OK Solberg: 00:00

And welcome you to the 04:05 coffee break. Get your cup of coffee, glass iced tea, bottle of water. You know the routine. Let's see what's happening. Springly, $5.71 a bushel.

OK Solberg: 00:12

550 pounds steer calf, $3.88. I hope to shout. That's a lot of money. Butcher Hog in Omaha, Seventy Eight Cents a pound. Hundred pound fat lamb in Billings, $2.15.

OK Solberg: 00:25

But guys, there's more, much more. Okay. Today, we'll flash back to years gone by and look at some, well, old Phillips County newspapers. I don't have a particular theme for today, just old and interesting stuff from the past. Our past right here in Phillips County.

OK Solberg: 00:46

The PCN dated 11/02/1961 has an interesting article on the front page. The headline reads, citizens question on shelters. And then it says this question was asked to people in the community. What are your plans regarding a family fallout shelter? Do you think the time will come when they will need them?

OK Solberg: 01:14

Okay. Okay. Remember, it was during the cold war, and it was a troubling time thinking of another nation sending a nuclear bomb our way, I can ask people around Malta that remember about drills and fallout shelters and all that jazz. And there are people just five years older than me that remember being at elementary school in Malta, Montana, and there were bomb drills where the students were made to get under their desks and hold their hands over their heads. One boy in particular who shall remain nameless, Mike Lowney, told me, I didn't wanna get under my desk.

OK Solberg: 01:57

I wanted to go to the window and see the great explosion. I don't wanna miss that. But for me, I never had any of those drills in my schooling years. Now remember, I went to West Harb Country School for first grade in nineteen sixty three, sixty four school year. It was my mom as a teacher and my two sisters as the only other students in my entire school.

OK Solberg: 02:23

So no bomb drills there. I came to Malta Elementary School in the fall of nineteen sixty four, and believe me, there were no bomb drills in any of my classes all through elementary grades. They had put them aside. But it had been a thing. And like I said, in 11/02/1961, PCN, it asked about the fallout shelter question.

OK Solberg: 02:51

Let me share with you two of the answers from members of the community back in 1961. Mister t d answered, we're just gonna take it. I don't wanna crawl out of some rat hole and find my friends all gone, the country ruined, and civilization destroyed. End of quote. Short, sweet, and to the point.

OK Solberg: 03:17

I like his answer. I really do. Then mister c b answered, I'm definitely not planning a fallout shelter. I don't believe in it, and I can't afford it. I don't think we'll ever see a nuclear war.

OK Solberg: 03:30

No nation is gonna destroy itself. Bomb shelters and food kits may be alright, but I feel that the public is in danger of being victimized. There'll be dozens of shelters on the market, good or bad, who knows. It's getting to be a commercialized racket, end of quote, from a day gone by. Oh, yeah.

OK Solberg: 03:55

I'm glad that's behind us. Are you? Different subject. In the October 26 edition from 1961 has this interesting article. Fanning Hill Road Improvement by County Crew.

OK Solberg: 04:10

The Fanning Hill Road near the mouth of Cottonwood Creek is undergoing major repairs by the County Road Crew. The road first carved out of the hill some thirty five years ago has been a snow trap and has been extremely dangerous because of its narrowness and the drop of several hundred feet to the river valley. Arvid Sundin of the US reclamation service has been doing the blasting. The road will be widened and straightened, and the rim rock at the top of the hill will be cut through to make the decline less acute. The Fanning Hill Road is used by ranchers in the North Cottonwood area.

OK Solberg: 04:53

When it was built, it led to the once thriving little inland town of Lovejoy. The steep hill is about a half a mile long. From the top of Fanning Hill, a wide expanse of country can be seen. Nelson Reservoir and Bodoin Lake, the big bend of Milk River, the breaks of Cottonwood Creek, and a 10 mile stretch of the Milk River Valley can be seen, making the hill one of the most scenic spots in the county. The hill is named for an early day family in that era, end of quote.

OK Solberg: 05:30

Have you been to Fanning Hill? My first experience to Fanning Hill was the spring of nineteen seventy five. Me and a friend went up there to watch the sunrise just before we graduated high school. It is a great view. If you haven't been there, you need to go.

OK Solberg: 05:49

From Malta, it takes you about ten minutes to get there. You can go, get to the top, enjoy the view, and be back within an hour. If you haven't done it, you better do it. And if you noticed in the article, it stated that the road had been built about thirty five years ago at the writing of the article, therefore, Fanning Hill Road was carved out in about 1926. Just thought you'd like to know a bible verse and then I'll run.

OK Solberg: 06:19

Remember the days of old. Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you your elders, and they will tell you. Deuteronomy thirty two seven. So until next time, as you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.