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Jim Moore Biography
“I came from a home where reading was encouraged. My parents both enjoyed books so the house was filled with reading material and I took advantage of it from a young age. I suppose my interest in writing flowed from that. My wife, Kay, and I continue to be voracious readers.
“Along the highway from the family ranch near Two Dot to Bozeman, the old Jawbone road bed is visible at places. In passing by, it often occurred to me that a good yarn could be wrapped around the story of the railroad. One day, about twelve years ago, I just decided to see if I could write the yarn. Thus came into being Ride the Jawbone.
“ In retirement I've continued to write. Completed novel length manuscripts include The Jenny, The Body on the Floor of the Rotunda, and Election Day. I've also put together about eight short stories that seem to have merit.
“ My grandfather and his brother were soldiers in the army of the south during the Civil War. At the war end, they were discharged in Georgia and had to work their way home to Missouri -- only to arrive there and find that their widowed mother had left for the mining camps of the west. I'm now using their experience as the basis for another novel length manuscript. In it, Thaddeus C Bruce -- father of the protagonist in Jawbone -- and his brother are the principal characters. The manuscript is proving to be a series of vignettes -- tales of those the brothers encounter along the way. I'm about one hundred pages into the tale. Title? Thad and Silas.
“ Because writing has been merely a pass time, my writing habits have been erratic. During the summer months I spend much time out of doors -- so my writing has taken place mostly during the winter. Since you've given me encouragement -- led me to think my offering is worth publication -- I've tried to work with more diligence. Now try to write some each day -- even if it's only a sentence or two.
“A short story entitled Swamp was published in the Big Sky Journal a few years ago. Another entitled The Proposal was published in the online magazine Copperfield Express also some years ago. What can best be called personal essays have been published in The Montana Lawyer -- what it's like to be senior partner in a law firm -- and in a now defunct magazine called The Western Cattleman -- a bronc ride at a rodeo.”
He was born Perry James (Jim) Moore III in Lewistown, Montana on December 21, 1927. He grew up on ranches and in small towns in Montana: Two Dot, Martinsdale, and Lewistown—and then Santa Barbara, California before moving back to the Moore Ranch at Two Dot.
He attended the Two Dot grade school, graduated from Harlowton High School in 1945 and enlisted in the navy. Discharged from the navy, he enrolled in the University of Montana at Missoula in the fall of 1946. He transferred to Montana State University in the fall of 1948 and graduated from that institution in 1952 with a degree in Agricultural Economics.
At Montana State he met Kathryn Nash. They were married on June 28, 1954 in Holy Rosary Church in Bozeman and made their home on the Moore Ranch. Three children – Dianne, Perry and Steven were born to the marriage.
Jim studied the law at their home on the ranch and was successful in passing the bar examination. He practiced law in Harlowton and then in Bozeman, while maintaining his interest in the ranch.In addition to the ranch and his law practice, Jim was involved in a number of other activities and associations.
AGRICULTURE
.Director of Montana Stockgrowers Association
Trustee of the Farm Credit Banks of Spokane
Director of Montana Livestock Ag Credit Inc.
LEGAL
Board of Visitors to the School of Law at the University of Montana
Trustee of Montana Legal Services
State Bar of Montana -- Committee on Professionalism and Ethics
State Bar of Montana -- Fair Trial – Free Press Committee
Recipient of the prestigious William J. Jamison Award
EDUCATION
Adjunct Professor of Agricultural Law at Montana State University
Trustee of the Museum of the Rockies
Member of the Advisory Council for the College of Business at MSU
Member of the President's Council of 50 at the University of Montana
Selected, at the time of its centennial, as one of 100 Montana State
University distinguished graduates
CIVIC
State Senator – Minority Leader two legislative sessions
Member State Lottery Commission
Member of the Governor's Committee on Education
In keeping with his sense of humor and love for life and people, Jim added these quotes and quips to his bio:
COMPLIMENTS I APPRECIATED
Dave Manning served in the Montana legislature longer than anyone else in the United States.Once, during a gathering of senators, he said, "During my years in the State Senate I've seen lots of floor leaders come and go. Jim Moore is the best."
Ernie Jellison was an old hand who had worked on lots of ranches. Once when we were doing things with the livestock, he said, "By God, Jim, you sure work cattle good!"
QUIPS THAT TICKLED ME
A new client came to town and wanted to go a round of golf. Mark Refling and I took him to Valley View. As we were strolling along between shots, the client asked, "Do you ski, Jim?"
"I ski about like I play golf."
Whereupon Mark said, "No one can ski that bad."
_________
Son Steve had just taken up the game of golf. I thought I'd give him a video with golf tips. At the video store I asked, "Do you have one that tells you how to play golf?"
A voice behind me yelled, "Give him one that tells you how to practice law. He needs that worse." (Fellow lawyer and friend, Dick Andriolo)
ONE COMPLIMENT THAT LEFT ME SPEECHLESS.
The Bair sisters attended a gathering at my Mother's house. It was a warm sunshiny day and the Hereford cattle through which they drove as they came into the ranch looked their best. When they were leaving, Marguerite said, "We didn't know you were a cattleman, Jimmy. We thought you were just an intellectual."
In exuberance, he adds:
I GOT TO LIVE MY LIFE WITH KAY!!
AND SHE'S GIVEN ME A LIFE BETTER THAN ANY FAIRY TALE.
It’s been my pleasure to meet and get to know this quiet but remarkable man who has made an impact on the world, at least on Montana. My hope is that his books will have an even wider influence to be enjoyed by anyone interested in the history of the west and a good yarn. —Janet Muirhead Hill, president, Raven Publishing, Inc