Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New YearMerry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year flooding. Well,...

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year

Merry Christmas and a

Prosperous and Happy New Year!

Seasons greetings to our Currahee/TF 3-506th family and friends this holiday season. As another year is about to end, Donna and I would like to share with all of you some of the sights and memories from the past for the ‘Berry Patch’ in Montana. We are indeed thankful and truly blessed here in God's beautiful Northwest. I am sending this Christmas Letter by mail, as well as, by e-mail. Those of you who get this by snail mail will need to have someone open their copy sent to their computer to be able to view all the photos in large format.

Over the years, Donna has allowed me to write our Christmas letter to “the guys", while she wrote the ones to "family and relatives"! She thinks I dwell too much on bragging and hunting! Now, I ask you, is there any truth in this? You be the judge! Oh, by the way, be sure to click on the thumbnail on the right of my cow elk this year!

I do a tremendous amount of correspondence throughout the year--over the internet, telephone, etc. with our members, either one-one-one, posting on our Message Board, writing the newsletter and especially answering hundreds of e-mails. Our Christmas time letter gives us the opportunity to consolidate information to share with all of you. This year, I want to share with you some of the memories and photos of not only this year, but years past from the 'Berrypatch" here in NW Montana (Libby). We always look forward to getting your Christmas letter too.

2011

The Berry clan is big on tradition by nature, and 2011 is no exception. During the early weeks of 2011, we 'hunkered down' and enjoyed watching old man winter cast its magical spell over the Kootenai River Valley here in Northwest Montana. Winter 2010/2011 in Libby was another quite mild winter with very little snow in the Valley, despite a record snow fall in the high country. The predictions were large spring run-off and lots of

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flooding. Well, the temperatures were below normal during spring, which allowed for the large snow pack to come off slowly and resulted in a normal run-off with little or no flooding. In fact, I never had the opportunity to use my snow blower once all last winter. What little snow we did get (3-8 inches) stayed on the ground, with some areas often snow-free. January and February around the Berry Patch is “cabin fever" season--we enjoy the warmth and comforts of home, eagerly awaiting old man winter to start releasing his frosty grip and permit us to venture outside and into the forest. This winter is looks as though it will be similar to last year. During these months, I try to tackle certain projects that I often avoided during the previous months of nice weather.

Springtime conditions seemed to come later to Northwest Montana in 2011. In years past, I would often get an early start on gathering the winter firewood supply. I truly love searching for and cutting my firewood for the coming winter; but as I get older, my body fights back and I ache in places I didn't even realize I had! I realize some of you don't even know what firewood is! LOL Growing up on a farm

in the Mississippi Delta, we relied entirely on wood heat from an old wood-burning stove in the front room of our home. During the winter months, it was my job to make sure the wood box was filled and be the first one up in the morning to build a fire. I use to sit beside the wood stove as a kid and read old Outdoor Life and Field & Stream magazines and dream of one day moving to the NW and living in the mountains to hunt and fish. I made that dream come true as I got older. Throughout my career with the U.S. Forest Service and living in various regions of the NW, as well as in northern Arizona, we continued to utilize wood heat as our primary heat source, combined with other energy sources, i.e. propane, oil and electricity. There is no better (or cheaper) home heating source than wood! A firewood permit from the U.S. Forest Service use to be free, but later permits cost $10 for cutting two cords of firewood on National Forest lands. I normally burn 4-5 cords of dry larch and Douglas-fir wood each winter in our fireplace insert. We have used firewood for our main heating source with our back up being propane and electric heat, if needed for the past twenty years here in Libby. By the way, it is a lot more enjoyable to collect one's firewood in the cool springtime, rather than waiting until the hot days of summer.



I have always enjoyed fishing; and for over a decade, I have enjoyed fishing one particular high mountain lake (one of many) near home--Hoskins Lake. Ever since moving back to Montana in 1991, I have concentrated my fishing to mainly the Kootenai River by either drifting in

my canoe, drift boat, or just fishing from the bank. For the past decade, I have enjoyed the hike into Hoskins Lake soon after the ice has melted and catch some of the large cutthroat trout that the lake is known for. The photo on the left is my #3 daughter, Heidi, and me on one of those trips. The photo on the right is a drifting boating on the Kootenai River, which runs by our home here in Libby.

Summer

Oh, those lazy days of summer! Summertime at the 'Berry Patch' is anything but lazy, however. I love Montana's long summer days, hot afternoons and cool nights! Temperatures can reach the high 90's by mid-afternoon, be in the 60s by bedtime and 50s by the time you get up in the morning. This plays havoc on my tomatoes and some other garden plants though. Some of them don't know whether to bloom or go into hibernation! One of my enjoyments in life is gardening. Growing up on a farm in the deep south, my family always had large gardens and depended on them to provide food for the table. I guess for me, it is one of those "tradition things"! I became addicted to fried green tomatoes, tomato sandwiches, homemade "chow-chow" (cutup pickled green tomatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, and bell pepper), summer squash, cukes, and all the other 'soul food' from the south, which most of you elsewhere all take for granted!

