Powder River Examiner -

Thursday, April 6, 1989

Nell Popp hears from son after 49 years

A dream came true for Nell Popp and her family recently, when, after 49 years, she heard from her son, Bruce Garber.

“One has heard of dreams coming true, but I didn’t realize it could ever happen. But it really did for me and my family,” said Mrs. Popp. “After searching for me for over twenty years, my son Bruce called me a few weeks ago. I hadn’t seen or heard from him in forty-nine years.”

Garber and his wife, Carol, from Spokane, WA, then came to Broadus and spent the weekend at the Popp home during a long-waited-for family reunion.

Gathering at the home of Nell and her husband John, to welcome the Garbers, were Pat and Sherry Popp-Davis and children Jamie and Janee, along with Chad and Michelle Davis of Belle Fourche, SD, John and Tammy Popp-Schoenbeck and family of Broadus, Kathy Trucano, Myrtle May, Ben Steadman, Mr. and Mrs. John Schoonover, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Schoonover and family, and Rick Hurley.

Garber’s sisters are Sherry Davis, Tammy Schoenbeck and Sandy Trucano. The Trucanos moved to Prescott, AZ, several years ago, where they reside.

Local students attend art interscholastics

Eight Broadus high school students, accompanied by Art Instructor Connie Barnhart, recently immersed themselves in the visual arts, at the annual Montana Art Interscholastics, held at Laurel High School.

Attending were Jeannie Richards, Tiffany Merchant, Darren Edwards, Curtis Talcott, J.J. Haggard, Spencer Andrews, Brad Capra and Carey Dunning.

At the Arts Interscholastics, students exchanged ideas, learned new art techniques from professional artists and toured art studios and galleries.

Three art pieces, by Stacey Alderman, Vanessa Richards and Darren Edwards, were taken to Laurel and will now represent Broadus in a traveling exhibit, which will tour Montana this year.

Each student took part in two workshops of their own choosing. Jeannie Richards and Tiffany Merchant attended a glass fusion workshop where they made striking pins. The duo also took in a mask workshop. Edwards helped to construct a twenty-foot high inflated pyramid, which had a bulging eye and vibrant lips on one side. The structure was designed by the participants as a sort of parody of the pyramid found on a dollar bill. Plastic, similar to that used in trash can liners, was adhered together to form the huge sculpture. Talcott and Haggard attended a glass etching session, where they each made a fine piece. Andrews created in interesting vase on the potter’s wheel during his ceramics workshop. He and Brad Capra attended a photography class. New ways of drawing were introduced to Cary Dunning and J.J. Haggard, during a drawing workshop. Capra and Talcott participated in a computer graphics workshop. Edwards, Dunning and Mrs. Barnhart came home with “psychedelic” t-shirts they created at a dye-dye workshop. Students also had the opportunity to visit a professional artist’s studio and local galleries in Billings. One of the studios that was visited belonged to Cliff Potts, a western artist who happens to be a paraplegic.

One requirement for the students was that each take a piece to Laurel, which were exhibited along with the best high school work from all over the state. The work was critiqued by professional artists in small groups of nine or ten students, so that the participants could hear constructive criticism and praise of their work.

Activities concluded on Friday night with a dance, where students cavorted around the 20-foot inflated pyramid.

The students and Mrs. Barnhart and her family returned to Broadus Saturday. “It was a weekend jam-packed with experiences in the arts,” the instructor said. “Bodies were tied but heads were full of new-found knowledge.