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D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E
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FA L L 2 0 2 4
"W
ELL, THAT'LL BE JUST FINE." John's voice
is bright but gruff, the way you imagine it
would sound when a Western outlaw finally be-
friended you. It begins with a raspy lowness that
lilts up into friendship. Looking at him, it
would be difficult to imagine any other
sound attached to his words. A long
ponytail belies his decades spent
ranching and tracking around west-
ern Montana. But his whiskered
face sets the record straight: he's
from the West. His long, white
mustache, reminiscent of the
gunslingers a century ago, cov-
ers a smile just as broad. In an
instant, you move from suspi-
cious to befriended, ever glad
you met the "bird-man" of the
Mission Valley. John eagerly
granted a request to visit with
him amongst the ponds and
aviaries of the Montana Waterfowl
Foundation, the place that has
been his home for over four de-
cades.
It becomes immediately ap-
parent when first meeting John that
laughter is his life-breath. One-liners,
deadpan wit, and puns to make dads proud
everywhere are followed by belly laughs, if
they are only sometimes his. Understand-
ing the joke isn't required to know he
wants everyone to have a good time.
John's father was a horseman who
brought his son into the business. Ear-
ly memories include rounding up colts
in Canada to be brought back to Butte,
broken, and then sold. When fall set
in, they led string packs into the Bob
Marshall Wilderness for outfitters,
sometimes guiding themselves. The
work was hard, but being close to the
For the Birds
article and photos by EVERETT HEADLEY
Passion and Happiness in the Mission Valley
