2014 Holiday Greetings

2014 Park County

Holiday Greetings

Beacon Tree
Special decorations await
a son’s homecoming •Page 3

Letters to Santa
Inside

Inspiring scenes• Page 5

A PUBLICATION OF THE LIVINGSTON ENTERPRISE

Christmas essays
Pages 10-20

2 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

From our family to yours....

Happy Holidays
It has been a pleasure to serve you. We wish you the happiest holidays and much success in the new year.

News: Thomas Watson, Hunter D'Antuono, Liz Kearney, Justin Post, John Sullivan, Jordon Niedermeier, Natalie Storey and Dwight Harriman.

Press and Production: Shawn Mantooth, Chris Kehs, John Belew, Al Bublitz
and Luke Miller.

Circulation, business, classifieds: Scott Squillace, Tracy Whitmire, Dave Campbell,
Rochelle Moody, Anita Palmer, Dina Rockafellow and Candice Kilburn.

Advertising: Becki Carlson, Jim Durfey and Amelia
Murphy can't decide if they've been naughty or nice.

IT, Mail Room, Bindery: Ian Nemec, Curt Ward, Reiner Muller, Del Brix,
Ned Shapiro, Hillary Blaseg, Jim Janikula, Barb Huntley, Brandon
Lewis and Robbie Lewis.

3 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

The Beacon Tree
Family puts up special decorations for son’s homecoming
By Liz Kearney

Enterprise Staff Writer

I

Kevin Szafranski gets his first look at the tree while holding his son Wyatt just
hours after arriving home from the Bakken oil fields on Thursday.
LEFT: MaryEllen
Szafranski,
Kevin’s mother,
is pictured in
her home on
Dec. 11.

RIGHT: A Nativity scene sits at
the base of the
“Beacon Tree”
in the Szafranski’s front yard.
The baby Jesus
will be added
to the scene on
Christmas Day,
MaryEllen said.

t’s been 12 years since a Livingston family last decorated its Scotch pine tree for
Christmas. It’s got Christmas lights for the first time since
2002. And if you happen to be on
Livingston’s South Second street
after dark, it’s pretty hard to
miss.
“It’s a beacon,” laughs homeowner MaryEllen Szafranski.
The Szafranski family has a special reason to decorate the tree
this year, which sits in the yard of
their house in the 300 block of
South Second Street.
Their adult son, Kevin, who used
to decorate the tree when he was a
kid, will be home for Christmas,
the first time in four years,
explained his mom, Mary Ellen
Szafranski, an emergency room
nurse at Livingston HealthCare.
The lights on the tree will be a
surprise.
Kevin moved to North Dakota
for a good-paying job in the Bakken, and his schedule hasn’t
allowed him to be home for
Christmas the past few years. But
this year, with his 14 days on/seven days off schedule, his days off
fall right around Christmas.
So MaryEllen had an idea.
When it came time to decorate
for Christmas, she thought it
would be fun to put lights in the
old Scotch pine again.
“Kevin was the monkey who
climbed the tree and decorated
it,” Szafranski said, of the family’s decorating traditions.
But there was just one problem:
the tree, which was about 6 feet
tall when the family bought the

house in 1983, has grown over the
years.
These days, it clears the roofline
of the two-story house. Getting it
decorated was going to require professional help. So MaryEllen called
a local landscaping company, which
advertised snowplowing and
Christmas light-hanging in its lessbusy winter season.
Tobacco Root Landscaping came
out after Thanksgiving and hung
the lights. They ended up using a
three-tier ladder the Szafranskis
own, leaning it up against the
house. There was a strand of
lights up there that had never
been retrieved back in 2002.
MaryEllen said the tree took 12
strands, which contain about 1,200
individual LED lights.
In the days before energy-saving LED Christmas tree lights,
Szafranski said they would sometimes notice a slight increase in
their electric bill from their decorations. She doesn’t expect to see
much of an increase this year.
The lights are on a timer, and
they aren’t on much during the
day. And they go off at 11 p.m.,
out of consideration for the neighbors.
With the lights climbing nearly
every branch to a height of at
least 30 feet, the tree, which Szafranski describes as a “Charlie
Brown” tree in the daylight, glows
brightly after dark.
Kevin didn’t know about the
tree. He came home in the evening, after dark, on Dec. 18. And
the tree was lit.
MaryEllen said she is sentimental about holidays, and she makes
a point of celebrating them all.
“As an ER nurse, I know life can
change in a minute,” she said.

4 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE: The
following letters to Santa
Claus were submitted by
various students in Livingston’s elementary
schools. They are generally presented unedited.
Winans Elementary
School, first grade
Ms. Sveen, teacher
Dear Santa,
How are reindeer and
Rudolf? I hope the elves
are maken the toys.
Merry Christmas and I
wot a Rudolf.
Your find, Kimberly
Dear Santa,
I hope you are happy. I
hope elves are busy
making toys. Merry
Christmas. I love you/
Live Roodoff. I live you
Santa. I live your elves
cause they are funny.
Blake
Dear Santa,
How are you? I hope
the elves are busy making toys. Thank you for
all the toys you bring us!
Merry Christmas Santa.
I hope you have a good
day.
Your friend, Mikail
Dear Santa,
How are you? Merry
Christmas. I hope the
elves are busy making
toys. hhhhhoooooo hhhhhooooo hhhhhooooo.
Your friend, Matthew
Dear Santa,
I hope the elves are
busy making toys.
Your frid, Manou

Dear Santa
I want for Christmas is
Frosen doll for Christmas.
Your friend, Soe and
Belle
Dear Santa,
How are you? I hope
the elves are busy making toys. Thank you for
all the toys you bring us.
I love you to Santa.
Your friend, Stella
Dear Santa,
How are you? I hope
the elves busy making
toys. Thank you for all
the toys you bring us.
Your friend, Zoe
Dear Santa,
How are you? I hope
the elves are busy making toys. Thank you for
all the toys you bring
us! Merry Christmas.
Your friend, Samuel
Dear Santa,
I wot alpesp. I wot a
pesp.
Merry Christmas,
Caiden
Dear Santa,
How are you? I would
like dolls for Chrismis
and Roodolf the Rander, my Ellf frisbe is
good he has ben behaving good. Thak u for all
the toys.
Your friend, Abbey
Dear Santa,
How are you? I hope
the elves are busy making the Zombie Stride

side Strike of the whole
set of it.
Your friend, Oliver
Winans Elementary
School, first grade
Mrs. Hawkins, teacher
Dear Santa,
How are you? May you
please get me a video
game? May you please
get a remote controls?
Love, Levi
Dear Santa,
Merry Christmas. Can
I have the Batman Lego
game, please? How do
reindeer fly? Thank you.
Sincerely, Theo
Dear Santa,
How do reindeer fly?
Can you give me a toy?
How do you see us? How
is Mrs. Claus? How is
my elf? I like you Santa.
Is roodof gud? How are
your reindeer?
Love, Mila
Dear Santa,
Can you please giv me
a playstation 3 and Call
of Duty Black Ops?
Love, Morgan

Dear Santa,
How are you? Can I
please have a 2 weeled
skooter please? And how
do your randyr fly? How
do elfs make toys with
their magic? Do you
drink hot chocolate? I
like you!
Love, Ayla

Dear Santa,
I hope your reindeer
are OK and I hope OK.
How are you? I hope the
elves are busy making
toys. Thank you for all
the toys you bring us. I
will make you cookies
a n d
m e l k .
wowowowowo. Merry
Christmas. Do you have
rod the red nose reindeer?
Your frend, Brayden
Dear Santa,
I hope yor elves are
working on toys? Merry
Christmas.
Yor friend, Robert
Dear Santa,
How are you? I hope
the elves are busy making toys. Thank you for
all the toys you bring us.
Your friend, Jorda
Merry Christmas,
Rudolf red nose reindeer had a shiny nose
red reindeer nose nosis.

Dear Santa,
How are you? May I
please have a Barbie
house? May I please
have a puppy? May I
please have an iPad? I
have been good. I love
you. My brother been
Bad.
Love, Annie
Dear Santa,
How are you? May I
please have the game
Sorry? How old are you?
I am good, 7, and smart.
I want a lot of toys and
games. Kyler is my
friend.
Love, Oliver

From all of us at

the
Stockman
ThAnk you for your
ConTinued SupporT!

We will be closed on December 24th & 25th
to enjoy the holiday with our families.

Dear Santa,
I want an action figure
Zombie. I like your
elves. Do you like hot
chocolate?
Love, Kane
Dear Santa,
How are you? How are
Mrs. Claus? How are
Prancer? How are reindeer? I want a dart gun
and a BB gun. And I
want an XD.
Love, Samuel
Dear Santa,
How are you? Can I
please have a desk? And
a noo iPad of my own?
And more nalpolish?
How are your reindeers? Dus foodof eat
carits?
Love, Mylee

See Letters, Page 6

Hope
everything
runs smoothly
for you this
holiday season.
MONTE

We’re rounding up good cheer,
To thank all the folks who’ve stopped by here,
So saddle up and celebrate A Christmas season that’s really great!

Many thanks
for your vote of
confidence.

118 N. Main 222-8455

Wishing
You Joy
This
Holiday
Season!
As we take this
time to say
“Thank You”
to all our
loyal customers
and wish you
a safe and
Happy Holiday!
From the crew at...

Monte & Darla Payette and the Crew

MONTE’S
AUTO
REPAIR
316 1/2 S. B St. • 222-3426

ALL SERVICE TIRE
& ALIGNMENT

5 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Collectors: Nativity sets provide inspiration
UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP)
— In a busy holiday season, the Nativity scene
delivers a quiet but
strong message.
“It’s a reminder of what
Christmas is all about,”
said Audrey White of
Franklin Township.
“When I’m putting
them out, I think it’s
inspirational and it makes
me feel close to Christmas as that’s what Christmas is all about,” said
Mary Tickner of Uniontown.
The Nativity scene
recalls the Gospel story
of Christ’s birth, complete with Mary, Joseph,
Jesus, shepherds, Wise
Men, angels and animals.
As Tickner recalled, the
first Nativity scene was
put together by St. Francis in the 13th century. It
was live with people and
animals.
In the ensuing years,
artisans began making
Nativity sets that could
be put on display for
weeks at a time.
Now a staple of the
Christmas season, Nativity sets are usually viewed
at churches and sometimes in community displays. But Nativity
scenes are also a traditional way of celebrating
Christmas in the home.
Both White and Tickner
each have their own
extensive collection of
Nativity sets, dear to
their hearts and happily
shared in their own
Christmas decorations.

