Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 1 9 76 Phil Gilbert is a fourth generation rancher. Brenda, besides being a co-rancher, mom, and foster mom, is also the State Dis- trict Court Judge in Park County. e ranch is classic old Mon- tana. Beautiful horses are standing quietly in the corral, cows are out on the horizon, hay meadows are lush. e oldest barn on the place, built over a hundred years ago by Phil's great-grandfather, has the traditional upper level hay mow filled with stiff harness, antiquated saddles, remnants of a tough old wagon that once was pulled by sturdy draft teams to deliver winter hay, and odds and ends that could keep kids entranced for months. e house and barns are nestled beneath grand old trees near Rock Creek and in a dip in the landscape, seemingly protected from the worst of the weather. But not the weather of 2019. is winter was Montana's ver- sion of the perfect storm involving all the elements at the same time—snow, wind, and cold. e wind by itself was crazy, arriv- ing day after day from unexpected directions in horizontal gales strong enough to push over a human being. It was sufficiently unremitting to pack the snow hard and deep almost everywhere, including on top of roofs that were designed steep enough to normally slough it off. And, of course, the weather peaked at its worst just as calv- ing season was starting. Phil was finishing evening chores, and checking the cows for any calf mishaps. As he passed the machine and calving shed he heard the alarming sound of the splitting of the main beam. is is particularly unwelcome at -10 degrees. As A BARN UNDER SNOW I N THIS SEEMING AGE OF ANGER, GOOD NEIGHBORS ARE STILL ALIVE AND WELL ACROSS THE STATE OF MONTANA. One such good will story took place this past February at the Phil and Brenda Gilbert Ranch, a few miles east of Clyde Park, in the rain shadow of the Crazy Mountains—or, in this case, in the snow shadow of one of the worse winters in recent history. UNUSUALLY HEAVY SNOW AND COLDER-THAN-NORMAL TEMPERATURES OCCURRED IN THE WINTER OF 2019. ROOFS COLLAPSED. TAKE PRECAUTIONS NOW TO AVOID CATASTROPHES IN THE FUTURE. by DOROTHY BRADLEY COLLAPSES

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