Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 50 50 and 99% of its business comes from outside Montana. "We have had many long-term clients who forget we are located in a small town," says CSSI owner Tim Yuzeitis; "they will call and say, "Now where is Big Timber again?" Where, indeed. When the business and service are both of quality, there are no distance barriers in today's world. Like Yuze- itis, Oregonian Jeff LeFore, known locally as "The Beeman" runs a thriving hive business, harvesting 175,000 pounds annually of high-grade honey. Down the road, the Indreland cattle operation produces some of the best grass-fed Angus beef in the country, and the Roe family is often off to places as far-fl ung as Whitefi sh or New Orleans where they excel at building and rehabbing Jack Nicklaus and other high-end golf courses. Businesses do "come and go" in Big Timber, as they do every- where. Gone are many small town enterprises such as the grocery and general stores of old, and newer businesses like Wheelsmith Fabrications, which was sold to a Milwaukee company in 2006. Barbara Van Cleve, an internationally accomplished photogra- pher, whose works are sought after by collectors and museums, has seen these businesses come and go, though her own legacy, the nearby Lazy K ranch has been in her family since 1880. A lifetime of personal transition and of living "off and on" in Big Timber has given her a unique perspective of loss and gain, of a Big Timber where life and business fl ourish, born of both desire and necessity. Big Timber has often had fame rub-up against it like a skittish horse. Both The River Runs Through It and The Horse Whisperer were fi lmed in the area, and the Discovery Channel has made much of life in the Boulder Valley. But such notoriety and prosperity is temporary and fl eeting. What remains in the end is the deep and lasting beauty of Sweet Grass County, the sky-bending beauty of the Beartooth-Absaroka and Crazy Mountain ranges, the hypnotic draw of its rivers and streams…and the seemingly tireless enter- prise of Big Timber and its area residents. It is hard to imagine a better place to prosper…or to just call home. DECEMBER 7-23 BOZEMAN "A CHRISTMAS CAROL," Musical presented by Montana TheatreWorks at the Ellen Theatre. www.theellentheatre.com TheatreWorks at the Ellen Theatre. www.twistedtimbers.net (406) 580-9597 WISTED IMBERS andcrafted Woodwork H ustom Made C T T Handcrafted Woodwork...by Jay Hiskey B„g T„mbr s ngurlyuniqueand aeuˆ o a friedly† ccoplied b‰ed o rtis† ots- man† c•aftsman† proesoa‹, n•eŒ•eeurs† nd, yes† evnsoerelcoŽ's.

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