AP photo

Kathie Jackson, with the Nativity Committee of Tulsa, and her granddaughter
Gloria Harrigill, 3, admire a Nativity scene at the Governor’s Mansion in Oklahoma City, Dec. 12.
White, who is retired
from teaching preschool
at Asbury United Methodist Church in Uniontown, owns about 400
Nativity sets that she has
collected throughout her
lifetime. She puts about
80 of them on display
each year in the 1870
farmhouse where she
resides with her husband
Duane.
White’s favorite Nativity set is one she purchased from Sears in
1971, the first year of her
marriage, just like her
mother did before her.
This Nativity is stationed,
as always, under the family Christmas tree. She is
also fond of a set her husband made at Sunday

school when he was 7.
White’s collection
includes several wooden
sets that she made herself and one she etched
on an emu egg. While she
displays favorites each
year, she rotates out other sets, including ones
featuring rabbits, bears
and mice.
White has slowed down
her collecting in recent
years, now purchasing one
set each Christmas and
usually receiving one as a
gift from a family member. Each set is carefully
boxed and marked with
information about when
and where she received it.
Tickner, who is principal at Charleroi Middle
School, owns 79 Nativity

sets that she displays at
her pre-Civil War farmhouse where she lives

with her husband, Paul,
who teaches at Laurel
Business Institute. The
couple also has four
grown children and five
granddaughters.
While she always
enjoyed Nativity sets,
Tickner’s collecting
began in earnest about 15
years ago. Her latest set
was purchased at an
antique shop in Uniontown this fall.
Tickner spends time
deciding where to place
each set, usually changing the locations each
year.
“It’s a lot of work and a
lot of time but once it’s
done, I enjoy looking at
them,” she said.
One of Tickner’s favorites is a set from the
1920s made of hard plastic that she found in a
shop in New Jersey and
is probably her oldest set.

Another favorite is a
1930s set made of hard
rubber.
“The pieces are very
interesting and the facial
expressions are very
individualized,” Tickner
explained.
Both women have
Nativity sets made in a
variety of materials,
including pewter, plaster,
porcelain, paper, metal,
clay, coal, grapevines,
wood and wax as well as
those stitched onto cloth,
painted on stacked boxes,
placed inside water
globes, on top of music
boxes and engraved on
ornaments or jewelry.
While their outside
Nativity sets are large,
some located inside are
only inches tall and might
be found inside another
object, such as a small
statue of a Christmas
tree.

MERRY CHRISTMAS
& HAPPY NEW YEAR
We’re displaying our holiday cheer
to thank everyone for stopping here
And for your winning attitude,
You surely have our sincere gratitude...
So without any fanfare
or further delay
Please accept our best wishes
for a great holiday!

Merry Christmas &
a Happy New Year

From all of us at:

O’CONNOR AUTO BODY, LLC
222-0214 • 908 East Park St.

HORIZON AUTO PARTS
We look forward to serving you in 2014!
123 W. Lewis St. Livingston

Office: 406 222-0944 Fax: 406.222.0946

222-6272 • 1210 East Park St.

6 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Letters, from Page 4
Dear Santa,
How can you deliver
all the toys in one night?
May I please get a
remote control truck
and a remote control
motor boot? Does
Rudolph really eat carrots?
Love, Coen
Dear Santa,
I please want a noow
iPad and a noow Brbe
haus please. Do you like
it? And I please want a
jres please. We like it
and a cran please.
Love, Graci
Dear Santa,
Do you drink hot chocolate? I want a iPad ples.
I want a figyr of you. I
want a game frum you
and it all rete has 300
levels.
Love, Leah
Dear Santa,
How many elves do
you have? Santa, for
Christmas I want a
Kareoke machine
please. I love you Santa.
Love, Rylan
Dear Santa,
Do you like Christmas? I want a video
game and a iPad. And a
trampoline and a scooter.
Sincerely, Dallas
Dear Santa,
Can I please have a
video game for Christmas?
Your friend, Jacob
Dear Santa,
May I lease have an
iPad? May I please have
a Nibe Big Fan? May I
please have a Xbox 3?
Wut up at the North
Pole?
Love, Camden

Dear Santa,
Wi d o y o u d e l i v e r
presents? I want a racer
car. You know, my mom
said I could get a pocket
knife for Christmas!
Love, Kyler
Dear Santa,
I want a puppy for
Christmas. How are you
doing? Does Rudolph
really eat carrots?
Love, Riley
Winans Elementary
School, first grade
Mrs. Durgan, teacher
Dear Santa,
Is it fun to fly your
sleigh? I would like ten
Delta airplanes. It is fun
to fly in the sky.
Your friend, Roan

being silly. Can I have
Skylanders Swap
Floors? Can I have memory chips?
Love, Lliam
Dear Santa,
How are you? Would
you please give me video games? Would you
please give me lots of
Legos? I love you.
Love, Luke
Dear Santa,
Why do you bring
some toys? I would like
a toy air ship. I hope you
eat yummy cookies.
From, Beau
Dear Santa,

How do you fly? I
want a game pod, if you
know what a game pod
is. I would like it with
Minecraft on it, please. I
love you, Santa.
From, Jiah
Dear Santa,
How do you get
around the world so
quick? Can I please have
a double light saber,
please? Can I please
have some chips for my
DS? Can you send back
this note to me please?
From, Will
Dear Santa,
How are you doing?
May I please have art
stuff, Leap Frog, and a
girl camera? I hope you
have a good travel.

Dear Santa,
Would you like cookies
and milk? Please may I
have a robot? I will give
you reindeer food.
From, Bryce
Dear Santa,
What do you want for
Christmas? I want a
deer shooter, and Nerf
crossbow, and a flying
car. Have a good Christmas.
From,
Raymond
Dear Santa,
How are you doing?
Can I have a snowboard,
Xbox, and a triple light
saber? Can I have an
IPad? I want a truck that
is stronger than a home.
Love, Avery
Dear Santa,
I would like to have an
Elf on the Shelf for my
mom. I have a question.
My friend Anna does not
thing you have magic.
Do you? My elf Poxie is

With wishes warm and bright to
you and yours at this joyous and
special time of year.
For your business, we are
deeply grateful. Merry Christmas!
Annette, Geoff, Jane Ann, Muriel,
Brenda, Magan, Cole, Jason, Gay,
Dan, Dee, Derek, Jenny
and David R.

110 North Main

For your support, we are deeply grateful, and for
your friendship, we are doubly blessed.

222-3212
117 South Main

Dear Santa,
Does Rudolph have a
red nose? May I please
have a dress? Have a
good holiday!
Love, Palen
Dear Santa,
How are you doing at
the North Pole? What do
you want for Christmas,
Santa? May I please
have a friend for my bitty baby doll? And could
you please drop a note in
Jolin’s house that says,
“I miss you. Can you
come over sometime,
please?” I will give your
reindeer some parsnips.
Your friend, Siobhan
Dear Santa,

Do you have glasses?
Please will you give me
a little candy, a lunch
box, and two kittens, one
orange and one black?
Happy Christmas!
From, Abby
Dear Santa,
How is Rudolph? How
are you doing in the
North Pole? I would like
a toy for my cat.
Love, Preslee
Dear Santa,
How are you doing?
May I please have an
American Girl doll? May
I please have Apples to
Apples?
Love, Bergen

See Letters, Page 7

As we recall the Christmas miracle, we’d
like to join you and your family in
giving thanks to our Lord for His many
splendid creations, large and small.
We really feel fortunate for the
blessing of your patronage.

Corliss & Larry

Larry’s Foreign
Car
Repair

1317 E. Callender
222-6855

Holiday
Greetings
Thanks very much for the
privilege of serving you.
We have the best
customers in
Park County!

In this season of giving, we'd like to give you our
best wishes for a holiday celebration that's as
special as you are to us.

Love, Amrie

From:
Jeni, Cassidy, Lisa, Hunter,
Grant, Buddy, Bob, Ron,
Austin, Justine, Mike,
Pinky, Vicky & Corky

THEATRES

Wishing you
and yours a
holiday season
that’s fit for
a king!

Tom’s Jewelers
114 West Lewis St.
222-1413

7 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Letters, from Page 6
Dear Santa,
May I please have
Minecraft? How do you
know all the kids in the
world? I wish, wish, wish
and wish to sing, live, and
be twins with Bergen
too! You look good today.
Love, Lily
Dear Santa,
How do you do? My
name is Syera. I want a
teddy bear and a fancy
dress and a Rudolph the
Red Nosed Reindeer. I
love you!
Love, Syera
Dear Santa,
How are you doing?
For Christmas I want a
Frozen necklace with
Elsa and Anna on it.
Have a Merry Christmas.
Love, Anna
Winans Elementary
School, first grade
Mrs. Belzel, teacher
Dear Santa,
Can I have Pacman
Legos? I have ben good!
Can I meet Rudolph?
From, Bryan
Dear Santa,
How are you doing? I
want a train set for
Christmas! Have a good
trip.
Love, Stetson
Dear Santa,

I hope you have a good
trip. What is your favorite snack? Can I please
have a BB gun? Merry
Christmas!
Love, Ezra
Dear Santa,
Is Rudolph doing good?
I want a new Ipod Merry
Christmas!
From, Elizabeth
Dear Santa,
Have you ever seen
me? I want a Pretty City
Carriage, because it’s
pretty!
Yours truly
Love, Adeline
Dear Santa,
Santa does Rudolph’s
nose glow? I want a Easy
Bake oven. You are the
best!
Thank you, Candi
Dear Santa,
I want a remote control
dinosaur. It has a red button in the middle. Merry
Christmas!
Crusito

pony and a Easy Bake
Oven. Santa I love you!
Merry Christmas!
Love, Maggie
Dear Santa,
How is Rudolph and
how are you Santa? I like
you and I wut a robot car.
I like Rudolph and duz
Rudolph noz goz in the
dark?
Kaden
Dear Santa,
Do you want a present?
I want a treehouse. Merry Christmas!
Sam
Dear Santa,
Santa does Rudolph’s
now glow? Can I have a
tablet. Does Mrs. Claus
like cookies?
Love, Payton
Dear Santa,
What do the elves do?
What is your favorite
kind of cokies? Santa can
I please have more makeup? I love
Love, Calli

Dear Santa,
I like you! I want a
Zoomer Dino. Would you
like a present?
Morgan

Dear Santa,
I want a desk, a Christmas baby doll, make-up,
and a Ipod. Alsu an Easy
Bake Oven. Have a nice
trip!
Merry Christmas.
Kiyla

Dear Santa,
What are your favorite
cookies? What I would
like for Christmas is a

Dear Santa,
I want Legos for
Christmas. What kind of
coakies do you want? I

want that movie I got last
yar. I hope you have a
good trip. Merry Christmas.
Matt
Dear Santa,
I want a stuffed wolf
toy, and stuffed buffalo
too, a elk too. A stuffed
horse too. I will leave you
cookies.
Clansey
Dear Santa,
Does Rudolph’s nose
glow? I want a Zoomer
Puppy for Christmas
because I want a friend
with me.
From Carolyn
Dear Santa,
How is Rudolph? I
want a remote control
monster truck the fastest
wheels in the world with
sirens and legos.
Love, Michael

er?
Love, Carson

turtles? Thanks.
Love, Isaac

Dear Santa,
Can I please have a big
toy? Have a good time.
Love, Damien

Dear Santa,
How are you doing?
Merry Christmas. I
would want some American Doll clothes, a new
book, a fake Christmas
tree, some surprise presents, a trampoline, and
some toys to play with
outside. Thank you Santa!
Love, Chase

Dear Santa,
Merry Christmas Mrs.
Clause and Santa! May I
have a pet dog and a toy
puppy?
Love, Zoya
Dear Santa,
How are you doing?
Can I have some ninja

See Letters, Page 8

Happy
Holidays
from all of us at

Winans Elementary
School, first grade
Mrs. Neibauer, teacher
Dear Santa,
Merry Christmas!
What is your favorite
thing to do? Could I
please have a violin,
sticker book and art set?
Love, Olivia
Dear Santa,
Have a good Christmas. Can I please have a
flying car an inquisitor
double bladed light saver
and a cotton candy mak-

Thank you for the privilege of
serving you this year!
– Licensed and Insured –
Residential & Commercial

CALL 333-4166 or 223-0506

Merry Christmas
The warmth we enjoy at this time of the year stems from
having customers and friends like you.
We thank you for the trust you have placed in us and
we look forward to serving you in 2015.

