow in September. As the “premieres” wrapped up, Kevin and Rock31 had plans for extending the documentary’s impact through additional showings, online digital access (via edgeoftheplains.com) and in area high schools.

“This gives context to younger folks so they can figure what they want to go into,” he says. “If they don’t know entrepreneurs or know entrepreneurship is possible, it limits their options.”

Swanky Roots

VERONNAKA EVENSON & RONNA KLAMERT Highschool students might easily relate to Veronnaka, who launched Swanky Roots within months of graduating from Montana State University in 2017.

“My mother came to me with this idea even before I graduated,” she says with a laugh. “This was her way of keeping me in town forever.”

Veronnaka came into the business with a degree in plant science.

Ronna’s strong suits are her optimism, her years of running a ranch and her drive to keep improving operations. Both mother and daughter have learned marketing tactics “on the fly.” They’ve made countless phone calls, passed out free samples and learned to push past “no.”

Three-plus years later they still work long hours marketing and delivering produce, cleaning fish tanks and addressing unexpected glitches. Every day they handle 3,000 to 4,000 plants and feed the 10,000 fish in the system.

Veronnaka describes entrepreneurship as a “lonely road” due to the dedication required.

IT’S REWARDING TO STEP BACK And yet, she savors the feeling that she’s AND SAY, ‘I BUILT THIS.' creating something.

The idea was to grow and sell fresh lettuce and leafy greens yearround in Billings. To do that, they use aquaponics, a soil-free system where plants grow solely in water and gather nutrients from the fish that coexist in linked tanks.

While many start-ups flounder for lack of financing, Veronnaka had already established good credit. Through her college years she had handled her credit card responsibly and worked while she earned her degree.

— Veronnaka Evenson

“I graduated with no debt,” she says, “so I was not a high risk.”

Banks not only have to believe in your project but in you as a person, she adds.

“It’s rewarding to step back and say, ‘I built this,’” Veronnaka says.

Veronnaka cautions budding business owners entrepreneurship is not an avenue to easy money.

that

“We’re a few years in and still struggling,” she says. “But that’s OK. It means you’re probably on the path to success.”

Swanky Roots’ key challenge was the innovative nature of the business. There were no local examples to follow, Veronnaka says.

“This was not just another coffee shop,” she says.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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Cream of the West ALICIA MOE Alicia lived several careers before taking the reins at Cream of the West. The teacher-turned-curriculum director-turnedconsultant was working with a group of Harlowton boosters, trying to revitalize the town after the railroad pulled out.

She was researching a bio-oil lubricant company when she heard that Cream of the West was for sale.

is boxed. But she’s also constantly “putting out fires.” One day she had to navigate how to get a truckload of pallets to Harlo when an accident closed an overpass along the route. Another day, Alicia was informed that the product she was expecting was delayed because something in the supply chain was stuck behind a boat that was stuck in the Suez Canal. One morning Alicia found herself chatting on the phone with a 90-year-old gentleman who’d grown up on Cream of the West.

The company, known nationally for its whole-grain cereals, was launched in 1914 and ranks as the oldest “You have to be a multi-tasker,” Alicia says. “You have all kinds of continuous food manufacturing company plates spinning every single day.” in the state. Since Cream of the West was CREAM OF THE WEST already established, Alicia figured she Networking proved a godsend for Alicia.

WAS LAUNCHED IN 1914 would sit back and watch it grow. It didn’t Not only did Riza help her over a rough AND RANKS AS THE quite work out that way. spot, but connecting with other small OLDEST CONTINUOUS businesses has helped Cream of the FOOD MANUFACTURING “Whether you know what you’re doing or West thrive.

COMPANY IN THE STATE. not, you get in the cockpit and start flying,” she says.

“Everywhere you look, there are groups,” she says. “You need them. Montana is a She, too, got a quick course in marketing. “The learning curve was small enough state that help is maybe two phone calls away.” straight up,” Alicia says.

Alicia advises entrepreneur wannabes that they have enough Over time, she learned the importance of hiring employees whose passion for their ideas to sustain them for the long haul. skills complemented Alicia’s strengths. She also learned the value of seeking help when problems cropped up.

“So many times, you take a step forward and two steps back,” she says. “So that step forward needs to be a huge one.”

Alicia’s days are filled with the usual: taking orders, fielding questions from the pest control service or making sure the cereal 44

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Tumblewood Teas RIZA GILPIN

Tumblewood Teas was not Riza’s first rodeo. The former dental saleswoman had already invented a disposable cat litter box that she later sold to a major company. So, when she moved to Big Timber, she knew she needed something to occupy her time.

As Riza brainstormed with a friend, she reflected on her lifelong love of tea and how Montana’s pioneer women seemed to share that connection.

“Being limited in what they could bring with them, that told the importance of tea in their lives,” she says. “They gathered in remote places over a cup of tea.”

Twelve years ago, Riza started Tumblewood Teas on a grassroots scale, introducing her fresh loose-leaf teas at the Women’s Bazaar in Big Timber.

of the state of Montana,” Riza says. “Our big break came when we met with a buyer from Yellowstone and Glacier (National Parks).”

Riza stresses the importance of family and offers flexibility to her employees. Yet she also has high expectations.

“I like to delegate. I don’t like to be a boss,” Riza says. “I like to see people busy and working at what they do best. I like to see them grow.”

Two days are never the same for Riza.

I LIKE TO SEE PEOPLE BUSY AND WORKING AT WHAT THEY DO BEST. I LIKE TO SEE THEM GROW.

“It’s a fluid, moving target,” she says. “You better like it that way.”

When she first watched “Edge of the Plains,” she marveled at the common thread linking her and her fellow entrepreneurs. At the same time, she noted how the documentary shed light on the unique aspects of each.

— Riza Gilpin

“I was talking to people one-on-one and handing out samples,” she says. “I knew once they tasted the difference that it’d be an easy sale.”

She hired (then) 12-year-old Kyle Rennie, Laurie’s son and a young entrepreneur in his own right, to help at a famers market. Laurie decided to join them and was so taken with the product that she hired on with Tumblewood. Ultimately, she became a partner in the company and a master at creating new tea blends.

“We hit the road and spent a good five years covering every inch YVW MAGAZINE 46

Riza finds reward in sharing what she’s learned and in helping fellow entrepreneurs, just as she did Alicia.

“It gives me pleasure to save them the time, the effort and the headaches of re-inventing the wheel,” she says. “It makes me feel like my expertise can be useful.” ✻

I’ve been a mountain biker for a long time,

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Janiel Olson Financial Advisor 404 North 31th Street, Suite 300 Billings, MT 59101 (406) 255-8732 | janiel.olson@rbc.com

LINDA HALSTEADACHARYA, writer A long-time resident of the Columbus area, Linda Halstead-Acharya enjoys spending time and learning from her rural neighbors. She has a degree in wildlife biology but for the past 25 years has pursued a career sharing other people's stories in print. She loves riding, writing and traveling.

Investment and insurance products: • Not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency • Not a deposit of, or guaranteed by, the bank or an affiliate of the bank • May lose value © 2021 RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC. All rights reserved.

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Illuminating2 THE SEASON

DURING DARKEST MONTHS, CELEBRATIONS SPARKLE WITH HOPE written by LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

AS WINTER DRAWS NEAR

and our days become shrouded by lengthening nights, we in Montana find glimmers of hope by gathering to celebrate. Be they Christian traditions or ceremonies from other cultures – Indigenous, Jewish, (East) Indian, Hispanic – the gatherings differ yet share common threads. Through food, music, dance and displays of light, we celebrate at year’s end with the promise that the sun’s warmth and brilliance are only a few months off.

with a slightly different twist —Diwali dazzles the season and traces back to religious roots described in millennia-old Sanskrit texts.

FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

For Hindus, Diwali signifies the victory of light over dark, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. Traditionally, it follows the summer harvest.

Billings’ (East) Indian community, though limited in number, observes the zenith of its religious year with Diwali (also translated as Divali or Deepavali).

Shoba Parekh, a native of Mumbai, has lived in Montana since the early 1980s. She explains that “deepa” means lights and “vali” means rows. Known as the “Festival of Lights,” Diwali celebrations worldwide include displays of many tiny clay pots (diya) that are set up in rows. Each diya is filled with purified butter (ghee) that fuels tiny lit cotton wicks.

Observed by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists — each 48

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For Shoba and her family, the holiday heralds the historic return of Lord Ramchandra (also known as Lord Ram) from 14 years of exile.

“The Lord was banished in the forest and when he returns, his path is lighted with lamps,” she explains.

This year, Diwali falls on Nov. 4 – a date that shifts from October to November, depending on the moon and its phases. The holiday spans five days in the Indian lunar month of Kartika, which followers consider to be auspicious. The third day of Diwali, which coincides with the new moon, is considered the official holiday.

Leading up to Diwali, families traditionally scour their homes, shake out the carpets and spruce up the walls with a fresh coat of paint. Then they decorate with diya and colorful designs

2 (rangolis) outside their doorsteps.

The third day of the holiday — the “official” Diwali — honors Laxmi, the Goddess of Fortune and Prosperity. Many Indians target that day for making investments and significant purchases – from diamond-studded jewels and opulent gold bangles to shiny new cars.

“They believe that by investing money at that time, it will increase their prosperity,” Shoba says.

The Diwali holiday shouts with vibrant colors, resplendent silks and the finest saris, often woven with border threads of gold. It calls for lavish meals that are likely to include various breads, dals (lentils), vegetable and rice dishes. Diwali is especially known for its signature sweets or mithai. Many are made from milk products and topped with delicate layers of silver.

When growing up in India, Shoba remembers going house-tohouse visiting neighbors and bearing sweets.

“Here, it’s more secluded,” Shoba says, “but we still gather together.”

In Billings, Shoba and her family typically host a Diwali pot-luck feast for a mix of Indians and non-Indian friends. The group could number two dozen or more who add favorite dishes to the feast. While toddlers play games around the feet of the adults, the older generation catches up on life events.

Although Diwali is traditionally punctuated by the raucous pop of firecrackers, which can be heard at all hours and in all places, Shoba prefers listening to bhajans, the soothing, devotional songs of the Gods.

“They make us feel peaceful,” she says. “They make us think about God.”

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT CHANUKAH IS SEEING THE LIGHT REFLECTING IN PEOPLE’S FACES. — Amy Solomon

day is linked to the lunar calendar and shifts based on the Jewish year, which includes a leap month every seven years. This year, the celebration lasts through nightfall on Dec. 6.

Like Diwali, the Jewish celebration of Chanukah takes place during the darkest part of the year and is linked to the phase of the moon Richie and his wife, Amy, and daughter, Jenna, describe how they celebrate Chanukah in Billings, where the local Jewish Synagogue numbers roughly 50 families.

“We light the candles during the darkest part of the month during the darkest part of the year,” Jenna says.

“It’s not a holiday that we take off work for or pray or fast,” Richie says. “It’s a festive holiday.”

EIGHT DAYS OF LIGHT Beginning at sunset on Nov. 28, Richie Solomon and his family will celebrate their own festival of lights. As active members of Billings’ Jewish community, they will light the menorah — more precisely, the nine-candle Chanukah menorah known as the hanukkiah.

Though Chanukah is often celebrated around Christmas, Richie’s wife, Amy Solomon, explains, it can fall anywhere from late November to late December of the Gregorian calendar. The exact 50

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In Judaism, Chanukah is not considered a religious holiday. Nor is it enshrined in the Torah or Tanach (Hebrew Bible). Jenna summarizes Chanukah as a time to celebrate Jewish existence – to “celebrate that we’re still here to celebrate.”

