Dumay recalls a life well lived

Tony Dumay has always loved the woods, even when they were on fire. Dumay grew up in Columbia Falls, graduating in 1959. He started fighting fires at 18 with his identical twin brother Tom.

The two were talented athletes and honor students. They played football, basketball and track in high school. Tom walked on at the University of Montana and made the baseball team, even though he rarely played the sport as a youth. Tony was good at track — his favorite event was the javelin — and he also attended UM.

But tragedy struck the family. Tom drowned while scuba diving in Lake McDonald on June 28, 1963. A member of Flathead Search and Rescue, he was searching for a little boy who had drowned.

A senior memorial award was set up at the Columbia Falls High School in honor of Tom in 1965 by his fiancée, Sandy Westre, and his parents, Harold and Otha Dumay. For several years, Otha gave the award to the winner, but Tony stayed away.

It brought up some tough memories. Tony went on to get a master’s degree and taught high school science in Oregon. He moved back to Columbia Falls and taught junior high science here until 1994. Then he went to work for the Forest Service as a forest protection officer and a firefighter.

Tony especially liked fighting fires. The first fire he ever went on was with his brother, up the Middle Fork of the Flathead. They rode in on mules and then climbed a mountain to a 2-3 acre small fire. Dumay said he liked the smaller fires — men really worked on those. Big fires came with big crews, and firefighters didn’t work as hard, he noted.

As a protection officer, he spent eight years patrolling the Jewel Basin. He ran the trails and even conducted a rodent study there. His pack weighed 115 pounds during the study, loaded with gear and rodent live traps. When he released a pika he trapped, it ran into a corner then turned around and bit him in the hand before taking off.

Dumay had plenty of run-ins with grizzly bears. One grizzly cleared out a camp along the Hungry Horse Reservoir. He remembered everyone standing on top of a fifth-wheel trailer as the bear wandered around camp. They were all pointing at the bear telling Tony do something. But a protection ranger doesn’t carry a gun — all he had was bear spray. Still, he was able to shoo the bear out of there, at least for a little while.

Tony was also an avid hunter. He recalled bowhunting for deer with a friend in the Rattlesnake Wilderness outside of Missoula when he saw a mountain lion circling him.

The two came close, making eye contact, and Tony shot the cat with an arrow. The cat took off into a thicket on a steep hillside, and Tony followed.

“It sounds corny, but I put my knife in my mouth,” he said. “Because I knew I couldn’t draw the bow fast enough in that brush if he came after me.”

The cat was badly wounded, and Tony was able to hit it with another arrow and kill it. Carrying the cat out was challenge, however. He slung the animal over his shoulders but started sliding down the slope in the snow, heading toward some big trees.

He stopped just in time — a second cat was prowling around. Tony got a shot off and missed, and the cat went running toward his friend. The friend also got off a shot but missed.

Back at the truck, the friend began telling Tony about his cat encounter. Tony listened quietly, not letting on that he knew what happened. When the friend was done, he opened the tailgate to reveal the cat he’d shot.

The hunting and hiking days are over now. Tony has had two knee replacements and shoulder surgery.

Tony worked as a substitute teacher at the high school after retirement. For most of his teaching career, he never talked about the Dumay award. If someone asked, he’d say, yes, that was his brother, but little else.

Recently, however, he called McKenna Emmerich, this year’s recipient, to congratulate her. He said he remembered her from classes he taught. Emmerich graduated in June and is a freshman at Gonzaga University.

The Dumay Award isn’t just about being the best athlete — it’s about being a good person. Tony, at 72, will present the award during the home basketball game against Flathead High School on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m.

The time is right, Tony notes.

It’s been 50 years since his brother passed away, and his health is failing. But he’s had a life well lived. And who can ask more than that?