Author
Corinne is a writer living in Bozeman, Montana where she teaches writing and ESL at Montana State University. She has taught in Italy, China, and most recently, Nepal.
She earned a B.S. in Paralegal Studies from New Hampshire College, and a Master’s Degree in English and Non-Fiction Writing from the University of Iowa, and ESL Teacher Certification in Florece, Italy. She has published several articles in regional Western magazines.
Articles and Publications
Lifetimes Spent in the West
–Corinne Richardson
Tales like these are liable to vanish when we lose the storytellers. In an effort to preserve such narratives and the history that lives within them, Mountain Outlaw gathered the memories of some exceptional residents of the Northern Rockies. In the process, we learned an important lesson about seizing the moment.
One of our intended subjects, 95-year-old Irwin Allen of Ryegate, Montana, passed away on April 6 before we could conduct his interview. Irwin was born in Rothiemay, Montana, in 1923 and grew up on his family’s homestead there.
Irwin worked hard on his Ryegate ranch, but he also carved out time for his many hobbies, including restoring antique cars and tractors, flying his Piper Super Cub airplane, and hunting big game. Irwin was also an avid photographer, and took a camera with him nearly everywhere he went, including frequent trips to Alaska.
In the following pages, you’ll find stories captured and chronicled by Bozeman writer Corinne Richardson. Her search for rich anecdotes took her around the region, from Browning, Montana, near the border of Glacier National Park, to Hoback Canyon south of Jackson Hole. What she found, coupled with the loss of Irwin, made us realize that there is no time to waste if these tales are to outlast their source. We encourage you to sit down with the older people in your lives and tease out the histories that are sitting there in plain sight—you may be astonished at what you find.