Tongue in cheek, Richie summarizes the theme that runs through all Jewish holidays: “They are all based on, ‘They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.”

The story behind Chanukah is a story of victory that traces back to the second century BCE, when a small number of Jews, called the Maccabees, drove a large contingent of Greeks from the Second Temple, the temple famous today for the Wailing Wall.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JADE SNELL

Of utmost importance to the Jews was maintaining the eternal flame within that temple. But when the Jewish victors regained control of their holy place, they discovered only enough pure olive oil remaining to keep the candle burning for one more day. And yet, the flame burned on.

“The miracle was that the oil was only supposed to last one day but it lasted eight days,” Richie says. “And that gave them time to make more.”

Hence, the eight days of Chanukah. Since the oil was central to the miracle, oil is central to the holiday. The Solomons, like many Jews, tend to incorporate oil — fried foods — into their menu throughout the holiday. By tradition, the Jewish people used olive oil, but many, like the Solomons, now stock up on canola oil instead.

“And a lot of it,” Amy says, “like two gallons.”

The hanukkiah is unique in that it includes nine candles, rather than the seven candles common to the menorah associated with the sabbath. The middle candle of the hanukkiah is known as the shamash. The shamash, which is lit by a match, ultimately lights each successive candle until all of the candles are lit on the final evening of Chanukah.

Two traditional Chanukah foods are latkes and jelly donuts. The latkes are fried potato pancakes that trace back to the German influence. They are made with potatoes and onions and served with apple sauce and sour cream.

“One of my favorite things about Chanukah is seeing the light reflecting in people’s faces,” Amy says. “The candle glow is so pretty.”

Though fairly new to the Billings area, the Solomons wasted little time in connecting with the Jewish community here.

A CULTURAL CHRISTMAS

“We managed to have a Chanukah party the second year we were here,” Amy says. “We find the folks pretty easily.”

Above all, Chanukah is a time for family to gather and a time to celebrate each evening as a new candle is lit.

At Billings First Congregational Church, the congregation celebrates the birth of Christ with a multicultural service that combines conventional Christian practices with traditions of the Native and Hispanic communities. The fusion of cultures — a NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

51

“They put up the tepees during Advent, a season when we are waiting for the light,” Lisa says. “For this community, it brought people to their knees. It was such a sign of hope.”

thread common to the church’s services throughout the year — also reflects solidarity with the immigrant, refugee and LBGTQ communities.

“We are really trying to introduce other traditions and cultures,” says Lisa Harmon, senior pastor at the church. “That’s really important to us. The UCC (United Church of Christ) recognizes many paths to the true nature of God.” Last year’s virtual Christmas Eve service, titled “Filling the Night with Music and Light,” opened with Josiah Hugs and the Goes Well Drum Group playing a Native round dance song. As the music fades, it is replaced by an image of the lighting of the multi-colored tepees atop the Rims. The tepees were erected by the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council in honor of those who had died from Covid-19 and as a symbol of hope for all communities going into 2021.

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At the beginning of the service, Lisa invites the virtual congregation to light candles or Smudges, as they prefer. The Smudges — smoke from smoldering sage — are intended to connect people to their Creator and to purify the body and soul.

Walter and Kassie Runsabove are church members who retain strong ties to their Native roots – he is Northern Cheyenne, Oglala Lakota and Hudesana Nakoda. She is from the Gros Ventre or Aaniiih trible. As a child baptized in a Dakota Presbyterian parish, Walter remembers playing Jesus’ father Joseph in the Christmas play. Today, the couple celebrates the season by blending cultures.

Their more typical Christmas practice involves taking each of their three children on separate “dates.”

“We go to the store and they pick out two gifts for each of their siblings,” Walter explains.

But the Winter Solstice, which occurs only days before Christmas, has a much longer history for the Runsabove family and their ancestors. They observe the shortest day by gathering together

and sharing their visions for the upcoming year. The solstice is celebrated with a menu of traditional Indigenous foods — berries, dried meat (usually wild game of some sort), turnips and wild rice.

At Billings First Congregational, members honor the Winter Solstice with a silence that is broken only by the deep hum resonating off sound bowls.

“There is no talking,” Lisa says. “We pray or some lay down on the floor.”

Likewise, church members show support for the local immigrant community by joining the Montana Interfaith Group for Las Posadas (posada meaning lodging or accommodation, as it relates to the Nativity story). The Hispanic tradition echoes the footsteps of Joseph and Mary – Lisa reminds her congregation that they are “two young, brown-skinned parents” — as they traveled from place to place seeking shelter for Jesus’ impending birth.

inside. Once inside, they celebrate over a big meal of Mexican fare.

This year, the event has been scheduled for the second Saturday of December and hopefully can be practiced in person.

First Church’s upcoming Christmas Season will reflect its theme “Housing the Holy.” The children will make luminarias to brighten the church and congregants will bring donations of non-perishable foods. Lisa challenges everyone to break open their hearts “and house the holy as we’re called to do.”

“We want to be a center of life and community here,” Lisa says.

“We draw upon different cultures and traditions to transform us, as we work toward the wholeness of all God’s people. We want to use our church campus in a way that brings reconciliation, healing and peace.”✻

LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA, writer

“It re-enacts the journey they made when they finally found room at the inn,” Harmon says.

A long-time resident of the Columbus area, Linda Halstead-Acharya enjoys spending time and learning from her rural neighbors. She has a degree in wildlife biology but for the past 25 years has pursued a career sharing other people's stories in print. She loves riding, writing and traveling.

In Billings, the symbolic journey begins and ends on the South Side, with participants singing as they walk from church to church until they finally reach a place where they are invited

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Handcrafted

A

HOLIDAY FOR LOCAL MAKERS, IT’S A SEASON OF GIVING

written by JILL RILEY photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

THERE’S NOTHING QUITE

like creating a little something from the heart to share during this magical season.

It helps that holiday cheer blossom. We connected with a trio of makers for a wide range of projects that could easily become a cherished gift.

Billings native Mariah Storlie has always enjoyed crafting. Over the years, she’s tried her hand at sewing, crochet and furniture restoration, along with a few other DIY endeavors.

“I’m a hobbyist and have a creative mind so I like to try a lot of things,” says Mariah.

Mariah, a barista at Mazevo Coffee Company, has recently fallen in love with a new craft. Over the past few months, she’s been 54

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experimenting with Sculpey polymer clay and is completely enamored.

“This is something I’m going to stick with. I enjoy making really cute earrings and its inexpensive to do,” she says.

Like many crafters, her “go to” for inspiration is Pinterest.

“I’ll see cute ideas and then change the shapes or colors to fit my style,” she says. Mariah prefers earthy tones in her work, although she’s added a few colorful ’80s style earrings to her collection.

WANT A HANDS-ON LESSON WITH MARIAH? She’ll be teaching how to make her polymer clay earrings at a class at Better to Gather in November. For details, visit bettertogather. com/upcoming-classes-events.

How To Create

CHIC CLAY Mariah

MARIAH STORLIE’S POLYMER EARRINGS

1.

To create the marbled look, pick and mix colors of Sculpey polymer clay being careful not to overwork it. Let it sit for a few minutes to harden before sculpting.

2.

Run clay through pasta machine to create the base of your design, making sure there are no bubbles in the clay.

3.

Cut out shapes and/or add design into the clay. If you don’t have a Dremel tool, poke holes where your jump rings and earring pieces will attach before you bake the clay.

4.

Use a Q-tip with pure acetone to get rid of fingerprints and lint.

5.

Bake clay in oven referring to the manufacturer’s instructions.

6.

After pieces cool sand the edges lightly with a fine-grit sandpaper or emery board.

7.

Drill Holes

8.

Piece together the earring hardware with your clay using needle-nose pliers.

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How To Create

REPURPOSED CHEER Tammy

TAMMY ZEMLISKA’S CABINET DOOR TURNED HOLIDAY DÉCOR

For as long as she can remember, Tammy has been a crafter.

It runs in her veins. Both her grandmothers were crafty and introduced her to ceramics and quilting, among other things. At 19, Tammy opened her own flower shop and used her creative style to embellish her shop. She harvests ideas and inspiration from everywhere but loves to find ideas on Pinterest to adapt to her style.

“I like teaching. I like sharing with people,” Tammy says. “I am doing some classes called devotion and design where people can connect their faith to what they are creating.” She adds, “Doing crafts is social. I like creating a time for people to be able to connect. I don’t do this to sell a product. I want to gather a community of people who want to create.”

Tammy is all set to teach Christmas crafts and decor classes at Better To Gather this winter. Her long-term goal is to have a mobile art studio and subscription-based craft idea business.

In the more recent years, from 2015 to 2020 Tammy owned Scrap, a downtown Billings store that sold used art and crafting supplies at a very reduced cost. While the pandemic took the nonprofit down, Tammy has changed her focus to teaching crafting classes around town.

1.

Pick up an old cabinet door at the ReStore, a thrift store or cabinet store that's changing out its display.

5.

2.

Paint the door with Kilz paint in the color of your choice.

3.

YOU CAN KEEP TABS on Tammy Zemliska’s crafty offerings at thecreativecrafter.com.

Distress the door with sandpaper or cover with chalk paint. Waverly chalk paint is a good inexpensive option. To give the door a distressed look, apply the paint and then wipe off with a baby wipe.

Paint a wood piece with the Waverly paint and glue a magnet to the back. Paint or stencil words or a holiday design onto the wood piece. (Image shown is a silkscreen from Chalk Couture, chalkcouture.com.)

6.

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4.

Glue a small flat magnet to the top of the door roughly 2/3 of the way down.

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Make a small wreath out of wired pieces from a Christmas pick. Glue a magnet to the back of the wreath.

7.

Hang the wreath on upper part of the door. Hang the sign on the lower part of the door.

PRO TIP: Create different wreaths and signs for other seasons to use this decked outdoor all year round. Simply swap the pieces using the magnets on the door.

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How To Create

HOMESPUN CHARM LOVELY HITCHCOCK’S DRYER BALL ORNAMENTS

Lovely

Lovely is a photographer and writer. She has worked as a barista and a nanny. While she has been happy with many aspects of each of her jobs, the activity she enjoys the most is using her hands to create things. Lovely says she didn’t always feel creative.

“But I always had a box under my bed collecting things. When we lived in Japan, I took labels off good-looking wine bottles. I took tags off clothes and made them into cards. I feel like being creative is so therapeutic. I can control it,” Lovely says.

“Situations in personal life can make you feel like you have no control at all. But I can take it out on my crafts.”

Lovely enjoys decorating for Christmas the most.

When she and her husband lived in Japan, she had little bits of fabric and other craft bits among her limited luggage. From these simple materials she created a homemade Christmas.

1.

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Get wool dryer balls (available at the dollar store or on amazon.com).

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2.

Gather some holiday floral picks featuring winter berries or holly. Snip off a few small pieces.

SITUATIONS IN PERSONAL LIFE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE NO CONTROL AT ALL. BUT I CAN TAKE IT OUT ON MY CRAFTS. —Lovely Hitchcock

“Christmas doesn’t have to be expensive.

You can just use what you already have.”

