FAMILY TRADITIONS

Montana history is ripe with stories of the many families who braved the elements and trekked northwest into the mountains. These hardy folk sought to colonize the wild, and to scratch out a living from it. Many of their descendants still call these mountains home, and teach their children to hunt, just as they were taught to, and their parents were taught to. These traditions live on in several families throughout Sanders County, and many names like Hill and Bierwagen still come to mind when talking of the families who have remained.

Dave Hill remembers a time when his mother eked out a living while Montana, and Sanders County, were still wild. Her name was Edna Hill and her parents came to the area from Utah in 1905 in a covered wagon. By 16, Edna would saddle her horse, take her dog and spend days out in the mountains. "She learned a lot of this country by doing that," said Dave, Edna's oldest son. "She was setting herself up, without knowing it, to be an outfitter later in life," he added. Edna started guiding in 1968 at 46 years old and was the first woman in Sanders County to have an outfitter license. According to Dave, becoming a guide was a natural transition for Edna, but it was also more than that. For her, it was more than a source of income for her family; it was literally a way to survive. She fed her kids simply by the food they grew in the garden and the meat she brought home from hunting. "That's all we had," explained Dave, who got his first elk at 12 years old.

Dave started guiding at 14 and would later become an outfitter at 24. He and his three brothers were brought up to hunt, and three of the four boys eventually outfitted at some point. Today, Dave has four daughters, and three of them show real interest in hunting tradition, he said.

Dave says he took his daughters hunting with him starting when they were very young, and as soon as they were old enough to legally hunt, he started working with them. He told them, "If you're going to be a hunter, you have to go out there and earn that animal." To him, it is important to do it right, and not just hunt from the road. He sees a deep importance in the lifestyle. Not only is the thrill of the hunt and the idea of "competing against the animal, trying to live" important, but Dave believes it may one day be necessary "for them to be able to put meat on the table, if they had to."

Dave imagines his daughters are going to work with their kids to keep the tradition alive. Two of his daughters are considering going into guiding themselves, like their father and grandmother before them. According to Dave, his daughter Skylar "wants to be just like her grandmother."

Another local descendant, Tony Bierwagen, said his family moved onto the same piece of land, on which he now lives, in 1936. They moved west from North Dakota after having left a German community. Bierwagen

explained this was because his grandfather wanted them to become "more American." They then started a dairy farm and hunted for much of their food. The family also traded for items with other local families.

Bierwagen has been hunting since he was 12 years old and has since gained a reputation as a prolific hunter. He started with antelope and moved on to other species. He then got into bow hunting as a way to extend his hunting season, but grew to love the sport. He has trained nearly 3,000 people in basic archery skills and has had over 250 advanced students. He is also a part of the Thompson Falls Archery Club and taught as a 4-H leader. His students have gone on to win 140 state championships and two national championships. Bierwagen himself is a sponsored competition archer and has competed throughout Montana, as well as places such as Seattle and California.

Bierwagen taught his children to hunt, but says he never forced them to go out. "I don't push hunting. I let them ask for what they want," he said. One of his granddaughters has gotten into the sport, and Bierwagen is thrilled. She got her first deer last year, and Bierwagen says she now has the bug. "She's ready to go again this year," he said. For him, hunting is crucial because it is important to "know what you're eating, and what it took to get that." He also cites the adventures and stories as big reasons for the continuance of hunting traditions. With his granddaughter possibly taking up the torch, Bierwagen said, "It's one of the delights of my life (hunting), and to have her join in on that is very special." He foresees many more adventures and family bonding to come, just as he had, his parents had and his grandparents before them.