13. Forest Grove Gossip Gal
Forest Grove Gossip Gal
Fifth Edition
Forest Grove Gossip Gal
Your anonymous source for everything happening in Silver County.
Love, Wood, and a Very Interesting Truck
Posted: Mid October, Forest Grove, MT
I hope everyone in town has had a restful fall, because I certainly have not, what with all the “observing” I have been required to do on your collective behalf.
There is a lot to cover. Buckle up.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: THE TRUCK…
Now, I want to be very clear that I am not the kind of woman who notices what trucks are parked where at what hours of the morning.
Except that I absolutely am, and let’s just say the evidence is overwhelming.
A certain long-haired, broad-shouldered cowboy from the Off-Duty Rescue Ranch has been spotted—on multiple occasions, by multiple witnesses, at multiple hours of the early morning—parked in the driveway of a certain red-headed farrier.
Twice in one week. That we know of.
Now, I want to be fair. There are many innocent explanations for a man’s truck to be parked at a woman’s property before sunrise.
I cannot think of any right now, but I’m sure they exist.
ADDITIONALLY—and I cannot stress enough that this information came to me entirely unsolicited—it has come to my attention that the Forest Grove Hardware Store saw a rather significant purchase recently.
Deadbolts. Window locks. A full door reinforcement kit.
Enough hardware to secure a small fort, apparently purchased by one customer in a single visit.
The store owner did not confirm or deny anything because he is a professional and a gentleman. But some of his employees might have been talking at the Copper Cup last Tuesday, so…
What I will say is this: a man who shows up with a toolbox and a truckload of new locks for a woman’s home is not a man who is “just friends” with that woman. That is a man with intentions. Long-term ones.
To our auburn-haired farrier, who probably reads this even though she has told at least three people that she does not: honey, we see you. We are rooting for you. And we are delighted if you are!
SPEAKING OF THE MEN OF THE ODRR…
For those of you who have driven out past the ranch recently, you may have noticed some activity happening on the eastern side of the property. Specifically wood. Quite a large lot of it.
Word has reached me that the ranch is constructing an outdoor event pavilion to prepare for the upcoming barn dance, to be held in support of Sheriff Patrick’s re-election campaign.
For those who have not yet heard, the barn dance is coming, and from what I understand, it is going to be considerably larger than the rodeo birthday party, which was already the most fun this town has had in recent memory. String lights. Live music. Hay rides. The full autumn treatment.
There are tickets. You should get them. You should support Sheriff Patrick.
This column will have more material to work with if you are there in person, just saying.
A FOND FAREWELL TO COWBOY NIGHTS…
It is with a warm heart and a full social calendar that I bid farewell to Cowboy Nights at the Sapphire Saloon.
When our own Ivy Wylde—proprietor of Wild West Outfitters and newly minted Forest Grove Chamber of Commerce President—first floated the idea of a mixer series for singles in the county, I will admit that I had my doubts.
Not about Ivy. Never about that girl. But about whether Forest Grove was ready to be optimistic about love in an organized fashion.
I should not have doubted.
By my count—and I have been very thorough—no fewer than a dozen couples appear to have formed, or significantly progressed, over the course of the Cowboy Nights series. Some are official. Some are not yet official but are fooling absolutely nobody.
Our Chamber President herself had this to say when I overheard her at the Copper Cup this week:
“The Cowboy Nights brought real foot traffic to Forest Grove. The Sapphire had their best October on record. And the diner, the motel, and the boutiques on Main Street have all shown increased business. People came from three counties over, and some of them stayed for dinner, and some of them came back to shop, and some of them apparently found reasons to keep coming back that have nothing to do with the saloon.” She paused and smiled, a woman very pleased with herself.
“You cannot stop love. We are already planning for next summer and it’ll be bigger. ”
Reader, I could not have said it better.
The Sapphire Saloon management has confirmed that the final Cowboy Night was their highest-attended event of the series, with a waiting list at the door and not an empty barstool in sight.
Harper Patrick made three batches of her apple-cider old-fashioned, which sold out by nine o’clock.
The live band played an extra set. Two people got engaged in the parking lot, though I have been asked not to name them yet.
So I won’t. But I know who they are, and I am thrilled for them.
Cowboy Nights, you were everything Forest Grove needed. Rest well. We’ll see you in May.
FINAL THOUGHTS…
The sheriff’s election is nearly upon us, and this town has opinions. People are debating out in the street, and I have heard most of them.
I don’t endorse. I observe. But I will say that a barn dance thrown by a group of veterans who show up when their neighbors need them, held to support a sheriff whose family has served this county for two generations, is the kind of event that tells you something about a community’s character.
Forest Grove has good character.
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Until next time—try to behave yourselves.
Or don’t.
I’ll be in the crowd either way.
xoxo,
Gossip Gal
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