Lovely enjoys going to the dollar stores, scavenging for good deals on little pieces that she then incorporates into Christmas decor. From inexpensive yarn, floral picks, and raw materials to make gnomes and elves, Lovely finds treasures wherever she goes. “I look at expensive items and think of how I can make it look like I bought it from here?” ✻ JILL RILEY, author/ journalist/photographer

Jill has lived in the Yellowstone Valley for 20 years where she and her husband have raised four amazing children. She is the proud military mom of her daughter and son in law, both serving their country in the United States Air Force.

In addition to writing for the YVW, Jill is a minister with the Evangelical Covenant Church, where she writes for the bi-monthly Covenant Companion.

3.

4.

Make a yarn loop and hot glue loop onto ball for hanging.

Attach bits of floral and berries onto your dryer ball using hot glue.

Trust us with your

Holiday Finery... even the most treasured!

5.

Let the glue cool, then hang ornament and enjoy.

❯ EXPERT DRY CLEANING ❯ SHIRT LAUNDRY ❯ ALTERATIONS

❯ COMFORTERS & BLANKETS ❯ DRAPERIES & CURTAINS ❯ FESTIVE TABLE LINENS

245-3760 • 117 N 30TH ST • BILLINGS • WETZELSCLEANERS.COM NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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Pattern of Success BONNIE FERGUSON HELPS FRIENDSHIP & CREATIVITY BLOSSOM written by CYDNEY HOEFLE photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

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WE’RE CONSTANTLY CHANGING THINGS UP. WE HAVE SO MANY ITEMS THAT SOME OF THEM CAN BE MISSED IF WE DON’T KEEP REARRANGING OUR DISPLAYS AND MATCHING DIFFERENT FABRICS TOGETHER. IT KEEPS THE STORE FRESH AND OUR CUSTOMERS LIKE THAT. — Bonnie Ferguson

AS BONNIE FERGUSON

walks through her quilt and candy shop on Big Timber’s main street, she pauses at a display of flannel fabrics and straightens a few of the brightly colored materials. Around her, hundreds of bolts of fabrics in as many colors fill the shelves and displays around the store. Dozens of handsewn quilts adorn the walls in a variety of styles and designs.

A quilters dream, the shop sits inside a building that dates back to the late 1800s. It’s been a retail store of some kind for all those years, selling everything from harnesses and boots to yard goods and domestics. Many of the fixtures and the tile flooring date back more than 60 years.

The large front windows, letting in an abundance of natural light, are gaily decorated with quilts and tools for quilting. Though the temperature outside was nearing 80 degrees, the store was filled with Christmas-themed fabrics.

“Quilters have to start months ahead to make sure they finish their projects by Christmas time,” Bonnie explains. “And most of our customers have multiple projects going all the time so we start the Christmas season in August.”

As she continues through the store, her 2-year-old son, Sam, dashes behind her pushing his toy cart as he heads for the candy corner.

“It gets a little crazy sometimes,” Bonnie says with a laugh. She stops Sam, distracting him long enough to get him away from the jars of candy lining the counter just inside the front door.

Long tables stretch out across the back of the store offering room for the store’s many quilting classes. The humming of several machines is evidence of students working on projects, and the

BONNIE AND HER

SON, SAM

chatter is proof of a good time being shared with many.

“It’s more of a social gathering than anything,” Bonnie says. “It’s good to have a place to gather with friends and do something together.”

Sam toddles by again and several customers greet him. “He’s been part of this since he was born,” Bonnie says, smiling. “I started NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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“I had never sewn in my life,” she says. “But I worked at Murdoch’s selling retail in college and my boss said she’d teach me what I needed to know.” She was a quick learner and the job soon led to Bonnie managing the store. Then, one day, the owner approached her and said, “You should buy the shop!”

bringing him when he was just a tiny baby. Someone wisely said to start bringing him along from the start and he’d adapt.”

Sam attends daycare several days a week, and Bonnie takes advantage of the days when he’s not underfoot. Her customers, though, miss him when he’s not in the shop.

“Between Sam and Penny, our Patterdale Terrier, (who also hangs out at the store) we always have excitement,” Bonnie says.

Bonnie has owned the business for the past eight years. When she was fresh out of college and newly married, her husband, Jason, was offered a job as a sheriff’s deputy for Sweet Grass County.

Moving back to their hometown might not have happened so soon if his opportunity hadn’t come along when it did. But the Big Timber natives were glad to come home.

As Jason began working with the sheriff’s department, Bonnie and her mother bought a nursery business that was for sale. She worked the first season and needed a job for the winter when an opening came up at the local quilt shop.

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“I was like, ‘You’re kidding me, right?’ But it started to make sense and on Valentine’s Day of 2013, I signed the paper and sold my soul to the bank,” she says.

Since then, Bonnie has learned a great deal about quilting, buying, managing, budgets and merchandizing.

“It’s been quite an experience,” she says. “My employees and customers taught me everything about quilting. Even after all these years, I still pick up tips from them. The business side, it just comes with experience.”

The shop is continually rearranging the store with new fabric coming in as quickly as others are going out.

“We’re constantly changing things up,” Bonnie says. “We have so many items that some of them can be missed if we don’t keep rearranging our displays and matching different fabrics together.

It keeps the store fresh and our customers like that.”

Bonnie’s faithful customers come from not only Sweet Grass County, but from Billings and Bozeman too. In the summer, she sees both new and returning customers from other states and countries who stop into the shop to browse and buy.

“We do really well with the candy in the summertime,” Bonnie says. “Tourists love getting candy.”

She excitedly talks about her candy expansion for the upcoming holiday season and shows off the clear glass jars containing gumballs, gummy bears, chocolate-covered candies and more.

“We’ll have old-fashioned candy here soon,” she says. “Peanut brittle and taffy and individually wrapped candies. The locals are going to love it.”

An outgoing young woman, Bonnie’s not only well known in town, but comes from a family who has been in the area for well over 100 years. She and Jason both attended SGCHS, though they didn’t meet until college.

“He’s four years older, so he graduated just before I started,” she says. Jason just became the school resource officer for the county this fall.

Even after nearly a decade of owning the shop, Bonnie still doesn’t spend much time in front of the sewing machine. “I facilitate creativity!” she says. “If I have time to sew it’s because it’s snowing outside.”

And she’s not kidding because in addition to the quilt shop and the candy corner, Bonnie and her mother, Kelli Brewer still own and operate Brewer Greenhouse.

“We had friends that owned a small nursery business here in town that were retiring,” Bonnie says. “So, we bought the business. It was an opportunity that we felt we couldn’t pass up.”

Buying the business included the greenhouse and it was moved from town to its current location just outside of Big Timber on property owned by Kelli and her husband. In fact, it’s where they raised Bonnie and her sister, Meghan.

The nursery has been a huge success, opening in May and running through the season until the end of August.

“It’s really where I love to be,” Bonnie says. “We’ve added another greenhouse and expanded it into a really great

business.”

A master of social media advertising, Bonnie posts for both the quilt shop and the nursery on Facebook and other social media platforms to keep her customers abreast of news. She also does the ordering for both businesses.

“I can get carried away ordering,” she says. “I order big and trust a lot of the time.”

With such an active life and so many irons in the fire, it’s a wonder Bonnie can do it all.

“I couldn’t do it without Jason, my employees and my parents,” she’s quick to say. “I do stay busy, sometimes too busy.”

Bonnie hopes that her life will be a little simpler eventually, maybe owning one business instead of several.

“It’d be hard to give any of them up,” she says, “But if the right person came along that has as much love and passion for the quilt shop as I do, I’d have to think really hard about not selling it.”

For now though, the ambitious young businesswoman, wife and mother seems to be balancing her life successfully in a community that supports and loves her and her family deeply.

“This is where Jason and I want to be,” she says. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else.” ✻

YOU CAN FIND

the Little Timber Quilts & Candy on the main street in Big Timber at 108 McLeod Street.

CYDNEY HOEFLE, writer A

fourth generation Montanan, Cydney was raised on a ranch on the banks of the Yellowstone River where an appreciation of the outdoors was fostered. She and her husband raised three children in Billings and are now the proud grandparents of three. The best part of any of her days is time spent with Jesus, family, friends, a good book or capturing someone’s story in words.

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Christmas Spirit SERVING UP

THE KITCHEN IS DONNA GODWIN’S HAPPY PLACE written by CYDNEY HOEFLE photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

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DONNA GODWIN has always had a big heart. She’s spent her lifetime seeing needs around her and figuring out ways to fill them.

From 1991 until 2007, she and her family owned Apple Village Café in Columbus. For 11 of those years they fed the community dinner on Christmas Day … for free.

“It’s just what we did,” Donna says humbly. “Those were the best 11 Christmases of my life.”

It was a family decision that turned into a family tradition. Her kids and grandkids thought that’s just what they did on Christmas Day. “It blessed us as much as it blessed the community,” Donna says. “We wanted to show our appreciation to our community and the customers that supported us throughout the year. We fed everyone from dirt poor to filthy rich. We didn’t care.

We loved them all.”

The first year they covered all the costs. When more than 200 people showed up to enjoy the traditional dinner of turkey, ham, vegetables, dressing, salads and pies, they put out a donation bucket. But, instead of keeping the money to cover costs, Donna donated it to the Special K Ranch and continued to do so for the next 10 years.

“It took off after that first year,” she says. “I never asked for any donations, but vendors would be so generous. Even vendors I didn’t use heard about what we were doing and wanted to be part of it.”

Two years stick out as the most memorable. One was the year that a blizzard shut down I-90, stranding truck drivers and motorists.

The stranded travelers found their way to the Apple Village Café and not only received a homecooked meal, but also a stocking filled with treats.

“It humbled us that for some, that stocking was the only gift they were going to get,” Donna says. “But it was the atmosphere that people enjoyed. If anyone showed up that was alone, we made sure that they were placed with other people. Everyone was family on Christmas Day.” The other was the year a woman returned after having been there with her husband the year before. She told Donna that she and

her husband enjoyed the Christmas dinner together the year before and that she unexpectedly lost him the very next morning.

She specifically wanted to return to tell Donna how special the memory of the entire time had been for her from the atmosphere, the food and the people.

Donna tears up as she recalls the many years of meals and the many people that she touched.

“It was never about the meal, but about the people,” she says. “I can’t tell you the number of cards and notes we received from people over the years that looked forward to the day. After NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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HER DONNA AND

IAN BENEFIELD

SON, CHRIST

everyone would leave and we’d have dishes piled up so high in the back room I’d sit down and cry. Not because of the work, but because of how people responded. It was a beautiful thing.”

Donna and her son, Christian Benefield, own Red Rooster Kitchen in Laurel and together with a crew of three more, they bake tens of thousands of cookies, scones and pies and make gallons of jellies and jams all from scratch in their industrial-size kitchen.

“We start with butter and vanilla in all our cookies,” Christian says. He was busy hand painting the first of more than 1,000 Ugly Sweater Christmas cookies that the shop would be offering until Christmas.

“That’s one product we won’t be expanding,” Donna says with a laugh. “It’s a novelty that we started three years ago and it’s so time consuming, we only sell them out of our shop.” Each cookie takes almost 10 minutes to hand paint and then decorate. “They are actually too pretty to eat,” she adds.

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As with her nature to see a need and fill it, Donna operates her business in the same way.

“We’ve found some great niches,” she says. “But it took a while to get here.”

After selling the Apple Village and moving to Billings, Donna’s retirement lasted only until she noticed a vacant location where the Donut Hole had been on Broadwater Avenue in Billings. She ended up opening the Red Rooster Café and operated it for five years before she sold it to an employee and then opened Red Rooster Kitchen in Laurel.

