The Whitehall Ledger - Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

In a few days, people across the world will stay up until midnight to welcome the new year. I most likely will not be one of them. In fact, it has been several years since I stayed up that late that night. This was not always the case and I can...

I was watching a television show about how stuff is made, and they had an episode about gum. While I still enjoy a piece every now and then, it brought back memories of my childhood. As a little kid, I would always try to get a pack of gum at the...

Anyone that knows me well certainly understands how much I understand a traditional turkey dinner. If I was ever kidnapped for a ransom and told I could only pick one meal this would certainly be it, but I’m sure that after few hours of taking me...

On December 3, 2019 Jane Ann (Yost) Hanson surrounded by her children, became an angel due to her oversized heart. Jane was born November 20, 1942 in Faribault, Minnesota to Ernest and Marjorie (Brock) Yost. She grew up in St. Paul, MN with many...

Since I started studying journalism in college, I've been able to have a lot of very interesting newspaper jobs. While they were not always as much fun as I would have liked, I always learned a lot and from a wide variety of people. I just had a...

I was scrolling through social media a few weeks ago and saw a picture of my buddy's kids with Santa. This really struck me as odd considering it was only a few days after Halloween and a bit too early for kids to be making a visit to Mr. K ringle...

I really enjoy cooking and the weekends are my favorite time to put some time and effort into creating a great meal. It's never as much fun on weekdays because after a long day I really don't want to spend much time in the kitchen. A few weeks ago,...

While I certainly don't mind being outside for a hike or spending a few days camping without any technology or a care in the world, I also very much like to be sitting on the self-created divot on my couch and binge-watching a television show or a...

Every few months I will have a dream of a small little diner in my hometown of Rock Springs, Wyoming. After the dream, I will always wake up hungry and craving a double shamrock and fries with from Grub's Drive-In. While it may make some people...

Southwest Montana is a really wonderful place to both work and live and I'm truly blessed to call the Treasure State home. I've lived and worked all over the western United States and Montana truly is a special place. I wish I could say that about...

When I was a senior in college, I was taking classes through the University of Wyoming Extension office in my hometown and waiting tables at a local restaurant. I had a steady girlfriend, a great group of friends, was making pretty decent money and...

It was just about nine years ago when I first spotted "Peaches" walking near my home in Washington. I had never been a cat person in my life, but I instantly felt for him as the little kitten followed his mother. I knew in a heartbeat that the life o...

With the kids both in activities this fall there have not been many family trips to the grocery store. This is probably a good thing. For some strange reason they don't seem to like all the embarrassing things I will do to draw attention to us at...

I was watching a football game the other day and witnessed a mascot going absolutely bananas on the sideline and it reminded me of my senior year of high school. For the two and a half years of school, I had often watched the "Tiger" at my high...

I don't really get home to Wyoming to visit family and friends as much as I would like. It's not necessarily the seven-hour drive that is a burden, it is instead falling way too behind at work which is never fun. Earlier this month I had a good...

Fall has arrived in Southwest Montana and I must say it is easily my favorite season the year. I love to leave the house for work on a crisp morning and see the temperature slowly rise to a comfortable high later in the day. To me there is just somet...

As long as I can remember, Labor Day has always been the symbolic end of the summer and an opportunity for people to get as much enjoyment as possible out of a three-day weekend. There is also a great deal of history behind the holiday and it also...

I'll be the first to admit I spend too much time on my phone and really need to put it down a lot more. It's very addictive and I can certainly see why kids who have been raised with phones spend so much time with them. It's all they know. I'm old...

A few years back when video stores were still a mainstay, I used to rent five or six movies a week. Sometimes when the weather was bad, or I was in a lazy mood I would spend my entire weekend watching a variety of films in a variety of genres. These...

With the start of the school year approaching I started to rack my brain about some first day memories but there was not really anything that stood out. I think perhaps the biggest moment I remember is how my love for the first day changed as I...

With the heavy moisture early in the summer I really haven't had to worry too much about watering my grass. While it certainly hasn't needed much additional water, it sure has not had any problems growing. In fact, my lawn has probably grown a half...

A few years ago, I was covering a Class B State Track meet in Butte and it was a typical Montana spring day that featured just about all four seasons. When I left the house in the morning it was frigid and appeared it might snow at any minute. This...

A few of my summer breaks during college I was lucky enough to get a really good construction job that really helped me with my expenses. I also had a few summers where it was very difficult to find a job that didn't involve fast food. While I...

Ten years ago, I probably would have had plenty of crazy adventures to talk about in my weekly column. A night out with a pack of friends to a bar or a trip to Vegas would usually result in some sort of shenanigans. The older I get; I'm finding more...