Thanks to Kevin and Emily O’Bryan, North Fork landowners, who donated a bookcase for the Community Hall. Kevin built the beautiful wooden bookcase in Ohio (where he was building cabinets and shelves for their North Fork cabin) and transported it here. The bookcase will display books on the flora and fauna of the Northern Rockies which were donated by North Fork landowner, Randy Lakes. There will also be a shelf of books written by local authors. [Any North Fork author who would like to donate a copy of their book(s), please contact debopowers@gmail.com]. All of these books can be checked out (and returned) by NFLA members beginning this summer when the library will be set up.
Author: Debo Powers
“Creeks” Donate to Sondreson Hall Fund
The “Creeks of the North Fork” float won first place in the Polebridge 4th of July Parade this year. The first place prize, donated by the Merc and the Saloon, was $100 to spend at the Merc or Saloon and $100 to be donated to whatever non-profit organization the group chose. “Creeks of the North Fork” spent their prize money on a pizza party on Friday night. The group decided that the $100 donation should go to a North Fork non-profit organization. After some discussion about which organization, they reached consensus on the NFLA Improvement Fund for Community Hall Maintenance since having use of Sondreson Hall benefits everyone in the North Fork. Most of the 18 members of the float attended the pizza party (although not everyone was present when the picture was taken).
Pie & Ice Cream Social and Square Dance a Big Success
Saturday night at the Hall was a fun time for North Forkers. The Hall was filled with the voices of people visiting and enjoying each other’s company. Not only was the counter filled with wonderful pies and homemade ice cream, but most people stayed afterwards to square dance or watch from the sidelines. Many families came with their children. Young people always make the event even more special……. especially the look of glee on their faces as they participate in the square dancing! We had three squares throughout the night with people filtering in and out of the squares in order to take breaks and give others a chance to dance. Thanks to Linda Pitman for hosting this wonderful event!
Don’t forget that there is another square dance in August. So get out your crazy hats and come join everyone on Saturday August 15th starting at 8PM. For more information, see the calendar.
Yellow Hawkweed is in Bloom on the North Fork
All over the North Fork, along driveways and in yards, Yellow Hawkweed has started to bloom. To the unaware, it looks like a beautiful flower, but it is actually a very noxious weed…..one of the worst weed problems in the North Fork. It spreads insidiously through its prolific seeds which can be carried afar on the wind, vehicles, boots, and animals. If untreated, a few flowers will become a thick field of yellow in just a few years choking out native wildflowers…….and it will spread to other people’s property.
The NFLA Weed Committee mailed postcards to all North Fork landowners featuring the most common noxious weeds. In addition, there are free booklets at the Community Hall with pictures of various noxious weeds and how to manage them. Continue reading Yellow Hawkweed is in Bloom on the North Fork
North Fork Gardeners Share Secrets
On Tuesday morning, a group of North Fork gardeners met at the Community Hall to swap tips about gardening in our short growing season. To add to the fun, Valerie Petti displayed and sold seedlings that she had grown to help pay for college. In the lively discussion that followed the seedling sale on the front porch, gardeners shared ideas about everything from soil conditioning to pest control. Everyone came away from the “Gardeners Roundtable Discussion” with renewed inspiration. Many spent the rest of the rainy day working in their gardens and greenhouses.
2015 Sondreson Hall Cleanup Day
On Saturday, about 20 members of the NFLA showed up to help with the annual Hall Cleanup Day. It was a pleasurable neighborhood experience—a combination of chatting and light work—cleaning, dusting, sweeping, organizing, trimming bushes, washing windows, and splitting kindling for the wood stoves. Everyone had a good time and there were enough people to complete all of the tasks in a short period of time. Our Community Hall is now ready for a season of fun-filled community activities to begin. A delicious lunch of chili, salad, and dessert completed the day.
NFLA to Host a Gardeners Roundtable Discussion
Tuesday, June 2 at 10:00am at Sondreson Community Hall
Growing food has been a project for North Forkers for over a hundred years since the time of the first homesteaders in the area. This is the time of year when people are preparing their gardens and planting seeds and seedlings. A variety of gardens exist on the North Fork today……some grow flowers in boxes and some grow native plants while others have gardens and greenhouses with vegetables for feeding the family, as well as, extra for canning and freezing.
Our North Fork climate offers real challenges for gardeners. Some crops seem almost impossible to grow in a place where it can frost any night of the summer! The Gardeners Roundtable on Tuesday is an informal way for us to ask questions and share our knowledge and experience with each other. Please join us if you are a North Fork gardener…..or a wannabe.
Valerie Petti will be selling vegetable seedlings—tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, basil, etc.
North Fork History Project Takes a Leap Forward
Several years ago, members of the NFLA History Committee began to interview and record the stories of people who have been in the North Fork for a long time. Folks talk about what the North Fork was like when they arrived, going to school on the North Fork, encounters with bears, moose, and bobcats and much more. At this point there are 17 recordings that can be downloaded from the NFLA website at nflandowners.org/north-fork-history-project/.
Recently, the history project took a major step forward when Chris Graff and Monica Phillips volunteered to pay for written transcripts from these interviews. They came up with this idea as a way to support the history project and make the interviews accessible to more people. Thanks to Chris and Monica for their generous donation! The interviews can now be read on the website.
To make the history page even more interesting, Patti Hart has added photographs of those who have been interviewed and those who have been featured in North Fork short stories.
So check out the new and improved North Fork History Project page.
2014 Fire Wise Day
For eleven years (since the Wedge Canyon Fire in 2003, the NFLA has had a very active Fire Mitigation Committee. Each summer, the committee hosts a Fire Wise Day at the Hall to help inform landowners about what they can do on their property to mitigate the effects of catastrophic wildfire. Grants have been available to help landowners with reducing fuels around their homes. This year’s Fire Wise program began with a staggering film about the devastating wildfires that have plagued Colorado in recent years. This film covered some of the causes of those fires and the conditions that control the options that fire managers have in fighting huge wildfires. The overwhelming message of the film is that if you choose to live in a fire-prone area, you will eventually have to deal with the consequences. The remainder of the program focused on research concerning adequate distance between trees in thinning projects and the Kinsolving’s restoration project since the Wedge Canyon Fire. Molly Shepherd and Allen Chrisman received an award from Fire Safe Montana for their leadership with the NFLA Fire Mitigation Committee.
Gardening with Native Plants
North Fork “plant nerds” gathered at the Community Hall on Tuesday morning for a workshop on Gardening with Native Plants. Because it was a beautiful day, the workshop was held on the front porch. Terry Divoky from Wildflower, who has been leading this workshop in our community for many years, and Stacey Jacobsen Burgard from the Center for Native Plants, presented information, answered questions, and sold native plants that they had brought with them. After attending this workshop for several years, many North Fork gardeners have transformed their home sites by landscaping with native plants. Next year, we plan to organize this workshop as a field trip to see native plants in North Fork yards.