1313 W. Park Livingston Plaza
222-7332

8 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Letters, from Page 7
Dear Santa,
Have a Merry Christmas Mrs. Clause and
Santa. Can I please have
a battle Droid Tank. I
really want a gunship to
go with it.
Love, Creighton

How are you doing at
the North Pole? How is
Mrs. Claus? I would like
three action figures. I
want Spider Man, Captain America and Iron
Man.
Your Friend, Kaine

Dear Santa,
Merry Christmas Santa! Mrs. Clause, how are
your elves? I be your
elves are good. Can I
please have a camera, a
violin, and a cotton candy machine, and a picture of Santa?
Love, Kamryn

Dear Santa,
Is it cold in the North
Pole? What are the
names of your reindeer?
I would like a fluffy kitten and a DS and that’s
all.
Your friend, Sarah

Dear Santa,
I hope you and Mrs.
Clause are feeling good.
Santa, can you give me a
trampoline?
Love, Benjamin
Dear Santa,
Merry Christmas.
How is Mrs. Clause
doing? Santa Clause, I
want the LEGO Starwars Master Palpatine’s
Arrest, the LEGO Death
Star, an I-pad, a snowball gun, a trampoline,
3DS, a t.v., a real double
bladed light saver, and a
patriot rescue helicopter.
Bye Santa.
Love Ben from Montana

Dear Santa,
How are you doing at
the North Pole? I wonder if I could have like a
Stellyhead Head and
Oreos?
Love, Thea
Dear Santa,
How is Mrs. Claus
doing? Could I please
have Lego 20, Mind-

craft, Transformers,
head downs, and an
i-phone?
Love, Kaelen
Dear Santa,
How are you? Could I
please have watches,
skull, crazy9, bow and
arrow, Monster Jam and
Malokvert 8?
Your friend, Decker
Dear Santa,
I hope that everyone
has a good Christmas. I
would like a doll.
Love, Natalie

Love, Ellie
Dear Santa,
How are you doing at
the North Pole and your
wife? Can you give me a
kindle fire HD7?
Love, Your Friend,
Matthew
Dear Santa,
How are you? I will
leave you lots of cookies. And please, can I
have make-up and a puppy and a Frozen Dress?
Love, Araleigh

Dear Santa,
I have been sick so
didn’t get my letter written. Please check with
my mom to find out
what I want.
Love, Rhylan

Dear Santa,
How are you doing in
the North Pole? How is
Mrs. Claus doing in the
North Pole? I want to
have a PS2, a phone, and
Xbox One E.
Love, Sean

Dear Santa,
How is Mrs. Claus
doing? Can I have Winter Oreo, Elsa dress, a
blue ring, gum and a
Frozen Dress?

Dear Santa,
How is Mrs. Claus
doing? Can I have makeup and more make-up? I
have so many cookies
for you!

Love, Aurora
Dear Santa,
How are you doing at
the North Pole? Can I
please have a video
game, an i-pad, and a
real bow and arrow? I
would also like to have
an i-phone and a leap
pad.
Love, Finn
Dear Santa,
How are you doing at
the North Pole? How is
Mrs. Claus doing? I want
Just Dance 129 and Winter Oreo. Can I also have
an Olaf Pillow, Styling
Head and candy canes?
Love, Mara
Dear Santa,
How are you doing at
the North Pole? Can I

have a Laptop, Nintendo
3DS, i-phone, x box 360,
Skylanders Trap Team?
Will you have your reindeer?
Your Friend, Jackson
Dear Santa,
How are you doing at
the North Pole? Can I
have a Frozen Mack and
an Agent Bow and a Frozen case?
Your Friend, Kali
Dear Santa,
How are you doing at
the North Pole? Can I
just have a wii u and
Mario Kart, Ninja Turtles, Skylanders, Kindle
fire and an i-phone?
Your Friend, Alex

See Letters, Page 9

Dear Santa,
Merry Christmas. I
hope you have a good
Christmas. I please want
an American Girl Doll.
Thank you.
Love, Maci
Dear Santa,
Merry Christmas Santa Clause. I want Legos
Starwars, Minecraft,
remote control helicopter and candle starwars
man to go with it, a
lightsaver real double
bladed lightsaver gun to
go snowboarding,
please.
Love, Ryder

Left to right: Beatrice Huber, Joan Fawcett
and Patsy Brandon

Wishing you a bundle of
holiday joy, tied up with
a string of good tidings!
Please know how much
we appreciate your
friendship and
patronage.

Dear Santa,
How are you doing? I
hope you have a happy
Christmas. I want a 3DS
and a squad copter, a
tablet, propellers,
guards, and it is a
remote control.
Brandt
Dear Santa,
Can I please have an
American Doll clothes
for Christmas, a pet unicorn, and also a pet kitten. Thank you!
Love, Elle

Wherever you go this holiday season, know our warm wishes are with you.
We thank you all for making it such a good year for us and we look
forward to serving you in 2015!

Winans Elementary
School, first grade
Ms. Linton, teacher

• Emigrant General Store • J&J Car Wash
• Paradise Mercantile • Yellowstone Laundry

Dear Santa,

From Kris, Bert, Jason, Jen, Taylor, Megan, Josh and the staff at the

109 S. 2nd St. 222-0075

9 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Letters, from Page 8
Dear Santa,
How are you doing at
the North Pole? I wonder
if I could have a Frozen
Dress, Oreo, M and Ms,
Kit Kat, Ice Cream and
Winter Oreo?
Tezra
Dear Santa,
How are doing at the
North Pole? Could you
please bring me a goose
caller, xBox, Kaleidoscope, night vision,
squishy sand and a bow
and arrow?
Your Friend,
Weston
Winans Elementary
School, first grade
Mrs. Boyd, teacher
Dear Santa,
How are you? I hope
you are good. I think you
can be good. Tell Rudolph
that I love him. Ask him
if he has been good.
Could you bring me a
phone?
Love, Jaden
Dear Santa,
How are you doing,
Santa? Is Rudolph good?
Is Mrs. Claus making
cookies? How are the
elves doing? Are they
making toys? I want an
x-box. I like you.
Love, Wesley
Dear Santa,
How are you? Are the
elves busy making toys?
Santa, I like you very
much! What I want for
Christmas is a Barbie
Doll. Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year.
From, Olivia
Dear Santa,
How are you? Is
Rudolph getting ready
today? Is Mrs. Claus baking sugar cookies right

now? I want a good toy
for Christmas, okay Santa? Are the elves getting
ready making toys?
Love, Noah
Dear Santa,
Are the elves getting
ready? Are they making
toys? I wish you a merry
Christmas. Can you get
me a dog and cat? I hope
you are well.
From, Rose
Dear Santa,
How are you? How are
the elves? Are they busy
making toys? I want a
phone for Christmas.
How is Rudolph?
Love, Kage
Dear Santa,
How are you today? Is
Rudolph ready yet?
Please may I have an
x-box 360 for Christmas?
Love, Ben
Dear Santa,
I want to know how
does Rudolph’s nose light
up. Santa, how does Mrs.
Claus’s pie taste? Is it
good? I hope your trip
goes good. For Christmas
I would like a real puppy.
Thank you for everything
you do.
Love, Emma
Dear Santa,
How are you, Santa?
How are your elves
today? How does
Rudolph’s nose light up? I
want a remote control
plane for Christmas. I
like you.
Love, Sam
Dear Santa,
How are the elves
doing? Are they doing
good? I like you and Mrs.
Clause. Can you come to
my house on Christmas
Eve and I will sit on your

We hope the
holiday delivers
an abundance of
joy to you and yours,
just as you’ve brought to
us this past year.

E L#246
KS

lap. I want an x-box 360
and a play station.
Love, Ryder
Dear Santa,
Is Mrs. Claus making
sugar cookies? Is
Rudolph getting ready?
Santa, you are a good
man. Is it snowing? Why
do you live in the North
Pole? Can you give me a
dolphin book and a star?
Love, Sophia
Dear Santa,
How are you? For
Christmas we are going
to stay at home. How are
you and Mrs. Claus? Is
Mrs. Claus making sugar
cookies? Have a happy
Christmas! I love Christmas! Do you?
From, Kristin
Dear Santa,
I hope that you are
doing well. Are the elves

making toys? I hope I am
not on the naughty list.
Could I have an x-box 360
and could I also have an
ipad?
From, Jasper
Dear Santa,
Why do you live at the
North Pole? Are you getting ready for Christmas?
Please get me my toys!
Please remember! Please
get me these: an i-pod, a
kitten at my dad’s house,
and Hulk smash hands.
From, Seth
Dear Santa,
Does Rudolph’s nose
really light up? Do you
have a pet? Where did
you find Rudolph?
Love, Brooklin
Dear Santa,
How are the reindeer?
How is Mrs. Claus? How
are you? Merry Christ-

Thanks so
much..
and goodbye
Thanks for the privilege of serving your
sewing needs for many years. But times
change. Careers change. The time
commitment demands of my hospice
chaplain duties and my assisting at
Franzen-Davis Funeral Home will no
longer allow me to operate
Sandy’s Sewing & More.

Sandy’s Sewing & More!

Sandy Williams • (406) 222-1488

We will close
Christmas Eve at 5 p.m.

mas! Would you get me a
puppy and a sleigh?
Love, Grace
Dear Santa,
How are you and Mrs.
Claus? Is she baking
cookies? Santa, can you
bring me an x-box live
and please bring me a
green DS.
From, Mason
Dear Santa,
How is Mrs. Claus? Are
you busy making lots of
toys? I want a smart
phone from you. Can you
bring me a tablet, Santa?
I love you very much.
Sincerely, Patrick
St. Mary’s Catholic
School, second and third
grade

Mrs. Beitel, teacher
Dear Santa,
Hows Mrs. Claus? I am
great. The only thing I
want for Christmas is
a F-15 model air plane.
Please give to those in
need.
Love,
Warren L.
Dear Santa,
How are the reindeer,
elves and you? I am awesome! I was hoping for a
camera and maybe a cute
dress. Please get people
who are lonely and give
them people to love them.
PLEASE!
Love, Maya S.

See Letters, Page 19

OLD!
.S
..
g
in
o
g
,
g
in
Go
customers. And

ll our
We're sold on a re the best. Thanks to
a
our employees r participation in our
u
everyone for yo year. We are grateful
ast
auctions this p ort and look forward to
p
p
su
r
for you
t year.
seeing you nex
d yours a very
Bidding you an Happy New Year
as &
Merry Christm
& Kacey-Ann
JimBo, Chris,

From our
cup to
yours...

