A Mule, a Train, and the Fight for Wilderness

A visit to the Blackfoot Valley

May 04, 2024

Before I share some news and upcoming event info for “Hush of the Land”, let me talk about the Montana Centennial Trail that rolled into Billings, MT almost exactly 60 years ago, on May 5, 1964. This week, I loaded my daughter and dog in the truck and drove to Ovando, one of my favorite small towns in the heart of the Blackfoot Valley in Montana. I wanted to visit Howie Fly, the local historian about Montana’s 1964 Centennial Train and look for pictures for an extended book excerpt in the Montana Magazine for Western History this fall.

The Brand Bar Museum in Ovando, MT.

Howie, tall, in his late 70s, with a firm handshake and classic cowboy mustache, took care of the 72 horses on the train. “I slept right next to them for 30 days,” he says, rumbling through boxes of notes in the back room of the Brand Bar Museum. At 10:30am on April 5, 1964, Howie and 300 Montanans - ranchers, outfitters, tribal members, trick riders - boarded the 25 car train in Billings Montana for a 16 stop journey across U.S. to the World Fair in New York City and back to celebrate Montana’s 100th anniversary as a territory and “attract and encourage many more seasonal visitors to the BIG SKY COUNTRY” (Montana Centennial Train History, 1965, p.1, emphasis in original).

Getting ready for a Montana Centennial Parade in April 1964.

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The 14 sleeper cars, 3 horse parlors, exhibit cars with one million dollars in gold nuggets, a car for the stagecoach, and a coffee shop provided some comfort but everybody was happy when they could stretch their legs. Cincinatti, Chicago, Minneapolis - at each city the horses and people unloaded, dressed up and paraded around town on the largest publicity tour in Montana’s history. On April 16, the delegation traveled down Pennsylvania Avenue towards the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. where U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Montana U.S. Senator and majority leader Mike Mansfield welcomed them with waving cowboy hats. In Chicago, 20 000 people came to Union Station on a rainy day to visit the train filled with old-west memorabilia, pet the horses and mules and book a trip to visit Montana.

Howie Fly and I at the Brand Bar Museum (photo credit: my daughter).

I write a lot more about the Montana Centennial Train in chapter 4 “A Mule, a Train, and the fight for Wilderness” of “Hush of the Land”. I am excited that the Montana Magazine of Western History wants to publish an extended version of the chapter in their fall issue. Smoke got sick and couldn’t go on the train ride, but he helped ready the horses and mules at the Missoula Fairgrounds before departure. 1964 was a busy year for Smoke. He started his own outfitting business, moved to his Rattlesnake home, and taught his first packing class for the University of Montana outside in the snow. It was also an important year for America’s public lands: On September 3, 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson finally signed the Wilderness Act into law after 52 revisions. Both the Montana Centennial Train and the Wilderness Act turned Montana from a state people traveled through to the recreation attraction it is today.

Chapter 4 was a particularly fun challenge to write. I wanted to capture this important year in Smoke’s life and connect it to his two passions: wilderness and mules. All the while making it fun to read. Some people have asked me if we planned to publish “Hush of the Land” in 2024 so we could celebrate Smoke’s 60 years as an outfitter and teacher, the 60th anniversary of the Montana Centennial Train, and the Wilderness Act. I wish I could take credit but I can’t. Some lives just fall into place, but I’m glad it worked out that way.

Howie and I did find some pictures and a map of all the train stops to illustrate the article in the Montana Magazine for Western History. My daughter found inspiration for a costume. On the way home we stopped by the Rich Ranch in Seeley Lake for lunch, some wisdom from Jack Rich (see picture below), hugs, and did some summer pack trip planning for my upcoming University of Montana summer class. More on that in another edition.

NEWS and UPCOMING EVENTS.

We had a lot fun talking to Ivan of the “Hikes and Mics Podcast” about the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Smoke’s time in the Cascades, strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, and traveling at three miles an hour a few weeks ago. Here is the episode: