Mountain Men

Thanks for posting. Tom was/is a good friend of the family. When my grandparents retired to the Yaak Valley in 1972, Tom & Nancy lived right next door to them. At the time, Tom rode the rodeo circuit, and the stories Nancy shared with us made me wonder how on earth he was even still mobile. He trapped & hunted, and walked miles every day. For his age, he's doing very well.

It's a small world: I had no idea Tom & Nancy were featured on Mountain Men. In 2015, we were on a family vacation in Downieville, California, and we ran into a couple who were from Libby, Montana. (I lived in Libby from 1984-85.) I mentioned that my grandmother had lived in the Yaak Valley, and the guy says, "oh, yeah, up where Tom & Nancy Oar live." I was absolutely stunned - I hadn't talked to Tom or Nancy for at least 25 years or more, and I run into a guy here in Northern California who knew the Yaak Valley and the Oars.

I called Tom when we got back home, and we talked for a while about all that's happened for the least quarter century. He even remembered the time that I saw a hat he'd made out of a skunk pelt, with the tail sticking straight up. (How he skinned the skunk without rupturing the scent glands I'll never know.) I cradled it in may arms, and held it so it looked real. I took it back to my grandmother's house, knocked on the back door, and told my Grandmother that a critter was hit by a car. She thought it was real, slammed the door, and cussed at me, Tom, and anyone else within earshot. :D

Tom mentioned that the show producers did like to add a little more drama to their filming. He & Nancy are - and always were - so laid back and easygoing that I was actually surprised that the producers wanted them on the show.

~Chris
 
Tom Oar is definitely the real deal, I think he's originally from the mid west. Anyone that's been on the rodeo circuit for any length of time has my respect. One of my buddies rode a bucking horse (on a liquor fueled bet) quite a few years ago. He looked like a bicycle wheel with half the spokes missing when he walked out of the arena, "ain't never gonna do that again".

Eustace is as eccentric as they come but is a pretty savvy businessman, he's figured out that city folks will pay him for the privilege of "experiences" like everyday chores on his Turtle Island "Preserve".
 
I watch those shows..... a lot of them. Most of it is just "they're on" and I peek at them from time to time. I even like the Browns and I can't figure out why. That situation is changing however very quickly with the mother (wife) having cancer. The show where Eustace made the table was interesting but I think they valued it a bit high for the city folks. The guy in the cave in Ozarks is interesting, but something tells me that we wouldn't get along real well, but I the lighting he rigged up was certainly interesting.
 
I have not watched Mountain Men as I do not have cable. We have watched Life Below Zero on Netflix.
Over the last 20 years I have bought mammoth tusks from
Chip Hailstone several times. He is the real deal. I visited him in his home when he was living in the village of Deering. I was told he spent some time in jail this year.
Over the last thirty years I have traded with quite a few folks living in the bush. There are not as many as there used to be.
 
I and my girl like to watch them. I particularly enjoy Eustace as I grew up in W.V. doing some of the things he does.
I sure hated to hear of Preston passing, he seemed to be a good man and a good friend.
 
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