Clark Walter

Im so sorry to hear the news about Marie Gaines.  She was one lady I hoped to see at our 60th Reunion.  RIP Marie.

Bill Williams

Bill Williams

Bruce Benson

I was lucky enough to share a few lunches with Marie during our stays in the Phoenix area. She was struggling with so many problems.  It is sad but part of the hand we have all been delt. Her classmates were a very important part of her life.  Many of us go back 70 years as friends and companions.  

Marie had a strong faith and lived it every day   May she experience the benefits of her beliefs.

Randy Richardson (Richardson)

Roger the feelings of Bruce.....RIP Marie

Robert Fall

I have known Marie since grade school. I don't know about "resting peacefully". I hope she is playing and having a great time on the other side!

Dick Storey

So sorry to read about Marie. It still rings true--the good die young.

Bruce Benson

Some partially good and partially bad news, Dick; actuarially, those of us still here are doing quite well. Most of the population would not consider 78 as young. 

That said, I was ID’d yesterday for a cough syrup purchase.  Really?

Dick Storey

Hello Bruce,

Yep, you have to watch those cough syrup users.

A few weeks ago we went to the local brewery. I was in line behind a young person and the barkeep asked her for an ID. When I stepped up to the counter the same woman said “What will you have sir?” Reply: “You did not ask for my ID.” She laughed (that hurt). I said if you had asked I would have bought the employees a beer.

For some of us 78 is the new 88, not 68.

Good to see all those fish. AK, like MT, is a great place to hunt them.  Where did you hook these?

Cheers!

W Leggett

click on the  In Memory section and you can post a message. click on the individuals name to open up the area

W Leggett

From 1952 through 2008, Paul Harvey’s voice  

Dick Storey

Yo Bill--I sent that cartooon to you thinking it was you taking a nap. Although point taken-it could fit both of us.

--------------------------------

What do you think about this?

________________________________

Montana Standard, June 25, 2023.   (Letter to the editor)

USE COPPER BULLETS

As a patriotic, critter-loving hunter, it pains me to read about the tortured death of eagles, the national symbol of the U.S. That this is caused by poisoning from lead bullets (Sic: fragments in gut piles) fired by my fellow hunters is doubly painful.

            There is a simple solution. Support Butte’s economy and shoot copper bullets.

Steve Thompson,

Butte

------------------------------

What is the most common cause of bald and golden eagle deaths? Answer, lead poisoning.

Researchers analyzed the tissue of 1,210 bald and golden eagles across 38 states over a period of eight years. They found that 46 percent of bald eagles died of lead poisoning. Scientific models predicted that lead-caused deaths can stunt bald eagles' population growth by just under 4 percent annually. ( ECSA, Feb 17, 2022)

Why do so many bald eagles have lead poisoning?

The main way eagles consume lead is through their diet. Lead bullets and shot used in hunting game and varmints break apart,) on impact, (forming fragments that penetrate most of the animal’ body), and the carcasses are scavenged by birds of prey, who then ingest the lead shot or fragments. Experts say solutions are simple: use nonlead ammunition or remove gut piles and carcasses from the field. ( MDW&P, 2022).

Researchers analyzed the tissue of 1,210 bald and golden eagles across 38 states over a period of eight years. They found that 46 percent of bald eagles died of lead poisoning. Scientific models predicted that lead-caused deaths can stunt bald eagles' population growth by just under 4 percent annually. (MSA, Feb 17, 2022).

Spring migrating eagles sampled in west-central Montana between 1983 and 1985 showed elevated blood-lead levels in 85% of 86 Golden Eagles and 97% of 37 Bald Eagles (Rapteers, Harmatz and Restani 1995).

Helena Independent Record June 20, 2023

 A recently released study on the threat of lead exposure in bald eagles found that 89% of free-flying bald eagles have elevated levels of lead in their system in the months following Montana’s big-game hunting season.

