Ramblin' Man Ron Garwood Hosts Book Signing

Ron Garwood's stories flow like a river from him, bending into an unexpected oxbow as the story twists and turns, drifting off into tributaries as asides from the main flow, and erupting into rapids as they evoke laughter. "The stories jump around a lot but that's just how my writing is," he said at a book signing at the Pioneer Museum on Dec. 19 for his collection entitled, Ron's Ramblings: Characters, Critters and Us Cantankerous Rednecks.

Though he is a self-proclaimed redneck, and proud of it, the man proves far from cantankerous, at least at the local signing. Garwood is gregarious, spinning tale after tale - some from his book, some from his life. He can be at times difficult to follow, but if one does, the story is worth it. He is a collector of people and stories: his book a way to share the history of the region he loves and honor his friends. "The stories will be lost if we don't write them down," he reflected.

"A good friend (Jim Arneson) kept asking when am I gonna get the book done and he died about three months ago," Garwood related. "And I thought I really had to get this done. He was in a lot of the stories." Garwood had been working on his book for nine years before completing it this year. Computer problems led to a delay in publishing. The story of his story started after he had told a friend of his, James B. Kurz, to write his own story, after Garwood met him while Kurz was paddling the Milk River.

Kurz wrote "We Were On the Missouri - 2005" and invited Garwood to write a chapter. "He got me going on writing," said Garwood, who contributed a lengthy chapter to Kurz's book. Garwood's friend, Isabelle Collins gave Garwood grief about his late-bloomer career as a writer, saying the 75-year-old author was "this guy that hated English." She recalled telling him to just be quiet and behave when the younger Garwood was giving their high school English teachers a hard time.

For his part, Garwood claims he "learned all [he] needed from my freshman English teacher, Irma Badt and [he] didn't need anymore." Though he credits punctuation check and spell check for helping him with his endeavor. He also gives post-publication credit to his daughter, Stacy, who served as his editor. She declined credit in the book after learning the title, according to Garwood. "Dad, we know you're a redneck," she told him in his sharing, "but you don't have to be so proud of it."

Of course, Garwood also credits his wife of 51 years, Patty, in his accomplishment. At his book signing, Garwood related the story of how he and she met, complete with with a character named George Jones, though he was quick to point out it was not "the" George Jones who played a role in him finding the love of his life after ditching her in the middle of the dance floor before introductions had been made.

At his signing, Garwood had on hand two photographs of his father's friend, Jack Nickels, who featured in Garwood's stories of his grandparents and his folks. Garwood shared that the 100-year-old Nickels received one of the first copies of the book on the first day Valley View opened back up to the public. Garwood was proud that he could share his "local Montana history story" with the gentleman who had been a part of his father's stories.

"I kind of enjoy telling stories of the old days," Garwood said Saturday. And by the response he had, it is clear that many here love hearing and reading those stories. Copies of the book were sold out shortly after the signing started, and several attendees walked out empty handed. Garwood promises that more books are on the way for those who missed out the first round. More copies should be available this Thursday, Christmas Eve, at the Pioneer Museum for those looking for a last-minute gift.

The self-published author said he should break just about even, money-wise, if he able to sell the 100 copies of his book he has coming in this week. "Costs quite a bit of money," to self publish he laughed, but as a true storyteller, he did not do it for the money. "I did it for the enjoyment of telling the stories," he added. His unique voice on the page and his stories of local characters are sure to bring laughter to any reader who also enjoys tales of the good old days of Valley County and beyond.