Tag: Montana

‘The Quest: a Montanan’s Photographic Journey’ by Richard S. Buswell

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books, writing

After it acquired Buswell’s complete works, the Montana Historical Society partnered with the University of Montana Press to bring those photographs out in The Quest.

From the Publisher

Richard S. Buswell has created images of some of Montana’s most haunting relics of the settler period. Ghost towns can have an eerie allure or architectural charm, but Buswell’s technique captures more than decrepit buildings and historic trash. To date, Buswell’s work has hung in exhibits worldwide, is held in over two hundred museum collections, nationally and internationally, and has been the focus of six books.

“The Quest” showcases seventy-one arresting photographs, a powerful collection that carries readers into an evocative and contemplative space where images of a deteriorating past are captured to bring out their hidden beauty. The abandoned material things of everyday life take on new energy through his camera lens, strange and wonderful. This is a journey between a receding past and the magical present.

About the Author

“The 78-year-old Buswell is retracing footsteps of his childhood, when he would go ghost-towning with his parents.

“In the past half-century, he’s carried a 42-pound backpack of camera equipment on his mostly lone sojourns on weekends.

“’Hiking alone has attuned me to sights and sounds that I would otherwise miss. The sound of quiet causes me to lose my hurry.’”

“During this photo career he’s taken a total of 534 photos. One year, “’I only took one photo,’” he said during an interview at his kitchen table in his Helena home with his wife Sue, who assisted with details of the book.

“Yale University and the Montana Historical Society are the only ones to buy his entire collection of photos; 232 other museums have partial collections.

“He also acknowledged he would never have been able to pursue this passion over the decades without Sue’s support.
“Working as a doctor during the week, he would hike to far-flung ghost towns in the mountains many weekends, while she took care of their three children and household.” – from The Independent Record.

–Malcolm

‘Cowboy in a Corporate World,’ by Ray Marxer

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn writing

“Stretching 380,000 acres from the Beaverhead Valley through the Blacktail Range and into the Centennial Valley, the Matador is teeming with wildlife, cold trout streams, and healthy soil and grasslands. A working ranch, caring for 12,000 head of cattle outside of Dillon, Montana, Matador Ranch and Cattle is a fusion of the former Beaverhead and Selkirk Ranches, Matador Ranch and Cattle is honored to uphold and enhance the high standards in agricultural and environmental practices while advancing new and innovative projects on the ground.” – Matador Ranch website

From the Publisher

“A Montana Cowboy. A Large Corporation. A Clash of Values.

“When Ray was hired on to the Matador cowboy crew in 1974, his youthful dreams came true. Montana’s sprawling Matador Cattle Company ranch had genuine cow camps, horses galore, and thousands of cattle. The 240,000-acre ranch, owned since 1951 by Koch Industries Inc., was known internally as the Beaverhead Ranch.

“Beyond his dreams, Ray would manage the productive ranch for twenty-one years as it expanded to over 530 square miles of prime Montana ranch land and open space. As ranch manager, Ray led Montana’s Matador to new heights of environmental and economic excellence. What happened in 2011, as he approached the finish line of a stellar career is staggering.

“Woven throughout this memoir of family, faith, and work are nuggets of wisdom and valuable secrets for students planning a corporate career in ranching or corporate management. This true story will appeal to lovers of the American West, history fans, ranchers, and anyone who ever wanted to be a cowboy.”

This 352-page book was published in August 2022 by  Raymond Marxer

About the Author

Marxer

“Ray Marxer, a 4th-generation Montana agricultural producer, worked 37 years for Koch Industries, Inc. on the massive Matador Cattle Company ranch in southwest Montana. As Ranch Manager for 21 of those years, Ray’s innovative approach to business guided the ranch to consistent annual profit and a record 11-year tenure average for employees.

“Environmental achievements led to numerous stewardship awards. Six national-level awards included the National Cattleman’s Beef Association Environmental Stewardship Award and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Private Lands Stewardship Award.

“Ray served on several Governor-appointed boards for wildlife, land use, and animal health, as well as many organizational committees and boards. He runs a few cows in his retirement, in addition to his consulting and artificial insemination business, Ranch Services West.

“Ray’s passion, superseded only by his faith and family, is for the heritage of the American West, as well as providing help and encouragement to aspiring ranch producers.”

Montana Standard Review

The reader soon realizes the author is a rancher to his core. Clues include observations that horses are one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind and that carefully crossbred cows possess beautiful udders.

The reader recognizes that the author has managed a massive cattle ranch for a distant corporation when he writes about the often unwelcome dictates passed down by dudes in suits from Koch Industries in Kansas.   

Ray Marxer’s recently self-published book, “Cowboy in a Corporate World,” corrals a diverse herd of ranching anecdotes, facts, triumphs and struggles, along with testimonies about religious faith and more into 246 pages.