“I just can’t seem to retire for long,” she says. Several years after opening the bakery, she asked her son, Christian, to come home.

RED ROOSTER KITCHEN JELLY & JAM IS

GLACIER PARK'S #1 SELLING PRODUCT STOP BY OR PURCHASE ONLINE AT

REDROOSTERKITCHEN.COM He’s been a partner now for the past five years.

“We served 200 meals a week for two months,” she says. “I just couldn’t bear the thought of some of the elderly not having a good meal.” And she did it for free.

At a Made in Montana trade show a couple of years ago, Donna and Chris were displaying their homemade jams and jellies, hoping to attract the attention of shops that might be interested in them.

Tastefully designed, each jar is topped WE COULDN’T DO ANYTHING with a circular piece of colorful calico WITHOUT OUR FAITHFUL kept tight with a canning ring.

EMPLOYEES. WE’D HAVE CLOSED

“You know, when you’ve cooked as long as I have you learn how to do it inexpensively and it was just something that we wanted to do.” And truly not surprising considering Donna’s huge heart.

“A couple of young gals approached us,” DOWN WITHOUT THEM. she reminisced, “and before we knew it, At 70, Donna has decades of kitchen — Donna Godwin we’d signed a contract with Glacier Park! experience under her apron. Never We’ve had them now for three years and formally trained, she’s a scratch cook we’ve sold tens of thousands of jars of who makes use of ingredients in jelly and jam to them. We’re their number one selling product. We season and on sale. Everything she produces tastes just like a get people from all over the world that have picked up a jar or two grandmother would have made and because she is one, that’s not and reorder them through our website.” a surprise either.

The jelly making days just for Glacier take an organized team.

Donna does the cooking and fills, Chris and Debbie Wicks, who’s been with them for four years, wipes the jars and puts the lids on them and then two more helpers do the processing.

“We couldn’t do anything without our faithful employees,” Donna is quick to say. “We’d have closed down without them.”

“I just enjoy cooking,” she says. “I love being in the kitchen and creating. It’s where I’m happy.” ✻

YOU CAN FIND

the Red Rooster Kitchen in Laurel at 401 East Main Street.

During the early days of the pandemic when everything was shut down, Donna realized that Community Hope, a nonprofit in Laurel, wouldn’t be able to feed some of their senior citizens.

She stepped in.

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y r l e w e J y r l e w Je e m a G UR LEVEL UP YO

e m a G WE ALL KNOW when we have the perfect

R K L E S TO A P S Y N I T YERS LO U D L A

outfit, the perfect accessory that sparkles and shines and creates the perfect statement.

Because jewelry trends move just as quickly as clothing trends, we’ve chosen some looks to help you level up your jewelry game this winter — everything from dainty accents to loud layers. They all have their time and place in fashion right now. ✻

Personalized Layers

written by VICKI-LYNN TERPSTRA photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

Allow your unique personal style to shine by mastering the art of layering multiple necklaces.

Pendants work well as the shortest layer falling right under or on your collar bone and help keep your layers from bunching and twisting.

The pro secret is to buy a layered necklace that already has multiple chains organized on one clasp then pick a few extra unique pieces that speak to your originality. Locks and chains are a great place to start when looking to be modern and relevant.

GET THE LOOK Zenzii heart necklace, $49; Julio Design Jewelry Mondrian three chain necklace, $60; Zenzii necklace, $55; Columbus earrings, $20. All can be found at Neecee's.

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Cuff Candy

Wrist stacks are all the rage. It’s a great way to show off your unique style when you mix and match textures, stones, chains and even metals. Stacks can be dainty or chunky, they can be mixed in styles or even classic gold or casually beaded. Unexpected companions are the most attention-grabbing, like a watch band bracelet alongside bling and a snake chain.

GET THE LOOK Bracha watch band bracelet, $45; Bracha snake chain bracelet, $65; faux diamond tennis bracelet, $48; gold square rings, $52 for the pair.

All can be found at Something Chic.

406.259.3624 2814 2ND AVE N • BILLINGS CRICKETCLOTHINGCO.COM

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Two-Tone

Why choose between silver and gold when you can wear both? A chain linked between the two medals is not taboo, it’s modern and distinguished. The rule of just sticking to one metal tone has been thrown out, giving as a little more freedom when pairing accessories. Go ahead. Layer all the shiny tones.

GET THE LOOK Sahira Stella earring, $59; Sahira ring, $68; Sahira Necklace, $69. All can be found at Rochouse.

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Vintage Charm

Medallions remain relevant as we move into 2022, especially because we admire the vintage heritage of bold pieces like this chucky necklace. Paired with stone beads and wrapped in rhinestones, it elevates the charm with a modern-day appeal. This French-inspired piece also partners well with an equally chunky bracelet with miscellaneous black rhinestones.

Though they stand out against classic black we can also see them styled with casual attire in T-shirts and jeans.

GET THE LOOK French Kande necklace, $69; bracelet, $79. Both can be found at Cricket Clothing Company.

SPECIALIZING IN YOGO SAPPHIRES

Sale

J EWEL RY GEM

&

December 1-5 • 9am-6pm The Northern Hotel • Billings

Shop Anytime! www.MontanaGem.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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SHOP WITH US FOR EVERY OCCASION. — Owner Courtney Burton and the RocHouse Team

The Power Of Blue

Yogo sapphires are Montana’s gem. These brilliant blue stones have been passed down for generations as cherished heirloom pieces. Use their unique flair and stack these dainty rings on one finger or wear together on multiple fingers. Rings are often overlooked as a statement piece but when you wear more than one it screams fashion forward and, in this case, beautifully unique.

GET THE LOOK 652.999 9 | 10 2 5 S H I LOH C ROS S I N G BLVD ST E # 6 | B IL L IN GS S H O PROC HOU S E .COM 78

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Yogo sapphire yellow gold ring (YSR769), $545; Montana Fancy Sapphire Gold Floral Ring, $797; Montana sapphire sterling silver ring, $437. All can be found at Montana Gem, montanagem.com

For the perfect gift...

Give us an hour... we’ll take of the rest.

care

406.655.1701 • 1504 24th St W • SanctuarySpaAndSalon.com

VICKI-LYNN TERPSTRA, writer With nearly a decade long career in retail, Vicki-Lynn has cultivated a true passion for fashion. Even though her day job involves event planning and social media for the largest insurance agency in the Northwest, she uses her style and industry know-how to help keep women in the Yellowstone Valley looking their best.

2812 2nd Ave N | Billings, MT 59101 | somethingchicclothing.com

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AND

PEARLS LS power2 MEET THE NORTHERN HOTEL’S EXECUTIVE CHEF SARAH SELTVEDT written by STELLA FONG photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

A WOMAN IS AT THE HELM

of the Northern Hotel kitchen. About a year ago, Sarah Seltvedt took over as the executive chef and food and beverage director, overseeing special events, catering and the hotel’s restaurants: TEN, the hotel’s elegant dining option, and Bernie’s Diner, the lighthearted and fun eatery.

She’s already dreaming up changes.

“I am not afraid of reinventing the entire department,” she says.

With the Covid pandemic and a turnover of staff — including the hiring of Eric Trager from Carbon Fork in Red Lodge, who is now the executive sous chef — the time is ripe for fresh, innovative ideas.

“I would like people to not think of TEN as just upscale dining,” Sarah says. “I want to make it more approachable, a place definitely worth coming to.”

Sarah’s love of food began when she was growing up in West Palm Beach, Florida. “My grandmother could cook for the masses with 11 children,” Sarah says. “She grew her food and didn’t waste anything.” That’s also where she developed her love of seafood.

She began her career as a barista at the posh, oceanfront Hotel Breakers in Palm Beach.

She received her formal culinary training at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Boulder, Colorado, which then led her 80

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to cook at the St. Regis Aspen Resort, and then to luxury Hotel Ivy and Heidi’s Restaurant in Minneapolis. At Heidi’s, Sarah learned modernist cuisine techniques, giving her skills with manipulating tweezers and liquid nitrogen.

“It was a great learning experience, but I was never so terrified of going to work,” she says of working for Stewart Wolfman, who had earned the nickname Chefzilla. In the following years, she bounced back and forth between Denver and the Twin Cities, working at Black Pearl in Denver, Loews in St. Paul and then Bigsby’s Folly in Denver, before coming to Billings.

In her experience, she’s seen a shift in what kind of experience diners enjoy.

“Fine dining is dead,” she says. “People go out to eat more often.”

And, as a result, she says they want to extend those experiences rather than emptying the bank on one meal.

At the Northern, she’s hoping to create “a more playful approach.”

Everything is made from scratch here and Sarah is working on creating cocktails with “more impressive garnishes and modern touches.”

Her confidence is high, but she admits, “It’s so challenging to be a part of the boys club and sustain femininity.” So, these days, she’ll put on lipstick and pearl earrings all while making changes in the Northern Hotel kitchen. ✻

easy holiday2 entertaining6 C H E F S E LT V E D T ’ S M E N U O F A P P E T I Z I N G B I T E S

WHIPPED RICOTTA &WINTER PESTO CROSTINI SERVES A CROWD

1 baguette, sliced into ¼” thick slices at an angle Olive oil Flaked sea salt Cracked pepper 1-pint whole milk ricotta 1 lemon, zested Winter pesto (recipe follows) ¼ pound shaved prosciutto Honey DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line baguette slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and cracked pepper. Bake until lightly golden and crispy, approximately 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool. In a medium bowl, whip together ricotta and lemon zest. Set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE Smear two teaspoons of ricotta onto each crostini, creating a slight well in each. Place a dollop of pesto in the center of the ricotta and top with ¼ slice of prosciutto. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cracked black pepper. Garnish with microgreens or crushed hazelnuts. Serve immediately.

“The key to cooking success is having good ingredients,” Sarah says. “Le Fournil, located in downtown Billings, makes a great baguette. I prefer Calabro Hand-Dipped Ricotta with every curd hand-scooped and hand-packed. I love Tumblewood Teas from Big Timber. Swanky Roots grows beautiful microgreens. For flaked salt, I recommend an English Maldon sea salt from Essex.”

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DELICATA SQUASH FLATBREAD YIELDS 2 FLATBREADS

DIRECTIONS

1 package frozen puff pastry

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove puff pastry from packaging, allow to sit until pliable but cooler than room temperature and then roll onto a baking sheet. Score dough along the edges, like a picture frame, with a small knife, cutting three-fourths of the way through the dough. With a fork, pierce the center area of the dough repeatedly and place back into the refrigerator.

Goat cheese spread (recipe follows) 2 leeks 2 delicata squash 1 t. chili powder ½ c. walnuts, rough chop 1 c. Sage-pickled Flathead cherries (recipe follows) ¼ c. Saba Flaked sea salt Unsalted butter Kosher salt Cracked black pepper Extra virgin olive oil Parsley, chopped or fried sage leaves for garnish (optional)

“I recommend Amaltheia goat cheese made in Bozeman and cherries from the Flathead Lake,” Sarah says. “Saba is cooked grape juice from Trebbiano grapes and has a caramelized grape flavor. If you cannot find Saba, balsamic glaze can be substituted.”

