Bigfork men share special bond over common interests

It was fate or perhaps an act of God that brought Peter Drowne and Daniel Banegas together.

Banegas had just relocated to Bigfork from Arizona, and had started attending CrossRoads Christian Fellowship. There, he met Drowne and something clicked.

“Right from the start it just seemed like we felt very comfortable with each other, and in ways we’d known each other longer than we had,” Drowne said. “He’s my brother that I never had. You don’t know how the Lord works in your life, and that was a good way.”

Coming from Arizona, Banegas wasn’t prepared for a Montana winter, and Drowne took it upon himself to be sure Banegas and his wife had everything they needed.

“We just trade back and forth and help each other like brothers would,” Drowne said.

The pair quickly learned that they had a lot in common — a fondness for stories, history, hunting, fishing, artifacts, hand-made items and nature.

“Daniel and I have so many things in common,” Drowne said. “We’ve got hunting in common and the love of the Lord in common.”

Though their interests are similar, their backgrounds are not.

Drowne is an only child who grew up in New Hampshire. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1962 with a history degree. He attained a master’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in motion picture production and spent over 50 years making documentary films. Twelve of those years were with Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. He made two award-winning films for the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society.  His work took him to every continent except Antarctica and he has hunted all over Africa and his den or “trophy room,” as Banegas would call it, features numerous exotic mounts.

Drowne was always fascinated with history and westward expansion and moved to Bigfork in 1982. He bought land and lived in a tipi while he built his home. He gives presentations on western history and has long been a hunter- education instructor for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Banegas, on the other hand, grew up in a large family in Arizona with three brothers and two sisters. He quit school after the eighth grade so he could start working. He works as a stonemason and moved to Bigfork in 2006 when his boss in Arizona hoped to start another branch of the company in Montana. However, the company went under and Banegas found himself stuck in Bigfork.

“It’s a good place to get stuck,” he said. “I fell in love with the area.”

Banegas loves arrowheads, and learned to make them about 15 years ago. “I was interested in arrowheads like every little boy, but I never grew out of it,” he said.

Drowne and Banegas combine their skills for presentations, such as wwhen Flathead Lake Lodge hosts the International Fellows, a class of military leaders from around the world attending the War College in Washington D.C. For about the last 10 years Doug Averill has invited Drowne to give a presentation on historic firearms and western history.

When Drowne met Banegas, he started coming along and bringing the artifacts he creates. The pair dress in buckskins and answer questions about the artifacts and firearms.

“Between the two of us, we’re a very good duo,” Drowne said. “They’re exposed to part of our western history as it really was. We’re proud to represent that with these people.”

Drowne and Banegas can also be spotted in their buckskins every year in Bigfork’s Independence Day Parade. 

Though they do things together for the public, like artifact and history presentations, their bond goes much deeper than just that shared interest, and they spend a lot of time together enjoying another’s company.

Both like to work with their hands and make leather work, carvings and paintings. Banegas enjoys working with bone, and makes handcrafted knifes.

“We’re hand made guys,” Drowne said. They’ll work together sharing tools and tips. Drowne has a lamp, custom knives and an ammo bag Banegas crafted for him. 

They can often be found out hunting. Both enjoy archery, hunting for ducks, deer and elk. Recently Drowne and Banegas returned from hunting antelope in Wyoming. 

“One of the reasons we’re here is so we can go hunting and fishing at the drop of a hat,” Drowne said.

And while they do aim to be successful in their hunting, and brought back a nice buck from Wyoming, that’s not the only reason they hunt so much.

“Our way of looking at what is a trophy, is a memory,” Drowne said. “You get a behind-the-scenes look at the real nature. We’ll be down there and there will be no ducks at all but we’ll have a great time.”

“We all have stories to tell,” Drowne said. “I keep learning new things about Daniel and he learns new things about me, and that’s what makes the relationship good. If my spirit is a little gray and I want to talk to Daniel about it, I can.”

“If we don’t see each other, we call each other a lot,” Banegas said. “I really cherish that relationship that we’ve got. He’s highly educated and I’m not educated at all. He tells everyone he’s my brother, which I love. 

“It feels really good to know somebody like that can call you brother.”