Category: Social

Come join Debo and the gang for the last NFLA square dance of 2015. It’s this Saturday night, September 19, starting at 8PM at Sondreson Hall. We’ve been practicing all summer and now is the time to put all of those square dance moves into motion. Please bring s snack to share with your neighbors.

The next meeting of the Backwoods Book Lovers is coming up on Tuesday, September 15th starting at 7:30PM at Sondreson Hall.  The book this month is Fools Crow by James Welch. Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia…

Fools Crow is a 1986 novel written by Native American author James Welch. Set in Montana shortly after the Civil War, this novel tells of White Man’s Dog (later known as Fools Crow), a young Blackfeet Indian on the verge of manhood, and his tribe, known as the Lone Eaters. The invasion of white society threatens to change their traditional way of life, and they must choose to fight or assimilate. The story is a powerful portrait of a fading way of life. The story culminates with the historic Marias Massacre of 1870, in which the U.S. Cavalry mistakenly killed a friendly band of Blackfeet, consisting mostly of non-combatants.

You have plenty of time before the 15th, so read the book and come join your North Fork neighbors in the discussion. Also please bring a snack to share. Backwoods Book Lovers is hosted by Gerry Stearns.

Come join your friends and neighbors this coming Sunday, August 23rd, for the annual Community Pot Luck End of Season Picnic. The fun starts at 12:30PM at the Bowman Lake Picnic area. Please bring a dish to share, any water vehicle you want, your drink of choice, lawn chair, mosquito repellant, and a smiley face. The meat will be provided.   Your hosts this year are Dennis & Carol Groebe.

There were plenty of crazy hats on offer at last evenings “Crazy Hat” square dance at Sondreson Hall. There was also lots of square dancing with Debo Powers doing the calling and good food brought by friends and neighbors.

Although the competition was fierce, our three distinguished judges decided that Sarah Ulrichesen’s “North Fork Packrat Association” hat was the best, followed closely by Karen McDonough’s “Frog Hat” that came complete with sound effects. The hot peach cobbler, cookies, brownies, and blondies were a welcome treat midway through the evening. We hope that this is the start of a new old tradition and are looking forward to next year’s “Crazy Hat” dance.

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.

The silent action held last evening at Sondreson Hall just before the NFLA Business Meeting was well attended. Eighteen items were donated including baked goods, hand crafted jewelry, Aladdin’s Lamp, and an original oil painting by Ruth Sondreson donated by Cecily McNeil. Gift certificates from Home Ranch Bottoms, the Northern Lights, and the Polebridge Mercantile were also on offer and very much appreciated. At one point Larry Wilson had his bid in for at least five different baked goods but ended up taking home Ray Hart’s prized Flathead Sour Cherry pie. Everyone enjoyed the hour of socializing and competing for their favorite items. And altogether over $800 was raised for the NFLA Improvement fund. We want to thank everyone who participated.

Don’t forget that the 2015 Firewise Day and Summer Interlocal Meeting are taking place on Wednesday, July 15th, at Sondreson Hall starting at 9:30AM. Check out all of the NFLA events on the NFLA calendar.

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.

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.