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Terry Anderson’s Montana
Homestead
By Linda DuShane White
As is true of many multi-faceted SLAC employees, Terry Anderson’s (TIS)
avocation is quite different from his graphics work.
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Farmyard showing a barn
Terry’s grandfather built in the early 1930’s. The two mountains
you see in the background are West Butte and Gold Butte, and
make up part of the Sweetgrass Hills bordering Montana and
Canada. (Photo courtesy of Terry Anderson) |
Anderson was born on a ‘dry land’ wheat farm in Montana on the high
plains near the Canadian border. The nearest town (Chester, population
800) is 30 miles away by dirt road and the nearest neighbor is two miles
away. ‘Dry land’ means the farm is not irrigated. Anderson says,
“Whatever the weather brings, when it rains, that’s it. It’s a tough
life. The area gets about 12 inches of moisture per year, which is
considered arid and not suited for farming. But somehow a few people
have stuck it out. They are a tough breed.” Anderson loves the place,
loves to revisit his past. “After my dad died three years ago it sank in
just how much the farm meant to me, and its link to our family history.”
Anderson explains his ties to Montana. “My grandpa came from Sweden to
homestead his wheat farm in 1912. That first winter he lived in a canvas
tent surviving on jackrabbits and coffee. The other Homesteaders called
him the Little Swede on the Hill.”
Anderson believes his grandfather was misinformed by deceptive flyers
sent to Sweden promising free fertile farmland to lure immigrants to
populate the American West. “They needed to build a railroad across the
Northern U.S., linking Chicago and Seattle. To do this they needed stops
along the way and got the idea to use the Homestead Act. Farmers needed
supplies, and little towns sprung up all along Northern Montana to help
support the Homesteaders. It’s dying back now, going back to the
prairie.”
Move from Montana
Anderson was first introduced to graphics as a draftsman/cartographer
for the Montana Highway Department. He then came to California and
began doing technical illustration. “I remember when I came out here and
found out that snow was optional. That was a real treat. The two things
I don’t miss about Montana are the long cold winters and the constant
wind.”
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Terry Anderson with the
family farm in the background. (Photo courtesy of Terry
Anderson) |
Anderson had heard of SLAC while still in Montana. Over 20 years ago
when he saw an ad for a SLAC technical illustrator, he applied for the
job.
His interests have taken some surprising directions. “My younger
brother has a PhD and MBA so he handles most of the business decisions
and legal contracts. I do all the planning and day-to-day decisions.
We have a couple of gas wells on the place and needed to negotiate new
leases and easements. I knew nothing about the gas business but learned
quickly.”
During the year he consults by phone with his cousin who leases the 420
acre farm. “I get a kick out of talking to him while he is sitting out
on tractor or the combine during harvest. I know when I was a kid
driving tractor you couldn’t hear yourself scream. I certainly never
imagined at that time being able to talk to someone on a phone while
working the fields.”
Anderson’s graphic skills come in handy, too. Using a satellite image of
the farm as a base he has superimposed all the information he has
gathered about the place: crop information, gas well locations and
production numbers as well as historical information about when land was
acquired and from whom. “I can look at that map and tell you anything
about the farm. It really comes in handy when dealing with the gas
companies or talking with my cousin. Dad was always telling me things
about the farm when I was growing up, but I didn’t really listen. It
wasn’t until after he was gone that I realized someone had to pass on
this information. Hopefully this map will be able to do that.”
This piece of Anderson family history is also American history, and
Anderson works to keep it alive for future generations. People wonder
why they don’t sell or why they bother fixing up the old buildings, but
to Anderson and his brothers, “The way we look at it, our Grandpa and
Dad spent their entire lives working on that place. The least we can do
is keep it from falling down. I would love for my children to take up
the reins after I am gone, and keep it going. As a young adult I
remember telling Dad when he was about to retire to just sell the place.
He told me he wouldn’t sell it, that he wanted to keep it in the family.
I thought he was crazy. I guess I am, too.”
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