The book is clearly written, easy to follow and features photos from Susan Marxer, the author’s wife.

–Malcolm

‘Buffalo Dreamers’ by John Newman

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books

This novel was published by Sweetgrass Books (Farcountry Press) on October 4, 2022, and is set in Montana, my favorite state.

From the Publisher

“A YOUNG MARINE PROTECTS WHAT IS MOST SACRED

“For Sam Comstock, a young Iraq war vet with PTSD, the need to find a way to heal his wounded soul is a matter of life or death. His Marine sniper skills lead him to Montana on a mission to help manage an infamous wildlife challenge: killing migratory buffalo outside Yellowstone Park that are presumed to carry an infectious disease for cattle. This places Sam seriously at odds with a renegade band of Indian warrior-dreamers who are determined to save the buffalo from slaughter. Thrown together and isolated in the Montana wilderness, meanwhile relentlessly pursued by the combined forces of military, law enforcement, and the cattle industry, Sam and his native compatriots must depend upon one another for survival. Along the way, Sam becomes enmeshed in the way of the buffalo, confronting his suicidal pain and emerging from a long trail of suffering.

“Through Sam, we come to understand that we have much to learn from our native neighbors. We may even discover our own inner buffalo spirit.”

The Way of the Buffalo

In an article called “The Meaning of the Buffalo to Our People,” Karlene Hunter cites an article by Richard Williams that states, “The American Indian and the buffalo coexisted in a rare balance between nature and man. The American Indian developed a close, spiritual relationship with the buffalo. The sacred buffalo became an integral part of the religion of the Plains Indian. Furthermore, the diet of primarily buffalo created a unique physiological relationship. The adage “You are what you eat” was never more applicable than in the symbiotic relationship between the buffalo and the Plains Indian. The Plains Indian culture was intrinsic with the buffalo culture. The two cultures could not be separated without mutual devastation.”

From Kirkus Reviews

Newman

“Over the course of this novel, Newman writes with a vivid sense of place (“The snow fell all night, cleansing the blood-stained ground and creating a white canvas upon which creatures large and small could paint the tracks of the new day”) and a palpable respect for Montana’s land and its many denizens. Smith is something of a one-dimensional villain that would have benefited from deeper character development. However, Sam’s captors are depicted with a sense of depth and great sensitivity. The scenes involving the slaughter of bison and cattle are certainly brutal (“the blood now flowing freely across the roadway, the men tracking it every direction”) but not exploitatively so.

“A compelling and empathetic story of salvation.”

–Malcolm

‘Pioneering Women of Glacier National Park’ by David R. Butler

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books

This new book is a must for students, researchers, authors, and hikers in Glacier National Park, Montana.  Released March 27, the book is another in a string of titles about the park by long-time researcher and former geography professor David R. Butler who has worked and hiked through the park since the early 1970s.

From the Publisher

“Pioneering Women of Glacier National Park examines the role of early pioneering women in the pre-park period up through the first three decades of Glacier Park (1910-1940). The concept of ‘pioneering women’ includes a wide range of activities that were atypical for women during this time period. These activities range from Blackfeet and other Native American women carrying out extraordinary feats, to women homesteaders, wives of early Park rangers, writers visiting and writing about the park, artists engaged in outdoor painting, influential artists’ wives who furthered their husbands’ careers, and pioneering outdoorswomen. All helped advance the cause of putting female faces and names, largely ignored and anonymous up to this point, into the history of the park. The book also has several modern photographs taken by the author and others, illustrating landscape changes in Glacier Park since the early period of the park.”

Butler provided me with a list of the table of contents headings which one would normally see provided by the publisher had they activated Amazon’s “look inside” feature:

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Native American Pioneering Women

Pioneering Women Homesteaders and Settlers

Ranger Wives: Pioneers of a New National Park

Pioneering Women Authors of Glacier National Park

Influential Wives of Early Glacier Park Artists

Pioneering Women Artists of Glacier National Park

Pioneer Outdoorswomen of Glacier National Park

Afterword: The Lasting Legacy of the Pioneering Women of Glacier Park

Endnotes

Bibliography

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell, who also worked as a summer employee in Glacier National Park, has written fiction set in the park, and his account of the 1964 flood appears A View Inside Glacier National Park: 100 Years – 100 Stories edited by Kassandra Hardy.

Briefly Noted: ‘Getting Around in Glacier National Park’ by Mike Butler

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books, reviews, writing

Mike Butler, who drove one of Glacier’s iconic red busses some years ago, has put together a compelling book about the park’s transportation history in the “America Through Time” series from Arcadia Publishing. Like most Arcadia authors, Butler has included a wealth of spectacular photographs: definitely a high point of the 128-page book that was released in Febuary.

