Who would have guessed!
I began my 6th Walk Across America on June 10. I had no idea what or whom I would encounter on the journey which was intended to cover thousands of miles. Nor did I have any hints as to how rugged the weather would be along the way.
I have covered almost 5000 miles altogether on my previous jaunts. This one was planned to be longer than all those travels put together. But … “Life happens, while we make plans.” This brief walk – which may become chapter one of a longer version –became harder and harsher weather-wise than any of the previous ones. It also became quite unusual for the extraordinary people I encountered in a relative few days.
Before I walked out the door, my neighbor Walt Scotson prayed over me and my flag-waving venture. But on the road things were different. Immediately, I walked a few miles up the hill on Highway 191 – not a problem by itself, but the wind was blowing and blowing. I had to furl my flag rather than fight it and the wind at the same time. Before long, I dealt not just with wind but also rain and relative cold – the nights felt more like early spring than almost summer.
Along the way, I encountered all sorts of folks who stopped to visit for one reason or another. Two sets of young Air Force Security Policemen – Smith and Milone, Lyles and Snovel - stopped on different days to say “Hello” and take photos with me and the flag. These fellows keep track of some of the 150 missile silos spread around Montana.
One day, Layton Kelly from Circle who was on the road from Helena learning to be a Combination Inspector stopped for a friendly visit on the side of the road. The same day, Fergus County Deputy Curry checked on me as I rested next to the highway in the borrow pit.
There were several more that I met along the way – most notably the Carlson brothers on the edge of Lewistown. I “camped” one night in veterinarian Greg Carlson’s huge barn to avoid the chilling rain. Then, the Hobbs in the middle of the road. Nicole and Dirk were on their way from Indiana to visit family in Washington state. They stopped to talk about my walk and flag, and Dirk’s work for the Naval Weapons Station in Crane – third largest naval base in the world in the middle of Indiana. Before we parted ways, photos were taken and Nicole prayed for the benefit of the Walk.
Thereafter, I remarked about her preaching potential. Nicole responded by saying, “Oh, I only preach to him.”
Of totally unexpected and keen interest was a meeting which occurred as I turned off the main highway toward Grass Range. At that moment, a woman pulled up to the stop sign in a Jeep and yelled out to me. I crossed the quiet road. Then, we introduced ourselves and talked for a few minutes. The driver told me she was – believe it or not – Marilyn Monroe. Interestingly, she admitted to living at the Ayers Hutterite Colony back down the road a few miles.
Surprisingly, I saw Marilyn again a couple days later. You see, I attended a Bible study group at the Christian Community Fellowship led by the pastor Bill Plouffe. Nine of us sat around a couple large tables and commented on the material presented in a book that the members had in hand. After the pastor said a closing prayer, I joined Jim and Kathie and Sam for a visit to Marilyn at the Ayers Colony.
Marilyn Monroe, aka Marilyn Stahl, is an extraordinary woman. She must have set the leaders of the colony back on their feet more than a few times. Marilyn certainly caused this outsider to wonder as she is a single woman in her 70s, never married, has her own home and drives a car – which belongs to her good friend, Sam Holmes, who is a retired Pennsylvania railroad man. All those peculiarities distinguish her from other Hutterite women.
The group chatted and laughed back and forth for about an hour before Marilyn bid us goodbye and we returned to Grass Range. The current day Marilyn Monroe is something of a marvel – Hutterite or otherwise. But, there was another “star” yet to be met down the road.
In the meantime, I spent a few days in Grass Range getting to know a variety of people – a councilwoman, an auto mechanic, the new owners of the Little Montana Campground, pastor Plouffe, and 90-year-old George Dengel who acts as the Master at the Captain Scott Masonic Lodge. George might be due a story of his own, but …
I ventured on to Winnett and covered about 25 miles in one good push. Arriving after dark, I rolled my sleeping bag out next to a vacant building some time after midnight. In close proximity was a handsome structure which turned out to be the Old 55 which had been moved a couple blocks to open the space where the massive new Petroleum County Community Center was constructed in 2023.
Surveying the territory, I was pleased to find a coffee shop inside the Old 55 – now located at 107. I quickly determined to drop in for some hot tea in the morning. And so I did. Delighted I was to meet the owner of the recently opened Punchy Paint Coffee Shop. “Paint” was a perfect name for the imaginatively decorated interior. It was a treat just to sit and take in all the colors as well as the many horses depicted on the walls.
Then too, I kept turning to read a sign running at the top of one wall. It said, “Fueling Faith, Community, Creativity, and Community.” Katie Lund, the proprietor, provided that and much more – most especially Kindness to this traveler and surely many others who cross her path. That first morning in Winnett, Katie served me mint tea – and tried to give me a cinnamon roll to boot. I gladly ate it, but insisted on paying for it despite her intended kind gift.
In the midst of our first conversation, I had an AHA and had to say, “You look like – you could be Julia Roberts.” She smiled and laughed, then said, “I have heard that before.” So in a few days on the trail in rural Montana, I had met Marilyn Monroe and Julia Roberts. What a deal!!!
Of further keen interest, I got to meet and spend time with Katie’s aka Julia Roberts’s husband who is quite fittingly named J.R. J.R. is a rancher whose full name is Justin Ronald. When my time in Winnett was up, J.R. gave me a ride back to Harlowton. He wouldn’t even let me pay for the gas.
Ah, I shan’t forget one more “star.” Actually, I think of her as an angel. Radiant and generous, thoughtful and busy. Heidi Hanson does not have a Hollywood name or look-alike. But, she did remind me a little of the Heidi in the children’s novel by the Swiss writer Johanna Spyri written in 1880. Heidi Hanson has seven of her own children to tend even while she works many hours a week at several quite physical jobs. Heidi added another dimension to my stay through her several gifts, glowing face, and shining spirit.
Who knows what celebrity or angel may be around the next corner!
I close by saying that Winnett might well change its name to Kindness, Montana.
