Letters to the editor Nov. 17
Learn a trade
Yes, there is an affordability problem with housing today; in many ways the same as the hurdles that faced thousands of military personnel discharged at the end of World War II. With little money saved, for many veterans there was no job to return to; with each returnee already yearning for marriage, a family and a home.
The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, known as the GI Bill, was implemented in 1944; a main feature of the program promoted cooperation between banks, building departments and building codes that allowed a new home to be occupied before construction had been completed. The bungalow was a popular home at that time, and the structure could be occupied without the upper floor area completed. Only a functional kitchen, bathroom, living room and one bedroom were required; outside there was adequate area for a future garage and driveway.
The G.I. bill allowed for the skilled or soon to be skilled veterans time and assistance to complete the project as their finances improved; pride of achievement part of the promise.
Today’s “veterans” are college graduates competing with millions of others for a career in the world. Some may have observed construction and are, with support, very capable of basic construction of a small home and, possibly, a career never previously considered. For others, just the attempt may be a learning curve to new realities.
My first intro to construction was finishing an uncompleted bungalow, building a garage and doing concrete work for a veteran. Never did I dream then, at age 18, that this job would lead me (at age 92) with memories of a rewarding lifetime in design and construction.
Another satisfying feature of the G.I. Bill was a government subsidized college program; thousands of new veterans took advantage of that opportunity to seek a future in the professions or trades. Within a few years veterans with college degrees in civil and electrical engineering glutted the market and many of these drifted happily into the trades as well; joining me in admitting along with Benjamin Franklin that “He that hath a trade hath an estate.”
— Bill McGunagle, Kalispell
Time to bury the hatchet
Polebridge has always been a place where people look each other in the eye — even when the conversations are hard. As someone who has watched this community grow, shift and sometimes fracture, I want to remind us that we’re neighbors, and we still owe each other our best.
The Polebridge Mercantile changed hands more than a decade ago. That transition, like many in small towns, stirred up strong feelings. The recent No Kings protest — even drawing national attention — has stirred up more. None of it reflects the Polebridge most of us want.
El 10 de Agosto — Aug. 10 — Día del Primer Grito de Independencia de Quito — my birthday and the date on a photo accompanying one of Will Hammerquist’s letters to the editor — has long carried meaning for me. It’s a reminder that history lingers in the North Fork. But history isn’t a cage; it’s a guide. We decide what to build from it.
Will has put much of his Merc proceeds into economic development on the Blackfeet Reservation where he was born — something worth acknowledging even by those who disagree with him. Mark Heaphy — anyone who has watched him run knows “legend” fits. And the wild, stubborn Knutsons, with roots all over Polebridge, are reminders of the quirky people who make this valley what it is.
What Polebridge needs now isn’t more sharp edges. It’s time to bury a few hatchets, turn swords into plowshares and remember a community is only as strong as how it treats its own — especially the ones we argue with.
On Aug. 10, 2026, I’ll be organizing a hunger strike at the Mercantile for anyone who feels called to stand in North Fork and global solidarity. We can stand firm without standing apart. Let’s show up for each other.
— Stuart Reiswig, former owner of the Polebridge Mercantile