From the Publisher

“Getting around in Glacier National Park was quite difficult for early travelers seeking to experience its towering mountains, deep glacial valleys, and extensive lakes. With Glacier’s location in the far northwestern corner of Montana, just getting to the park when it was formed in 1910 was a challenge for travelers. To meet this challenge, the Great Northern Railway brought early tourists to this remote location, transporting visitors to its East Glacier and West Glacier stations. From these entry stations, tour buses took passengers to majestic hotels which the Railway built at East Glacier, Many Glacier, and Waterton Lakes. Visitors seeking adventure within the park could then take horseback trips from the hotels to remote chalets, also built by the Railway. Boats plied the waters of Glacier’s lakes, taking tourists to chalets and hiking trails. Over 900 miles of trails were built across the park. Finally, as automobile travel gained in popularity, the magnificent Going-to-the-Sun Road was completed across the Continental Divide at Logan Pass in 1933.”

In his review in the Glacier Park Foundation’s newsletter, Mac Willemssen said, “The book’s chapters describe the development of the railroad, the roads, the boats, the buses, the trails, and the hotels. As such, it’s a great complement to anyone’s Glacier library. It’s very readable and easily puts the reader right in Glacier, whether in a bus, a boat, or on a trail.”

Butler is also the author of five other Arcadia titles: Around the Spanish Peaks; Great Sand Dunes National Park; Southern Colorado: O.T. Davis Collection; Littleton; and High Road to Taos. His brother David is the author of the 2014 Arcadia book Fire Lookouts of Glacier National Park.

In the Daily Interlake’s February review, Carol Marino wrote, “Getting Around in Glacier National Park is packed with historical details and over 150 photos of the park’s early years. It offers such rare glimpses into the park’s pictorial history, such as explorer George Bird Grinnell standing on a glacier in 1926 with his wife Elizabeth Grinnell. Both he and James J. Hill played a pivotal role in the establishment of Glacier Park.”

If you love Glacier National Park, this volume is a treasure.

–Malcolm

Glacier Park Hiking -be aware of the dangers before you start

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Glacier National Park, writing

The news that solo hiker Jennifer Coleman was found dead near Glacier Park’s Logan Pass after being reported missing two days earlier comes as a shock and reminds all of us who love the park’s pristine beauty that in spite of visitor overcrowding, the beautiful mountainn world is a a dangerous place.

Wikipedia photo

I made it a policy to never climb alone in the park and, other than two-to-three mile strolls around Many Glacier Hotel, never to hike alone. Too much can go wrong, from illness, to falls, to bears and mountain lions. Even a sprained ankle can put a person down on a seldom-travelled trail with no way to get help where there’s no cellphone service.

Coleman’s death is under investigation. Even the precise location hasn’t been released, though there’s speculation she was hiking along the Highline Trail or the Dragon’s Tail. The highline is filled with hikers, yet if one fell when nobody else was nearby, they might land in an out-of-view spot. The Dragon’s Tail has fewer visitors and this makes hiking alone there more dangerous.

As for Coleman, all we know is that she was near Logan Pass and was apparently hiking or climbing alone. The peace of the mountains and the lure of wondrous views is addictive and hard to resist. So, I cannot fault her solo hiking. I might have done it even though I knew I shouldn’t. I’ve climbed a lot of mountains and would probably assume I was imune to the potential dangers.

Matches, maps, bear spray, water, food, and a hiking partner are always the safer way to proceed. We know this, but we don’t always do this.

—Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell has written fiction and nonfiction about Glacier National Park. including the novel “Mountain Song.”

I could’ve been a sheep rancher

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books, writing

When my wife and I moved to Atlanta from North Georgia in 1980, we were having trouble making ends meet. I suggested Montana.

What would I do there, she wondered. I said that I’d hire on at a sheep ranch and/or drive concessionaire busses trucks in Glacier National Park.

She didn’t think either of those jobs sounded like the real me. Plus, she had no intention of living in Montana.

As it turned out, I was writing a book about sheep ranching and had a folder filled with everything one needed to know to get started–or to stay solvent if one had already gotten started. Fortunately, I didn’t become a full-time sheep rancher: the Montana wool business has been in decline for years.

The more one looks into the ranching biz, the more one discovers there’s a lot of down-in-the-muck stuff going on that we never saw on “Fury” or “Bonanza.” I didn’t mention this to my wife.  Plus, Montana’s high range isn’t very hospitable to humans who grew up in the South. My wife already knew this so there was no way I could spin the weather situation.

She didn’t know that ewes, as Bill Stockton tells us, let gravity drop the new-born lambs out on the ground. Or, if that doesn’t work, they spin around and sling them out. This information was not in my wife’s “need to know” classification.

