Bond saying Good-bye

After more than 43 years with the Columbia Falls Community Choir, director Ron Bond will conduct his last concert this year.

The affable Bond founded the choir and has been its director for most of those four-plus decades.

“I wanted it to be a Columbia Falls organization,” he said during an interview last week.

But it’s grown beyond that, with a reputation for excellence that draws singers and musicians from across Flathead County. The first choir had 37 members. A couple of years ago it had as many as 110 and this year it has more than 80.

Bond said directing the choir is a full-time job. Every year, almost as soon as the concert ends, he starts listening to and going through 100s of songs that are candidates for the next year’s show.

It’s a labor of love, but at 80, Bond said it’s time to say good-bye. Steve Holte, a talented Columbia Falls singer and director in his own right, will take over next year.

Bond’s roots in music come from an unlikely place — he grew up in Walkerville, the rough and tumble Montana town perched above the Berkeley pit. He was a talented athlete, playing basketball, baseball and even a little boxing. When he was in his early teens, he was pitching against the 17 and 18-year-olds.

He attended Rocky Mountain College in Billings. He said he tried to get a an English scholarship and thought he’d done great on the test, only to find out he hadn’t.

But he did get a $300 scholarship for music, which allowed him to go to college and changed the course of his life.

He played baseball for Rocky and was a starting pitcher. At first, his teammates thought he was a preacher, because he studied music and was straight-laced.

“You don’t drink, you don’t smoke and we never hear you swear,” he recalled his teammates saying.

After college, Bond came to Columbia Falls and taught music at the junior high and high schools for 26 years. He also coached junior high basketball, youth baseball, Babe Ruth and the Glacier Twins along the way.

He married his wife Mary 32 years ago and credits her for his success.

“She’s the No. 1 person that makes me go,” he said.

And Bond is always on the go. He hates to sit around. He loves to hike in Glacier National Park and has logged thousands of miles in its hills. One his favorite hikes is the Dawson-Pitamakan Loop, with a stop to fish around Old Man Lake. It’s a trip he was doing well into his late 70s — in a day. Most people take a couple of days to do the 20-plus mile hike.

He’s says he’s slowed down a little bit since — but not too much. A 10-plus mile hike isn’t out of the norm.

Bond said the people involved in the choir have made it special over the years. Board members Munch Woods, Jack Polzin and Maryanne Pitman have been great help.

“This choir couldn’t go without them,” he said. “They’ve been with me for years.”

The choir is a diverse bunch.

“We have good musicians and some who can’t read music at all,” he said. For those who can’t read music, Bond makes piano recordings of their parts so they can practice at home.

The choir is a big family, but Bond doesn’t give them any slack, either.

“To me, there’s no such thing as partly right,” he said. “It’s got to be right.”

They practice for months prior to the concert. Many sing three times a week.

Bond looks forward to getting more hiking in his “retirement.”

“If I drop dead on the trail, I’m fine with that,” he said with a big smile.

The free concerts are 7 p.m. April 8 and 2 p.m. April 9 at the Columbia Falls High School Little Theater.