May Your Cup
Runneth Over
in 2015.

- Closed New Year's Day -

Thank you Livingston for making
our first year a success.
Lynn, Diane & the RX Coffee staff

– Your Daily Dose –

10 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

CHRISTMAS ESSAYS: FIRST PLACE, BRAY HOLMES

“T

here is absolutely nothing
to do,” my
friend Ellie
pathetically exclaimed.
Ellie and I had stayed over
at our other close friend,
Emily. It was about two
weeks before Christmas of
2013. The weather was
gloomy and dark. I looked
out the window and
groaned…more snow.
It was only about eight
o’clock in the morning and
boredom was already taking over our minds.
“Okay, we need to get up
and do something,” Emily
had said. The words, “Like
what?” slipped out of my
mouth. It was the type of
day that you would like to
stay in bed, drink something warm, and read a
good book, but Emily had
different ideas.
“We should go outside and
shovel random sidewalks
and driveways,” Emily had
offered. “Oh, yeah! We
should just go out and
knock on people’s doors and
ask them if they would like
their sidewalks shoveled.”
If Ellie was trying to sound
as sarcastic as she possibly
could, she accomplished it
with great ability.
“I think Emily is being
serious, and there honestly
isn’t anything else to do,” I
defended. We all looked at
each other and with amazing speed, and we dashed
down the basement stair to
run the idea by Emily’s,
Ann. Knowing Ann, she
would think that it was a
great idea. By the time a
plan was set, we had
grabbed everything we
needed to keep warm and
three shovels to get the job
done. It was about ten
o’clock then, and the white
flakes had stopped falling
from the sky and rested
peacefully on the ground.
While walking through
the neighborhood with our
oversized shovels, we had
begun to grow very tired.
“We won’t be able to get the
whole Star Additions sidewalks and driveways done
by the end of the day, and
we can’t just do some of
them either.” I had stated.
We all looked at each other
quizzically. What could we
do for the whole neighborhood around the holiday
time, besides shoveling
snow? I knew we wanted to
do something even bigger
for the community. An idea
had suddenly appeared in
my head. It was a way we
could help out the whole
community around the holiday time. Once I had pro-

Cans for Smiles

posed the idea, I could tell
by the expressions my
friends were giving me that
they were more than okay
with doing that. While putting all of our brains together, we figured that we
would go around Star Addition and ask for canned
goods to donate for the food
drive. It was a perfect idea
because it was around the
holidays and not everyone
is able to go to the grocery
store. The food pantry was
always accepting extra
donations. Emily, Ellie, and
I walked back to Emily’s
house with the wonderful
idea bouncing around our
heads.
While going door to door
and our bags filling up with
cans, I realized how generous and caring the people of
Livingston are. These little
cans can make a big difference around the holidays.
Before we knew it, our bags
were filling up with cans
faster and faster. We were
making multiple trips to
and from Emily’s house to
drop off the full bags and
exchange them for empty
ones, which were waiting to
be filled. Pretty soon, we
had to call my dad, Bradford, because we could no
longer carry the bags.
By 1:30, we were very
hungry, tired, and tremendously cold. We slowly
made our way back to the
warmth of Emily’s home
and stopped at a few more
houses on the way.
When we finally made it
back to the house, we were
shocked by the amount of
bags sitting on the large
kitchen table. Eager to
know how many cans we
had collected in the past
three- and-a- half- hours, we
decided to count individually how many cans we gathered. We soon began sorting
the cans into soups, vegetables, fruit, and miscellaneous. We had also collected various boxes of nonperishable foods.
We had soon developed an
assembly line to sort our
goods. Ellie was checking
the expiration dates, I was
sorting the cans, and Emily
was counting the cans with
special care. “Hey, Bray, we
should switch jobs because
I’m tired,” Ellie had said to
me.
“Well, why don’t you and
Emily go make something
warm to drink before we
head down to the food pantry,” I had spoken to them.
The two girls ran off happy that they didn’t have to
do anymore. When I finally
finished sorting out the

Enterprise photo by Hunter D’Antuono

Sleeping Giant Middle School eighth-grader Bray Holmes reflects on her experience collecting
canned goods for the food pantry.
cans, Emily and Ellie
appeared from the kitchen
with three steaming chai
lattes. With our delicious
drinks in our hands, we
hopped in the car and drove
the short drive to the food
pantry.
When we got inside of the
bright, nice, welcoming
building, we were greeted
by the smiling face of Mr.
Michael McCormick. He
was so pleased to see all of
this extra food brought in
right before Christmas. As
we finished bringing the
food in, we set it on a long
silver table. The anticipation of waiting to know how
many pounds the food
weighed was getting to us.
Ellie couldn’t stop smiling,
and Emily was laughing

really hard. I remember
watching the numbers on
the scale rise rapidly, I
thought of how many people
would be very happy this
Christmas. The final total
was 336 pounds worth of
food. All three of us hugged
for a very long time and
grinned at each other.
Looking back on the
experience it has helped me
be a more thoughtful person. Collecting canned good
for the food pantry made
me realize that not everyone is able to go to the grocery store and buy food. It
has made great impact on
my view of the people
around me. I look forward
to collecting canned goods
with my three best friends
again this Christmas.

EDITOR’S NOTE:
Every year, The Enterprise
invites students from area
schools to participate in a
Christmas essay writing contest. The winner will receive a
$100 gift certificate, while the
second-place finisher gets a
$50 gift certificate. The young
author who placed third gets a
$30 gift certificate. The essays,
for the most part, are presented without editing.

More essays on
Pages 13-21.

11 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

CHRISTMAS ESSAYS: SECOND PLACE, CLARA JONES

A Christmas Visit
The hospital was the
last place that I wanted
to be on Christmas Eve. I
knew that I would much
rather be curled up on
the couch with a steaming mug of hot chocolate,
but as the seven year old,
I didn’t have much say in
the matter. Grudgingly, I
crammed into the car
next to my siblings.
As we piled out into the
parking lot, I felt a snowflake fall onto my cheek.
I glanced up and caught
my breath. Thousands of
snowflakes danced and
twirled to the ground like
graceful ballerinas. I tenderly stretched out my
hand to catch one on my
glove. Maybe this
wouldn’t be the tedious
evening I thought it
would be.
I timidly stepped into
Grandma’s hospital
room, very careful not to
make a sound. A window
in the corner looked out
over the parking lot,
revealing the cold
December night outside.
Grandma lay in a bed in
the center of the room,
her eyes closed and her
expression displaying
worry and fatigue. I
walked up to her bed and
gently tapped on her leg.
“Grandma?” I whispered.
Her eyes opened and on

noticing me, her troubled
expression left. She
smiled and held her arms
open wide. All reluctance
to visit left me. My sisters and I jumped in to
her embrace, ready to
stop squeezing if
required, but grandma
didn’t seem to mind. I
smiled, suddenly very
sure that this Christmas
Eve would be unforgettable.
My sisters and I
climbed onto her bed and
pestered her with questions about the hospital:
“What was it like to sleep
there? What did the cafeteria food taste like? Was
the bed comfortable?”
She answered all of our
questions patiently and
with a smile on her face.
She told us about all the
doctors and nurses and
how nice they were to
her, and how she was
going to get better very,
very soon.
My mom handed my
grandma a beautifully
wrapped present. I went
silent, earnestly waiting
for my grandma’s reaction to the gift inside.
Grandma took the gift
graciously, carefully
untying the ribbon and
taking off the wrapping
paper. She smiled in
delight at the present. We

had each modeled a small
piece of the nativity out
of brown clay and baked
it in the oven to harden
it. The result was anything but the perfect
nativity set that I had
seen Grandma looking at
in her Christmas magazine, but grandma
seemed oblivious. She
oohed and ahhed at each
of the pieces as she took
them out of the box and
set the on her bedside
table.
It was then that I
noticed something else
sitting on the table, as
well.
“Grandma?” I asked,
“Who’s that for?”
Grandma looked over
and smiled. She reached
over and picked up a
fluffy, white teddy bear,
with a brown bow tied
around it’s neck. Grandma held it as though it
was made of glass and
smiled down at it. “A
very important visitor
came to my room this
morning.”
She had not recognized
him, though he had
seemed very familiar. He
wore a Big red coat with
big black boots and his
beard was long and
white.
My sisters and I
exchanged looks of won-

der, knowing the description of the mysterious
man all too well. “It was
Santa Claus!” I
exclaimed.
Grandma smiled. “Yes,
it was.”
He had reached into his
sack full of toys and given grandma a the teddy
bear. “This is for the
Jones girls. They have
been so good this year
and they deserve this,
but it would mean so
much more to them if it
came from you.
As we left the hospital
that night, Grandma gave
us each a hug and a kiss,
assuring us that next
Christmas, she would be
out of the hospital.
That one Christmas
visit, that I so reluctant
to carry out, would grow
to become the most special Christmas night
ever. All the other gifts
we received that year
could not compare the
one that we received
from Santa. Later that
year, we would realize
just how special it was
when Grandma passed
away on New Year’s Eve.
The bear still sits on the
shelf as a small reminder
of what Christmas is all
about: making memories
and being with your family.

Enterprise photo by Hunter D’Antuono

Sleeping Giant Middle School eighth-grader
Clara Jones remembers visiting her Grandma in
the hospital on Christmas Eve.

CHRISTMAS ESSAYS: THIRD PLACE, SOPHIA CAJUNE

The Christmas Turkey

Enterprise photo by Hunter D’Antuono

Sleeping Giant Middle School eighth-grader Sophia Cajune recalls the Christmas
when the turkey exploded inside the oven.

It was Christmas Day,
2005, and as I sat in the
glow of my family’s colorful Christmas tree, my
four-year-old mind took in
the day. That morning, my
parents, baby sister and I
had opened presents, and I
was now looking at some of
the gifts I had received. It
was late afternoon and my
mom, after putting my
exhausted sister to bed,
had started to make dinner.
The delicious smell of a
Christmas turkey was
slowly spreading through
the house, making everyone sluggish, but also
excited at the prospect of a
golden, juicy turkey. As
the turkey started to cook,
my mom called me into the
kitchen to help her make
mashed potatoes. After we
finished, she went into the
living room to wait for the
turkey to be done. Little
did she know that this
wouldn’t exactly go as
planned; meanwhile, I
decided to stay in the
kitchen and watch the turkey cook. I leaned against
the counter opposite the

stove and slowly slid down
until I was sitting on the
floor, all the time staring at
the deliciousness slowly
cooking in the oven. Then,
without warning, the inside
panel of glass in the oven
suddenly spider webbed
with cracks, which were
accompanied by a loud
BOOM!
My mom immediately
ran into the kitchen, followed by my dad, who had
also heard the loud explosion. As they tried to figure out what had happened, my mom quickly
shut off the oven, led me
into the living room and
began comforting me as I
cried from the shock of the
loud noise. After I had
calmed down, my parents
told me that they guessed
that the turkey had exploded in the oven, causing the
glass to break. I know this
sounds unlikely, but apparently it wasn’t out of the
question, as it had once
happened before at my
grandparents’ house. With
no other scenarios coming
to mind, we thought this

was the case here as well.
I thought that this was
pretty cool. The turkey had
exploded! My parents, on
the other hand, were not as
happy. What would we do
now, I asked them. Finally,
they decided to go open the
oven to see what the damage was.
The three of us marched
back into the kitchen and
gathered around the oven.
The cracks made it impossible to see in, so my dad
grabbed a pot holder and
carefully opened it, making sure that none of the
glass fell onto the floor.
There, sitting in the middle
of the oven was a halfcooked, perfectly intact
turkey, with only a small
hole in it where there had
recently been the little
metal gauge used to measure the temperature of
the turkey! Sure enough,
lying in the bottom of the
oven was the gauge, which
we gathered had somehow
shot out of the turkey and
cracked the inside pane of
glass before falling to the
bottom of the stove.

