Fergus Electric Cooperative | Feature Member Newsletter u Fergus Electric Cooperative, Inc., Lewistown, MT u www.ferguselectric.coop Dino Adventure Merl Busenbark reflects on discovery of a lifetime Story and photos by Charlie Denison | Contributing Writer N a quiet Sunday afternoon in 1992, if it’d be OK for OMerl Busenbark and his son Ben him to come take took a stroll on their land north of Win- a look. Ken was nett. They walked near Crooked Creek, interested right taking their time, hoping to get lucky. away.” “We were looking to see if we could The Busen- find anything, maybe some dinosaur barks gave Olson bones,” Merl said. “You found stuff like title to the skull, Merl and Gladys recently stand by the recreation of the Torosaurus that out there.” which he in turn skull Merl and his son Ben discovered on their old property north donated to Boze- of Winnett nearly 30 years ago. The re-creation is at the Central Never could they have imagined Montana Historic Museum. The skull itself is on display at the Museum they’d find something as remarkable man’s renowned of the Rockies in Bozeman. as they did that day: a nine-foot prong- Museum of the dinosaur skull ever found. Impressed, horned Torosaurus skull. Rockies. An ama- internationally known paleontolo- “We would pick up little stuff all the teur paleontologist, Olson worked as gist Jack Horner burst onto the scene, time, but this one was pretty surpris- a research associate for the museum. the man who inspired the character of ing,” Merl said. “We weren’t looking He’d been at it for 15 years by the time Alan Grant in Michael Crichton’s Juras- for something like this.” he’d heard from Merl. sic Park, which evolved into the Ste- At the time of the discovery, Merl Before Olson began the dig, the ven Spielberg blockbuster of the same said he had no idea just how much of Busenbarks sold their land to the Bill name. the dinosaur was in the ground. and Lisa Weaver family. Fortunately, “He came out to supervise,” Merl “All I could see at the time was the Weavers were receptive to get- said of Horner. “He was there the day something that looked like a jaw,” he ting the Torosaurus head to its right- they got it out. It was almost com- said, “but we had a feeling there was ful place. pletely intact. Seventy-five percent, I a lot more there. We didn’t say any- “That was part of the deal,” said believe." thing about it for the longest time, and Merl. “By then it already belonged to Gladys, Merl’s wife of 56 years, we didn’t want to get too specific with the Museum of the Rockies.” remembers that day well. It was July people about where we found it so The excavation began in the fall of of 2001. A Montana Army National they wouldn’t go up there digging.” 1999. Guard Blackhawk came out to lift the After a while the curiosity got to “It became a big operation,” Merl skull and take it to Bozeman. Merl. He started searching around said. “A crew from Montana State Uni- “That was something to see when it to see if he could find someone who versity even came out, which included came over the hill,” she said. could take on the project, whatever it several students. They worked pretty The involvement of the Blackhawks may entail. seriously for a week or two.” from Helena’s I-189 Combat Support “A friend of ours knew this preach- Once the digging was complete, er named Ken Olson, and asked us the crew set their eyes on the largest Continued on page 7 www.ferguselectric.coop • Fergus Electric Cooperative • 5 Fergus Electric Cooperative | Manager's Message Hilger, Winifred, Roy and Roundup areas. Relatively soon our line crews will begin working in the Glengarry, Moore, Hobson, Judith Gap, Lavina and Ryegate areas. From Scott Sweeney After the communication is installed, the cooperative will begin installing new meters, and then we Office employees work to provide Annual Meeting day is always a full, will begin to gradually switch from our the best service busy and enjoyable day spent register- old “turtle” meters to our new system. This month I want to write about ing members and students, handing It will be a welcome change for the our friendly office staff. out gifts and prizes, providing informa- cooperative as the old metering sys- Sally Horacek, our office manager, tion and answering questions, etc. It is tem is a challenge to keep working. is very dedicated to working hard on an opportunity for staff to meet face- The old metering system is still a very behalf of the members and the coop- to-face with members they have talk- accurate system; however, our meter erative. Janine Rife Didier works hard ed with on the phone during the past technician works hard to keep the tur- to ensure employees are paid on time, year, but may not have seen in person tle meters reading, and in our many and that the members are billed prop- since the previous Annual Meeting. discussions, I know he is really look- erly for material. Susan Hinkley takes The success of the Annual Meeting is ing forward to the new metering sys- great care in her work to get capital due in large part to several months of tem being installed! credit checks to members and to mem- planning, preparing and organizing by We do have a lot of work to complete ber’s estates. Erika Mattaliano’s voice the co-op’s capable, competent office this year and the next to meet our tar- is often the first one you hear when staff. get date of December 31, 2021, to have you call the office. Erika works judi- Metering system update the new meters all installed and the ciously with members to ensure elec- Our line crews are installing com- old system retired. I believe the new tric bills are kept current. Sue Wer- munication equipment for the new metering system will be a valuable din is our outgoing and friendly recep- metering system. Members will see system and much appreciated by both tionist, and billing clerk. When you our service trucks working in the cooperative employees and members. come into the co-op’s office, Sue is the employee who is there to greet you. Kaitlyn Staffileno is our friendly, ver- Did Old Man Winter Drive satile part-time employee who happily assists all of us whenever and wher- Up Your Power Bill? ever help is needed. Kaitlyn is leaving us at the end of May as she and her Cold Weather and Power Bills During the day, open shades and cur- husband are moving. We wish them Paying your power bills is a con- tains to let in the sun’s warmth. Close both the best! cern, especially in the winter months. them at night to retain the day’s heat. I am proud of the co-op’s excellent During the months when the tem- Check the weather stripping in your office employees who assist you, the perature outside your house dropped, home for air leaks around doors, win- member, in multiple ways. The office it took more energy to maintain a dows and baseboards, and where staff helps to resolve your billing warmer temperature inside your pipes, wires and vents enter the questions, taking outage phone calls home. The increase in power usage house. Change or clean furnace filters and furnishing members with updat- resulted in a higher power bill, which once a month during the heating sea- ed information as it becomes avail- may have made it difficult to manage son. Infrared or milk-house heaters able. They maintain the billing cycle your household budget. may make your rooms warm and cozy, and make sure statements are mailed There are things that you can do but when run often, use more energy, out in a timely manner each month, to save energy in your home. When which will reflect on your power bill. and they check bills for accuracy and it’s cold out, it is tempting to raise Even when the weather is very inspect atypical power usages. the temperature setting on your ther- cold, vehicle engineblock heaters only In addition to their regular duties, mostat; however, doing so uses more need to be used for roughly two hours each year on the first Thursday in June energy, regardless of what type of fuel before driving; for that reason you may the office staff leaves the co-op’s office you are using to heat your home. Be prefer the simplicity of using a timer and arrives at the Trade Center ready sure to lower the temperature when to cut energy costs when plugging to cheerfully greet the members who you go to bed or are not at home. Continued on page 8 attend the co-op’s Annual Meeting. 6 • Fergus Electric Cooperative • www.ferguselectric.coop April | 2020 Dino adventure Continued from page 5 This is a replica of the Torosaurus that’s on display at the Central Merl has other items on display at the Central Montana Museum, Montana Historical Museum. as well, including a whiskey still and a cream separator. Aviation Battalion turned the dig into included in the display. Merl smiled an event, as people tuned in to see proudly, recalling his time on site. He coverage of it on NBC’s Today Show.