Denise Seilstad
4-H and Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent
Montana State University – Fergus/Petroleum County
712 W. Main St.
Lewistown, MT 59457
406-535-3919written by Jane Wolery
One of the great things about Extension is how we connect
with other professionals, whether across our state or across the nation. Today has me thinking about my
colleagues. I was thinking about Denise
Seilstad, who serves with Montana State University Extension in Fergus and Petroleum Counties. Denise and I started with Extension at about
the same time and we both transitioned into Extension from teaching and
counseling positions in small, rural Montana schools. Just to give a perspective, a small rural
school in Montana might mean 100 students K-12.
I have enjoyed working with Denise from the start, though we are several
miles apart. Recently, she and I were
talking about commonalities we have with our colleagues. When Denise started with Extension, she found
an instant bond with one of our NEAFCS co-liaisons, Tara Andrews, who serves in
Custer County. The county seat is Miles City, home of the world famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale.
Denise grew up in Butte, Montana, while
Tara hailed from Maryland. Both grew up
going to private Catholic schools, wearing school uniforms. Both of their fathers were doctors. Both of them had two daughters, nearly the
same age. Even though Denise serves in
central Montana and Tara in southeast Montana, the two had very common
interests. Almost eerily common, as it
turns out. They would occasionally
arrive at statewide conferences with matching clothes. Their daughters even bought the same prom
dress one year!
It is certainly fun to find common ground with colleagues. The
NEAFCS conference in Montana offers you a way to discover, engage and
connect.
One of Denise’s connections in Montana is that she grew up
in Butte. Butte is one of the famous places in Montana,
and if you are at all interested in history, I suggest you add it to your list
of places to see. A few years ago I had
the pleasure of touring many of the notable Butte historic sites. I was surprised to learn that Butte,
Montana, had something in common with New York City. At one point, during Butte’s mining boom, the
two cities rivaled each other in size!
Butte even had a Tiffany’s. The wealth and affluence of the Copper Kings influenced
which goods and services “followed the money” to Butte. It has been reported that Butte at one point boasted
the most ethnically diverse population in the intermountain west. Butte also has
notable history when it comes to labor unions, which might be of interest to
consider and research as we enjoy “Labor Day” in the United States. Denise,
in a nod to her Butte heritage, can sometimes be seen wearing copper jewelry
from the mines of Montana.
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| Some of the tough scenery Denise has to look at while to and from work! |
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| Denise Seilstad at her other job! |
One of Denise’s connections took her out of Butte to central
Montana. She basically followed her heart
to the heart of Montana when she married a farmer from the Denton area. She
drives 35 miles (70 round trip) to work each day, from Denton to Lewistown, through beautiful
farmland and cattle country. To the west
of her are the Little Belt Mountains,
the Highwood
Mountains, Square Butte and Round Butte and to the north are the Moccasin Mountains. She is bordered on the east by the Judith Mountains
and on the south with the Snowy Mountains. Spring Creek runs right through Lewistown,
which is a fabulous trout fishing stream, and is great fun to float. (Just to see what we have in common, how many
of you live near a place call Spring Creek?
I do!) Denise takes ample
advantage of her location through fishing and hiking, cross-country skiing and
snow shoeing. She can also be found
outdoors working cattle with her husband when she is not riding for the MSU
brand!
Central Montana is also famous for some of its mined
products – Yogo
sapphires! Montana sapphires are among
the reasons we are called the Treasure State.
In western Montana, near Rock
Creek and Phillipsburg,
there are Fancy Montana Sapphires, which are pretty fun to “mine” by panning through
gravel bags. We bought bags of the
gravel one year for a frontier-themed 4-H camp and discovered the almost
addictive quality of mining for sapphires.
A different summer my family enjoyed a vacation near Philipsburg and did
some more mining for fancy sapphires.
But, the Montana Yogo
Sapphires were found in central Montana, near Yogo Creek. According to one source, they are among the
finest gemstones ever found in the state.
Actually the Yogo Mine is the only place this variety of sapphire has
been found, making it rare indeed! Living near a Yogo sapphire mine has its
advantages, and so, in addition to her copper jewelry, Denise can be found
wearing a beautiful assortment of Montana Yogo treasures. She has a custom-designed piece that commemorates
her hike across Snowy mountain range and incorporates her love of fishing. I also have some treasured Yogo sapphire
pieces that my husband bought for me when each of our daughters were born. The jewelry will be given the girls when they
are older. Comment on the jewelry on the person sitting next to you at NEAFCS
conference, you might strike up a rich conversation discovering a great
connection, personally and professionally!
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| A very happy grandmother! |
Of course, if you happen to be seated next to Denise, she is
just as likely to show you pictures of her new granddaughter, because spending
time with her is something Denise truly treasures. If you happen to get seated near Tara
Andrews, she will also share photos of her granddaughter. The two became grandmothers at nearly the
same time, too!
We are all connected in more ways than we probably even
imagine. This spring I was teaching
class and used a resource that Denise had created called, Halt the Salt, and I also used resources on cooking with herbs from
Alice Henneman from University of Nebraska Extension. Though I’ve been using Alice’s resources for
years (brought to me by colleagues who attended NEAFCS – one being Bernie
Mason, see her retiree
guest blog), last year was my first time to attend the national conference
and I took a class from Alice! We work
in a great system that when I’m preparing a class to teach in Dutton, Montana,
and I can use high quality resources from colleagues in both Lewistown, Montana
and University of Nebraska.
At the NEAFCS conference, we really look forward to
ways we can help you connect with your colleagues from your state and from
across the nation. We also encourage
those attending to share the wealth with those who were not able to
attend. Together we will look for a
common vein in FCS where we can mine professional treasures to deeply enrich
the lives of those we serve.
