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Julian Anderson asserted that he was born in Germany, where his
parents moved "with wealthy Virginia plantation owners who were flee-
ing the Civil War." Although there is no record of his birth in Hamburg,
Germany, several accounts and secondhand sources also avow his birth
date as either September 23, 1859 or September 23, 1860.
"I observe September 23rd as my birthday, because my mother told me
I was born at 'fodder-pulling time," Anderson said once.
At the age of six or seven, his family returned to the United States and
Virginia, then later moved to Washington DC and on to Denver, Colo-
rado. His time out West seems to have been a formative period in young
Julian's life, for it is where he claimed to have first tasted independence,
and it's also where he learned how to work as a baker and confectioner
(in Laramie, Wyoming).
He came to Helena in approximately 1887. (Some accounts claim he
arrived in Helena while "still in his teens in 1887," but this would invali-
date his birthdate as taking place at the time of the Civil War.) Presum-
ably, it was a much older Anderson who would've come to Helena, work-
ing first for James Sullivan, and then for the Merchant's Hotel, (later the
Mtana
Club
Btend
Julian
Ands
by BRIAN D'AMBROSIO
H
E WAS QUICK WITH A QUIP OR TO LEND A SYMPATHETIC EAR. He was fast to light a cigar or laugh at a wisecrack. But most signifi-
cantly, he could whip up an unforgettable absinthe cocktail or old fashion gin or whiskey cocktail with unnatural ease.
He was the "Master of Mixes," a much admired bartender at the Montana Club who served thousands of drinks to hundreds of local mem-
bers as well as a smattering of true notables throughout his 60-year tenure.
Mast
Mes
of
Mast
Mes
of
Mtana
Club
Btend
Julian
Ands
D E PA R T M E N T
H E R I TA G E
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