My parents, who were
greatly relieved by the outcome of the situation, were
still faced with an unusable oven and a half done
turkey. My dad ended up
dragging our barbeque out
of the harsh Montana winter and into the garage,
where the turkey finally
finished cooking.
Both amazingly and
thankfully, my little sister
slept through the whole
thing.
Later that night, over a
dinner of barbequed turkey, I realized that no matter how crazy, weird and
chaotic Christmas got, it
was always fun. It’s not
just about the presents or
sweets.
It’s also about having a
good time and being with
the people you love. I had
had a great day spending
time with my family, even
with all the chaos.
As I look back on that
extremely eventful Christmas day nearly nine years
ago, I laugh and know that
I will definitely remember
it forever.

12 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Fake trees and holiday disasters
While the day was winding down
with my mind bogged with loudness
and my arms tired and restless, I lay
in what seemed to be frozen a cold
bed, with my ears screaming in agony and my brain about as stale as old
bread. Let’s go back.
I wake up to what sounds like a jet
engine.
I roll over and see my mom vacuuming my room.
“Get out of here. It’s too early for
this,” I say, trying to speak over the
vacuum.
Then my mom looks up and says in
a happy tone, “We are setting up
Christmas decorations today!” I can
feel that deep, dark, endless pit in
my stomach begin to grow. As I
stumble down the stairs, I can feel
that cold chill and smell the stale air
of “Decoration day.” When I open
my refrigerator, I can feel a breeze
of leftover foods and sadness. I took
the milk out and poured my cereal,
but right about when I was going to
take that delicious bite I could hear,
“Adam, come get some boxes!” in a
not-so-polite tone of voice. This is
where it all began.
I walk into my garage its cold, like
a freezer. I go to get the monstrous
size box of what contains a fake tree.
When we start to set the tree up, my

dad and I start to argue about where
the tree branches go on the tree,
even though it was last year I can
remember it like it was yesterday.
“The branches are assigned a certain
letter that matches up with the tree,”
I said starting to get annoyed.
“But it would look better with the
other tree branches here,” said my
dad in a confident tone.
I can hear that annoying screech
coming from the garage again,
“Adam more boxes!”
I sighed under my breath as I
made the painful walk back to my
garage.
When I got to the boxes, I picked
up the first one I saw. As I lifted it, I
saw the deathly label of “Ornaments” and I thought to myself “Oh,
no.” I made my way back to the living room with this mammoth-like
box.
The music started to play: the
annual Jimmy Buffet Christmas
songs. It wasn’t bad, but it just skips
a lot.
As my family starts to choose the
garland, this is where another problem erupts. “No, I think it should be
red,” my mom saying trying to hold
back her anger. My dad agrees
because really he doesn’t have a
choice. My brother shouts out, “Why

wouldn’t you just make it white?”
E v e r y o n e i n m y f a m i l y d o e s n ’t
agree, so we just go with red and
green.
The Christmas lights were the next
step. This is a hassle because you
have to rope the wires around the
tree with it still plugged to the wall.
As the rope-like lights wrap around
the tree nearly strangling it to death,
my dad pulls out the old projector
that projects Christmas stuff on the
side of the house, so I slip on some
flip-flops and go out in the 10
degrees coldness. Carrying this metal tube of mirrors I place it in the
ground, turn it on and focus it. I
stand back to look and admire my
great achievement of the day, but
then I realize something. It’s upside

down. So I turn it back up right and
sit down on my very cold snow and
took that time to admire the peace
that I was in away from my family.
Finally, I was sent to bed by myself
because I couldn’t take it. Although
that family is important, they can be
annoying sometimes. Even though
that this was just last year, I can still
hear my ears screaming and my
mind complaining about when it will
be.
This is meaningful to me because
it’s the one day of the year that is
just absolute chaos. I like being able
to have the feeling of weariness and
still able to relax.

By Adam K. Lewis
Sleeping Giant, 8th Grade

Merry
Christmas
and
Happy
New
Year!
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13 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

The thrill of finding a Christmas tree
“Are we there yet?” was the only thing I knew to
say as we climbed up to Livingston Peak. I was only
seven years old and in the second grade. It was
November 29, 2007, and we were going to Livingston Peak for a Christmas tree that year.
As we scaled the mountain for the first time, I
asked, “How big is the tree going to be?”
My dad replied, “I have no idea!”
I didn’t know any better, so I asked, “Are we there
yet?”
“No, and stop asking,” my mother said.
Inside, I thought we were going to get a Charlie
Brown tree this year, and so I thought that I would
be bored and wanted to go home. Once we got close
to the top, I asked if we could get a tree next to the
road.
My dad parked the car, and I jumped out of the
car into the snow and hid myself in it. I started to
play around making snowballs and snow angels.
Then, they started to walk away without me, so I
jumped up and ran after them, saying, “You almost
left me.”

I kept asking if we had a tree to cut down. As we
walked down the trail, I felt very uninterested, but I
still walked with the family. My dad said, “Okay,
let’s go off the trail.” As soon as I heard that, I bolted off the trail, and when I almost couldn’t see them,
I stopped and dropped to the ground. My dad
kicked my foot, and I jumped right up and said,
“You guys are so slow I fell asleep.” We kept walking, and my dad stopped, which also made me stop
in my tracks. He said, “How about that one?” I
jumped with joy as I said, “Yes, Yes, Yes.” We
walked over and stood back to watch the magic happen. With every hit of the axe, I jumped a little.
Once the tree was almost cut, my dad said, “Watch
out! Timber!” I started to wonder if this tree would
ever fit in the house. It looked like the tree was 100
feet tall. We hauled the tree up onto the roof of the
car and strapped it down. “You have one job. You
have to watch this strap. If it starts to slip or fall,
tell me and I will fix it. Just watch the tree,” my
dad said.
We started to descend down the hill. As we left, I

started to say my thanks for bringing me with. The
ride home was faster than the way there. I was
amazed how that big tree could fit on our 20 foot
Suburban. We were almost home when I tried to fall
asleep. When we got home, someone woke me up,
and we brought the tree inside to get it ready for the
stand. When everything was perfect, I had to go
under the tree and tighten the bolts that held the
tree still. Once we cleaned up the house from the
pine needles, my sister, mom and I got to decorate.
Of course, I wanted to put the star on top like every
child my age wanted to, but my sister got to, not me.
We then covered the tree with tinsel since we could
not put ornaments up because of the cat, Tigger (the
pain…).
That Christmas, we had a wonderful time. We
adored the 10 foot Christmas tree that shined in the
Christmas night. It was possible for it to fit in the
house and on the car. When I found out, it just blew
my mind.

By Alan Ziems
Sleeping Giant 8th Grade

48 Hours of Christmas
See in my family we don’t travel or have any crazy Christmases. Because we stay in Livingston,
home. You know why? It’s because home is where
both your family and your friends are. Why would
you want to be anywhere else, when you can be surrounded by people you care about and care about
you? Well like I said my family doesn’t do anything
exotic, but we have some traditions that suit us just
fine.
First, I wake up at my father’s house on Christmas
Eve. Some years he will give me small presents or gag
gifts in the morning. Once I receive my small gifts
and we say our Merry Christmases, we usually eat a
nice breakfast consisting, most of the time, of eggs,
bacon/sausage, toast, and pancakes, with either milk/
orange juice. Once our breakfast is devoured, we
relax and enjoy one another’s company.
Then, around one o’clock we head over to one of
these three locals: My uncle’s house, aunt’s house, or
my grandmother’s house to prepare dinner for the
rest of the family. It’s great to be in your family’s
company while having the overwhelming smells of
Lil’ Smokies, glazed ham, mashed potatoes, and so
many other aromas engulf you. Once the dinner is
prepared, and the rest of the family arrives, we all
sit down to say grace and dig in! After dinner is

Merry Christmas

“...we don’t have any crazy
outlandish Christmases, but
we have our own traditions
at home that
treat us just fine.”
done we all clean up and sit down by the tree to then
patiently wait to tear into those colorfully wrapped
gifts. When finally everyone sits down two or three
people go to the tree and dish out gifts.
When all the presents are handed out and awed
upon, it’s time for me to head over to my mother’s
house, for my mom’s side of the family does all of
their activities on Christmas. Once I arrive at my
mother’s we greet each other and exchange Merry
Christmases, I talk with my family or watch television and fall asleep.
At the time of which I wake, it is about three in
the morning. This happens to me every year, so I

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SEASON...

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we appreciate and value your business!
Here’s hoping all of you enjoy a season
filled with much happiness,
beauty and enlightenment.
We look forward
to seeing you again soon.
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and the crew at

from all of us at Back Porch Quilts!

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quietly get up and take a stroll around the Christmas tree and gaze upon the presents. Once I’m done
with this I sneak back to my room and fall asleep
once more. When I finally wake up at a more sensible time I check to see if the rest of my family has
awoken yet. And if they aren’t, I try to make the
loudest possible actions I can without screaming.
It’s more like shutting doors a little harder, walking
heavier, or whistling a tune once I’m downstairs.
When they finally wake up we all gather in the living room. Then my mom and my stepdad go get all
the presents and bring them to the living room.
First we dig into our stockings. After that we tear
into our presents.
Then until about four o’clock we enjoy all of our
new presents. Once four o’clock comes around we
head up to our grandparent’s house. We wait for the
rest of the family to arrive. Then we all eat dinner
and open presents from the rest of the family. Finally all of my traditions are complete and I can go
home and relax.
As you can see we don’t have any crazy outlandish
Christmases, but we have our own traditions at
home that treat us just fine.

By Peyton Murphy
Sleeping Giant 8th Grade

We’re displaying our holiday
best to wish the best bunch of
folks we know the very best
holiday season, ever!
Thanks for your business this
past year and we look forward
to seeing you again soon!

