Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame Western Heritage Inductee William "Bill" Dutton, 2020, District 2.
William Dutton was born in June 1948 at the hospital in Jordan, Montana. It was shearing time, one of the busiest seasons on the ranch so Dad had to leave Mom at a friend's house in town and go back to the ranch to work. It just so happened that The Hell Creek Endurance Race was at the same time. The riders started at Hell Creek and were to ride to Miles City. When the riders got to Jordan they went to the hospital and got all the hot water to wash down their horses so there was no hot water for the new mothers to use. This is how it was in those days and everyone survived.
Bill grew up on the family ranch about 20 miles west of Jordan on the Big Dry Creek. He attended a one room school named the Big Dry School located a little over two miles north of the home place. He would rather have been riding and working with Dad and neighbors because he loved animals and the out doors. Occasionally the folks let him skip school to help with lambing, but it was rare because the folks believed education was important. In the summer, ranchers take turns helping each other so Bill got to help with many brandings and lamb dockings. The folks told him he wasn't supposed to expect any money for helping neighbors, but Coty Meserve would insist on giving him some silver dollars, and they were real silver dollars, for helping. Bill didn't tell the folks about it and Mom says she didn't know about the money because it was a well kept secret.
Bill lived with the other country kids in the Garfield County Dormitory in Jordan to go to high school. Our uncle and aunts also lived in the dorm when they were going to high school. He went home on the weekends to help with the work.
During the summer Bill worked for the LO Bar Cattle Co. owned by William J. Brown family west of Sand Springs, Montana. When Bill left high school, he went to work for H.D. Landers at Sand Springs. Harry had colts to break and enough ranch work to keep Bill out of trouble and busy. He learned to cook at the the Landers outfit, a skill he continues to use today. Harry liked pies and Bill learned to make good pies and still does make good pies. One time he made a pie and was taking it outside to cool in the cold winter air. The pie pan buckled when he picked it up and ended up on the floor. What a disappointment.
This Polaroid photo was taken about 1965.
Bill returned to the LO Bar for a year and then spent six months in Melstone, Montana helping Wade Kincheloe. His time in Melstone was short because he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served from July 1967 to July 1969. He was stationed in Germany with the Third Squadron, Seventh Cavalry, armored division.
After the he came home he went back to work for the LO Bar and continued working there off and on for 31 years. Bill Brown Jr. mentored Bill in the ways of cowboying horseback over those year. The LO Bar ran a sizeable herd of cattle and all the cow work was done from the back of a horse. This meant there were always plenty of colts to ride and long days in the saddle. Most mornings started with wrangling the remuda, breakfast before dawn, and the business day starting shortly thereafter. At that time there was a two-horse trailer and a straight truck for hauling horses. Many times they just galloped to where they were gathering or working cattle, but if they had to go to distant leases, they trailed the horses there.
One brutally cold winter day Bill Brown Jr. and Bill were riding out and Bill told Jr., "I guess I should have gone and got a college education." Jr. Brown said, "I have a college education and I am doing the same thing you are doing." Bill enjoyed a long, close friendship with Bill Brown Jr. as well as the other cowboys from the LO Bar.
In 1970 Bill married Donna Mosby and together they had three children, Mary Margaret, Jennifer, and Barry. They lived on the Dutton ranch for several years and then moved back to the LO Bar until they returned to the Big Dry to take over the ranching operation. Bill and Donna bought Dad's cattle. The sheep business ended when the predators moved in after the 1080 poison was banned.
Good brands and good horses have always been important to Bill (and I would also like to add that he values good knives with a good edge too). He owns an exceptional one-iron brand, the running S and he made sure each child had their own brands at a very early age. Bill likes big athletic horses that can take long days of work and he doesn't mind spending money for a good horse.
Somehow during the busy years of ranching Bill found time to serve in the community. He was a trustee for District 10, Big Dry School Board and the Garfield County High School Board. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and has served as commander for several terms. He has helped produce the annual Jordan VFW Rodeo in the fall and carried the American flag, with honor, in the 4th of July parade for 14 years.
Ranching in the 1980s took grit and determination because of the drouth that covered most of Montana. It became necessary to take an outside job to support his family and supplement the ranch, so Bill hired on with J.D. Murnion & Sons Trucking hauling grain and livestock. Bill bought his own semi and trucked off and on for nearly ten years as Dutton Trucking.
Bill and Donna divorced in the early 1990s and he continued ranching on the Big Dry and driving truck part of the time. Bill married Karen (Curran) Murnion in 2001 and gained three more children, B.J., Meghan, and Cari. Bill's six kids and grandkids are a great joy in his life. As soon as each of them was able to be horseback, he would have them in the saddle and take them riding. When he could, he made sure he was the one to buy their first cowboy boots. In 2002, Bill began working as a ranch manger for David Leuchen of Switchback Ranch, LLC, of Rosco, Montana on the land that they leased in Garfield County. Bill managed about 1000 head of cattle for the Switchback for 15 years. During this time, he sold the herd of Angus cattle he had built over the years to the Switchback Ranch and leased them grazing land as well. Now, Bill manages a smaller cow-calf operation for the Switchback and runs some cows of his own.
One of Bill's favorite sayings is "ride for the brand." He places great value on being a loyal employee and being loyal to his friends. Cowboying is and always has been an important part of his life and the legacy he someday wishes to leave to his family
Dewain Murnion, Bill Dutton and Layne Murnion June 2019 branding
Congratulations, dear brother. I am so proud of you.
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