I wrote this piece awhile back and when our Governor gave his State of the State address recently I remembered it and thought it appropriate to edit and publish again since many of you missed it the first time around. Remember to hit the Like AND the Restack button. It helps me a great deal. Also, tell a friend. Send it to them and encourage them to subscribe either for free or take out a paid subscription. The politicians really don’t need the donations, but I do! I have to feed the GSP’s!
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, Montana is not what you think it is and it never has been. Unless of course you think it’s beautiful. That is very true. The mountains, the rivers, the badlands are gorgeous at all times of the year unless they are covered by wildland fire smoke. I kid, I kid but seriously. The smoke can get real old during fire season and many times its not even our smoke from our fires. In those cases we import smoke from other states and Canada. I guess its because we don’t tariff it.
Television and movies do a wonderful job of displaying the natural beauty of Big Sky country to their audiences even though sometimes the landscape shown is Utah or Alberta. The issue I have with the Montana propaganda is the depiction of its people. We are always portrayed as ranchers, cowboys, or rodeo fanatics. Everyone has a cowboy hat. Women are always riding horses at the gallop with an American flag streaming in their wake. There is usually a Native Fancy Dancer twirling about (that’s the one with two bustles on his back) at a powwow. Of course, without fail, someone is fly fishing or white-water rafting, kayaking, or canoeing. Unless of course it’s a historical movie. Then we are driving cattle, shooting Indians, and drinking in a saloon. The women are either storekeepers, hookers, or schoolmarms/pioneer women with sun bonnets.
Believe it or not reality is different but the truth is not nearly as good a marketing tool for real estate agencies, banks, business owners and state/local government tax coffers. Lets be candid shall we? Money is what life is about now, isn’t it?
I happen to know what people are like around here because as a farrier I got to travel around the central part of the state and meet them! Most are kind, generous to a fault, and thoughtful. They are the type who stop on the side of the road to see if you are alright and offer to help change your tire. They live in a place where the country church is left unlocked in case someone gets stranded in the snow and needs a place to get warm and call for help on a landline because there is no cell service. If someone gets hurt or sick, people don’t just send thoughts and prayers or contribute to a Go Fund Me site and then go about their day. They show up to get the work done. Feed the cows, bale hay, take turns night calving.
Now, before you get the wrong idea, we aren’t a state of saints. There are vicious small town rumor mongers, conspiracy promoters, racists, misogynists, bigots, corrupt local and state officials, murderers, pedophiles and thieves. Affordable housing is almost impossible to rent or buy. Property taxes and utility prices keep going up.
Kerry and I talked the other day about how if we were just starting out we would never move to present day Montana because we couldn’t afford it. No, Montana is not a utopia no matter how pretty the scenery.
Speaking of scenery, I was staring at the mountains once taking a break from shoeing a horse when a rancher told me that the scenery is certainly beautiful, but you can’t eat it which is a very good thing to keep in mind.
But, I’ll bet that overall, it still sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, I think it is. However, attitudes and behavior are changing for the worse but why? That’s a big debate topic out here.
I have a couple theories. One, the really awful types have always been among us. They are our neighbors. They frequent our stores, restaurants and churches. They are everywhere but hid the ugliness. They just whispered amongst themselves. But now, they feel comfortable acting and speaking out because they run Montana’s government.
Two, as new people move in, the cities and towns grow and expand. The farms and ranches where some wonderful people were raised, start disappearing to provide land for housing, or for wealthier people to buy and fulfill their personal dreams. The “Anderson place” doesn’t belong to the Anderson family anymore. Mom and Dad got old and moved to town. The kids moved away to find good paying jobs out of state. The place belongs to a gentleman from Texas now that no one has ever seen or met except for the local real estate agent. A ranch manager was hired from someplace else, and he now pretends he is one of the locals.
Lots of signs are posted around the place that say NO. No hunting, no fishing, no trespassing, no asking permission. It’s the unseen man’s right to post his property of course. It’s just not exactly that Montana neighborly attitude that existed when the Anderson family had it. It’s also a little sad. Most of us liked the Andersons. They had an open house every Christmas that everyone came to. They were always willing to let you shoot a doe for winter meat and even help you get it back to your outfit with a lift from their four-wheeler. They went to church with us, their kids went to school with ours, went out for sports and played in the band. Everyone was in Four-H. The Jones place was almost like a second home for some.
Now we call it the NO Ranch.
There is an old story, I can’t remember where it comes from, about a newcomer looking to buy a place talking to an old timer in a local bar.
“What are people like around here?” asked the visitor.
“Well, that depends. What are the people like where you come from?” replied the old timer.
“Oh, they are awful. They are unfriendly, bad neighbors, greedy, snobby, and always trying to tell other people what to do. I can’t stand them.”
“I see.” said the old timer. “Frankly, I think you’ll find folks around here are pretty much the same.”
The new guy left bitterly disappointed.
A few months later another visitor came to town and asked the old timer what local people were like. The old timer asked him the same question.
“What are folks like where you come from?”
“Their great!” said the visitor. “People are friendly and always willing to help a guy out. We have block parties a couple times a year just to keep in touch. Everyone looks after everyone’s kids. Just good people.”
“I see.” Said the old timer. “I think you’ll find people around here are pretty much the same.”
The visitor walked away with a smile on his face.
Montana is not The Last Best Place. That’s marketing. Montana is a place. A beautiful place that you will bring good, bad, and ugly to. You will see and meet the good, bad, and ugly others either nurtured or brought before you. Do us a favor and hang back a bit and get a feel for the place before you decide to tell us what to do.
The thing is this. You can either enjoy the good and try to change or at least understand the bad and ugly; or move somewhere else more to your liking. But you know what’s funny? I hear the exact same stories and problems from people who live in other states. So where does that leave us?
Remember the comic strip Pogo?
An Earth Day poster in 1970 borrowed the quote, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
I guess I’m borrowing too.
John, you are wise beyond your age.
Thank you for sharing some truth about our imperfect and majestic home.