Happy
Holidays!
Mike, Amy & Diana

Quesenberry

Insurance agency
1313 W. Park St. • 222-6931

14 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Small-town traditions
White.
That’s all I see as I look out the
small window of the one-room school
house.
The white snow towering high over
the buildings with the white mountains in the background and the fog
that hung unusually low.
“Mikayla,” snapped my aunt Stacy,
who was also my teacher at the time.
“Huh,” I said, coming out of my daze.
“It’s time to do the ornaments, are
you coming?” she asked questioningly.
Nodding my head, I stood up to follow her to the kitchen. It was almost
Christmas break, and I couldn’t wait
to get home from school and get my
schedule laid out for all the traditions
Cooke City had to offer.
Sitting around the small kitchen
table with the five younger kids, I
waited patiently while the teachers
got everything set up.
“Curtis!” I snapped at my younger
brother who was goofing around with
his friend, Silas, “Stop causing trouble”
“I’m not doing anything wrong. You
aren’t the boss,” Curtis replied, turning back to his friend.
Mrs. Dempsey and Aunt Stacy
stepped out of the storage closet,
bringing all the ornaments and paint
with them. Setting them out in front of
us, they started the lecture.
“Since we are decorating the big
Christmas tree tomorrow, we have to
make sure we finish them,” Mrs.
Dempsey said.
Antsy with excitement, I tuned them
out and started my ornament. We had
been doing this for as long as I can
remember, and it was one of my favorite things to do. So caught up in my
design, I didn’t hear my mom coming
in to pick up my brother, sister, and
me.
“Are you about ready?” my mom
asked us. “Your dad got the Christmas
tree, and we want to set it up and start
decorating it.”
“Okay, I’m done now,” I said standing up to leave.
When we got home, my dad and our
friend, Josh Erbie, unloaded the trees
off of the snowmobiles. My mom and

dad started setting up the tree while
my siblings and I started unloading
the decorations for this special occasion. Next came one of our favorite
traditions. Every year, we each get to
choose a special ornament from the
store to add to our collection, and
when the Christmas lights turn on, we
each take turns carefully placing the
ornaments on our tree, only to see at
least one, sadly, break and perish.
Once the tree was decorated, we
would turn off all the lights, drink
wassail that my dad had made, and
enjoy family time.
“Mom!” I yelled as I was getting
ready for school the next day. “I’m
coming!”
“Get in the car and lets go,” my
mom said.
Meeting at the school, we talked
about Christmas and why we celebrate it. After we did a couple hours
of work, it was time to go decorate
The Big Christmas Tree with the special decorations we made the day
before. Jumping from pile to the next
of snow, we made it in time to start
helping.
Each one of us got to take turns
going up on the elevator to put our
handmade decorations on the tree.
While heading back to the school, we
talked about the Christmas concert
that was coming up that night. When
my mom came to get us, we still had
some time to spare until the concert,
so we went outside to play in the piles
of snow.
“Come on, guys. It’s time to get
ready,” my mom yelled out the door.
Putting on our beautiful dresses our
grandma made us, we quickly got
ready. I helped my mom get my baby
sister, Riley Mae, ready.
When we got to the fire hall, there
were a few people there already who
were helping set up. While Silas, Curtis,
Sidney, Stella, Miles, and I warmed up,
more and more of the town’s people
started showing up. Jam-packed full
with people, the fire hall turned into a
noisy gathering place. Silencing everyone, my aunt Stacy began the introductions.
“Thank you, all, for coming. We will

Post office pays homage
to famous reindeer
RUDOLPH, Wis. (AP) — Thousands
of Christmas cards are pouring into a
small Wisconsin village that shares its
name with the most famous reindeer.
The Rudolph Post Office receives
more than 10,000 Christmas cards
annually from all over the world to be
stamped with festive markings during
the holiday season. This year, the local
effort coincides with the U.S. Postal
Service issuing stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of the popular television special, “Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
Postmaster Becky Trzebiatowski
said this year’s stamps have been
especially popular.
“It’s been very strong, very strong
this year. We have issued an awful lot
of stamps,” she said.

Trzebiatowski admits the stamps
have even prompted her to purchase
more than she usually does.
“I know I’m sending out a few extra
cards because of them,” she said.
The Christmas cards sent to the
post office can be embossed with a
special cancellation on certain days
as well as an ink stamp that features
a reindeer and reads, “Rudolph, Wisconsin — home of Rudolph, the redn o s e d r e i n d e e r, ” D a i l y Tr i b u n e
Media reported.
Wausau resident Judy Hagedorn has
sent her family holiday cards to
Rudolph for the past 10 years, she
said. She traveled 45 minutes to the
village’s post office this week so more
than 100 Christmas cards could get
the Rudolph stamp.

be singing some wonderful Christmas
songs that the kids have worked so hard
on.”
Single filing out in front of everyone,
my aunt turned around to face us, signaling us to start our song. The loud
applause filled my ears as our songs
came to an end.
The days following up to Christmas
Eve were quite uneventful. Consisting
of waking up, finding the pickle, opening the advent calendar, and reading
out of our special story book our
grandma gave us. Everyday asking
our parents, “How many days until
Christmas?” or “Is it almost Christmas?” until finally, when it came, I
could almost feel the tension come off
my parents shoulders.
The Christmas Eve fire hall dinner
was coming up fast, and we were well
prepared, or mostly. “Mom, where are
Riley’s shoes?” I complained to my
mom, who was trying to get herself
ready to.
“I don’t know, go look.” snapped my
mom. Finding Riley’s shoes and quickly shoving them on her feet, we went
and got in the car with everyone else.
Walking through the doors of the fire
hall, the smells and talk came rushing
to me. With all of my friends and family telling stories and the homemade
dishes that were made especially for
this occasion, I couldn’t imagine being
anywhere else. “Mom!” I heard my
sister, Sidney, complain. “Can we eat
now? I’m hungry.”
“Yup!” mom said, looking distract-

edly at the long line. ”Okay, let’s get in
line.” my dad buts in. After eating my
share of ham, potatoes, and a variety
of cakes, I sat listening to the conversations around me. When the dinner
was over, the majority of the town
headed to the candlelight service,
while the rest headed home to get
ready for Christmas.
Arriving at the service, we quietly
took our seat and waited for it to
begin. Zoning out for more than half
the time, I didn’t notice that my candle
was lit until I felt a hot drop of wax
land on my hand. Quickly recovering,
I made sure to pay attention to the
candle.
The lights turned on and I blew my
candle out before I stood up, tugging
my mom’s arm so she would stop talking to everyone she crossed paths
with.
Waking up at six o’clock every
Christmas morning, I can still remember spending time with my friends
and family and how much love I felt
for everyone. Now that time has
passed, some of the old traditions
have changed. The fire hall collapsed,
my family and I moved, and we don’t
spent Christmases there anymore, but
the memories will always be with me.
I hope to share them with my kids and
try to give them some memories of
their own that they can cherish as
much as I do mine.

By Mikayla Denniston
Sleeping Giant, 8th Grade

Merry Christmas!
from your
Livingston Enterprise
newspaper carrier.

May you and yours enjoy
the best that the holiday
season has to offer. And
may 2015 be a year that
finds you in good health.
Thanks for allowing me
to serve you.

15 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

My Last Christmas in Mexico
There are many Christmases that have happened
in my lifetime, but this was by far my most memorable one yet. We went to Acapulco, Mexico and had
many interesting experiences. Although, we had
been here many times before with only minor disasters, mostly involving our whole family together in
a small space, they were mostly uneventful, except
for this one. Basically, this Christmas was the
entire reason we stopped going to Mexico.
It all started during our 2007 Christmas on our
way to Acapulco, but, of course, we had to fly there,
meaning we had to go to the Mexico City airport.
This made my parents very nervous because apparently, as my mother would put it, it was “a very
sketchy airport.” After a long, tedious flight, we
were finally at the airport, and I was ordered not to
stray from my mother’s side. Soon enough though,
we were headed out to my grandparents’ car with
our bags in tow. The thing I remember most about
that car ride was the sweet smell of exotic flowers.
It was a surreal feeling that was soon interrupted by
the hustle and bustle of our family. About one hour
we were at the house and getting ready for bed, but
I was giddy because my mother had promised, with
some prompting from me, that we would go to the
beach and local market tomorrow.
The next day, we arrived at the beach after a short
car ride with me hyped up on my breakfast of syrup
with a side of pancakes, and yes I do mean that liter-

ally. It was a beautiful sight. The sands of white,
dotted with palm trees and people. A short while
after, we had gotten settled in. While I was collecting seashells, there were some teenagers with fourwheelers riding around the beach. I had just gotten
up to show my family this seashell I had found when
a four-wheeler passed right in front of me, kicking
sand in my face and irritating me. Next thing I
know, one of the vehicles had flipped over on some
poor little girl. “That could have been me,” I
thought. I continued to wonder how that girl was
and if she was seriously injured or not. Even after
that, I continued on with my fun day of shopping
and relaxing, determined not to let that incident
ruin my day. Soon enough, we were headed back to
the house for dinner and a good night’s rest.
About a week or so later, we decided to go out for
lunch at a local restaurant. Keep in, mind we had
done this many times before and had never encountered any problems. It all started out normal with
waiters buzzing around and the spicy smells coming
from the kitchen. I remember thinking, “I don’t
know what any of these things are.” Then, we heard
some yelling that ended in the loud bang of a gunshot. We were under the table faster than I had ever
thought possible. About fifteen minutes later, we
were able to leave the restaurant and go back to the
house to regroup. We spent the rest of our vacation
doing all kinds of fun things like swimming with dol-

phins, going on boat rides, and watching fireworks
from the beach on New Year’s Eve.
Finally, we’re to the last event in this oh-so-exciting tale of mine. First, you need to understand that
we have this tradition of eating Chocolate Charlie
ever year, no matter where we are. For all of you
out there who are thinking, “What in the world is
Chocolate Charlie?” It’s the most heavenly combination of milk chocolate, peanuts and marshmallows.
So that year, we didn’t quite finish the second box of
it off, and my Grandmother insisted that we take it
home with us, but we didn’t know that there was still
a knife in the box. As we were going through security at the airport, the person scanning our bags suddenly went berserk and started tearing through one
of them. Turns out, we had forgotten about the
knife, and now we had to deal with this dilemma. It
only took about twenty minutes, and then we were
on the plane headed back home.
All in all, our last Christmas in Mexico wasn’t that
bad. We still had fun and that’s what my family does
best. So yes, that was the trip that ensured we would
never go to Mexico for Christmas again, but we
made memories and were together as a family, and
which is counts. Anyways, we found a new place to
spend Christmas together: South Bend, Indiana.

By Jessica M. Becker
Sleeping Giant, 8th Grade

My Christmas Traditions
Christmas is a beautiful season full of traditions that
make the holiday special.
Without the creativeness of
traditions, the holiday would
be unimportant and dull. The
traditions are create a fun
holiday atmosphere for the

Christmas spirit.
My family has traditions
like every family such as putting up a Christmas tree,
opening gifts, and getting
together with family for a
meal and a good time. We go
to Christmas Eve mass and

also go to mass on Christmas
morning. In the morning, we
look forward to the gifts that
Santa Clause brings us.
We also have some unique
traditions that differ from
other families. We spend
Christmas in Red Lodge and

go skiing a few days after
Christmas at Red Lodge
Mountain. Our Christmas is
full of dogs whom belong to
our family. We love playing in
the snow with our cousins
before it gets dark and enjoy
eating a meal together.

Christmas is a season full of
traditions both new and old
that will be carried on for
years after and will always be
important to my family.

