Liquid Louie's a Swan Valley landmark
By Cole Boehler
Ah, the Swan Valley...
To the west lies the rugged and beautiful Mission Mountains and the Mission Mountain Wilderness area. To the east, the magnificent Swan Range crowned by Pyramid Peak, the gateway to the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
In between the valley is drained to the south by the Clearwater River, and to the north, the Swan River. All along the valley floor is a chain of lakes starting with Salmon Lake at the southern end, followed by Placid, Seeley, Inez, Alva and Rainy Lakes. Off to the west a bit is Lindberg and to the east is Holland. At the north end of the valley is a crown jewel, Swan Lake.
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Rollie Bigley and his wife Valli run Liquid Louie’s in Condon.
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It is wonderful country teeming with deer bear, elk, lion and moose, naturally very popular with the hunting set. The fishing in area rivers and lakes is also as productive as it gets. Ample winter snowfall makes this valley a Mecca for snowmobilers.
In short, it's an outdoorsman's paradise, largely unspoiled and unpopulated, though real estate sales and development is becoming a major economic engine.
Some folks discovered this quiet, heavily timbered valley decades ago; others more recently. One of those who knew this place before it was "discovered" is Rollie Bigley.
He's knocked around some during his 71 years: born in Hardin, junior high years in Bozeman, then Kalispell, where his dad used to take him fishing in the various "honey holes" found up and down the Swan Valley, as well as Yellowstone Park and nearby Hebgen Lake.
He wound up graduating high school in San Diego. He joined the Marine Corps in 1956 and served six years. Upon discharge he found good work as a meat cutter for a wholesale meat company that supplied many of the emerging fast-food restaurants in California. He even tried his hand at carpentry for awhile.
Still, he had a yearning to return to the Swan and finally got the opportunity to do so full-time when he bought Liquid Louie's in 1987. The little roadhouse is at a wide spot in the road known as Condon, which is centered in the valley and is probably considered quite remote by the standards of most folks.
He told the Montana Tavern Times in early June the place was founded by a dashing local character named Louie Krause who operated it from 1907 to 1952.Indeed, a several pictures of Krause adorn the walls, and he could almost be mistaken for Clarke Gable, and resembles a latter day Indiana Jones in his western getup.
"He used to declare, 'I'm Louie the Seventh,'" laughs Bigley.
The original Louie's was across Highway 83 and about a quarter mile to the south. The modern version, he says was built and opened in the 1940s. Louie Krause is said to have died when he fell off the roof shoveling snow, but Bigley says there was also speculation an aneurism may have precipitated the fall.
The structure has seen some additions over the years and today is sort of the Condon museum, with the walls filled with historical photographs, many of them documenting successful hunting ventures featuring elk with massive racks and huge bears and lions.
The place has a very homey and comfy feel, something you'd expect of a tavern actually run by the owners, Rollie and Valli Bigley.
You can get a good variety of cold beer there and the full assortment of the usual cocktails, but you can't get a meal.
"We used to have an outdoor barbecue grill," Bigley recalls, "but the health department made us shut it down."
The little saloon appears to have a very loyal local clientele and no doubt snags its share of thirsty travelers heading to or from Glacier National Park, an hour to the north.
"We have a big party every year the last Saturday of July," Bigley says. "A lot of California friends come and spend a few days." He shows us a very nicely set-up beer garden to the rear complete with shelters, picnic tables, a dance floor, a stage and areas for bars and barbecue.
"I sell Coors beer for $1 and we sell mixed drinks, too. I provide the meat – we did whole pigs for a long time, then bottom round beef roasts, now pork loins in an aluminum boat cooking in their own juices and sauce – and the guests provide the potluck side dishes. We have live music and, depending on the weather, we may have around 200 people."
He says Liquid Louie's sponsors league pool teams (there are two pool tables and five video gaming machines), hosts wedding receptions and so on. It's open seven days a week, from noon "until it slows down – maybe 10 p.m. or so, or even 2 a.m. if it's busy."
"When I took over, there were two kinds of beer and some old schnapps," he says. "A beer and shot of schnapps was $1.25. It took time to build the business up and it's still getting better. The (Oct. 1, 2009) smoking ban hurt a little but some of them quit and the rest go out on the porch."
Life at Liquid Louie's has been relatively placid, Bigley says.
"I used to hunt deer, elk, pronghorn; I loved it," he says, indicating that many of the trophies decorating the place are his. "But I'm getting old and can't walk like I used to. I broke my foot and ankle last winter, then a week later cracked my shin bone."
Bigley tells the story of how he met his attractive wife, Valli, his fourth spouse, and married her back in 1996. One gets the sense the story may be a little embellished to enhance its telling.
"Valli came up here to get married (Valli's parents live in the area), and the guy coming to marry her never showed up. I hated to see her make that trip for noting, so I told her I'd marry her. That's the end of the story. We got married sitting on her piano bench at her place in Denver.
"She works very hard," Bigley says. "She does the books; she's very efficient. She's fit in with the area socially. She didn't hesitate" in her decision to relocate from the big city to remotest Montana. "I only take shifts when I have to ... yesterday. I've really been hurting," Bigley says with some sadness.
"The bar business has paid the bills, helped build a home. I've got a couple of offers ... I'm 71 and I'm about ready to get out. I'd like to go fishing again."