Birthday party makes getting older a little easier
The older we get, the more we can’t believe how old we are.
This aptly describes my feelings as my 90th birthday is just around the corner.
To observe the milestone with me, I’m inviting everyone for a get-together at the Bulldog Saloon in Whitefish on Thursday, Oct. 27 between 5 and 7 p.m.
About 10 years ago I started volunteering at the Golden Agers Senior Center (now the Whitefish Community Center). Most weekday mornings around 9 a friendly fellow named Joe would stop in for a cup of coffee as he was completing his walk around town. (Actually, I think he needed a bathroom break.) He was heading up town for the Bulldog Saloon to chat with some friends and Frank “Buck” May and get more coffee. I started joining Joe and have been stopping there nearly every morning since.
Buck purchased the bar in 1983 and it is now being operated by his son Eric and daughter-in-law Amy. He would come in every morning with his bulldog and stay a couple of hours visiting with anyone who stopped in. Topics included most anything, but mainly sports. Buck seemed to have an encyclopedic memory about sporting events and individual athletes.
The walls of the saloon were covered with hundreds of photos. If the visitors would talk about an event or individual, Buck would say that he thought he had a photo on the wall and took a couple minutes to find it. We didn’t need a “smart” phone then.
Buck grew up in Havre, played football for the Montana State Bobcats in the late 50s, taught school and coached for several years and operated a bar in Havre before moving here. He was built like a football player, but I gradually found out there was more about him that I wasn’t aware of. One fall morning he came in a little later than usual. He’d been at a local grocery store and ordered 30 turkeys for the food bank for Thanksgiving. Later, I heard more about donations and projects he had supported.
Unfortunately, Buck became ill and, after months of chemotherapy and radiation, he passed away last winter. Now Joe and I have to find someone with a smartphone if we have a sporting event question. Friend Bill replaced his flip-top with a smartphone recently. Apparently there is a “learning curve” and he’s still on the straight-away. Gary just calls his wife when he needs information, and Ron will probably come in at times with his phone when the golf course is covered with snow.
If you make it in the Bulldog, be sure to browse the photos. You will probably find one with you, or a relative there. I know I have. The problem is — we don’t have Buck to find it for us.
Ralph Ammondson, Whitefish
Formerly Fairfield, Columbia Falls, Missoula, Eugene