Harmon’s Histories: If you like these columns, you’ll enjoy April 24 reading at UM

By Jim Harmon

Now and then, a bit of self-promotion is necessary.

I’d like to extend a personal invitation to readers of this column to sign up for a special University of Montana MOLLI presentation on April 24, 2025. MOLLI is short for Montana Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

I’ll be reading from my book, “The Sneakin-est Man That Ever Was,” and explaining my fascination with long-forgotten newspaper stories of the past.

A few years ago, I presented a full MOLLI course (6 weeks) on the eventful year 1894.

April 24th’s lecture will be a much shorter, 90-minute, one-time event. It’ll cost $35 (which includes a free copy of the book).

Here’s the information on the class & how to sign up:

“The ‘Sneakin’est’ Man That Ever Was: A Reading Experience by Jim Harmon”
Thursday, April 24, 1–2:30 p.m. Fee: $35 (Includes Cost of Book) Format: In-Person
https://www.umt.edu/um-osher-lifelong-learning/

Course description by MOLLI: "This book is a collection of Jim Harmon’s short stories based on actual newspaper accounts from the latter 19th century in the Western Democrat, Northwest Tribune, Missoula Weekly Gazette, and other papers. Also included are some tales passed along from family and friends. Jim Harmon will discuss the creation of this book and answer participants’ questions.”

For those unfamiliar with MOLLI, it’s a wonderful program “offering programs that promote lifelong learning and personal growth of individuals through a diverse collection of non-credit, short courses offered year-round. This is truly learning for the joy of learning – no exams, no grades – just fun!”

The Spring/Summer courses range from “The Science of Pain” to “Stories from the Million Dollar Post: Fort Missoula.” There’s also another called, “Pioneering Women in U.S. Journalism,” presented by Peggy Kuhr, who spent five years as the dean of the School of Journalism and later retired from UM as vice president for integrated communications.

Missoula County Commissioner Josh Slotnick will present “Local Government and Six Challenges of Our Time,” and Brad Bigelow is offering an intriguing program on “The Crazy World of Elevator Music.”

My book came about after my 2010 retirement from a near-50 year career in radio and television news. Yes, I used to be a western Montana TV anchor and reporter as well as the nightly weather forecaster – Steve Fetveit and I alternated in that latter role, placing magnetic cloud and sun cut-outs on metal maps.

Over three decades, I was honored to have hired and worked with many wonderful, talented people, among them Jill Valley, Kevin Maki and Maritsa Georgiou. They’ve gone on to become quite popular to local TV viewers.

When retirement came in 2010, I needed a hobby to keep me busy in the winter months. I thought – given my career in news – it might be fascinating to see how Montana journalists plied their trade in the earliest days of our Territory, then State.

I randomly picked out an 1894 microfilm at the Missoula Public Library. I couldn't stop reading.

I went through everything from the front page to the classifieds. I discovered a Missoula and a Montana I'd never known – everything from train hijackings to a tongue-in-cheek society column under the non de plume Violette Gleamer.

I was hooked, and began transferring the microfilm to digital files, cataloging the stories and sharing them with friends. In 2016, the Missoula Current online journal offered me a chance to share them more widely through this weekly column.

One of the most memorable characters I stumbled across was Coyote Bill, an old guy who lived up Missoula’s Rattlesnake Valley. Some thought he was mad. Others thought he was "the sneakin'est man that ever was." He certainly wasn't very neighborly.

The story of K.F.W. Beeskove (a.k.a. Coyote Bill) was just one of the nearly lost gems of history documented by the newspaper reporters of early day Montana.

Herr Daniel Bandmann, a world renowned Shakespearean actor, moved to Missoula and performed regularly at the opera house, while the saloons and houses of Missoula’s “Midway Plaisance” gave the city a reputation as one of the worst places in the state for drug-related crime and murder.

Many readers encouraged me to put some of these long-lost gems into a book, resulting in “The Sneakin’est Man That Ever Was,” titled after that character, Coyote Bill.

Having grown up in Libby – and having heard all the stories – I had to write about local legend Dunn Creek Nell.

There are accounts of manifest destiny progress and prejudice, balanced with a few quirky accounts like the kangaroo in St. Regis and chicken fanciers in Missoula.

Archivists from the Montana Historical Society, the University of Montana, and even Emery College in New York helped in the process (the latter supplied some wonderful photos of Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain’s visit to Missoula and the Fort).

Sherry Devlin helped edit the material. Friends and family assisted along the way, including the creation of a nice website for the book.

It turned out to be far more work that I had envisioned. It was a wonderful exercise but painful, too – especially at the end.
I chose Stoneydale Press as the publisher. I had known Dale Burk, the founder of the company, for years.

It was wonderful to work with him – right up to the final edits and corrections on the afternoon of September 15th, the day before his sudden, unexpected death. His daughter told me, “He was so excited about this book.”

I’m sorry Dale wasn’t able to see the product of all that work. What a wonderful fellow.

The book is now available ($19.95 + S & H) through the website, harmonshistories.com.

Again, “The ‘Sneakin’est’ Man That Ever Was: A Reading Experience by Jim Harmon” will be offered Thursday, April 24, 1–2:30 p.m. Fee: $35 (Includes Cost of Book) Format: In-Person. https://www.umt.edu/um-osher-lifelong-learning/