One thing I didn’t know at the beginning was that my wife’s allergic to wool. That much pretty scuttled the sheep rancher “dream.”

—Malcolm

Several of my older novels are out of print, but my sheep rancher can still be found in “Mountain Song.” It is the tamest of my sheep books.

Writing about a high-speed chase on a mountain road

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Glacier National Park, writing

Since it’s cold and rainy here in north Georgia, I spent the day writing about a speeding Harley Davidson being chased by a ranger along Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun road. In “real life,” that highway is covered by many feel of snow in February that will take many weeks to plough before the summer season begins in June.

Fortunately, the Google Earth views and the Google Maps street views–as discussed here were taken in the summer. So, what I see looks like this photo:

My keyboard almost has no room on my desk due to the stack of paper maps, guidebooks, and place name guides cluttering up my space. If this were a fictional road or some random road in the middle of nowhere, I might get away with a little artistic license. But Glacier National Park has over three million visitors a year and most of them want to see this road from their cars, from a red bus, or from a park shuttle.

So, there’s no room for mistakes. That’s a bit daunting. On the other hand, I hope the fame and beauty of the setting will help draw people to the novel to be called “Weeping Wall.” Here’s what the real weeping wall looks like, compliments of Wikipedia:

 

If you’re westbound in one of the convertible red tour busses, you’re going to get wet. All of that water comes from snowmelt higher up on the Garden Wall. There’s less of a torrent here late in the summer. Weeping Wall will be the third in my “Mountain Journey’s Series,” following The Sun Singer and Sarabande.

The most difficult task hasn’t really been getting the landmarks right. It’s been getting the background from the earlier novels in the series correct–and then some of the characters also appear in my Kindle novels Mountain Song and At Sea. Co-ordinating all these stories was something I never wanted to face–until now. I think I’ve gone nuts.

But, it’s a fun kind of crazy.

—Malcolm

I invite you to enjoy my two earlier novels in the series, “The Sun Singer” and “Sarabande.” Both of them are contemporary fantasies set in Glacier National Park, Montana.

 

Giveaway: ‘Mountain Song’

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Book Giveaway, Glacier National Park

My Montana novel Mountain Song will be free on Kindle for three days, February 8 through February 10. Previously called The Seeker, the novel is the first of my two David Ward novels. At Sea is the sequel.

Description

David Ward lives in the Montana mountains where his life was impacted by his medicine woman grandmother and his utilitarian grandfather. Anne Hill suffered through childhood abuse and ultimately moved in with her aunt on the edge of a Florida swamp. Their summer romance at a mountain resort hotel surprises both of them. But can they make it last after the initial passion wears off and they return to their college studies far apart from each other especially after an attack on a college street changes Anne forever?

Background

This novel is set in Glacier National Park Montana where I worked for two summers as a resort hotel employee. It’s also set at a fictional Montana sheep ranch and at a real Florida Panhandle swamp. The characters move around a bit, one might say. The mountain on the cover is named Heavy Shield, previously Mt. Wilbur, and can be seen across Swiftcurrent Lake from Many Glacier Hotel on the east side of the park.

You can find information about all of my books on my website.

–Malcolm

MHS PORTRAIT EXHIBIT SHOWS ECLECTIC SLICE OF MONTANANS

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn history, Montana
Montana Historical Society News Release

The Montana Historical Society’s newest exhibit, Who Speaks to You? Portraits from the Permanent Collection, includes an eclectic mix of paintings, juxtaposed to encourage visitors to look at portraits in a new way.

Portraits can reveal a lot about people and their times, if you know how to look for clues, notes Amanda Streeter Trum, curator of collections at MHS. Examining objects in the artwork, considering the backdrop, and observing the artist’s color palette reveal important information about the subject of the art.

“Experiencing art is a really personal thing; we all bring our unique experiences and opinions that color the way we may or may not interact with the piece in front of us,” Streeter Trum said. “We hope the exhibit will provide visitors an opportunity to see portraits in a different way or discover a new artistic style they enjoy.”

The exhibit opened Sept. 10, and no opening reception was held due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

It includes about 50 portraits of interesting people and pets whose presence has enriched the lives they touched and, in some cases, the larger state of Montana. The artwork is both traditional as well as abstract, Streeter Trum said.

“So many traditional portraits represent only a certain segment of society, often wealthy white men,” she added. “This is a playful exhibit and we want to show an eclectic mix of people and art.”   

The museum–at 225 North Roberts, P.O. Box 201201, Helena, MT 59620-1201– is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

–

I wish I could visit, but Helena is a bit of a drive from North Georgia. I’ve been a member of MHS since the 1980s, and am happy to say its research department has been very helpful in my research for my Montana Novels.

—Malcolm