OK Solberg: 00:00

I wanna get and welcome in to The 405 Coffee Break. Guys, Friday, weekend's coming. Get your cup of coffee, glass of iced tea, bottled water, let's see what's happening.

OK Solberg: 00:08

Spring Wheat $5.11 a bushel. That reminds me of a story. 1974, wheat was $5 a bushel. 550lb steer calf $4.35 a pound. I'll guarantee you this. Back in 1974, a 550lb steer calf was probably worth about 43¢ a pound. Well, maybe a little higher. Butcher hog in Iowa, 64¢ a pound. A 100lb fat lamb in Billings will fetch you $2.18, but, guys, there's more much more.

OK Solberg: 00:43

Alright, Alright then. I visited with a friend just this morning who shall remain nameless, Mike Lowney, and he remembers having bomb drills in elementary classes even right here in Malta, Montana. Yep. That's true. Those drills were often referred to as duck and cover drills.

OK Solberg: 01:04

Now Mike, as a 6 year old boy and then 7 and 8 remembers them well, but he remembers them for a different reason. He didn't wanna be cowering under his desk. He wanted to be at the window watching the great explosion.

OK Solberg: 01:20

Isn't that kind of a guy thing? It sure is, and I too can relate to that. But, anyway, it's of interest to me because I did not experience those drills. From my limited research, I believe them to be terminated in 1960 or 1961 in the Malta School. So I went to the library and started researching.

OK Solberg: 01:46

I went to a 1960 edition of the Phillips County News and, well, like often happens, I did not find what I was looking for, but I certainly found lots of valid and fun information. So no more on duck and cover drills, but don't listen to what I did find just this morning. Have you ever heard of a guy doing two things at the same time? Well, as I'm at the library, I get a text from my dear aunt Jean, who would not mind me telling you her age. Jean Hallam Kampf is 95 years young and still going strong.

OK Solberg: 02:27

So while paging through old Phillips County news this morning at the library, I received a text message from my aunt Jean. Yes. She's 95 years young and can text like a junior high student, and that's a good thing. Her text to me was in reference to yesterday's 405. My aunt had heard it on the Internet. She texted me, enjoyed your history lesson. Thank you. Here's another history lesson. The year I was born, 1930, ground beef was 21¢ a pound and chicken at 30¢ a pound. She goes on to say that yesterday, she paid $9.90 a pound for chicken breast.

OK Solberg: 03:16

I texted back, yikes. Those prices are ridiculously crazy. I remember when a candy bar cost a nickel. Oh, guys. That common of mind brought back history lesson after history lesson. My aunt Jean texted back in the haying season in 1939, dad on the haystack, my brother Jack on the bull rate, and me driving the pickup on the stacker back and forth and back and forth. Back and forth was so tedious. I used to pray that we'd break down so we could go to town for repairs and Dad, that's O.K. Hallam. Orval Keene Hallam, my grandfather, whom I'm named after.

OK Solberg: 04:06

And dad always bought one Hershey bar that we divide three ways and enjoy. That nickel Hershey bar was so delicious. I then asked her if that was straight west of Dodson. She answered back. Dad had a contract with the reservation to put up the Bluejoint hay on their land a few miles west of Dodson off Highway 2, directly south of our place. Brian Stevens and the coal land was there and also Longknight, I believe.

OK Solberg: 04:41

I drove a team of horses on haystack or two from Dan O'Brien one summer. He owned land directly across the bridge from our place at Hobart. He and his brother Smith O'Brien lived on the reservation land next to Bud Phillips. My old horse Dick was one of Bud Philip's racing horses. Now Bud told me Dick's fancy race horse'n name, but I've forgotten. End of quote.

OK Solberg: 05:09

How's that for going from searching out duck and cover drills to west of Dodson hay'in stories? But as I savored my aunt Jean's history lesson, I found vast amounts of interesting stuff in the 1960 Phillips County newspaper. Listen. I see the TV schedule for KOOK TV, k o o k TV, listed right there in the 1960 PCN, and you'll be interested to know.

OK Solberg: 05:40

In 1960, The Rifleman aired on Monday evening at 8PM. I also see the famous old Long X Ranch was bought by Martin Makovich. I find that the Malta Standard Garage is advertising a 1960 Chevy Corvair, the best seller's car of the year. I see one issue at the PCN. There's an article titled Bill Kellerman told news of early Little Rocky history.

OK Solberg: 06:14

I also see in the August 25 issue that there are 19 rural schools in the county ready for Monday opening, 19 country schools. And right next to it, it stated that an estimated 800, eight hundred school children will begin the new school year in Malta on Monday. I'm gonna run out of time, but we'll continue this history lesson again next week.

OK Solberg: 06:42

But I also find Orvin B Fjare running for US senate. And that's the person my mom got my name from. See, she wanted me to have the same initials as her father, Orval K Hallam, But there were too many Orval's, so Orvin was the name she hit upon. So signing off, this is O.K. Solberg, grandson of O.K. Hallam.

OK Solberg: 07:08

Oh wait. Did I have a bible verse? No. I did not. Listen. 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 32:7

OK Solberg: 07:25

Just ask your aunt Jean. So until next time, as you go out there, remember now. Don't be bitter.