Mays family's Bulldog Saloon, Whitefish
Pub Date: 1/1/2003
The Northwest corner of Montana, though beset by change, retains much of its original small-town, old-west charm defined by It's neighborliness. Folks you meet on the sidewalk look you in the eye and give a little howdy", people pitch in to help with no expectation of compensation'; drivers still yield the right of way to pedestrians and kids.
Flathead area taverns are like that, too, excelling in neighborliness.
In Montana, you have to be a resident to own a liquor and gaming license. That means our watering holes and gaming parlors aren't stamped from some corporate cookie-cutter. They are far from homogenous in appearance, atmosphere, personnel, selection and pricing.
Take the Bulldog Saloon in Whitefish for example.
Havre native Buck May and wife, Linda, a "Butte Rat," looked at the grass on the other side of the fence and found out it wasn't really greener. After earning their BA degrees at Montana State University, they moved near Santa Cruz, Calif., to teach, with Buck also coaching football. But when their kids were born, they decided there was no better place to raise them than back home under The Big Sky.
They took teaching jobs back in Havre (Buck also coached), then Linda opened a small gift shop. Eventually, Linda put a bug in Buck's ear and convinced him to buy The Gallery Lounge, a new bar in the local mall. That's where Buck began his famous collection of Montana sports photos and memorabilia.
"At first it was mostly Havre sports stuff," Buck says, though admits some MSU Bobcat items made their appearance, understandably since Buck had played fullback and linebacker (at 230 lbs.!) for the 'Cats. "We had guards and tackles that only weighed 170 or 190 pounds," he says.
Buck then decided to buy Yeti's (as in Bigfoot) Den in Whitefish. It had, for about 60 years previously, been known as the Pastime. He re-named it the Bulldog Saloon, after the Whitefish high school mascot. Linda stayed behind in Havre to sell the gift shop, The Gallery and the family home, but soon joined Buck in Whitefish.
But sports are still on Buck's mind, which explains why the Bulldog sponsors local softball teams, Little Dribblers basketball, Little League and Legion baseball, soccer, golf league, bowling and more. And that explains why the sports memorabilia collection has expanded exponentially to include dozens, if not hundreds, of college and pro teams.
"We used to sponsor some adult teams but I kind of figure they can pay their own way'; we'll concentrate on the kids," Buck says.
For the last three or four years, Buck has developed a passion for girls fast-pitch softball, especially the pitching aspect. He coaches young ladies from the fifth grade through high school ages.
A few years ago, he says he talked his son, Eric, and Eric's wife, Amy, into moving to the Flathead from Arizona. Eric is now the high school girls softball coach (he has donated his salary back to the program for equipment) and Buck is the pitching coach (donated time, too). Eric and Amy run the Bulldog Grill, an eatery operated in conjunction with the saloon.
"Heck, a regulation aluminum softball bat runs $150," Buck says, in explaining the team's need for equipment support.
The community has successfully run campaigns to build sports facilities including an ice hockey rink, a new track and field facility for the high school and, most recently, a softball/baseball/soccer complex.
"All that was done with donations about two million bucks worth," says Buck. "I guess we've agreed that the Bulldog will be putting up about $5,000 worth of fences" at the newest sports complex, Buck says with a sigh.
So, what exactly does the Bulldog contribute financially to the community? "I wouldn't have a clue," says Buck, "but It's something all the time."
"We contribute considerably less to the professionally run charities," Buck notes. "We like the all-volunteer organizations. We want everything to go right to the kids, not for salaries and administration. Our focus is on youth."
Why?
"Well," Bucks says, "we plan to stay here forever. We have a family operation that we want my kids to take over. We want this family to live in the best community it can, so we have to help that happen."
And, Buck says, the family members all pull their weight in the businesses.
"Eric and Amy do a fine job at the Grill," Buck says. "It's very popular. I'd like to get my daughter, Nikki, and her husband, Casey, (also in Arizona) into the business, too, at some point.
"My wife, Linda, counts the money and runs," he says with a laugh. "She's smart and I'm broke."
"Oh, come on, Buck. You know We're equal partners," Linda says with wink.
Source: Special Reports, Jan. 2002, published by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite, Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.