Author: CharliesTrail
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Local concert to reunite lifelong friends
Randy Berry of Lewistown is looking forward to having a childhood friend come back to town this weekend – Kostas Lazarides, a Billings native of Greek descent who is known for writing several chart-topping country songs, including “Timber, I’m Falling In Love,” “The Lonely Side of Love,” “Blame It On Your Heart” and “Ain’t That…
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Life Lessons from “The Old Philosopher”
A lot of people have hope. Don’t spoil it. When you think you shouldn’t say it, don’t. When you have nothing to do, do it now. My grandfather, Marshall Kidd, is the wisest man I know. And I’m not alone in my thinking. The self-proclaimed “Old Philosopher” has made quite the impression through the years,…
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Local soldier remembered on 100th anniversary of Argonne Offensive
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day I wanted to share a piece I wrote about a central Montanan whose served in the Great War. Here it is, as published in the Lewistown News-Argus: Sergeant Albert “Bert” Replogle of Grass Range was in the thick of it. A soldier in the 91st Division, known…
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Catalina Island
“Dwayne Johnson has it covered, babe.” Half asleep, unsure of what was going on, that’s all I could muster. The alarm continued to sound, and Kari wasn’t comforted. “What? Seriously, Charlie, I think something’s up.” I opened my eyes a little more, looking up at Kari from the cot, feeling like I’d been asleep for…
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Be a gentleman: we need them more than ever
“Excuse me. Were you waiting in line?” the British man asked outside the bathroom at the Revolver Bar in Seattle. “Yes, I was, but it’s alright,” I said. “No, it was rude of me to cut you off. Please know if I had seen you – or if I had known you were waiting – I…
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Frank Valach: reflections on a life built of love
“This is how I get my exercise,” said Frank Valach, 99, as he pushes himself toward the cafeteria in a wheelchair Thursday at The Villa, where he’s lived the last three years. A beloved father, grandfather and literal community builder (for most his life he was a bricklayer), Frank has been an integral part of…
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Jer Gregg: Resurrected
Jer Gregg: Resurrected “Everyone loves something that is authentic, and Jer Gregg is an authentic artist that not only honors and creates the music he is passionate about, but honors and looks after those that make up the company he keeps.” – Stephen Salyers Jer Gregg (est. 1984, Elwood, Indiana) has always believed in himself. From his days…
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Still Smiling: 94-year-old cowboy loving ranch life
Sitting in a wheelchair by his wood stove at his cabin on Gilt Edge Stage, 94-year-old Eldon Snyder reads Louis L’amour’s “The Riders of High Rock,” entering the world of Hopalong Cassidy. “I’ve read a lot of books since I quit riding two years ago,” he said. “That’s one of the main things I do:…
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Seeing the Rolling Stones with my father – a trip of a lifetime
My dad is well known for his surprises. About two months before his 60th birthday, he Facetimed with a wild proposition. Drinking his Fresca, we locked eyes through the phone screen and he said, “You know how I have been thinking of doing something wild and crazy for my 60th birthday? Well, I think I…
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Keeping the New Year tradition alive, sort of
Read more. Exercise more. Get a girlfriend. Every year, Trevor and I would put our New Year’s resolutions under the shed behind his house on Madden Place. We were crazy then. Before we put the resolutions under the shed, we’d do the “polar bear club” lap of shame and run around Trevor’s house in our…
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