9 – THOMAS ROYAL (TOM) HUNTER LAST REVISED 01-07-16
MCHF & WHC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE:
THOMAS ROYAL (TOM) HUNTER (1910 - 1992)
YEAR OF INDUCTION: 2015
DISTRICT OF INDUCTION: 9
Life time resident, Thomas Royal "Tom" Hunter, was born September 25,
1910, in Livingston, Park County, Montana the son of Guy and Mary (Francis) Hunter.
He lived with his parents on their ranch three miles northeast of Clyde Park, Montana
for about three years. The family then moved to Green Mountain near Sedan, Montana
in Gallatin County. His parents separated soon after and his father moved to Spirit
River in Canada. His mother moved the family to Chadbourne, a small village north of
Livingston where they lived with her parents, Henry and Sarah "Sally" Francis. He
attended the Cowan School until the 7th grade and maintained a perfect attendance
record. With the exception of the three years Tom worked with a Biological Survey
Crew in Idaho he lived in the Shields River Valley and Sedan area all his life, an area
he truly loved.
Tom was not a big man; he stood 5' 11", had a slim build, big hands and a big
heart. He was an “old school” cowboy all of his life. At an early age he started breaking
horses and instilled his love for a good horse, all animals, ranching and rodeo in all
those close to him.
Bill Gibson, a family friend that went to school with Tom, remarked "Tom
always had a rope in his hand and a horse to ride. He never believed in walking if the
horse was catchable and he could find a string to guide it with”. Tom never cared if
they bucked or ran, he stayed with them. When he was about 18, he happened to be
riding into Ferry Lake and tried to rope a guy driving a Model A. Missed the guy and
caught the choke and throttle levers on the column, causing the car to go really fast.
He was tied solid to the saddle horn. Everyone survived the wreck and still to this day
it makes for a lively family memory.
In 1930, he bought the livestock brand Bar over N reversed E from John
Nickelson. This brand was first recorded in Montana by W. B. Larkin of Livingston in
1918. The brand was used on the left rib for cattle and left shoulder for horses on the
Hunter Ranch until 1995 and is now owned by his daughters, Carol, Margery and
Suzanne. They have retired the brand from use.
Tom was instrumental in bringing the R. E. A., rural electrical service to the
Clyde Park area. He was a charter member of the Shields River Rodeo and Racing
Association, (Wilsall Rodeo) which is still active today and he was an original member
of the Wilsall Coop. He rode bareback in local rodeos and worked as a pickup man for
his nephew, Allen Woosley, who furnished bucking horses for the farm and rancher
amateur rodeo in Livingston, Montana, now the Livingston Roundup Professional
Rodeo Cowboys Association Rodeo.
On July 28, 1934, Tom married Nancy "Betty" McHenry in Bozeman. Since
Betty was too young to marry, Tom made the trip for the license. They worked for
Tom’s uncle, Charlie Francis at Elton, Montana. It was just a whistle stop on the
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railroad. They then moved to the Dahl place, east of Livingston. Tom recalled helping
drill an oil well that was never proved up on while working there.
In 1937, Tom and Betty purchased the family ranch located on Lower
Cottonwood Creek, located north of Clyde Park. There they ranched for 55 years,
raised their five children, Carol, Mary, Margery, Thomas and Suzanne and enjoyed
their many grandchildren. Their door was always open to family or friends who were
down on their luck or just needed a place to be for a while. Over the years Tom and
Betty purchased two and one-half sections of land scattered in Park and Gallatin
Counties and Tom always looked forward the new calf crop and getting the cows to
green grass. Getting the cows to summer pasture was always an event. It took an
afternoon on the first day to trail the cows to the first set of corrals and then another
day and a half to drive the cattle on to Sedan where the summer pasture was. Tom
made the trip a horse back every year, including the year he passed away. He never
had a problem getting cowboys to help, especially after the grandkids got old enough
to sit on a horse because making that trip with Tom was about as western as it gets.
The grandkids share memories of riding until they could hardly walk, throwing loops
heeling calves until their arm about fell off, camping overnight and sleeping in the
back of the pickup, swapping lies, playing poker half the night (Tom cheated) and
learning to "curse like a mule skinner” because Tom couldn't hear too well. (But Betty
could, so if she was close by you needed to watch your mouth). If Betty wasn’t in camp
to fix breakfast or lunch and Tom was the cook, it usually meant Spam slapped
between two pieces of bread because he loved Spam - not his crew’s favorite food.
Known as a hard worker and having lived through the depression, Tom’s selfreliance, ingenuity, determination and honesty were legendary while he never lived
beyond his means. He became skilled as a welder, mechanic, logger, carpenter and
whatever it took to make the "Snap" (ranch) run. He could take baling wire or twine
and fix about anything. Things were measured "perzactly" with a wood stick and if it
worked, it was “good enough” He built the family log home by skidding logs he cut on
Ibex Mountain, which was about five miles northeast of the home place. He skidded
the logs to the ranch with four head of work horses, and with the help of his wife and
kids, he squared the logs on three sides on a homemade sawmill he had set up. The
house he and Betty built in 1948-49 is still standing and now owned by daughter,
Marge.
Tom raised Shorthorn cattle for many years before cross breeding with Angus
and was a member of the American Shorthorn Association.
Excerpts from The Park County News dated October 17, 1958:
"Officials Confer at Billings Shorthorn Show for the annual Shorthorn
Breeders Association", tell us that "Animals shown by Tom Hunter of
Clyde Park and Rigler Brothers of Corwan Springs won the show portion
of the event Thursday in the yards of the Billings Livestock Commission
Co., Mrs. Lorene McCarthy, secretary, reported.” ”Tom Hunter had a pen
of 20 steers consigned in the Shorthorn Livestock sale in Billings that
averaged 436 pounds and sold to Brant for $40.25”. (Per head)
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Some of the things Tom enjoyed where the early mornings, and often he could
be seen out changing the irrigation water as the sun rose over the Crazy Mountains.
Although always a cowboy at heart, Tom probably walked a couple thousand miles in
irrigating boots because it was a job that needed done. His idea of a “vacation” was
taking a day to take salt to the cows in summer pasture or riding the Sedan country
in the fall gathering his cows for the trip back to the home place.
Tom’s life spanned an era of dramatic change - from horse and buggy, to
electricity, to "high tech" microwaves, CB radios and satellite dish television. He
always preferred home to being anywhere else and spent many enjoyable hours
reminiscing with family and friends about the exciting times of his early years. He
especially enjoyed sharing the story of a trip to the Calgary Stampede in Canada and
sharing his life experiences with his grandchildren. His sense of humor and
enjoyment of the simple things set an example for all that knew him. He was a role
model by his actions and he exemplified all the good things that come to mind when
one hears the term "Spirit of the Old West".
Tom never considered retirement. He worked the ranch until the day he
passed away of natural causes at the home he built with his own hands September 21,
1992. He was 81 years old.
Betty passed away in Livingston, Montana, October 1, 1995 and both are
buried in the Woosley family cemetery at Sedan, Montana west of Wilsall, Montana.
Tom was truly one of a kind.
Sources: Birth & death certificates Park County, marriage license Gallatin County
The Park County News, 21 Apr 1922 in the Chadbourne News column, Page 4; and 17
Oct 1958
Waddell, Butch; Gilbet, Phillip; Hunter, Harold; Woosley, Lyle and Hunter family
members Mary, Marge, Tom, and Suzanne interview
Shields River Rodeo and Racing Association, Inc. Certificate #104 Wilsall Rodeo.
Hunter, Thomas R, obituary Franzen-Davis-Bebee Mortuary, Inc, Livingston, Montana
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