Snippets - Milk and Cows

By SK Virtue as told by my dad. My Dad was born in 1938. This snippet took place around 1948. Dad and Lupe were about a year apart in age. 

When I was about 8 years old, we lived on a farm just outside of Ballantine Montana. My dad farmed acreage he rented from Claude Pierson. Some of it was on north 28 above the tracks and some of it was down by the river. We had ten milk cows at the time. they were Holstein /Angus cross.  My brother Lupe, and I milked the cows in the morning than we would walk them down from the farm on the hill to the river acreage which was about 3 miles away. 

The cows calved each year, and we would take them to sale. One year we kept one of the calves. It was a bull. Lupe and I raised it. Lupe wrestled and played with that bull. And he began to ride it like a horse. You know when we took the cows down by the river Lupe would ride that big bull and people driving along the road would stop and stare. That bull was a big bull, close to 2000 pounds. But Lupe wasn't afraid of him. We were kind of sad when Dad sold him, but he went to a good place. The Goggins Ranch bought that bull and used him for quite a while for breeding.

My mom used to separate the milk and cream with a cream separator she turned with her hands. She would pour the cream into those metal cream cans with the lids and the skim milk would go to the pigs we were raising. Once the cream cans were full, Mom would put then out on the ditch bank by the road and the truck from the Worden creamery would drive by and pick them up. The next day they would leave them in the same spot with the money; they paid my mom; stuck in one of the cans. This happened about twice a week. 

Lupe used to get so mad at the cows when we milked because they were always swatting flies with their tails. And of course, the tail end would swish on our heads. One day Lupe decided to be smart and shave one of the cow's tails. I guess he figured that if the tail was gone the cow wouldn't swat flies. But he was wrong. The moment Lupe sat down to milk, that cow swished her tail stub and damn near knocked Lupe out. He had a bump on his head the size of a baseball for days. And you know what, I didn't have to milk that cow until her tail hair grew back. Dad said since Lupe shaved the tail, he would have to milk the cow until its tail hair grew back. Was I ever grateful!

SNIPPETS - Farm Life was the Best Life.

The best times of my life were spent on a farm. As a young kid we had the freedom to run and play and just spend a whole summer messing around. The farm was a kid's playground. And as far as friends... well, you had six other brothers and sisters who were your friends.

We played on the haystacks and built forts in them until we got in trouble for pulling all the bales out of the middle of the haystack. We had rooms everywhere inside the haystack. What we didn't know was that the stack could have caved in anytime. Dad was so angry at us that day. We were grounded to the yard for two whole days.

We grabbed the cattails out of the creek by the corrals and pulled them apart to make a fluffy layer on the road and then ran through it pretending we were in heaven.

We bounced on dead bloated sheep bellies like they were our own special trampolines. We didn't realize they might explode at any time.

We sat on the corral ties and sang to the cows and walked the plank like pirates until one of us fell in the cow poop and then we all got in trouble. And then we stood and teased my sister who had to have a bath because she was completely covered in cow poop.

I was fed worms by my sister and brother, and we tasted dog food from the dog dish just to see what it tasted like. I even ate a robin egg because I thought it was Easter candy.

We watched as Dad milked the cow and squirted it at the line of cats that sat in a row waiting patiently to taste the delicious milk.

We swam in irrigation ditches and rode our bikes down dirt roads.

We pulled weeds in the garden as we sang at the top of our lungs "Mama Mia, Mama Mia, Mama Mihee-hee-hee -ia! (This one is for you Dar!) 

We played hide and seek in the dark and shadow tag in the moonlight. 

We found anthills and dug tunnels. Somehow, we never got bitten by the ants.

We ran in flooded pastures and got chased by water snakes. 

There were so many things for a kid to do that we were never bored. We stayed out until dark and got up at the break of dawn the next morning to run and play again.

The farm was a magical place, and we never really needed to go anywhere else. Because we had everything we needed on the farm.

SK VIRTUE

06/25/2025

 

Snippets - Tragedy on the Yellowstone River.

 The year was around 1967, and we lived on a farm just outside Billings, Montana. My dad worked as the hired hand, doing everything from milking cows to planting cornfields. Mom was always busy taking care of us kids, cooking, and feeding the chickens. For us kids, the farm was like a giant playground filled with endless fun and adventure. There was never a dull moment. The farm was bordered by the Yellowstone River, about a mile away, but Dad gave us strict orders to stay far from it. The Yellowstone River, though it appeared calm and leisurely, was notorious for its treacherous undertows and strong currents. Mom and Dad warned us that we’d face the spanking of our lives if we even thought about heading toward the river.

One day, while we were playing on a haystack, I noticed a man in orange running across the field toward us from the direction of the river. It was unusual because the farm was far from Billings, and we rarely saw anyone out there—most people drove up the road. I had never seen someone running across a field like that. I think my dad saw him at the same time because he yelled for us kids to get into the yard and tell Mom. We all ran into the yard, and my sister told Mom. When Mom saw the man, she made us go inside the house. Before going in, I peeked back and noticed the man was wearing nothing but an orange vest. Dad talked to him for a few minutes before rushing into the house to tell Mom there had been an accident in the river. That day, we learned how dangerous the Yellowstone River could be. The man and his friend had been rafting when they hit rough currents and capsized. The man in the orange life jacket survived, but his friend went under. The sheriff and emergency teams came to drag the river and eventually found the body caught on the rocks in the deep water. That image haunted us for days, and we talked about it a lot. To this day, I still think about it, remembering the fear and sadness I felt as a child. Our once-innocent playground had been shattered by tragedy, and it was never the same again.

A life Well Loved -1957 Chevy Nomad

    ****Back story. My mom and dad were married in 1957 at the very young ages of 15 years old and 17 years old. Mom was pregnant at the time and Dad wanted to marry her. My dad is Hispanic, and my mom is Irish. Mom's sisters and brothers were very much against my parents getting married. But my grandparents weren't. Both my grandmothers went to the courthouse with my parents and signed the consent for them to get married.  My parents were married for 66 years and had seven children. Mom passed away on April 2, 2023, and Dad is still alive at the time of this article writing which is March 2025. These are the stories of their life according to them. ******

The Nomad by SK Virtue according to Dad.

The 1957 Chevy Nomad was bought by my brother Stany for $125.00. It came through Whittier Buick, where Stany used to work. It was a lot of money to pay for a car, but Stany and I figured it would work pretty good for our growing family. It was a nice-looking station wagon. It was a two door and red with a white top. No dents or rust. And it ran good. And I figured it looked pretty good for a family car. 

 There was only one problem with the damn thing. When it rained and you ran through a mud puddle or water on the road, the spark plugs would get wet and if you weren't home then you were stranded until the damn things dried off.  One time we went to the grocery store to get ice cream, and we were almost home when it started raining. Your mom yelled "Hit the gas Gons, we don't want to sit on the side of the road, the ice cream will melt!" At least the car was fast.

We took it to Butte when I went to work at the Anaconda Copper Mine. The brakes went out in the switchbacks, so we did a lot of coasting in low gear to get to Butte. We only had a jar full of pennies on that trip to put gas in it, but it got us there. Your mom didn't drive it much in Butte, because all the streets were pretty much hills. I don't know how I did it, but I drove those streets. I just hoped nobody was too close behind me when I had to stop and go!

When we moved back to Billings we moved out on a farm just outside of town. I got the brakes fixed so your mom could drive it. She only drove it on sunny days though. All you kids would go with her to the store. One day she and you kids went to the store, and I remember she brought me a pop and doughnut out to the field. As soon as she pulled up you kids were at the window yelling that your mom had backed into a cement pylon in the parking lot. Your mom was so mad because she had asked you kids to keep quiet and she would tell me. Of course, you all promised but you kids couldn't keep quiet. I laughed and laughed.

We had that Nomad for quite a while, but it was a two door, and we needed a four door. I think we got a four door Ford wagon. One day two guys drove up and asked if the Nomad was for sale.  I figured I didn't need it anymore. I sold it to them for $250.00. I made a little money off it. I think they said they were taking it to California or something like that.

SK Virtue (as told by my dad)

6/3/25

Poetry -The Heart That Beats.

 I heard your beat for the first time today and it brought tears to my eyes.

I never thought the sound of you would make me want to cry.

You have been with me since the beginning

And you will be with me until my life is finished.

My love for you transcends space and time.

My life with you has been sublime.

You are that constant in a life well lived.

I know you won't waver until the end.

You have been with me from the start.

I will love you until death do us part....

In this life, we walk together.

My heart my love, my until forever.

SK Virtue

May 17,
2025

SNIPPETS - Flying Clothes -A Moment in Time

 In 1964 when I was 4 years old my dad went to work at a copper mine in Butte Montana. He took the bus, and we all stood and waved goodbye to him. At the time he didn't have a place to stay except in the man camp, but he finally found an apartment in some row housing for the mine. A month later he came home and packed up our 1957 Chevy Nomad, with five kids, my mom and all of our belongings and headed through the Rocky Mountain switchbacks with no brakes and a jar full of pennies. My littlest brother slept in a cradle in the back.

I remember we lived on the bottom floor of the apartment building. And I remember that my little brother slept in in a dresser drawer. I also remember that my mom and dad friended a couple and their children that lived in the apartment above us. This couple argued. We could hear them almost every night. I don't think they beat each other or their kids. They just yelled, mostly when he didn't come home right after work. That is when the spectacle began.

 We kids couldn't wait to watch the show. We knew it had started when the husband's shoes fell on the ground in front of our apartment window. Then every single article of his clothing floated down as the wife threw them out the window. It usually happened once a week.  Mom and Dad would laugh and say, "Guess So and So stayed out too long."

 Hours later, when he did get home there was a lot of yelling followed by silence. About fifteen minutes later the kids would come down and collect the shoes and clothes in a basket and take them upstairs again.

We eventually left the town of Butte when the miners went on strike and Mom told Dad it was time to pack up and leave. It wasn't a very safe job for my dad either. A few miners had been blown up in the tunnels and the working conditions were pretty bad. So once again we packed everything in the 1957 Chevy Nomad and made our trek through the switchbacks, no brakes and all. That was the last time my dad ever went underground. He went back to farming and never looked back. As far as the family of flying clothes we never heard from them again.

 

Berkeley Pit Butte Montana

Poetry - It Is Finished

“It is finished.” …you softly sighed.

As you hung on the cross and died.

My heart broke into tiny pieces,

Tears of shame I cried.

 

“How could this be?” I sobbed aloud.

“That you would die for me.

I am no one in this lonely world.

In me… what do you see?”

 

“Is your love for me so very true?

That it can see past all my flaws.

Can you give me a life so new?

And forget all that ever was.”

 

I felt your whisper in my heart.

 “Your sins have been forgiven.

My child, I’ve loved you from the start.

You’ll be with me in heaven.”

SK Virtue - 3/14/25