Oh man, my grampa used to own the Ellen Theater. He took a bath on it. He taught me how (not in my case) to catch fish on the Gallatin, the Madison, Cherry Creek....
Bozeman used to be pretty economically depressed; very hard to find a job. I assume it still is, but with high real estate prices.
The Montana we'd visit every summer exists only in my nostalgia.
35
GlitchyMcGlitchFaceApr 4, 2026
+11
I visited Bozeman in the mid 80’s as a college student - a friend had a temporary gig at MSU-Bozeman. What a fun trip, I loved visiting Bozeman for the oddity of a college town in the middle of…well, as my friend put it, “Bozeman isn’t nowhere, but you can see it (nowhere) from there.”
I doubt I would recognize the place today.
11
YoutubeAmazonChatGPTApr 4, 2026
+3
Yea, my gramps wanted me to go there, I wish I had. Or maybe I don't, because my cousins who grew up there and uncle bemoan how it's changed. I would have been 4th generation. My great-grandmother was a professor at Montana State, even.
I went back, saw the sprawl, saw the Costco (I remember when the first McDonald's went in), and decided I don't ever want to go back.
3
c4upinhisbholeApr 4, 2026
+3
I went back to what I had considered to be my hometown after being away for 30+ years recently. It was weird seeing little oases of memory scattered throughout this now heavily developed and, in my mind, overpopulated landscape. Shared a meal with a friend I hadn’t seen since I was 19 and imagine we were equally horrified with one another. There had been tentative plans to meet up the next day to explore town and catch up a bit more but I woke up early that morning with the strongest urge to flee I’ve ever felt. What I thought might be warm and golden was cold and harsh. And, ultimately, terribly depressing.
3
HikerDave57Apr 4, 2026
+3
When I was a student at Montana State University in the late 1970’s I knew a guy who just decided to go fly fishing and flunk out of all his classes.
I believe that I saw “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the Ellen but my memory of that night is just a little hazy.
3
HikerDave57Apr 4, 2026
+15
After that movie came out fly fishing in Idaho got really crowded.
15
VioarrApr 4, 2026
+14
Such a beautiful movie, a tale of brothers and an allegory for life. It shows that some people while gifted can be cursed with other afflictions, and though those afflictions are pervasive in their lives the individual can still somehow keep their youthful charm.
This and legends of the fall are absolute masterpieces in my opinion.
14
TheFoxandTheSandorApr 4, 2026
+11
That book is an absolute treasure. And the short stories he wrote were great too.
11
YoutubeAmazonChatGPTApr 4, 2026
+5
The first half of "Young Men and Fire" is amazing. The second half, the technical stuff, I didn't get through.
5
rphaneufApr 4, 2026
+3
I enjoyed Bozeman when 19th was still gravel.
3
MeasurementNo0Apr 4, 2026
+1
The mall used to play a river runs through it starting at around 9 am. Id buy a ticket and go in there and skip school and sleep through it. I think I saw the movie in parts about 10 times.
1
ZazmuthApr 4, 2026
+1
"I am haunted by waters."
1
RollingKansas89Apr 5, 2026
+1
Kill the money, save the world.
1
edu51503 days ago
+1
As long as the grass is green, and the sky is blue.
15 Comments