Fifty years ago Bozeman was a much different town; smaller, slower, and very special to me. The divisions that seem to be part of American life these days were not as obvious. In fact, part of what was so special to me back then was that we all got along—the jocks, the hippies, the cowboys, the nerds, the rich and the not-so-rich—we all hung out together. Perhaps it was because the country had gone through ordeals like the Vietnam War and the resignation of a President. Perhaps it was simply that the drinking age had been lowered to 18 because of that war (that resulted in way too much drinking, but more on that later). I think it was because we were all pretty good kids, really.

Our young lives playing out back then could often have been scenes from shows like “American Graffiti,” or “That 70s Show.” Cars were a big part of the scene. Friday nights would see Main Street turn into the main drag back then, with kids driving back and forth between the old Heeb’s grocery on Main and Wallace to Butcher Boy or John’s drive-in restaurants, both located across the street from the high school. Some pretty hot gas-guzzlers could be seen on those nights, but gas was less than 50 cents a gallon, after all. There were some good races on 19th between Boylan’s Drive-up Dairy and Goldenstein Lane. And when the weather was warm, there was always the Starlite Drive-in Theatre. If you had a big trunk on your car, like the one on my 1965 Chrysler Imperial, you could sneak in a couple extra kids with ease.

When the weather wasn’t warm, there was skiing. Bozeman was already a ski town of sorts back then, even though Big Sky was still in the development stage, and Bridger Bowl only had three chairlifts and a T-Bar. What was special was that Montana State University was conducting a cloud-seeding experiment in the Bridger Range, and quite often the result was a two- or three-foot dump of fresh powder snow at Bridger Bowl. A lot of kids would skip school on those mornings and go skiing instead, which ultimately resulted in a new situation at Bozeman High: three unexcused absences resulted in an F for that class. The only “F” I ever got in high school was in Photography, because of those snowy days.

Music was also ever-present, mostly rock in my case, with bands like Aerosmith and Nazareth usually occupying my eight-track tape player. My first live show was at the MSU Fieldhouse in the mid-70s, with REO Speedwagon opening for the Doobie Brothers. That show cost less than ten bucks. By the time Senior year rolled around, I was leaning more toward a new genre we were calling country rock, and I was loving Montana bands like the Mission Mountain Wood Band. There wasn’t much better than a Mission Mountain Wood Band show at Buck’s T-4, or at the legendary Aber Day kegger/concert in Missoula, dubbed the world’s largest one-day beer-keg party by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1979.

I went to a lot of keg parties in those days. The deposit for a tap at Joe’s Parkway cost more than the 16-gallon keg headed for Cameron Bridge or the Rock Quarry. Those keggers were social events and a hell of a lot of fun, but drinking has its dark side. I lost two of my good friends in alcohol-related incidents within two months of graduating from high school. That had a lot to do with why I joined the U.S. Navy a few months later.

I kept Bozeman close to my soul. A few good friends from Bozeman were also in the Navy at the time. We shared apartments at the same complex close to the base where our ships were stationed, and many Montana friends came to visit us in sunny San Diego. My shipmates got tired of hearing about Bozeman, but they sure learned to love the Mission Mountain Wood Band. When I brought a few of them back to Montana with me on leave, they got it. And when my time with the Navy ended, I ended up back in Bozeman.

Our town is a lot different in 2026 than it was in 1976. Where there was Butcher Boy there’s now a Starbucks. Downtown, the Oaks is gone, and so is the Pines Cafe, the Bungalow Drug, the Woolworth’s, and so much more. But you can still get a feel of the old Bozeman at the Eagles Club.

​The Bozeman Senior High Class of 1976 is holding its 50th reunion the week of the Sweet Pea Festival. Look for our float in the Sweet Pea Parade and say hello.