By Emma Beitel, 7th Grade
St. Mary’s Catholic School

Merry Christmas

FIB Pr

Colin & Hailey Zeman, and Marlo

During the season of peace and goodwill we pause
to express our warmest holiday wishes and deepest
appreciation for your business and friendship.
— the staff at Franzen-Davis Funeral Home and Crematory

__ Con
__ Ove
__ UR
__ Me
righ
__ Cop
__ For
__ Doe
she

It’s bigger

than banking.
It’s taking time to embrace the season with those
who matter most. Thank you for your business and
the honor of serving you. It’s you and together.
WISHING YOU AND YOURS HAPPY HOLIDAYS

118 N. 3rd Street – P.O. Box 638
Livingston, MT 59047 406-222-2531

firstinterstate.com

Mercu
First In
Holida
© 2014, Forbes Media LLC. Used with permission.

Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.

Living
Size: 3
Color:

16 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Holiday Exhaustion
“Wake up, wake up”, I say over and over again to
my mom at an ungodly hour of the morning. ‘It’s
Christmas!” I say while my mom rubs her eyes and
gradually wakes up.
On Christmas day, everything is usually familiar
as we always spend Christmas time roughly the
same way every year. On Christmas Eve, I am
always anxiously waiting for the next day to come
as my family and I read “The Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clark Moore, prior to opening a
single gift each. The beauty of Montana never fails
to impress as the snow twinkles in the street lights
with a background of the snowcapped Absaroka
Mountains. As we all open our one present, the
smiles and laughter of the house are the first real
signs of Christmas, which leave me impatient for
the soon-to-come Christmas morning. Slowly the
night winds down, and I usually find myself lying in
bed for a while trying to fall asleep as my excitement for Christmas takes over, but before I know it,
I am asleep only to wake up to the early sunlight of
Christmas morning. I have been waiting all year for
this, for I have counted down all the days in December with my Christmas calendar until now.
Now that everyone is awake, we all go downstairs
to our stockings hung from the fireplace. We sit and

“The beauty of Montana never
fails to impress as the snow
twinkles in the street lights with a
background of the snowcapped
Absaroka Mountains.”
open our stockings that are completely filled top to
bottom with fun little goodies and gifts. Once all our
stockings are empty, we remain sitting on the sofa,
chatting away while sipping hot cocoa. My sister
and I shake the presents under the tree to get only
the smallest suggestions of their contents to decide
which gift to open first on this Christmas. After we
have separated all the gifts into piles by name, it is
finally time to open our presents. One by one, we
open our gifts and rip through the colorful wrapping
paper and ribbon to get to our long awaited surprise. After all the presents are opened and the
floor is covered in a dense layer of wrapping paper,

we all gather in the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
The smell of cooking bacon and eggs lingers in the
air while we talk and enjoy our time together with
each other on such a great day. As soon as the meal
is ready, we meet at the table to enjoy our delicious
food with a cold glass of eggnog.
As the warm fire roars and cracks, we all gather
an array of warm winter clothing in preparation to
go sledding in the frigid winter air. Hiking up and
sledding down the wet and slippery hill over and
over again, smiles and giggles are all there is to see
and hear no matter how cold or hurt everyone may
be.
Once we arrive back at the house, all is settling
down and everyone is exhausted from the fun-filled
day. After all, no matter what presents I receive, it
is clear to me that what I will always remember and
what will always mean the most to me is the time
spent with my loving family, for I will never take
that for granted. As the day rapidly comes to an
end, I usually find myself lying in bed for a while
trying to fall asleep thinking about the 365 days
until Christmas will finally come again.

By Charlie Kirn
Sleeping Giant, 8th Grade

Three-house
Christmas
As I slowly open my eyes to a pitch black bedroom, I realize it’s Christmas morning. I ran down
the hall to wake my sister up, and then I ran up the
stairs to wake my mother. As I watched her slowly
get up, I eagerly ran down the stairs into the living
room to find a bright tree with decorations and
present everywhere!
I was overfilled with excitement. I moved the
boxes to see what I had gotten from Saint Nick.
When everyone was in the living room, I was waiting on my mom to give me the “okay” to open the
brightly colored presents. I started ripping wrapping paper off, eager to see what I had received. I
looked over at my sister to see what she has gotten
from Santa. She was looking at a new doll she gotten
with glistening eyes, just like the way I look at ham
on Christmas Eve. All of the presents were
unwrapped and the room was covered with bright
wrapping paper, toys and packages.
I jumped with delight when I heard a soft knock
on the door. It was my father! He had to come to
take my sister and me to his house for yet another
round of opening presents. We stopped on the way
to pick up my step brother from his mom’s house.
Then, we headed to my dad’s house. As we arrived
at his house, we all jumped out of the truck and
headed inside to see all of the presents from Santa.
We all gathered around the tree and opened presents. As the unwrapping came to an end, my wish
list was complete. I was satisfied.
My dad told everyone to get in the truck. As we
drive away from our house, I wondered where we
were headed. As we pulled up a driveway, I recognized the house. It was my grandma’s house! When I
opened the door, I was welcomed with the sweet smell
of cinnamon rolls and wonderful holiday foods. After
seeing yet another present-filled tree, I started to lose
interest in the excitement of opening presents. We
opened all of the presents and then sat down to have a
Christmas breakfast like we do every year.
By this time, I was just happy to be with my family, with everyone laughing and having a great time.
Christmas is by far my favorite holiday because I
have the time to actually enjoy my entire family
whom I love so much.

By Brianna Watt
Sleeping Giant, 8th Grade

Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year
from all of us at Industrial Towel

With deepest gratitude from all of us for the privilege of serving you,
along with best wishes for
the brightest holiday season ever!

Industrial Towel and Cover Supply
218 S. 2nd St.

222-1131

17 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

The Unexpected Acts of Kindness
Even though it was
already a year ago, I
recall last Christmas
break perfectly, mostly
just because it was the
Christmas that I learned
that giving really is better than receiving.
It was a cold, windy
day in the small, little
town of Livingston, Montana, but that wasn’t
anything unusual, and I
was getting ready for
school while thinking
about my plans for
Christmas this year.
However I found that I
wasn’t really in the
Christmas spirit this
year, and as a twelve
year old, there was no
more staying up late
waiting for SantaClaus,
and what was the point
of Christmas if there
was no Santa or toys? As
I sat there eating my
bowl of cereal that I
poured for myself, I
thought about my plans
for Christmas this year.
Every year it’s the same;
family dinner, church on
Christmas Eve, and the
present opening on
Christmas morning. And
with that, I decided that
my Christmas this year
would be boring as ever.
Boy, was I wrong!
My class and I were
sitting in the library, and
my teacher, Mrs. McMillion, was reading us stories about people giving
things to other people
who were less fortunate.
My favorite story she
read to us was about a
family who would
donate money to a different charity every
year, as opposed to
spending it on themselves for presents. I
remember sitting there

listening to people going
out of their way just to
make other people happy, and that really got
me thinking about my
Christmas this year.
As we walked from the
library back to the classroom, I was still thinking about what I had just
learned. I wasn’t my
happy, joyful self. I felt
bad that I was complaining about my holiday
traditions, when some
people can’t buy their
own food. Then, I
remembered the food
drive.
The previous week
this year, we had a food
drive to donate cans of
food to the food pantry,
and I didn’t think too
much of it until this day.
That’s when I thought
that maybe this Christmas wouldn’t be as boring as I expected it to
be. As soon as the bell

rang to get out of class, I
immediately went to go
get my two best friends,
Bray, and Ellie. Because
it was the first day of
Christmas break, we had
to have a sleepover. My
mom gave us a ride to
our house, and in the car
I was discussing with
them the possibility of
going around door to
door the next day and
collect cans for the food
pantry. Surprisingly
they thought it was a
good idea. So for the rest
of the night we just
wasted time just waiting
for tomorrow to finally
come, and it felt like forever! Eventually we
were well asleep to the
smell of fresh baked
cookies, and when we
awoke, it was finally
time for the big day.
We set out in the early
morning with two big
bags and high hopes.

Our original goal was to
raise 20 cans. We went
from door to door in the
freezing cold, getting
many cans from almost
every door we went to.
We filled the two big
bags full, so we decided
to go back to my house
and get a sled to pull the
bags we had. When it
started to be too much to
bare, we called it quits,
and went back to my
house to see how many
cans we had gotten.
When we got home, we
put all the cans we got
on the kitchen table, and
it filled more than the
whole table! We counted,
clean, and boxed all the
cans, and it turns out
that we tripled our original goal of 20 cans, we
got over 100! It was hard
fitting all the boxes into
Bray’s dad’s truck, but
once we did, we were on
our way to the food pan-

Thank You Very Much
Our thanks is extended to the relatives and friends
of our residents who go out of their way to make
visits and help in other ways to make our residents
happy. The interaction is cherished by them.
Special thanks goes out to our dedicated
staff members who always extend
exceptional care. We consider ourselves
extremely lucky to have you as employees.

try. When the friendly
workers at the food bank
saw what we had done,
they were so impressed
they gave us an apple
pie! We unloaded the
trucks and helped them
unbox all of the boxes,
and we also gave them
the ten dollars that we
also managed to raise.
We said goodbye with a
smile on all of our faces,
and went our separate
ways. Now all we could
think about was the
apple pie and vanilla ice
cream that awaited us
when we got home.
Looking back on last

year, I’ve realized how
much I really have
learned.
Not only did I realize
giving is better than
receiving, but there are
families that are less
fortunate than me, and
that in the end it’s not
about how many presents or how much money
you have. Hey, I don’t
even remember anything I got last year!
And I can tell you one
thing, I can’t wait for
Christmas this year!

By Emily Quillen
SGMS, 8th Grade

Home for the Holidays –

David Rust
Carpet Center

understands how important ‘home’
is, and continually strives to give you
and your home the best value for your
money. We would like to say Thank You
to all of our loyal customers who have
welcomed us into their homes this
year, and once again, given us a very
successful year.
David, Bonnie, Marie, Lezlie,
Chris & Steve

Diamond K Lodge
Angie Printz, John & Susan Clark
1200 W. Montana

222-0605

Greetings
s
’
n
o
s
a
e
S
from everyone at

We will be closed Christmas Eve at 4:00 P.M.
and all of Christmas Day to celebrate the holidays.

Kim & crew
of the
Park County Fairgrounds

Wish You a
Very Merry Christmas
and a
Happy New Year!
Thank you Livingston
for your
continued support.

