POLSON - Need a new recipe for your Thanksgiving Day turkey?

The Lake County Leader provided its readers with 24 of them this week that they're not likely to get from Rachael Ray.

Instead, they're from the "culinary experts of Mission Valley Schools."

Note it says "culinary" experts, not "spelling" experts.

How about this one, from a youngster named Skyler: "First things first. You go buy one or go kill one in your backyard. It does not matter. But don't forget to buy other supplies to eat. Second, go put the turkey in the oven or in your grill. Some time later you will yous a thumomiter to check the temperature of the turkey. If the temperature is right, then take the turkey out and put it on the table."

When you check your bird's temperature, of course, depends on whose recipe you follow. Rylee advises to take the turkey's "temputure" BEFORE you put it in the oven.

Another child, named Treylon, doesn't want anyone to go hungry. His ingredients call for:

1 cat

1 fat turkey (about 600 pounds)

2 cups oil

4 pounds butter

3 cups of punches

2 pounds of madness

8 pounds of fat chicken

20 pieces of ugly ducks

20 pounds of hot sauce

"Cook the turkey for 12 hours," Treylon explains. "Then staff it with hot sauce. Enjoy!"

Kayliegh's was a little simpler.

"You need a turkey, stuffing, oil and a pan," she wrote. "1. Put the turkey in the pan. 2. Put the turkey in the oven for 15 minutes, when you take it out, you put on the oil and the stuffing."

Drew's ingredients, meanwhile, were a little more complex, and include "2 cups pizza," "1 cup of hugs," "1 cup of noodles" and "3,000 mint chocolates."

"How to prepare a turkey," he wrote. "1. Punch it. 2. Yell at it. 3. Stuff it with Bread. 4. Put it in the oven. 5. Cook it at 1,000 degrees."

And, as many of the recipes did, Drew's included the most important reminder of all.

The sixth step is to "eat it."

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Bigfork Gallery Group takes reins of towns annual holiday card

BIGFORK - Artists in Bigfork - the scenic waterfront town that each winter is decorated to look like a Christmas village under the tree - are taking over production of the town's famous holiday card.

Previously, the local Chamber of Commerce had overseen the biannual tradition, but the Bigfork Gallery Group recently assumed the work.

"We asked if we could have the product," said gallery owner Tammy Riecke. "We felt they (the Chamber) had their hands full. For us, it made sense. We are galleries and artists. It's a little easier for us, because it's our cup of tea."

According to Jasmine Linabary, of the Bigfork Eagle, the town's signature Christmas cards began 20 years ago, "as a way to let Bigfork's summer visitors know that the village doesn't close down in the winter."

Every other year, a local artist is chosen to portray Christmas in Bigfork. The gallery group will look to revive the traditional card project with additional promotional work.

The latest card was created by Danielle Taylor, and will be available for this weekend's Holiday Art Walk. Money generated will be used to advertise the town and its events.

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Paradise United Methodist Church marks century of enduring

PARADISE - The church in the shade of a pine tree turned a century old this year.

"That equals 34 pastors, over 500 sermons and countless potlucks, funerals and marriages," reports the Clark Fork Valley Press.

The milestone was marked with a celebration last Sunday after services. Five of those past ministers were among the 80 to 85 people at the dinner. It took two months to plan, and "of course at the last second all of the work," laughed organizer Clyde Teerrell.

Mary Lou Hermes has been working since last spring to document the history of the United Methodist Church, and she's got a 175-page book so far. It's a story of determination by a small group of people who wouldn't let the small church go away.

"What I'm most impressed with is how many times this church almost went belly up, how many times it went down to two or three member and had to be reorganized. Yet it survived 100 years," Hermes said.

Judy Stephens, who grew up in Paradise and married her husband Cliff in the Methodist church, recalls a cesspool behind the building when she was a child. Despite her father's warnings, she would play outd there and fall into the pool.

"This church has a wonderful spirit in it, the holy spirit, and it also has a wonderful spirit of family," said the current pastor, Donna J. Young. "Those are the two things that are really outstanding and you can't help but notice it when you walk through the door."

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Lincoln County High alumni to sing to save Steinway

EUREKA - Generations of Lincoln County High School voices will raise the roof in song next month, singing to save the Steinway.

According to Krista Tincher, of the Tobacco Valley News, the school is calling on alumni for a special Dec. 20 concert, aimed at raising funds to restore the school's vintage piano.

Alumnus Jay Roberts has been rallying choral troops and sending out music for alumni to practice before a Dec. 19 rehearsal. They'll sing seasonal pieces, with a few soloists and small groups also performing.

So far, Roberts said he'd contacted about 40 alumni, and has at least 20 confirmed singers. Some are recent graduates and some, Tincher reported, are "older generations."

"They're all very excited to come back and sing," Roberts said.

Alum Sarah Quilling said "it's going to be like the biggest class reunion ever," and called the Steinway "a tool that connects people over a span of generations."

To sing along, call (406) 471-1966.

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Teen hunter bags 1,000-pound moose

BIGFORK - That young Chris Landon drew a moose tag the first time he put in for one was a stroke of luck. That the 14-year-old then bagged a nearly 1,000-pound moose with a 36-inch rack was another stroke of luck, combined with not a little skill.

"He's been the luckiest in our family," his father, Don, told Jordan Dawson of the Bigfork Eagle. "It's unbelievable. I've hunted and hunted and I've never seen anything like these animals except when he's been with me."

Last season, they hunted a friend's land, where no one had ever seen an elk. They found two bulls, including an 800-pounder that Chris shot.

This year's moose came on Nov. 7, after a near miss the week before when the moose, once spotted, promptly vanished. After the shot, Chris said, "I was shaking."

His success, however, has now brought him seven years' bad luck - because he drew a tag this year, he will not be eligible again for another seven years.

Many Montana hunters, Dawson reported, have tried for decades to draw a moose tag, with no luck at all.

Weeklies Reader is compiled by reporters Michael Jamison, Vince Devlin and Kim Briggeman.