Stetson helmets and love in the wilderness

Woke up in the middle of the night last week and realized I had made a mistake in telling you good folks the Cox Christmas was the first involving white men in Montana. It upset me so much I had trouble getting back to sleep. When I'm shooting the bull, the truth may suffer, but in relating a bit of history I prefer accuracy. Let it be hereby noted that David Thompson did spend Christmas at Thompson Falls a few years before the Cox adventure. I even have one of the rare copies of Thompson's journals so there is no excuse for the mistake except that I may be approaching "the changes of life." O.K.?

Deep concern over the blasphemy of western cowboys rounding up cattle on a motorcycle while wearing a baseball cap has taken a turn for the worse. There is big trouble down the road and it started down-under. In October the Australian Worker's Compensation bureaucrats ruled that a rancher in the outback had to pay big money to one of his cowboys. This hired hand "fell off his horse and hit his head." The rancher said from now on he would require all his wranglers to wear helmets instead of the classic cowboy hats. He also said the other ranchers were going to make the same rule.

You and I know it will only be a short time until OSHA hears about this and the real American cowboy will be only a memory. Remember, it was OSHA that once decreed no cowboy out on the range should be more than ten minutes from the nearest outhouse; and a couple of those dingalings talked of making the cowboys wear seatbelts.

New subject: Every winter a group of motorcycle riders stage "The Montana Legends New Year's Day Ride" out of Missoula. On balmy years they've had over 100 participants from all over, even out of state, but one year it was below zero so only four guys showed up. This year wasn't exactly T-shirt weather but 12 bikers arrived at the starting spot. Three of them had to "lay their bikes down" along the way, however all made it to the goal at Harold's Club in Milltown. I've no idea how . . . or if, they made it home.

This exciting program was started by a man named Jim Beyer as a good way to "cure a raging hangover."

Thankfully, Beyer is right up front with his promotional pitch. The group motto is . . . "Dare to Be Dumb."

Different subject - There are literally hundreds of "outdoor recreational" activities, ranging from shooting charging rhinos and climbing Mount Everest, through flyfishing and birdwatching, and down to sneaking into the bushes for fresh-air hanky-panky. I can remember a naughty little diddy some of the college kids used to sing. "Hurray, hurray for the first of May. Outdoor mating starts today."

The reason I thought of that song is news story released by the Montana State University at Billings last week. It said the school was working on a curriculum which will eventually lead to the university offering full minor and major degrees in "Outdoor Recreation." A professor says the idea for an outdoor recreation program developed from growing interest in the topic and a desire to take advantage of nearby wilderness areas.

Classes will provide a history of outdoor recreation, social influences, and trends on the pastime.

The University of Montana had classes on all that stuff fifty years ago but the trouble was . . . you didn't earn credits for it.

George Ostrom is the news director of KOFI Radio and a Flathead Publishing Group columnist.