June is a special month for Donna and me. June 1 of each year is both our wedding anniversary (the big 42 this year), and an annual phenomenon for the two of us displaced Mississippians, which we call "the Red Lobster trek"! When we are home here in Montana on June 1, we take the 2 1/2 hours trip westward to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where we assault the nearest Red Lobster restaurant--a pretty simple act for those of you with many fancy dining facilities down the street or across town from you, but bear in mind, we live in NW Montana, where we do have a McDonalds, a Pizza Hut and 'Ma and Pa" cafes. No complaints, however. June was also special this year, because of our 15th Annual 3-506th Reunion down in Tunica, Mississippi and a Berry Clan family reunion afterward in the Mississippi Delta, where both Donna and I grew up. I had a whole slough of family members and a close family friend attend the banquet night program. Some came as far



away as New York, California and Alabama to attend. We had the best of both worlds. A full report on the reunion with lots of photos is found on our website: www.currahee.org and at this link: http://www.currahee.org/AAR.Reunion2011_AAR.html. Take a look at some of our member photo albums on the website, which include photos they took during the reunion. When you find time, check it all out.

As mentioned, after our reunion, Donna and I traveled a short distance from Tunica to Greenwood, Mississippi to spend a week with family and attend our family's annual 4th of July Berry Clan gathering. Had the opportunity to eat lots of soul food during our visit and even got in some good crappie fishing with my brother, Sonny (pictured). We are very grateful that we did, because it would be the last time we would have the opportunity to spend time with one of my closest nephews. He passed away three months later from cancer. We sometime forget how short life can be and just how important it is to stay in touch and to visit whenever we can--with both family and friends.

From August through September is prime huckleberry picking time in Montana; and it can't be beat! The weather is great, the scenery is unbelievable at high elevation, and the solitude one finds is wonderful. As you walk along through the forest, you can eat all the juicy wild huckleberries you desire just like the grizzly bears do! If you have never tasted wild huckleberries (nothing like blue berries),

you are missing one of nature's finest delicacies.

Fall & 'Indian Summer'

September days in the Rocky Mountains are wonderful, especially what is known as 'Indian Summer'! Those of you living in the NE have those gorgeous color changes take place; but believe me, we too have our version. It cannot match the NE. It is like being in another part of the world compared to my environment growing up in the deep south. The days get shorter, colors are spectacular, frost comes

to the high country basins and all this triggers the elk rut. September is opening season for hunting forest grouse, black bear, special hunts for big horn sheep, mountain goat, moose,


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and archery season for elk and deer. The sounds of bull elk bugling in the back country is truly an exciting sound. A couple years back, Dean (4/C 1967/68) and Suzie Morrison came by to spend a few days with us, while on their vacation out west to Glacier National Park (their anniversary celebration). Since Suzie couldn't come with Dean in October (our annual antelope hunt), they did the next best thing. We had a great visit and Suzie got hooked on huckleberries (candy, pancakes, etc.). She is still ordering huckleberry things from our local store!

Like most of us living in the northern states, fall gives us that special "Indian Summer" period with its warm days, cool nights, colorful landscape, and the urgency to tie-off lose ends before old man winter sneaks up on us again. There just aren't enough hours in a day to do all the things one wants to do. Trying to decide between a little hunting, fishing, finishing up with firewood-cutting, and the "honey-do" list consumes a body! You know what I mean? Time to get things in order before the serious hunting takes priority.

October at the Berrypatch" is "Jerry's" month...period...end of debate! First off, it is the annual Antelope Hunt to the eastside of the state....but not this year! For several past seasons, my buddy, Dean Morrison (4/C 67/68) has joined me in the annual trek to the eastside at Zortman, Montana. Seen in the picture on the right is Dean grinning big over his nice antelope buck! He had missed a dozen nice shots before tagging this one. "All those trees got in my way," says Deano. For the first time in all the years I have hunted antelope, I decided not to apply for an antelope tag this year, deciding instead to wait a couple more weeks and rendezvous with two of my Vietnam buddies, Sal Morales and Burl Summers (D Co. 68/69) down in the Big Hole Valley near Wisdom in SW Montana. On this hunt, we convinced Burl Summers (rancher living near Idaho Falls, ID) to join us. Burl and Sal are pictured in the far right photo below. We had a great hunt. This was the second year in a row that Sal has come up from Chino, California to hunt elk with me in the Big Hole Valley, where my family and I lived back in the mid-80s while working for the U.S. Forest Service as a district wildlife biologist at Wisdom. It was another successful hunt. Be sure to click on the thumbnails below to enlarge each photo. October is also the time to collect those wild elderberries and put up a batch of homemade elderberry wine! Oh yea, it's my birthday too! I turned 39 this year...again!



