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Vol. 115 No. 14
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APRIL 3, 2020
North Dakota veterans’ Honor Flights suspended E
Father Paul Eberle of St. Charles Catholic Church in Bowman may have empty pews now, but he has faith that his worshipers in the communities of Marmarth, Rhame and Bowman will find their way to his Facebook posts. PHOTO/Brad Mosher
Faith moves online Local churches find worshipers after COVID-19 empties pews BY BRAD MOSHER bmosher@countrymedia.net
T
he pews at St. Charles Catholic Church in Bowman are empty now during Mass. They will stay that way. Normally, Father Paul Eberle says that he could have about 100 people filling the pews during Mass in Bowman. There would be smaller groups when he’d visit St. Mel in
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Rhame and St. Mary in Marmarth. Those visits to the communities along Highway 12 between Bowman and the Montana border have been canceled. Sunday, Fr. Eberle moved the Mass online, broadcasting it on Facebook Live. “It will be on our Facebook page. Also, I am going to have it up so that people can also view it on the parish website for the people who don’t have Facebook,” he explained. “Our website is www.stcharlesbowmannd.com. It may stay there (online) for a while, he said. “People will be able to watch it at anytime after the fact. They can watch it live on Facebook, or they can watch it when I post it so it stays on there.” In addition, he said that services will be archived online for
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lderly veterans of World War II and the Korean War in North Dakota and Minnesota have had upcoming flights to Washington D.C. postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mandatory suspension of all Honor Flight trips is effectively immediately, and at least through April 30, according to a spokesman for the North Dakota-Minnesota non-profit. The decision has an immediate impact on the Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN flight for the upcoming trip April 26th-27th to the nation’s capital. It also may put two flights scheduled for September and October in doubt. The Honor Flight hubs were informed recently by the Honor Flight Network that, in consideration of the Center for Disease Control’s guidance and the CDC’s recently issued advisories that adults over the age of 60 are particularly at risk of infection, that the planned flights would not take place as planned. One of the specific guidelines from the CDC was that adults over the age of 60 should avoid non-essential air travel, because of the serious nature of the public health threat posed by COVID-19. Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s Veterans for all their sacrifices. According to the organization, top priority is given to the senior Veterans - World War II and Korean War Veterans - along with other Veterans who may be terminally ill. Flights occur in the spring and fall of each year pending fundraising. The western side of North Dakota has recently established an Honor Flight hub. For more information, call (218) 28HONOR and 701238-7749. The group can be emailed at veteranshonorflightofndmn@gmail.com.
Community spirit finds COVID-19 pandemic has side effect BY BRAD MOSHER bmosher@countrymedia.net
S
cranton has heart. Lots of it. So does Bowman and other communities in North
Dakota. The heart is shown on the windows of businesses, homes and schools of the small community along Highway 12. In Scranton, there are hearts everywhere.... even sidewalks. According to Kelly Pierce, the elementary principal at Scranton Public School, it is an unexpected side effect of the COVID-19 virus which has changed the lives of many students and their families. At a time when many states and large communities are issuing stay-at-home orders, the students at Scranton have found a way to voice their feelings and also draw the community together even more, Pierce said. “Pretty much all of our students were putting hearts in the windows of their homes. Pretty much all of student body did that. I think they just started doing that. It was something that was student led and they’ve just kind of done that as far as I am aware of,” Pierce explained. “I am not sure got it started up with our students, whether it was from the student council or where,” he added. The hearts are painted on some windows. On others, it is a paper cut out. “There are chalk hearts on driveways,” the principal said. It has had an impact on the community, according to Pierce.
“I think it keeps people’s spirits high and that we are all fighting this (Corona virus) together,” he said. Scranton isn’t alone with hearts decorating windows. It is the same in Bowman, with hearts in the windows of the public library and some of the local businesses. In Bowman, there is an additional touch.... stuffed animals are also on some doors and in some windows. It is part of a local “bear hunt.” Some businesses, like Eats N Treats along Highway 12, even went super-size with a large white bear in a chair behind one door, as well as smaller bears in other windows of the family restaurant. According to one participant, it is meant as a way some parents can take their children on a hunt through the city for the stuffed animals and get their attention focused on a quest. Hearts growing Hearts have made an impression beyond the southwestern corner of the Peace Garden state. An online effort called “A World of Hearts” started in North Dakota has moved much further, including the United States and beyond. Online, pictures began being posted in response. Some came from close by the Bismarck and Mandan communities. Overnight, the original posting had drawn more than 1,800 followers and by March 23, the group had increased to 158,000. Since then, there have been postings from as far away as Brisbane in Australia.