While puff pastry is chilling, cut off the green top of the leeks and split down lengthwise. Wash leeks thoroughly to remove dirt. Slice leeks into half rings, discarding root end. In medium saucepan, drizzle olive oil and place 1 tablespoon of butter into the saucepan on medium heat. When the butter begins to foam, add the leeks, stirring occasionally until the leeks soften and become translucent. Season with cracked black pepper and kosher salt.

Place the chopped walnuts on a small sheet tray and place them in the oven for approximately 5 minutes. Toast until lightly browned and aromatic. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Cut off both ends of the squash and split down the center lengthwise. With a strong metal spoon, scrape out the center of the squash to remove the seeds and membrane. Slice the squash into ¼” half rings and toss in olive oil, season with kosher salt and dark chili powder. Spread out onto a sheet tray and roast in the oven 10-15 minutes or until tender, but not mushy. Remove from heat and set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE Bake the puff pastry as soon as you remove it from the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. The outside of the dough should begin to rise higher than the center. To help encourage this, halfway through baking, using a fork, gently press the center of the dough down and immediately return to the oven. The dough should be mostly cooked and lightly golden.

In the center of the puff pastry, spread the goat cheese mixture evenly between the two flatbreads, making sure to get into the corners and along the inside edges.

Spoon the melted leeks onto the goat cheese, leaving any remaining liquid in the pot to avoid making the flatbreads wet. Arrange the squash halves onto the other ingredients, dot with the pickled cherries, and sprinkle the walnuts overtop.

Place in the oven and bake until golden brown and the goat cheese begins to brown.

Remove from the oven and lightly drizzle with saba, sprinkle with sea salt, and finish with a bit of cracked black pepper. Cut the flatbread into 8-10 pieces. To finish garnishing, sprinkle with chopped parsley or fried sage leaf. Serve immediately.

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GOAT CHEESE SPREAD MAKES ABOUT ½ CUP 8 ounces fresh goat cheese 1 T. parsley, chopped ½ t. freshly ground black pepper ¼ t. freshly grated nutmeg ¼ t. kosher salt DIRECTIONS Allow goat cheese to come to room temperature, add all remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Feel free to prep up to three days in advance and keep refrigerated.

SAGE-PICKLED FLATHEAD CHERRIES

F E AT U R I N G

your

FAV O R I T E S

T HIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS ¼ c. light brown sugar ½ t. red chili flake 2 each star anise ½ ounce fresh sage, stems discarded and leaves chopped 2 t. Kosher salt ¾ c. rice wine vinegar 1 pound cherries, pitted DIRECTIONS In medium pot combine all ingredients except the cherries and bring to simmer.

Place cherries in pot and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Place cherries in glass jar or glass bowl, allow to cool.

Place cherries in refrigerator. Make up to one week in advance.

www.nhten.com

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

83

holiday and6 entertainment tips2 F R O M E X E C U T I V E C H E F S A R A H S E LT V E D T

■ TO

ADD A BIT OF ELEGANCE TO YOUR APPETIZERS AND DESSERTS, GO SEMI-HOMEMADE. Use a tartlet, mini cannoli or sweet or savory cornet shell. This saves labor on your end and adds that professional look.

■ P REPARE ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU CAN IN ADVANCE! Cookie doughs, sauces, dips, anything that involves cutting or chopping can be done ahead.

■ D O NOT CHILL YOUR BUBBLES TOO QUICKLY OR MAKE THEM TOO COLD. Ever wonder why that bottle of Prosecco was impossible to open? Or that bottle of Champagne foamed everywhere? Chances are the wine was chilled too quickly or got too cold, or both. To avoid this, place the bottles in the refrigerator the night before.

■ U SE FRESH AND HIGH-QUALITY INGREDIENTS. Using whole nutmeg and grating it yourself makes a world of difference. So does using higher quality grass-fed, salted butter with bread instead of generic sweet cream.

■ M AKE A GAME PLAN. Cooks and chefs all over the world write prep lists. Organizing your food to-do list on paper makes what seemed so daunting much more achievable.

■ W HEN BUILDING PLATTERS OR BOARDS OF ANY KIND, START WITH YOUR RAMEKINS OR MASON JARS FIRST. By placing the obstacles that hold jams, nuts, honey, or olives down first, you’re able to weave your cheeses, salami, and crackers around them instead of trying to make room later. Fill in bare spots with fresh rosemary, dried fruits, or bunches of grapes to really make your display pop.

STELLA FONG, writer

Stella divides her time between Billings and Seattle and is the author of two Billings-centric books, Historic Restaurants of Billings and Billings Food. Her writings have appeared in Big Sky Journal, Western Art and Architecture, the Washington Post as well as online at lastbestplates.com.

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l l a F f o s or v F la THE DELICIOUS

CINNAMON, NUTMEG AND GINGER

SAY THE WORD “FALL” and so many things pop into

the mind — the harvest, rich colors, sweater weather and yes, of course, pumpkin spice. What is this flavor of fall? Depending on which brand of pumpkin spice you reach for, it’s typically a mix of cinnamon with lesser parts of nutmeg and ginger.

Some brands might throw in a dash of clove. This delicious meld of spice seems to conjure up thoughts of sitting by a fire, snuggled in with a pumpkin spice concoction to nibble or sip on. And, that’s exactly why we decided to round up some of

From Pumpkin Spice Cookies that will melt in your mouth with a delicious brown sugar frosting and bite-sized gingerbread cheesecakes to a hot caramel pumpkin pecan cobbler — we have the mouth-watering recipes that are a perfect fit for fall.

Enjoy! ✻

caramel pumpkin pecan

written by JULIE KOERBER photography by LOVELY HITCHCOCK

cobbler 1 c. plus 3 T. all-purpose flour

FOR THE TOPPING

2 t. baking powder

½ c. granulated sugar

½ t. salt

½ c. brown sugar

¾ c. granulated sugar

¼ c. chopped pecans

1 t. cinnamon

1½ c. boiling hot water

½ t. nutmeg ½ t. cloves

SERVES 8

½ c. pumpkin puree ¼ c. milk ¼ c. melted butter or vegetable oil

TA ST E OF T HE VAL LEY

1½ t. vanilla INSTRUCTIONS

IN EVERY ISSUE 86

our favorite tried and tested recipes to dish up some of these flavors and spices of fall.

YVW MAGAZINE

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, stir flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. In a smaller bowl, stir and combine pumpkin puree, milk, melted butter and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix to create a thick batter. Pour into an ungreased 8-by-5inch bread loaf pan and spread evenly. In a separate bowl, stir sugar, brown sugar and pecans together. Spread over the top of the batter evenly. Resist the urge to stir everything together.

Next, pour hot water over the entire pan and bake for roughly 40 minutes until the middle of the cobbler is set. You’ll want to set your loaf pan on a baking sheet as you place it in the oven just in case your cobbler bubbles over. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream.

pumpkin spice

cookies 2 c. butter, softened

FOR THE FROSTING

INSTRUCTIONS

2 c. granulated sugar

½ c. butter

2 t. baking powder

½ c. packed brown sugar

2 t. baking soda

¼ c. milk

1 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

1 t. ground cinnamon

2¾ c. powdered sugar

1 t. ground nutmeg

Optional: extra cinnamon to sprinkle on top of the cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat two cups of butter using a hand mixer for roughly 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Beat until combined, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla, beating until combined. Add pumpkin.

Mix in as much of the flour as you can using the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Drop dough by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are set.

Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar until melted and smooth.

Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread frosting on cookies.

If desired, sprinkle with additional cinnamon.

2 eggs 2 t. vanilla 15-ounce can of pumpkin 4 c. all-purpose flour

MAKES 60 COOKIES

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

87

mini-gingerbread

cheesecakes 3 oz. graham crackers (about 6 full graham cracker sheets) ¼ c. pecans 1 t. dark brown sugar 2 T. unsalted butter, melted 12 oz. full-fat cream cheese (use block cream cheese, not the tubs), room temperature 2 T. plus 2 t. sour cream, room temperature 3/8 c. granulated sugar 1 T. molasses 1 ½ t. cornstarch 1 t. ground ginger 1 t. ground cinnamon ½ t. ground cloves ½ t. ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp. salt 2 t. vanilla extract 1 egg plus one egg yolk, room temperature ¼ c. chopped pecans Ground nutmeg, for sprinkling

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INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners (12) and set aside. To make the crust, add graham crackers, pecans and sugar to a food processor. Pulse until there are fine crumbs with no large chunks remaining. Add melted butter and pulse until combined and the crumbs begin to stick together. Divide the crust among the 12 muffin liners and press the crumbs into a solid crust using the back of a spoon. Bake the crusts for 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and turn the oven down to 325 degrees. Let the crusts cool while you prepare the cheesecake.

In a large bowl, add cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, sugar, molasses, cornstarch, spices and salt. Using an electric hand mixer, beat on medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Add egg and yolk and beat until combined. Spoon cheesecake onto the crusts so that muffin liners are ¾ filled.

Return the pan to the 325 oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges of each cheesecake are set. The centers might still move when you jiggle the pan. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecakes sit in the warm oven with the door closed for 10 minutes. Then crack the oven door open and let the cheesecakes sit for another 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and allow to cool completely (about an hour). Transfer the pan to the fridge and chill the cheesecakes for at least two hours. Once cooled, top with whipped topping, chopped pecans and a sprinkle of ground nutmeg before serving.

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4 0 6 - 5 3 4 - 8 4 2 7 | 1 1 0 N 2 9 T H S T | B I L L I N G S | W W W. Z E S T B I L L I N G S .C O M

So Simply HOW TO SHAKE OFF THE EXCESS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON THIS SUMMER,

YV W CO LUMIST

written by KAREN GROSZ

when the sun was shining, the clouds were stunning and a white Christmas was the last thing I was worried about, I sat in a green meadow, surrounded by trees, friends and the holy spirit for an open-air church service. We sang simple, old hymns and breathed deep to sample the aroma of the potluck we would share after service. I sat in awe, as the day was so pure, so innocent, so — and this will surprise those who know me — simple.

Simplicity.

There really is something to it, and I think it has been one of the gifts of the Covid pandemic, the opportunity to sit back and reconsider what is important.

I am not a simple person. I like too much, too loud, too many, and if a little is good, a lot is better. When a co-worker, a IT IS THE SIMPLE lady I really didn’t much care for, called me This holiday season — while life is a MOMENTS IN LIFE the “Queen of Excess,” I was oddly flattered bumbled-up jumble of germs, changes THAT DRAW ME and I decided I liked her just enough to we didn’t want to make, restrictions, IN, THAT MAKE ME include her in my next big shindig — a guidelines, opinions for and against, HAPPY. Black Tie Chili Supper. That means, if shortages, outages and stress — what — Karen Grosz you score an invite, you wear a black tie, if we sat back and embraced the simple, and whatever else you fancy to eat a meal identified the little things that make that is anything but simple: homemade the biggest difference, and worried only (resplendent with hours of simmering about them? and adding one more dash of this What if we gave up excess, erased chaos, ignored the call to compensate for the last dash of something that for opulence and, with those we love the most, celebrate was a little too much) chili with all of what we treasure the most? What if we baked one batch the fixings. She wore a ball gown, over of cookies, the family favorite, instead of 24 dozen for the long johns, because we were gathering cookie exchange? What if we played the old tattered, dogoutside in the winter, and I loved her all eared game, with missing pieces, instead of buying three the more because of that epic effort. new ones that are, truth be told, based on our old favorite And yet, when I stop and think, as I did anyway? during that open-air church service,

IN EVERY ISSUE 90

it is the simple moments in life that draw me in, that make me happy. I am currently in the last stages of launching a new book, “Quiet Leadership,” which is filled with stories of people I think of as leaders, who don’t lead masses of people, or shout about their causes from the rooftops. They quietly change the world, or at least my perception of it, simply by being them and sharing their truth.

