05/27/2010 -

Hi to all! We had a very mild winter this year -- the snow didn't get above two feet on the level! We were able to get away for three weeks from the middle of March to the end of the first week in April! We enjoyed going to Wyoming to see Myrna's sister and dad and then on to California to see Ron's mom and brother and Myrna's mom and brother. The weather was warm and nice almost the whole time we were there -- mostly in the 70's! When we returned to Essex, the snow was almost gone -- yeah! We did get a few crazy storms in April and even early May with four to seven inches of snow! We've had all kinds of weather this spring -- sunshine and 75 degrees, snow and 30 degrees, rain and 40-50 degrees! Sometimes we get sunshine, snow and rain all in one day -- that's spring in Northwest Montana for you!!!

Business is picking up with the snowbirds returning to Montana and early tourists on the road. We're gearing up for another summer and are looking forward to seeing and visiting with our "regulars", those we haven't seen in some time, along with the new faces that might stop in -- we always enjoy meeting new people!

Take care and we hope to see you here this summer -- God bless you!

Ron, Myrna & Rebekah

01/08/2010 -

Hello to everyone! It's hard to believe that it's already been 8 months since we've written! Time does fly!!!

The homeschool graduation ceremony in May was wonderful and we enjoyed Myrna's dad, sister and brother-in-law being able to attend with us! Rebekah (Becki) is staying home for a year, working (at The Half-Way of course) and getting together with friends. She will probably attend Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell in the fall of 2010.

We had another busy summer and enjoyed our "regulars" and all the new people we met! We were able to move into a new mobile home (on the same property) in September, so we were very busy moving as well as working.

We have about two feet of snow right now. We've had a lot of cold weather this winter. It's actually warmer today at zero degrees than it has been all week! There's been three cold spells since November and temperatures reached as low as 20 below zero. It has also rained a few times and the thermometer measured up to 40 above! I guess it can't make up its mind!

Hope all is well with all of you. Take care and God bless.

Ron, Myrna & Rebekah

05/11/2009 -

Hey everyone! We made it through another winter! The most snow we had was 4 1/2 feet on the level -- not as much as last winter, which was 6 feet. There's still patches of snow on the ground -- back in the trees, where it falls off the roof, and where it's been plowed into piles.

We were able to get away for a few weeks in April and go to California to see family. We sure enjoyed the beautiful, sunny, warm weather -- one day while we were there, it reached 103 degrees! Wow, that was quite a change for us!

Our daughter, Rebekah (Becki) graduates from her high school homeschool studies this month, on May 23. She sure grew up fast and we're very proud of her!

We've opened up the Restaurant again and are getting ready for summer. Hopefully, it will be a nice warm one! Take care and hope to see you here!

God bless all of you ... until next time ...

Ron, Myrna & Rebekah

01/04/2009 -

Hi all! We had a great summer in 2008 and appreciate all the business our customers gave us! Thank you to our local clientele and the local workers, whether you be on the railroad, in construction, or maintaining/repairing various homes in the area. We also thank all the new people we were able to meet from various parts of Montana and all over the United States and even from other countries as well!!!

Fall brought beautiful colors, nice weather and relatives. We enjoyed all of them!

We had a white Christmas here in Montana (not surprising) and it has snowed quite a lot over the last few weeks. We now have approximately 3 1/2 feet and expect another storm system to move in tomorrow!

There was some excitement in Essex right after Christmas! There was a derailment of 18 railroad cars between Java West and the Sheep Creek Trestle. It was very difficult to clean up as it was in an area that required flatbed rail cars to transport the equipment and the workers in to work on it. It happened on Saturday afternoon, 12/27 and we at The Half-Way worked to keep the BNSF workers and their contractors fed. It slowed by January 1, but they are still doing some residual cleanup. That has been the excitement of the winter so far!!!

Have a great winter and spring ... until the next update!!!

Ron, Myrna & Rebekah

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