As I said in the beginning, the Berry clan adheres to tradition by nature. November means "Turkey Day"--my favorite holiday of the year. Thanksgivings have always been special in my family while growing up in the Mississippi Delta. There were seven sisters and one brother in my family; and for many years, it was homecoming at my parent's home. We had people sleeping in every flat spot you could find around the house! Those were good, special times, and I try to recreate a tiny part of it with my immediate family. Donna goes all out with the home-made pies, rolls, cornbread dressing, the largest turkey she can cram into the oven, and all the special dishes that have become traditional from our parents and grandparents. It is a shame that it takes two full days preparing the meal and about 20 minutes to eat it!

This November was very special, because we had all four of our children home for the Thanksgiving. In this photo (Seated L-R): Chris, Heidi, Donna, Jennifer and Stephanie. They are scattered from Palm Bay, Florida (Chris), Portland, Oregon (Heidi), Jennifer (Coeur D'Alene, Idaho), and Stephanie here in Libby, Montana near Mom and Dad. Chris' visit was a complete surprise for his Mom, who was

becoming a bit depressed not knowing when she would see him again or whether she would have any of our children home for the holidays. The last time Chris was home was for Christmas 2009, when he came with his fiancé, Bria. They were married shortly after their visit to Montana and will be married all of two years in January 2012. At this time in our lives, we are indeed thankful whenever we can have the entire family together--whether it be during the holidays or any time of the year. Our family is growing larger with each passing year; and in March 2012, we will welcome our second grandchild, a baby girl to be born to daughter Jen and Leo. All are married except for Heidi, who is taking her sweet time about it. She says that she has been "spoken for" but just hasn't tied the knot yet. Her fiancé, Sash, is a wonderful guy, and we already consider him our son-in-law. The pictures above (L-R) "Granny" and Blake (Stephanie's baby 18 months); Mom cooking Chris' favorite home-cooked meal, chicken fried elk steak; and Blake at Leigh Lake high in the Cabinet Mountain near Libby this past summer.



Seasons Past--Looking Back

As mentioned at the beginning of this Christmas letter, I promised to share some memories of Currahees and TF 3-506th members visits in Libby.

I have already mentioned that October is our regular Big Game Season (state-wide) in Montana and usually opens around the 4th Sunday of the month. With a plentiful supply of wild game and fish in the freezers from previous years hunting, I now enjoy mainly just getting out and looking and especially when a Currahee can join me. This white-tailed was killed by my son-in-law, Shawn a couple

seasons back. We have record class white-tailed, mule deer and elk here in NW Montana.

George Bolt and wife Robin surprised Donna and me with a visit back in July 2006. What a pleasant surprise to have that former Currahee medic and Robin come visit us. George's tour was with Co. C 1968/69. He and Robin live in Stephenville, Texas. After a couple days chowing down on elk and antelope steaks and lots of good cold MDG, they rode their "hog" over to spend a few days with another Charlie Co. trooper, Carl Decker (Co. C 67/68) in Bellingham,

Washington. I lost touch with George a couple years later; and if anyone knows his new address information, please let me know.



In addition to George's visit, we have been honored by visits from Lt. Henry Parker (FO B/5-27th Arty. 68/69) and lovely wife Susan who lives in Boise, Idaho; Medic Steve Oliphant (B Co. 68) and wife who now have moved back from the Philippines Islands to California; from Larry Johnson (A Co. 68/69) from Burns, OR; David Rattee, cousin of Sgt. Carl Rattee (KIA 2/19/1968) from England; from Lt. James Magouyrk (2/C & D Co.68/69) awarded the DSC. LT came to Libby, but we unfortunately missed one another; from my special friend, Lt. Joe Alexander (4/A Co. 67/68) and wife Rikki came and spent a Thanksgiving with us; from Dean Morrison and wife Suzie (mentioned above); from Paul and Patty Clement (2/A Co. 67/68); and from Lt. Leonard Liebler (3/A Co. 67/68), who accompanied me on an elk hunt (picture on right). Lt. John Harrison (Plt. Ldr. 2/A Co. 67/68) and his three children came and spent a week with us and what a special time we all had--sightseeing, floating the Kootenai, fishing, etc. While John and his children were here, Medic John Melgaard (2/A Co. 67/68) joined us from his home in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. Another special couple to honor us with their visit was Dave and Dolly McFarland (C Co. 68/69) from Ames, Iowa. Donna and I are most grateful that some of you would come so far to visit us in Montana and we extend the welcome mat to all of you. We'll leave the light on for you!

Okay, after glancing over what I have written, I may have mentioned here and there something about hunting or did a little bragging, but it's hard to pick it out! To all my rowdy Currahees and special friends... and the rest of you--HAPPY HOLIDAYS, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope to see all of you up here in Montana one of these days and in Reno next June. Did you know that the distance between our home and yours and yours and ours is the same! Remember to keep Christ in Christmas, for He is the reason for the season.

Jerry & Donna in God's Country!


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Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New YearMerry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year flooding. Well,...

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