SigMT

74 | SignatureMT Haying at the Rocking W Ranch gives a person an opportunity to be outside on a beautiful morning. Photo courtesy of the Tim Beck family. Buck rakes at the Rocking W Ranch have replaced horses. Usually made of a retired or wrecked vehicle, the buck rake is used to pick up the hay from the field and scoot it onto the forks of the beaverslide basket. Photo courtesy of the Tim Beck family. any repairs. "We will continue to use the beaverslide process for several reasons," said Tim Beck. "To do the raking and mowing calls for smaller equipment that we already have; we don't sell any hay that would need to be baled to be transported; it is ready in stacks to be used in each meadow; it is a family event that our children and their families take part in; and we look forward to teaching our grandchildren to continue the tradition." A memory that the family holds dear was when Tim's parents were still ranching. Tim's mother was a school teacher, and she believed in always learning something new. "Every day of hay season, she would serve lunch and give us all a break. She would always have a trivia type question that everyone would try to answer. e person who answered or came close to answering the question received a dollar. Each person, even the men in the family, was excited about winning that dollar," said Tracy Beck. An article wrien thirty years ago about beaverslides was titled "Hay Days of the Beaverslide Stacker Aren't Over Yet." e same title could be used today because beaverslides and haystacks still dot the Lile Blackfoot and the Big Hole Rivers areas in Montana. e interested observer can see the action of puing up hay using a beaverslide and horses at the National Historic Site Grant-Kohrs Ranch at Deer Lodge, Montana. Check the schedule at hps://www.nps.gov/grko/ planyourvisit/calendar.htm. MT S

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