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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Blinking lights, pretty trees and Christmas decorations are here once again to the delight of many who really enjoy this special season. Don't forget Santa Day Saturday December 9th!

It will be a busy month of activities for everyone. Christmas programs, school sports, speech and drama meets, and Christmas parties are on the agenda for many.

The 17th Annual McCone County Predator Hunt will begin Friday, December 15th with sign up by 6 p.m. at the Brockway Supper Club followed by a mandatory rules meeting. At least one member of each team must attend this meeting. Saturday check-in is by 7 p.m. and Sunday check-in is by 5 p.m. Contact Rex Sikveland at 974-9745 for more information or Gus Kamp at 485-2036. This hunt will be a 100 percent payout. Coyotes, fox and cats are all counted as predators. This is a McCone County Hunt since most of the donators are from McCone County and this will help the local ranchers with their predator issues. There will be a Calcutta again this year following the rules meeting Friday night.

Remy Stempel was selected for the Montana All Star Band including students practicing for and performing in concert on the University of Montana campus over Veterans Day weekend. Mike Bartelson drove Remy, a student from Savage and two students from Fairview to Missoula. Nancy Stempel met her sister Tammie Mart in Missoula before Nancy and Keeley attended the concert on November12th. Nancy was able to visit her brother Mury on the way home. Circle Music Boosters sponsored Remy's entry fee.

It was a busy Thanksgiving for many area families. Gus and Donna and crew at the Brockway Supper Club served Thanksgiving dinner to quite a few folks.

Clay and Sherry Berger, Irene Berger and Greg and Noreen Berger were in Belgrade for Thanksgiving at the home of Mark and Patti Soares. Mark and Therese Iwaniak of Butte joined the family for the festivities.

It was a busy time at the homes of Harv and Patrice Kountz and Jared and Melissa Kountz. Mike Grant and Jocelyn Kountz and family and Johnna O'Neill and children spent several days over Thanksgiving break visiting the farm. Jared and Melissa hosted Thanksgiving dinner for them and her parents Tyke and Patti Colbert and grandmother Vi. Kountz's also hosted the annual weiner roast the Friday after Thanksgiving. There was a large group of family and friends enjoying the beautiful day and catching up with each other. Brent Sutton said this annual tradition was started around 1972 with his parents Henry and Barb and the Kountz families.

Matt and Kaylee Kleinsasser, Greeley and Izzy, Carey Schneider, Cary Phillips and Falynn and Josh and Kerry Eissinger and Cheyenne joined Mary Kountz for Thanksgiving Day dinner and visiting. Friday the families enjoyed the hot dog roast and visiting. Saturday, they celebrated Falynn's recent 13th birthday and Izzy's upcoming 11th birthday with a taco bar, cakes and some hilariously entertaining games.

Traveling to Cody WY for Thanksgiving with Che' and Kelly Eissinger and Christian were Jerry and Bev Eissinger and Ron and Kathy McFarland along with other guests.

Brockway whist report for 11/19/23 by Pat Breitbach. With the nice weather and busy schedules, it was a bit of a late start but ten of the usual suspects were joined by a pair of new card playing talents who are in the area for hunting season. Despite the late start, the play was brisk between the various participants. I actually got a very good overview as I circulated the tables in a methodical manner…losers always move, LOL. The ladies were definitely off the leash as the witty comebacks and wiry humor were the order of the night as I was “put in my place”(although I did my best to give as good as I got) at every table I was assigned by the luck of the deal. Topics for “table tawk” ran the gaunt from the usual local court report, delivered straight from “the horse's mouth to topics as diverse as cataract diagnosis to industrial plumbing advice sprinkled with the obligatory hunting stories and the usual rehash of the last hand played, delivered with delight by the winners, much to the chagrin of the losing team. It is all part of the enjoyable atmosphere of the infamous BS Club who we owe a hearty “THANK YOU” for hosting this weekly event in a friendly and efficient manner. Now for the facts. It was Perry Breitbach, riding a remarkable wave of good luck with the deal, coasting into first place, followed by Mike Fritz in second while Shirley Heitz grabbed third place for the evening.

Brockway whist report for 11/26. With the arrival of the magic six p.m. start time, the card crowd was twelve strong for yet another three table night. After the formalities of the three dollar entry fee (WHAT A BARGAIN FOR THIS LEVEL OF ENTERTAINMENT!) were over, the players quickly split into the required pairs to initiate the serious business of who would get the cards and who would get to move along, each path having its own distinct advantages. Those who win are tethered to a single seat for the evening. Those who are less fortunate in the play are moved along to enjoy the expanded social interaction the frequent movement dictates. From a personal perspective, the first two games were a split bill and the third was another loss so the social interaction became the prize. Thank the Lord for Marge and her magic frog! If you are a faithful follower of this report you might remember the discussion in the past reports of superstitions and good luck charms. Well, Marge reported in early that she had found and brought along her personal talisman. After the first hand of the third game had not gone well for her team, she threatened to get out her frog and stroke it. That's where the card game turned into open mic night as the freelance wits around the tables questioned the prudence of exposing and stoking you frog in public. What more can I say..you really had to be there! But back to the games. After the obligatory 6 games were dealt, played and tallied, it was Perry Breitbach in the lead for the second week in a row for first place followed closely by Mike Fritz in second and Barb Smalis scooping up third with one hand while deftly handling a cow sale with the other. Talk about a multi-tasking wizard at work! I am here to tell you there is no better bargain in entertainment on a Sunday evening than this card playing social gathering. Hope to see you all next week at six!