Every year, hunters provide an important food source to scavengers such as eagles, in the gut piles and carcasses that they leave in the field. Hunters produce about 152 million pounds of carrion nationwide according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates. Unfortunately, those remains are often riddled with lead bullet fragments that can sicken and kill eagles. Their smaller size relative to other scavengers, as well as their digestive systems make raptor species such as bald eagles more susceptible to lead poisoning than larger scavengers such as bears, mountain lions or coyotes.

The study, titled “The seasonal threat of lead exposure in bald eagles” found that lead exposure in bald eagles is pervasive throughout Montana, particularly after the general rifle hunting season in October and November. Montana’s general rifle hunting season coincides with migratory bald eagles arriving in the state to overwinter alongside resident birds, meaning the region is likely a source of lead exposure for a substantial number of eagles

W Leggett

SORRY DICK, BUT I DON'T TAKE THEM

Nelson Evans

Well, I take naps whenever I can. Not everyday, but often. Otherwise, I fall asleep during my planned exercise.....watching TV. 
 

Early Happy 4th of July to all of our classmates.

Nova Guynes

I would love to take naps but every time I try someone calls or interrupts me. I am able to get some nap time when I am watching golf on TV. 

Nova Guynes

Happy 4th of July to all

Joy Lee (Mullins)

Marie and I knew each other from "way back when", attending the same church, etc.  She was multi-talented and a friend to all.  Did you know she had a beautiful singing voice?  What a lovely addition she is in heaven!   I'll miss receiving the yearly birthday card she unfailingly sent, and her upbeat comments on tis site.  Marie will  remain one of the special ones..always. 

W Leggett

Cheryl Corazzi (Essex)

I have never figured out that happened. All of a sudden, I woke up and it was true. 

Dick Storey

Independence Day. On July 4, 1776, the heroic people of the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, announcing the separation from England. Kudos and thank you to those courageous patriots.

And huge thanks to all who have served to preserve our freedom.

Have a joyous 4^th all.

Dick Storey

July 1776 Was a Shotgun Wedding

Well, thiis is another take on independence and the people/states involved.  From Time magazine website today (07/04/2023):

https://time.com/6291967/american-independence-july-1776-was-a-shotgun-wedding/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sfmc&utm_campaign=newsletter+brief+default+ac&utm_content=+++20230704+++body&et_rid=207190982&lctg=207190982

I’m no historian but this is pretty interesting stuff.

W Leggett

Cheryl Corazzi (Essex)

Amen!

W Leggett

W Leggett

Black History

Black History in the United States began when the first African indentured servants and enslaved people were brought west in the early seventeenth century. They were forced to do back-breaking labor on plantations and separated from their homes and families. Despite their unjust inferior status, they fought against Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and against the Confederate South in the Civil War. During the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation freed all those enslaved in Confederate states and territories. Then at the end of the war, the 13th Amendment was ratified, freeing all enslaved individuals within the United States. Though they had freedom on paper, Black Americans faced significant discrimination in the workplace, the education system, and the political and social spheres. In the South, they suffered under the discriminatory Jim Crow laws that kept them segregated in all public places. In the mid-1950s, the civil rights movement began in earnest and Blacks protested across the United States until the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964. Though this improved their position in American society, Black Americans still face prejudice and discrimination today.

Black History in the United States is filled with terrible mistreatment and beautiful triumphs. It is long, storied, and impossible to separate from the history of the United States itself.

The first Africans came to the British colonies as indentured servants and then as enslaved individuals. Wealthy Europeans had settled in the fertile South and began producing cash crops, such as tobacco or cotton. In the beginning, they used indentured servants to work the fields, but this was an expensive form of labor that needed continual renewal each time an indentured servant filled his contract. Therefore, plantation owners sought a cheaper form of labor that would give them more control over their workers. Thus, the transatlantic slave trade began. European mariners captured Africans from the Senegambia and west-central African regions and forced them onto ships headed for the New World. There, they were treated as property, [bought and sold](https://www.fold3.com/title/700/south-carolina-estate-inventories-and-bills-of-sale-1732-1872) from the Portuguese colony of Brazil to the [Danish West Indies](https://www.fold3.com/title/68/danish-west-indies-slavery-and-emancipation) in the Caribbean to Jamestown in the British colonies.