SAVE THE 2015 DATES:
Park Co. Fair: July 29-Aug. 1
Demolition Derby: Aug. 2

18 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

The Murphy Tree Hunt
For most families, tree hunting consists of finding a
tree, cutting it down, bringing it home and putting it
up, but that’s not how things work at my dad’s house.
Our tree hunt is like no other. We have a differ
sequence. This is the Murphy Tree Hunt.
For the past few years, things have been a little different at my dad’s house. We have decided not to go to
one of those tree farms or get a fake tree from the
store. Oh, no. We’re above for that. We’ve decided to
go tree hunting. We have done this for probably the
last four years. This epic trip does not only include the
Murphy family, but our friends as well.
The morning of the tree hunt, we awake with groggy
eyes and energized bodies to do some tree hunting,
but, of course, we can’t forget about the coffee we
pick up every morning from the Coffee Crossing.
Once we have obtained our coffee, we gather up our
friends and uncle to help us on this long journey. We
used to take up our 1999 black Land Rover, and I
always remember thinking, “I wonder if we’re going
to make it there and back,” but now I have no doubt
that our Ford F-350 will make it there and back. The
change from the small Land Rover to the giant truck
has put some new smells and sounds into my head,
such as the distinct smell of diesel and the sound of
the big engine.
Once we get up there, we prepare for the sudden
change from the toasty warmth of the car to the frigid
air of the pine forest. As we explore into the mysterious forest, I suddenly lose feeling in my toes and fin-

‘Tis the
Season
to say
THANKS

gers. I hear the crunch of the snow under my feet,
along with all of the other feet with us. Whether they
are big or small.
We stumble along the rocky snow-covered pine forest
when we find it. The “Perfect Tree.” During the first
two years, we used an axe, but we have emerged from
our primitive instincts and obtained a chainsaw. This,
as you could assume, has made things much easier. The
hardest part is probably getting the tree to the car.
Now that the tree is on the car, we can have some
fun. My friends and I have the most awesome snowball fights, and sometimes the adults would become
involved, as well. Once all the snowballs have been
thrown and all the drinks have been drunk, we head
home. Most people put the tree up as soon as they get

By Buddy Murphy
Sleeping Giant, 8th Grade

In ThIs season
of GIvInG...
EMIGRANT

We’d like to give you
our thanks and best wishes for a
holiday trimmed with lots of
good times and
good cheer.
CLYDE PARK

We have the best customers
in Montana.
Thanks for the privilege of
serving you.

L to R: back row: Dawn Finkler, Linda Counts,
Colene Sachanowski, front row: Jean Grezlovski,
and Charlene Murphy.

Daryn Hendrickson
Carla Williams,
Dean Hendrickson

home, but we drive around with the tree on our car for
a bit. It may be a couple of hours to two days. That’s
just how we roll. We sometimes get weird looks from
people after they have noticed it’s been on our car for
a few days. Once we’ve shown off our awesome tree,
we put it up.
As we are putting up the tree, it is then that I realize
how special this tree hunt is to me. It is a time where I
see frantic scurrying and prancing to get things done,
but it all gets done and everything is well. I not only
get to spend time with my dad and other family, but
my friends, as well.

Thank you
for your
patronage
of our
three Park
County
offices this
past year.

L to R: Tracy Fremont, Vikki Green, Jennell Huff,
Kelly Woosley, and Barb Doty.

LIVINGSTON

L to R: back: Sandra Rinehart, Carrie Brown, Tammy Haefs,
Heather Malcolm, Cassandra Kokot, Teresa Dorvall,
front: April Wilcox, and Mark Sukut.

224 W. Lewis • Livingston
222-2250

Livingston – 1203 W. Park St. • Livingston, MT 59047 • (406) 222-9010
Clyde Park – 205 1st St. • Clyde Park, MT 59018 • (406) 686-4204
Emigrant – 307 Story Rd. • Emigrant, MT 59027 • (406) 333-9009

19 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Letters, from Page 9
Dear Santa,
How are the presents
you’r making? I am
excited because you are
coming to my house. I
was thinking if you
could bring me roller
skates size eight.
Love, Jocelyn G.
Dear santa,
How are the elves and
the reindeer. I was hoping for a I-phone 6 plus
please.
Love, Jake S.
Dear St. nicholas,
How are you doing? I
am great this year! I am
hoping for a new barbie
set and a kindle, like my
grandmas but with kid
books.
Love,
Georgina J.
Dear Santa,
Are you staying warm
in this cold weather?
What I would like for
Christmas is whatever
you think I will like and
for everybody to have a
happy and warm Christmas.
Your friend,
Christopher P.
Dear St. Nick,
Are you ready for
Christmas? I am great
right now. Instead of
giving me a lot of gifts
can you give one or
more to someone who
really needs it.
Love, Erika H.
Dear Santa,
How are you doing? I

am excellent. I am hoping for a nerf gun. I
think it is cool and I will
leave 4 cookies for you.
Love, drake
Dear St. Nicholas ,
How are the elves? I
am excellent. Can I
please have a pack of
pokemon cards. Please
care for those who are
poor and hungry this
season.
Sincerely, Carson B.
Dear Santa,
How are the reindeer? I am fine.
I was hoping for a
Play Station 4 for
Christmas. Please help
the poor.
Love, Baylor B.
Dear Santa,
How are the elves on
the shelf and reindeer?
I was hoping for you to
choose my present. I
was a little bad this
year. Pleas make the
elves pets to come back
on Christmas Day at
my house.
Love, Ava F.
Dear Santa ,
How are the elves?
How is Mrs. Claus?
How are you? I was
hoping for a ipod and
some stuff for my doll
house.
Love, Ava D.
Dear Santa Claus,
How are you and Mrs.
Claus? I am doing great
I have had a wonderful
year. I was hoping for a
pair of warm pajamas

for Christmas. Oh and
please help those who
are lonely for Christmas.
Love, Alina S.
Dear Santa,
How are the reindeer?
I am great. I was hoping
for a xbox and a computer for Christmas. I was
hoping that you can give
people money
Love, Alex F.
Dear Santa,
How are the elves? I
am happy. I was hoping
for a pillow pet and a
book.
Love, Albion M.
St. Mary’s Catholic
School, Kindergarten
and first grade
Mrs. Walker, teacher
Dear Santa,
Are you ready for
Christmas? I would like
a pet lizard that is green
and a remote control
car. Thank you Santa.
Love, Dakota (1st
Grade)
Dear Santa,
Are you going to take
off soon? May I please
have guitar and a drum
set that is camo? Thank
you Santa.
Love your Friend,
Peter (1st Grade)
Dear Santa,
Did you like my cookies I left you last year?
May I please have a
remote control robot
and that is it.
Love, Davin (1st
Grade)
Dear Santa,

Happy Holidays
From Our Home to Yours

Why did you send the
Elf to our classroom?
We named her Ruby.
May I please have a
stuffed animal zebra
and a radio? Thank you
Santa.
Love, Eva (1st Grade)
Dear Santa,
Thank you for our
classroom Elf. May I
please have a toy car
with a lid and toy dog
trailer? Thank you Santa.
Isabelle (1st grade)
Dear Santa,
Did you like the cookies I left you last year?
May I please have the
dinosaur stomp and
chop and an action figure.
Love, Tate (kindergarten)
Dear Santa,
When does our classroom elf Ruby work?
May I please have Shark
M a n i a a n d B e n n i e ’s
Space ship?
Turner (kindergarten)
Dear Santa,
Did you like the cookies? May I please have a
teddy bear? Thank you

Santa.
Your Friend, Isabella
(kindergarten)
Dear Santa,
Thank you for bring
Ruby and I will leave
cookies for you. May I
please have a Teddy
Bear and Barbie toy?
Thank you Santa.
Your Friend, Natalie
(kindergarten)
Dear Santa,
Are your favorite colors red and green? May
I please have a Nintendo
DS and game fly? Thank
you Santa.
From, Finn (kindergarten)
Dear Santa,
How are your reindeer? May I please have
a dinosaur robot and a
god who can do my
homework for me?
Your Friend, Caen
Dear Santa,
Thank you for coming
to my house. May I
please have a race track
that has a remote with
cars and a truck? Thank
you Santa.
Cody (kindergarten)

Dear Santa,
Are the reindeer ready
to fly? May I please
have a Barbie dream
house and ballet slippers
that are green? Thank
you Santa.
Love, Lucy (kindergarten)
Dear Santa,
Thank you for the
presents. I wish you a
Happy Merry Christmas.
May I please have a
Nerf gun and a Bouncy
house? Good bye
Thank you,
Landon (kindergarten)
Dear Santa,
Did you like the cookies and the milk? May I
please have a remote
control shark and a
remote control airplane?
James (kindergarten)
Dear Santa,
Thank you for coming
to my house. May I
please have a race track
that has a remote with
cars and a truck? Thank
you Santa.
Cody (kindergarten)

See Letters, Page 20

Ho, Ho,
Holiday
Delivering wishes merry and bright
to all of our friends and neighbors
on Christmas night.
With sincere thanks to all our
customers, we wish you and yours
a very merry Christmas!

Caslen Living Center
1301 Wineglass Lane
(406)-222-0797

A Dealership
Serving You
The People

1415 W. Park Street • Phone 222-8600
yellowstonecountrymotors.com

20 HOLIDAY GREETINGS 2014, Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Letters, from Page 19
Dear Santa,
Are the reindeer ready to fly? May I
please have a Barbie dream house and
ballet slippers that are green? Thank
you Santa.
Love, Lucy (kindergarten)
Dear Santa,
Thank you for the presents. I wish
you a Happy Merry Christmas. May I
please have a Nerf gun and a Bouncy
house? Good bye
Thank you,
Landon (kindergarten)
Dear Santa,
Is the reindeer ready to fly? May I

Announcing the winners of the
please have a dog and a stuffed bear?
Can you please bring something for my
new baby sister?
Keane (kindergarten)
Dear Santa,
Did you like the cookies and the milk?
May I please have a remote control
shark and a remote control airplane?
James (kindergarten)

Sponsored by

Dear Santa,
Is the reindeer ready to fly? May I
please have a dog and a stuffed bear?
Can you please bring something for my
new baby sister?
Keane (kindergarten)

1319 W. Park St.
222-7393

Two divisions:

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Two Hastings women have teamed up to bring
holiday joy to the less fortunate this
season through handmade stockings.
Rashell Hillis and Susan Hoit plan to
deliver 300 stockings to disabled or
elderly individuals for Christmas, the
Hastings Tribune reported.
The material for the stockings came
from Hillis’ mother, who died in January. Hillis told the Hastings Tribune
she had a lot of extra material and
Hoit volunteered to sew it into Christmas stockings.

Hoit hasn’t been able to work full
time because of a back injury this
year so she volunteered to sew the
material into stockings in her spare
time. She started around Easter and
finished at the beginning of December.
“It kinda felt good to be out there
doing something,” Hoit said. “It’s nice
to be able to help.”
Hoit met Hillis in December2013.
They met as Hillis delivered about 150
stockings to disabled individuals last
year.

y
p
p
a
H idays
l
o
H

First place in the 6-year-old and younger division:

1) The rules are easy to follow! Use crayons,
coloring pencils or magic markers.

Elle Wright

2) Color all the holiday images on the pages of
this special section.

First place in the 7 to 11-year-old division:

3) Mail your completed form to:
Livingston Enterprise Coloring Contest,
P.O. Box 2000, Livingston, MT 59047
or drop it off at The Enterprise office,
401 South Main Street

Caleb Jergenson

4) Winners announced in the special
Christmas section that will be a part of
the December 23rd edition of the Enterprise

Congratulations to these talented young artists!

5) Prizes - Two Large Pizza Coupons for the
winner of each division

Thanks to all the kids who submitted entries.
They were all a pleasure to view.

ENTERPRISE


t

h e

l

F r o ma n d
D av eG a n g !
the

s
'
l
a
e
b
Gray

All Service Heating & Cooling, INC.
www.allservicehvac.net

i v i n g s t o n



Women to deliver 300
Christmas stockings

• Up to 6 years old • 7 to 11 years old

Friendly, Knowledgable Service

222-7852