YVW MAGAZINE

ly in ana’s 14th. org

hase mber inals tana. orial uring

This may sound like retail sabotage, which is not what I am suggesting. I love new things. I love to support our local businesses, but just exactly how much do I have to support them before the thought that matters when I give a gift, becomes one thought, followed by another and then another, so pretty soon it is a lecture on consumerism instead of a loving soliloquy about the recipient? I’d argue, not very many.

So, if like me, you are willing to give simplicity a go, to let calm invade the festivities, to let less become more, how do we do that?

Beauty the st Here are five What do we keep and what do&we give Bea the boot? ideas for you, fiveTheatre ways to presents be simple“Disney’s in a timeBeauty when simple, Billings Studio and thequiet Beast actions just might10th-13th. be the answer our biggestBelle problems.

Junior,” January Brainy to and beautiful yearns to escape her narrow and restricted life including her brute of a suitor, Gaston.

Belle gets adventurous and as a result becomes a captive in the Beast’s enchanted castle! Dancing flatware, menacing wolves and singing furniture fill the stage with thrills during this beloved fairy tale about different people finding strength in one another as they learn how 1. very IF YOU REALLY DON’T LIKE IT, YOU REALLY DON’T HAVE to love.b i l l i n g s s tu d i ot h e a t r e .c o m

KAREN’S 5 IDEAS TO DO IT.

You know the event, you know the foods, you know the activities. You do them because you have to, it is expected, FRinge FestivaL it is the thing to do. This year, my friend, you get to say no. No, thank you.

No more.

Not at this time.

Take it off your 18th-19th plate and and if Venture Theatre presents its Fringe Festival, January 25th-26th.The four the nights of shows featuringyour local you have to, hidefestival in thefeatures closet while storm rages around and regional performing artists ofsimple, all typesand including dance, standup refusal.

You are making things the simplest thing comedy, theater improv, actdon’t plays, musicals, art, ever is to say no when you one really want to say performance yes. spoken word/poetry, and puppetry.v e n t u r e t h e a t r e .o r g

2. PICK A DAY TOsouL DO IT ALL. It may be too late for you, if you s tReet d anCe

started shopping July, but for thisAlberta year, this germ-filled This high energy in show comes to the Baircrazy, Theater on January year, pick one day to do it all.

You will do all of the shopping, all 19th and presents a new era in dance, while pushing the artistic ofboundaries the wrapping, all of the cooking in one day.

The beauty of this of street dance. Soul Street concerts consist of a mix of ismovement the fact that makes because there notmusic time is thatitwill keepyou you simplify at the edge of your seat.isThe with an ranging from to classical. tocombined do more than the electric basics. mix I’ve actually done hip-hop this before, and I It’s ait show thatcrash will make laughofand audiences of alltitle ages hope doesn’t your you opinion my keep “Queen of Excess” toentertained. know that. Instead of being crazy for months, I’ve spent Dec. 23 shopping, cooking, wrapping and singing. Guess what? It was glorious!aI ConCe can’t wait Rt to doFoR it again!

Everything sweeter when the w hoLeis FamiLy you have one day to do it all!

sip hot chocolate, while looking at the tree, if they, and you know who they are, insist on bringing crazy back to your holiday.

4. TALK TO THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE. Take them to coffee.

Hand them a card. Ask them a question. Listen to their story.

Listen. Ask. Listen. They are your people and now, more than ever, they want to know what is in your heart, and you want to know what is on their mind. Being together is all that matters, so, simply, quietly, be that.

Together. It’s all that really matters.

5. PRACTICE THE ONE TRADITION THAT MATTERS. Somehow every tradition, every culture, every food, and every way to celebrate has become the norm. Why? It is OK to embrace other ideas, but it is your tradition, the thing that makes your family unique, that is the one that matters. It might be making homemade eggnog, with everyone holding the spoon while stirring the egg whites in, it might be caroling, or opening the gifts slowly, so it takes all day, that makes your holiday your holiday. That tradition is the only one that matters. Enjoy it.

You are an incredible human being, with gifts beyond measure, love to share and laughs to laugh. This holiday season I hope that instead of fighting for what used to be normal, instead of making yourself crazy so everything can be perfect in an imperfect world, I hope you can sit back and enjoy what really matters. Simply.

Quietly. With peace and love in your heart. ✻

Billings Symphony presents its Family Concert on January 26th at the Bair Theater. Four time Grammy nominees, “Trout Fishing 3.Alberta ASK FOR HELP. If your people can’t go without a tree until in America,” will perform along with the Billings Symphony. Trout Christmas eve as the Germans did when they first had the idea to Fishing in America is a musical duo which performs folk rock and bring a tree indoors, ask them to set it up. If they must have every children’s music. b i l l i n g s s y m p h o n y.c o m

KAREN GROSZ, writer Growing up in the shadow of Mt. Rushmore gave Karen an appreciation of high ideals. Living in Alaska for 25 years gave her a frontier spirit. Life in Montana finds her building community. A selfdescribed "multipotentialite," she loves coaching others with her business, Canvas Creek Team Building.

family favorite at dinner (our dinner typically includes three kinds of stuffing) ask them to make it. I know, you are the decorator, the chef, you know the secrets, but this year you are simply going to

DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL?

als de

Karen Grosz and YVW have joined forces to

EMPOWER YOU to take that step with an online class that takes you through the process of

i

WRITING A BOOK.

rd

FOR MORE INFO

63

oo

DECEMBER 2012/JANUARY 2013

Writer’s k NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 ub Cl

YELLOWSTONEVALLEYWOMAN.COM |

YELLOWSTONEVALLEYWOMAN.COM/WRITERS-CLUB 91

WHERE DO I BELONG? AS AN AMERICAN INDIAN WOMAN ADOPTED BY A WHITE FAMILY AS A CHILD, SUSAN DEVAN HARNESS WRITES A POWERFUL MEMOIR written by VIRGINIA BRYAN

SUSAN DEVAN HARNESS spent decades trying to make peace with her life circumstances before she sat down to write “Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Trans-Racial Adoption.” Born to a Salish Indian mother, Susan was adopted by a white, childless couple when she was a toddler. The book is the personal account of her tenacious search for her birth family. It’s a story of displacement, disappointment, unexpected discovery and hope.

appearance would open old wounds.” Questions to tribal elders went unanswered.

Susan’s adoptive mother was understanding but heartbroken when she learned of Susan’s search.

Her adoptive father was furious.

“I was 40 years old before I dared ask what happened to me,” Susan says. “I didn’t just write ‘Bitterroot’ for myself. I wrote it for other trans-racial adoptees so they wouldn’t feel alone in their struggle to belong in a world that tells them they don’t belong anywhere.”

“At some level, I think my dad thought he’d failed because he didn’t change me into a white girl,” Susan says. “It was beyond a search for my relatives. I wanted to be with people who looked like me. I wanted to belong.

I wanted to know what it meant to be Indian.”

THE DISPLACEMENT BEGINS

ONLY BY A FLUKE

In the late 1890s, Susan’s Salish ancestors were removed from their Bitterroot Valley homelands and relocated to the Flathead Indian Reservation. Sixty years later, Susan was born. She was her birth mother’s fourth child. Five more babies followed. When Susan was 18 months old, the state of Montana terminated her birth mother’s parental rights. Her adoption followed.

With her adoptive parents' support, Susan graduated from Billings West High School and the University of Montana.

During her teens and in college, Susan was uncomfortable when asked to “speak Indian” or demonstrate powwow dance steps.

She’d cringe at racist jokes. She felt awkward seeing unrealistic, hyper-sexualized images of Indian women and girls in films and advertising.

After college, Susan headed for the Flathead Reservation to find work and reconnect with her birth family. One social worker told her the search “wouldn’t end well.” Another told her that “her 92

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In 1993, Susan saw a letter to the editor in a tribal newspaper. A disgruntled reader opined that too many “white” Indians lived on the Flathead reservation. He was referring to Indians who’d adapted to the white world but returned to the reservation and assumed leadership roles. Susan was furious.

“Don’t blame me for living in the white world,” she wrote in her scathing reply. She signed the letter with her birth name and her adopted name. To her surprise, two of her birth sisters saw her reply and reached out with a phone call.

“We’ve been looking for you,” they said. “We told Montana Social Services we wanted to contact you. Why haven’t you responded?”

Susan was stunned. For decades, she’d pleaded for information from various social workers. Her birth sisters’ query was never mentioned.

“With that phone call, my world changed,” Susan says, “and it was only by a fluke. I went from not knowing to knowing. A door opened. That summer, my husband, my two boys and I attended a family reunion.”

PULLING BACK THE VEIL As a cultural anthropology graduate student at Colorado State University (CSU), Susan examined how other American Indian adoptees straddled the line between the dominant white culture and their Indigenous heritage. It was the first academic research study of its kind. As she listened to other adoptees’ heart-breaking stories, she struggled with how to tell her own.

“You have pulled back the veil on a topic no one discusses,” her thesis adviser said. “Keep going.”

Susan enrolled in a CSU creative nonfiction master’s program to learn how to incorporate creative writing techniques into her nonfiction story. She didn’t want it to read like an academic research paper. As chapters of “Bitterroot” emerged, life intervened and threw Susan off track. For the next two years, she fought breast cancer and grieved the loss of her first grandchild.

“When faced with cancer and a family death, your priorities shift,” Susan says, “I moved my thesis to a shelf of lesser importance.”

Despite the setbacks, Susan mustered the energy to read selections from her thesis in 2015. The reading was well-received.

Her writing advisor told her to “finish up, graduate and find a publisher.”

In late 2016, Susan sent a cover letter and two sample chapters to the acquisitions editor at the University of Nebraska Press. Two weeks later, the editor wanted to “see it all” and by April 2017, she had a contract. “Bitterroot” was fast-tracked for publication in 2018.

THE QUEST CONTINUES “Bitterroot” won the 2019 High Plains Book Awards for Best Indigenous Writer and Best Creative Nonfiction. It won History Colorado’s Barbara Sadler Award in 2021. Susan has been a featured guest at numerous writing conferences and book festivals.

SUSAN’S READING LIST

A FEW OF HER FAVORITE BOOKS ❏ Child

of the Morning by Pauline Hedge “This is a fictional account of the life of Hatseptsup, a young female pharaoh who is barely mentioned in Egyptian history.” ❏ O n Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King “No one creates characters, situations and personalities like Stephen King.” ❏ Centennial by James Michener “This book showed me the importance of belonging to a place, our history with the landscape and how early history shapes our lives.” ❏ Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver “Half-memoir, half social critique, this book provided insight into how social issues affect our personal lives.”

The quest to uncover her story continues. She recently obtained a copy of her adoption file from the Beaverhead County Clerk of Court.

