Distinctly Montana Magazine

107 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m In June 2021, Altria Group, parent company of Philip Morris USA, quietly sold their 18,000-acre property just east of Clyde Park for an undisclosed amount. The buyer was private equity firm Lone Mountain Land Co., itself a subsidiary of CrossHarbor Capital Partners. Ordinary Montanans, however, might know the property's new owners by their outsized presence elsewhere in the state—the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, whose members in- clude NFL quarterback Tom Brady, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and many Hollywood A-listers like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lo- pez. Deposits to get on a waitlist cost $400,000; purchasing prop- erty, a requirement for membership, start at $3.5 million. You can't help but think that this is the kale and Ozempic crowd we're talking about, not leather and tobacco. It's probably pretty tough to bum a smoke up there. Putting aside how we feel about megalomaniacal cigarette companies, the Marlboro Ranch allowed millions of ordinary folks to dream big dreams. Though no less exclusive than Yel- lowstone Club, it played a vastly different role and served a significantly different demographic. They were usually middle to lower-class, blue-collar smokers enamored with a vanishing West. They preferred cowboy swagger over glitz and glamor, a black felt stockman over an evening gown. They longed for a way of life that no longer existed and in some cases never had, a Montana more mythical than real, but one that stirred imagina- tions that had been raised on Disney's Davey Crockett TV show and John Wayne matinees. They smoked their Marlboros and repeated their mantra: any day now I will get a call, and then I'll know it's my turn to go. And for those loyal enough, determined enough, those who rode for their brand, coming to Montana, the real Marlboro Country, fulfilled a lifelong dream. Here they found paradise. Paradise by the carton-full. VOTE FOR THEM IN OUR WIN $ 500 IN CASH! FOR YOUR CHANCE TO BEST OF MONTANA CONTEST! MONTANA BUSINESSES HELP YOUR FAVORITE www.distinctlymontana.com/bom2024 2024 of B E ST M O N TA N A A S V O T E D B Y R E A D E R S O F S U B S C R I B E T O D AY S U B S C R I B E T O D AY A N D G E T A L L T H AT ' S B E S T A N D G E T A L L T H AT ' S B E S T A B O U T M O N TA N A I N Y O U R M A I L B O X ! A B O U T M O N TA N A I N Y O U R M A I L B O X ! SUBSCRIBE TO DISTINCTLY MONTANA MAGAZINE AND GET IT DELIVERED DIRECTLY TO YOUR HOME! distinctlymontana.com/subscribe SEND A CHECK FOR THE AMOUNT MATCHING THE SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD YOU'D LIKE: 1 YEAR - $39.95 2 YEARS - $69.95 3 YEARS - $99.95 MAIL CHECKS TO: DISTINCTLY MONTANA PO BOX 84 BOZEMAN MT 59771 TO SUBSCRIBE BY PHONE: 406-600-7660

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