When the revolutionary war broke out in 1775, thousands of enslaved and free Blacks[ joined the fight](https://www.fold3.com/title/469/revolutionary-war-rolls) and sought independence from Great Britain. Twenty years later, the young United States banned American ships from participating in the slave trade. Then in 1817, the [American Colonization Society](https://www.fold3.com/title/2/american-colonization-society) was formed to establish a colony in Africa for free people of color. Shortly after, the shipment of enslaved individuals on any transatlantic vessel was forbidden, and the United States began to [seize suspicious vessels](https://www.fold3.com/title/472/sec-of-the-interior-suppression-of-slave-trade-and-colonization). One such vessel, the Amistad, was seized in 1839 and the claims of salvage by the ship’s owner were considered in both [district and circuit courts](https://www.fold3.com/title/4/amistad-federal-court-records) and ultimately in the [Supreme Court](https://www.fold3.com/title/5/amistad-supreme-court-records).

In April 1861, the Civil War began, and one year later, those enslaved in the District of Columbia were [emancipated](https://www.fold3.com/title/14/board-of-commissioners-emancipation-of-slaves-in-dc). Then, on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the [Emancipation Proclamation](https://www.fold3.com/image/302927640?terms=proclamation,emancipation), freeing all those enslaved in Confederate states and territories and urging them to join the [Union Army](https://www.fold3.com/category_21/). The [Colored Troops](https://www.fold3.com/category_268/) fought bravely in the war, and many received [pensions](https://www.fold3.com/title/57/civil-war-pensions-index) and [awards](https://www.fold3.com/page/723-u-s-colored-troops-and-sailor-awarded-medal-of-honor) for their service. After the war ended, the [13th Amendment](https://www.fold3.com/title/463/ratified-amendments-to-the-us-constitution) to the Constitution was ratified and adopted throughout the United States. Although, the 13th Amendment granted freedom to enslaved individuals; it did not change their social standing, provide them with educational or emloyment opportunities, or influence the prejudiced views of other Americans. It was particularly difficult in [the South](https://www.fold3.com/title/268/news-the-atlanta-constitution), where Jim Crow laws forced segregation and prevented Blacks from enjoying the same rights and privileges as other Americans.

Despite the prejudice and discrimination they faced, Blacks continued to make significant contributions in science, the arts, and politics. Many Black American men also served in the military during the First and Second World Wars, as young men in the [Air Force](https://www.fold3.com/title/95/missing-air-crew-reports-wwii), Army, Navy, and Marines and as [older men](https://www.fold3.com/title/765/wwii-old-mans-draft-registration-cards) serving their country in other capacities. At this time, the [FBI](https://www.fold3.com/title/74/fbi-case-files) (then the Bureau of Investigation) also employed Black Americans, as did the [Military Intelligence Division](https://www.fold3.com/title/93/military-intelligence-division-negro-subversion).

In spite of their service, loyalty, and inalienable rights as citizens of the United States, Blacks still faced discrimination in social and political spheres. In the mid-1950s, the civil rights movement began with men and women like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks leading the way. Protestors [marched](https://www.fold3.com/image/4346713) peacefully in cities throughout the United States; Black students took part in the desegregation of schools, and civil rights activists met with government leaders to plead their case. On July 2, 1964, their efforts paid off, and the Civil Rights Act was enacted, outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

The Civil Rights Act was an important step forward in American and [Black History](https://go.fold3.com/blackhistory); however, it did not eliminate the problems of prejudice and discrimination in the United States. To this day, Black Americans are not always treated equally in social, political, educational, and economic spheres. The modern iteration of the civil rights movements, Black Lives Matter, began in July 2013 and has spread throughout the United States and around the globe.