“I’m still hopeful that the state of Montana will give me access to the file that documents the time between my removal from my birth mother’s care and my adoption,” she says. There’s an air of painful resignation in her voice, coupled with firm resolve. “I deserve to know. It’s my story.” ✻

VIRGINIA BRYAN, writer Virginia Bryan is a freelance writer and Director of ArtWalk Downtown Billings. She has written extensively about our region's artists,culture, history and women.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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96

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

2021 = Cozy & Calm Décor

104

DIY AT YOUR DOORSTEP

Welcome guests & share a little holiday cheer

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REVITALIZING A CENTURY-OLD SCHOOL

From classrooms to modern living spaces NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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christmas2 TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE

2021 = COZY & CALM DÉCOR

written by JULIE KOERBER photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

’TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and

all through the place, the baubles were golden, amid branches enlaced; spirits rang high, full of rich Christmas cheer, heralding blessings for the coming New Year.

If you are starting to dream about what your holiday décor should look like this year, we’ve got the details on that signature color along with a dash of design trends. At the heart of it all, Jim Gainan of Gainan’s Flowers says it’s about creating that cozy space perfect for family.

“There has just been such an emphasis on the importance of gathering because it has been so long since we’ve done it,” Jim says. “This year is going to be a big year for home entertaining.”

We stepped into the home Jim shares with his 15-year-old son Landon to get a glimpse of what’s making a big splash this holiday season. The Christmas feel began as soon as we stepped in the door.

“For me, it’s bringing what is outside my back window inside,” Jim says.

From oversized gilded pinecones, rustic evergreen trees and branches strung with fairy lights to a candle holder decked with Frasier fir-scented candles, the holiday greets you.

As you see, silver and gold continue to take center stage. But instead of a bold and glitzy look, the metallic flair is more muted to create, as Jim puts it, “a monochromatic and calm feel.”

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At the heart of this home sits a rustic farmhouse table set for 10. It exudes a cozy feel with layered elements and it puts the signature color of 2021 at the center of the design.

“The color green is really big everywhere,” Jim says. “It’s a special green.” Think dusty olive, a muted green that acts more like a neutral when paired with other colors. Jim also captured another trend that’s been around for a few years — using table runners across the width of the table instead of the length to serve as placemats.

“You use a charger on the area that isn’t covered by the runner,” Jim says. Wood chargers add to the rustic feel. Pops of red add a festive flair not only in the Nordic print plates but in pops of color provided by simple floral arrangements down the length of the table.

Step a few feet inside and you’ll find a side table prepped and ready for guests. The bright and bold poinsettia tree stands tall over a continental style breakfast with spiced mimosas and cinnamon rolls.

“This area is perfect for Christmas morning,” Jim says. “Having it ready and going to a little bit of trouble truly makes it feel special.”

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While the tree is the pinnacle of any holiday decorating, Jim says you don’t need to overhaul this piece of your décor each and every year.

“The holiday is so packed with memories that it is really important to have things out that are special. Just bring them into the current,” he says. “Right now, we have a lot of people who will buy six of one thing and add it to what they have to create a new feel.”

As he says this, he points to the tiny cardinal ornaments that are grouped in the middle of his tree. Each little bird cost less than $2 but adds a huge pop of color, especially when grouped together.

“Grouping is a European trend,” Jim says. “It allows you to focus on different things in different parts of the tree without having 75 of the same ornaments. You can make a statement that way.”

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If you’ve kept yourself from decorating your banister because you prefer to be able to hold onto the railing, this next trend might help get your stairs in the spirit. It’s called deconstructed garland and it creates a glow on the actual staircase.

“It’s everything you would use to put up on the railing but you lay the décor on the floor,” Jim says. As he points to the garland, he says, “It’s just two pieces of garland with a set of warm rice lights.

Those baubles are ones that I had.

There’s nothing to it. It takes three and a half minutes to put together.”

In the background, you’ll see unexpected places for décor, namely, a white flocked tree sitting on top of Jim’s piano. What started as a way to keep ornaments out of the hands of small children and his cat became a décor staple.

“It’s Christmas. You can put a tree on the piano,” Jim says. “It’s dramatic. I’ll give you that.”

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After s’mores, you can add story time to the mix. Jim created a storybook nook setup with a few holiday classics plus a vintage Santa. Nearby, the textured layers of decor imitate the feel of new-fallen snow. From crisp white to soft grey, the subdued color palette adds depth and dimension without being overbearing or overly bold.

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While the adults are inside sipping their favorite beverage, don’t forget a special spot for the kiddos. Why not set them by the fireside to add another layer of magic before Santa’s arrival?

“If you are having a party and you want to set up your fire pit area with s’mores and hot chocolate, that’s the perfect place,” Jim says. “In Montana, you can be outside with a blanket and a firepit eight months out of the year.”

That’s why his back patio is not only decked out with a firepit but also Liora Manne pillows that sing of the season. These handhooked pillows are weather resistant and created to prevent fading from outdoor wear and tear. “They are anti-microbial,” Jim says.

“They can get wet and will not mold.”

As you bring out all your decorations, don’t forget to add a little holiday pizazz here and there. Think faux berries tucked in with real flowers, elements of color added to a bathroom vanity and, of course, the smell of evergreen in the air.

“Everyone wants the smell of grandma’s Christmas tree,” Jim says. “With all the silk and permanent flowers and branches, there had to be something to replace or duplicate that smell.” The Frazier fir line of scents from The Thymes creates just that smell.

It’s crafted with a tree’s natural oils instead of a manufactured fragrance, spreading an authentic aroma throughout the home.

When in decorating doubt, you can never go wrong by adding more lights. Fairy lights, rice lights or traditional bulbs all add that festive glow no matter where they are placed.

“Lights and sparkle really excite kids,” Jim says. “That never goes away.” ✻ 102

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WE ARE AN EXCELLENT CHOICE FOR YOUR

F LO O R I N G N E E D S

651-8109 • 547 S 20TH ST W #7 • BILLINGS

• WWW.RIMROCKCABINET.COM

DIY at your DOORSTEP

LOOK WH AT W E FOU ND

written by RACHEL JENNINGS photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

WELCOME GUESTS & SHARE A LITTLE HOLIDAY CHEER

THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE, and with all the fun decorations starting to bring a little extra sparkle to our homes, why not bring a bit of festive charm to your front entry? We’ve jazzed up the traditional doormat so you can share some holiday cheer with anyone who arrives at your doorstep. This is a simple project and should only take an afternoon to complete. We used a coir mat, which is made of natural coconut fibers. It’s not only attractive but durable and naturally traps dirt and moisture. That’s a winning combination!

ed... e n l l i w u o y t Wha

• RCuoleirrdoormat • Strong hold masking tape • Razor knife • Pencil • Spray paint • Sharpie (color should match your • spray paint color)

IN EVERY ISSUE 104

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INSTRUCTIONS For my design, I decided to create the silhouette of reindeer antlers. To begin, start by measuring the mat to find the center and then mark with a pencil, drawing a straight line from the top to the bottom. You might need to make several passes so that the lead is visible on the mat. Next, draw a half circle at the base of the line to represent the deer head. This will help us to find the antler placement. Where you think the antlers should appear, draw two smaller half circles, about an inch in diameter.

In drawing antlers, my goal was not perfection but realistic curves and nice points of each horn. I did look up several tutorials on drawing antlers, practiced on a scrap sheet of paper and after a few bits of practice, I just went for it to the best of my limited drawing ability.

Once the horns are penciled in, we can clean up any extra or redo lines. I just used a washcloth with warm soapy water and wiped it clean. Now we need to mask off the horns. To begin I tore small pieces of masking tape and placed inside the antlers along the pencil lines. Press firmly. It’s a little difficult for tape to adhere to coir. Have patience. When the antlers are totally covered with small pieces of tape, stretch large pieces of tape to cover again. After one side is done, you can take your razor knife, follow the outline of the tape underneath and carefully trim it to smooth out any line. Repeat this process on the other side.

1.

2.

3.

When you are trimming the larger tape with the knife, remember these few things: This is how you refine your lines.

We want sharp points and smooth curves. Plus, everywhere there is tape, you’ve masked it from paint. So, be meticulous in removing all corners and rough edges. Make sure everything you want covered is covered.

As you finish trimming, be sure to keep the mat flat since the tape might want to pop up if you bend the mat in any fashion.

To paint the mat, make sure all tape is firmly pressed down and begin spray painting straight down over the edges of the tape. Continue doing this until the entire mat is covered. Once finished, remove the tape and allow your mat to dry for about 24 hours. Once the tape is removed and paint is dry, you will see pencil lines and wonky edges. Remove the pencil lines as

Family traditions

we did before with a warm soapy washcloth. You can smooth out any wonky edges with the sharpie by carefully going over them.

With a few easy steps and an afternoon, we gave a boring door mat and entryway a festive look without spending a ton of cash and providing a warm welcome to friends and family for the holidays. ✻ RACHEL JENNINGS, writer Rachel is a self described "Junker," who not only loves all things old, but LOVES the challenge of trying to make something new out of each find.

While she is a Hair Stylist by day, in her off time you can often find her covered in paint, trying to repurpose something she's found.

his Christmas Season, T enjoy shopping for your freshly cut and watered tree in our greenhouses.

Make the best kind of Memories

Choose from a large selection of farm-raised, or live Christmas trees (to be planted outside later), wreaths and greenery.

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www.billingsnursery.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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Revitalizing2 A CENTURY-OLD SCHOOL FROM CLASSROOMS TO MODERN LIVING SPACES written by TRISH ERBE SCOZZARI photography by DANIEL SULLIVAN

SOME ADVOCATED TEARING DOWN the iconic Fratt building that sits near the heart of downtown. Architect Sherril Burke had bigger plans. She thought the century-old middle school instead needed a new lease on life.

“We wanted to keep the historical nature of the building,” Sherril says. “It was important to me personally and to my family. We wanted people to walk into the building and remember it was a school.”

Known in more recent years as St. Francis Upper, the stately three-story blonde brick building at 235 N. 32nd St. functioned as a Catholic middle school for nearly 100 years. The original name, Kate Fratt Memorial Parochial School, remains carved in stone above the front entry, dated 1918.

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“My husband Michael has been interested in the building for the last 15 years,” Sherril says. The keen interest turned into action a couple of years ago. Sherril and Michael, founders and principals of HGFArchitects (HGFA), along with Sherril’s father and two brothers comprising Fagg Family Properties, purchased the property.

That’s when the mission began to convert the century-old schoolhouse into living spaces with all the modern amenities.

“I was excited to take it on,” says Sherril. “The building sat (vacant) for one or two years, however it had been kept up well. We worked hard to identify structural walls, keep doors and windows in place and reuse everything we could. We kept blemishes, the flagpoles, and ‘Jimmy loves Sally,”’ referring to a

DEBORA BOECK,

PAM BOECK AND

SHERRIL BURKE

couple of long-ago etchings in the wood.

Great care was taken to preserve the history and exquisite craftsmanship of an earlier era. The restoration resulted in repurposing the interior from classrooms to 13 sophisticated living spaces known today as Fratt Historical Condominiums.

This site is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Thirteen-foot high ceilings lend an open, airy feel while original oak doors and casings reflect warmth and enduring quality. Maple hardwood floors on the second and third floors have been beautifully refinished.

“The hardwood floors were covered over with carpet squares and sticky glue,” Sherril says, “so we had to scrape, re-scrape and use sanders. The first floor is concrete. It had tiles and

MAGGIE HICKS, T.J . LYNCH AND SH

ERRIL BURKE

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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asbestos adhered to it. It’s now covered with LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank).”

for the health of the Billings economy and for the downtown.

Most of the buyers have a connection to Billings.”

