Stan Lynde, Montana Treasure
Stan Lynde was born in Billings, Montana, on September 23, 1931, and was raised on his father’s ranch near Lodge Grass, Montana, on the Crow Indian Reservation.
He attended grade and high school at Lodge Grass, working on the ranch and traveling with the family wherever his father’s business—sheep-raising—took them. During his early years, he lived with his parents in “every kind of dwelling you can imagine—sheep wagon, tent, dugout, line shack, cabin, and ranch house.”
He attended the University of Montana at Missoula, Montana, served during the Korean War with the Navy on the island of Guam and on board the submarine tender U.S.S. SPERRY.
He created the comic strip Rick O’Shay in 1957, and for nearly 20 years wrote and illustrated the feature. He ended his association with Tribune Media Services, the newspaper that owns and distributed the feature, in 1977. In 1978 he created the comic strip Latigo for Field Newspaper Syndicate and produced that feature until 1983. In 1984, he created the cartoon series Grass Roots as a self-syndicated feature for weekly newspapers throughout the United States.
Stan was co-founder and a director of The Great Montana Centennial Cattle Drive which celebrated Montana’s centennial with a 60-mile cattle drive from Roundup, Montana to Billings. The six-day drive featured 2,812 cattle, 3,337 horses, 208 wagons, and 105 of the state’s top cowboys.
He wrote his first all-text novel—The Bodacious Kid—in 1995. The book proved to be a critical and commercial success. Other novels followed—Careless Creek in 1998, Vigilante Moon in 2003, Saving Miss Julie in 2004, Marshal of Medicine Lodge in 2005, and Summer Snow in 2006. All his novels are still in print, and are also available as Audio Books, read by the author.
Stan calls himself “a westerner by birth and inclination” and his work aptly reflects his life-long interest in the history, lore, and legend of the American west.
He is a member of the Western Writers of America, and is a recipient of the Inkpot Award for Achievement in the Comic Arts, as well as the Montana Governor’s Award for the Arts.
He lives in Helena, Montana with his wife, Lynda.
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