The discovery of asbestos resulted in Jones Construction, “It’s remarkable that there was so much interest,” says Bryce. general contractor for the project, halting the demolition “It’s not very often you’re able to own a piece of history, to process for about six weeks this preserve it and share it with the past winter while the cleanup community.” ensued. Bryce Terpstra, president “ We p r e s e r v e d a v e r y h i g h PEOPLE TRUSTED IN THE VISION. IT’S TAKING AN of Jones Construction, recalls, percentage of it,” he continues.

OLD BUILDING AND REPURPOSING IT. IT’S GREAT “ We we re o n a n a c c e l e ra t e d “We repurposed doors, trim, FOR THE HEALTH OF THE BILLINGS ECONOMY AND schedule as the condos were sold FOR THE DOWNTOWN. MOST OF THE BUYERS HAVE floors, and kept the majority before demolition.” of chalkboard rails. Even heat Realtors Julie Seedhouse and Shelby Williams of Century 21 Hometown Brokers sold the units in record time – in less than two months.

A CONNECTION TO BILLINGS. – Julie Seedhouse, Realtor

“We sold them based on beautiful renderings Sherril, Michael and their team had done,” Julie says. “People trusted in the vision. It’s taking an old building and repurposing it. It’s great

We were honored to be the listing agents for the Fratt Historic Condos!

SHELBY WILLIAMS realtor 406-998-9446

108

JULIE TSCHETTER SEEDHOUSE broker 406-690-2711

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1605 SHILOH ROAD BILLINGS, MT 59106

radiators that were not in use are now décor.”

Bryce says he’s amazed at the amount of lath and plaster used in this “very stout” and “impressive” building. “The different materials we had to break through showed the amount of craftsmanship that went into it,” he says. “In those days, it’s what they had and could put

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together. And it lasted over a hundred years.”

Even though the building’s unique heritage remains, the condos are designed for contemporary living. And, progress requires increased accessibility.

“From the interior wall standpoint,” says Bryce, “it was all opened up and we were putting an elevator in the center of this old building. With Michael and Sherril and the entire team, it came together. It went from a place of learning to a place for living.”

The personal living spaces have been custom fit for the new owners. “We replaced all the plumbing, electrical and mechanical,” Sherril notes. “The owners were able to choose their cabinetry, appliance and lighting packages to personalize their spaces. They could also pick colors and grout from three different paint palettes.”

The one-, two- and three-bedroom units, ranging in size from about 1,000 to 1,500 square feet, resonate with distinctive character.

As we make our way to the second floor condo belonging to T.J. Lynch and his wife, Maggie Hicks, Sherril points out original transoms above the doors. The spirit of yesteryear continues with original oak millwork and glass framed entryways in the lobby area.

Montana natives T.J. and Maggie expressed their interest in this cultural property early in the renovation endeavor. T.J.’s recounts his connection to this grand building going back to when he was NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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THERE’S A LOT OF CUBIC FEET BECAUSE OF THE HIGH CEILINGS. WE HAVE MORE COUNTER SPACE HERE THAN ANYWHERE WE’VE EVER LIVED. –T.J. Lynch

a first-grader. “I walked from our house by Daylis Stadium to school,” he says. “I walked alone on Grand Avenue.”

T.J.’s younger brother, Darren, started first grade the next year so the boys walked together. “We’d march with our coats and hats on down the block to St. Pat’s Church basement for lunch, as there was no cafeteria here.”

The memories flood in as does natural light through tall windows in the couple’s open living space. “We went with a warm color in the living room,” says T.J.. “We shook it up a bit.”

Complementing the maple floors, the newly trimmed windows remain resplendent in their 112

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724 1st Ave North | Billings, MT | (406) 245-6981

btbcabinets.com

beauty. Only the top panes have been replaced with opaque glass.

“This is to mitigate the strong sun,” T.J. explains. “We get the sun coming over the building on the west windows.” The couple’s main living area in the one-bedroom, two-bath condo faces north, making for additional light and a spectacular view of the rims.

“The best part is coming into the living room,” adds T.J., “and seeing almost the entirety of Billings.” Maggie agrees, “I love the view of the rims. The lights at the airport are beautiful.”

The airport’s a quick jaunt to the new condo when the couple flies in from their home in California, where T.J., a Hollywood screenwriter, teaches lighting technique at film school. Maggie, now retired after working the past 20 years in L.A. law offices, spent her earlier career working for the Forest Service here and for Doris Poppler, Montana’s first female U.S. attorney.

Ecstatic over owning one of the condos, the couple is already shaping new memories. The first week they moved in they discovered their street is on the route for Burn the Point. The large outdoor fenced-in patio provided the perfect spot for entertaining friends while watching the parade of classic cars stream by.

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“Oh, that was fun,” says Pam Boeck, who along with her sister, Debora Boeck, bought a two-bedroom, two-bath condo. “We met for margaritas on the patio and got to know Maggie, T.J. and a few other neighbors.”

The sisters grew up in Billings, graduating from West High in the 1960s. They lived for years in Seattle before moving to

Scottsdale, Arizona. Pam is a retired Delta flight attendant and real estate agent, while Debora works online with her education consulting business.

“We have lifelong friends and family here,” says Debora. “We knew we wanted to live out of Scottsdale in the summer.

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on the Stapleton building after staying downtown two years ago. Julie Seedhouse lives there and told us, ‘I know of this other project,’ and that’s how this all came about.”

“Billings is the obvious choice for us,” adds Pam. “It feels like home.”

These enterprising women decided to “bring together modern aesthetics,” as Debora says, “with old school.” They opted for a grey wall color. “Everybody loves this paint color,” says Pam. “It kind of has an aqua look to it.”

The color highlights the white Cambria quartz countertop juxtaposed with navy-blue kitchen cabinetry. A classy cream sofa and tan leather chair with ottoman float in the open design living space. A colorful floral bouquet rests on the original oak window sill. “It’s my thing,” says Debora, “having fresh flowers around.”

“And we love the chalkboard rail,” Pam says. “It’s adorable. I love how Maggie and T.J. put (LP) album covers on theirs.”

Another added touch Debora and Pam chose was carpeting their bedroom floors.

Debora’s space pops with dark bluecolored walls in contrast with the beige carpet. “Part of this room was part of the school principal’s office,” says Debora.

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BRING YOUR VISION TO US The experts at Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery are here to help create a home that’s as extraordinary as you are.

Any project, any style, any dream—bring your inspiration to Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery. Visit build.com/ferguson to schedule your personalized showroom experience today.

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RYAN AUER 406.850.2011

SHERI AUER 406.661.3355

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SHERRIL BURKE keeps the Billings community close to her heart.

Born and raised here, she ventured to the West Coast, where she attended the University of Oregon’s Architecture School in Eugene, and where she met Michael Burke. After graduating with architectural degrees they married and moved to the Magic City.

“I worked with my father, Harrison Fagg, for 30 years,” Sherril says. A decade ago she and Michael started their own architectural firm, HGFArchitects.

“I actually enjoy working with my husband and rely on his input and support,” she says.

The couple has two married children and two “fabulous” granddaughters. ✻

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021

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WOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMEN WOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOME

WOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMEN THE WOMEN WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES WOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOME LEFT TO RIGHT: JULIE SEEDHOUSE, EMILY LUDWICK, LAURI PATTERSON, SHERRIL BURKE, SHELBY WILIAMS (NOT PICTURED IS EMILY KRIEGER)

THE REVITALIZATION of the century-old schoolhouse took a concerted effort by many. The skills and talents of all involved brought this enormous labor of love to fruition.

A group of female professionals working closely with Sherril tied together the inner workings of this expansive development.

Realtors Julie Seedhouse and Shelby Williams, co-list agents for Century 21 Hometown Brokers, wasted no time promoting and selling the condos. “None of the units were completed when they sold,” says Julie. “It’s an incredible addition to downtown Billings and shows the demand for downtown living.”

Emily Ludwick, interior designer at Hannesson Home, put together the three color scheme options, as well as sample packages the owners selected for use in their kitchens and baths. “Owners could go with stained cabinetry or painted to oak and hickory,” says Emily. “We customized every unit.

“T.J. and Maggie went with hickory spice berry kitchen cabinets and Debora and Pam chose blue cabinetry. There were a lot of unique things to implement.”

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New schoolhouse-style lighting fixtures installed throughout the building brighten every nook and cranny. “We designed it to keep with the history and nostalgia of the building,” says Lauri Patterson, owner of One Source Lighting.

“What we selected was a great package for each unit,” adds Lauri. “We had only three owners that made changes. The common areas still feel like a school house and each unit feels like their own.”

When considering functionality and form for kitchen appliances Emily Krieger, area showroom manager for Montana at Ferguson Bath Kitchen & Lighting Gallery, notes each space had to be checked out. “We met with each individual owner and essentially offered a base package with option to upgrade,” she says.

“On the plumbing side selection, we went with the historic feel to stay with that era of the Fratt building,” Emily adds. “It all meshed well with the updated look and feel without taking away from the historical aspect.” ✻

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Under Contract

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291 MONTCLAIR

sold

4629 CHRISTENSEN ROAD

sold

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3116 8TH AVE N

sold

2731 ALPINE VIEW DRIVE

sold

3609 SNOWLINE DR

5412 BILLY CASPER

6150 SAM SNEAD TRAIL

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4406 RIO VISTA

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2074 SWANSON LN

1910 SAGEBRUSH RD

We’ve all heard the phrase, two heads are better than one. But could you ever imagine what three heads could do? Well, Team Hanel will show you just how effective they can be when representing your real estate needs. For us, we were utterly impressed with their

performance. First Tom Hanel comes in with a positively wonderful reaction when stepping into our home and excitedly

visualizes the full potential of our property. Then Robin Hanel steps strategizing all angles of marketing the property with innovative out-of-the-box brilliance. And finally, Korinne Rice rounds the corner making sure every “i” is dotted and all the “t’s” are crossed. So, if you’re searching for the right fit for your home listing experience, both Mary

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TOM HANEL ROBIN HANEL 406-690-4448 406-860-6181 Tom@TomHanel.com

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$ $

$

On any in-store purchase of Ariat footwear, apparel, or accessories from 11/21/2021–12/15/2021 at a participating retailer. Online purchases do not qualify. Limit one rebate per name, home or email address and household. Full terms, online entry, downloadable rebate form, and a list of participating retailers can be found at www.ariat.com/holidayrebate.

Offer valid in the 50 US States and DC for legal residents, age 18 and older; Void where prohibited.

On any purchase of Ariat footwear, apparel or accessories from 11/21/21-12/15/21. ©2021 Ariat is a registered trademark of Ariat International, Inc. All rights reserved. ®

BIG R WEST 2600 Gabel Road (406) 652-9118

BIG R HEIGHTS 1908 Main Street (406) 384-0099

BIG R SHERIDAN BIG R LEWISTOWN 2049 Sugarland Dr. 825 NE Main Street (307) 674-6471 (406) 350-4422

BIG R EAST 216 N. 14th Street (406) 252-0503 BIG R HARDIN 1001 N. Center Ave. (406) 953-5111

SHAY Owner

JODI

Designer

STEVE Designer

KADY

Designer

RYAN

Designer

SHERI Designer

• O V E R 10 0 Y E A R S O F C O M B I N E D E X P E R I E N C E •

W E A RE YOUR

A PPL I A NCE S | C A BINE T S | C OUN T ER T OP S | H A RD WA RE 2905 Millennium Cir. | 652-5772 | KitchensPlusMT.com