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A Place In Time

by Roger Longpre; as told to Janice Longpre

206 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #06-2311; ISBN 1-4251-0553-x; US$17.00, C$19.55, EUR13.96, £9.77

The true story of a life of adventure in the primitive mountain country of western Montana. Depicting childhood circa 1940, the anecdotal narrative ends in the present, showing the pain of progress.

About the Book

Time has not dimmed my memories of our ranch on Petty Creek, and it seems necessary to recount tales of living there. I don't know why, except that the country slides into focus as a place out of time, and worthy of mention in a foreign world that developed around it.

So begins the introduction to A Place In Time, the story of a man's journey from an unrestrained youth as he hunted and survived in the natural, rugged mountain world of the Indian, to his desperate attempt to hold onto that life as the world changed around him.

His mountain environment was filled with colorful characters, each of them contributors to a kaleidoscope of intrigue, humor, and adventure, both on the ranch and in surrounding areas.

A reciprocal dependence of men and animals is vividly portrayed through the horses who trailed the mountain world with him, some of them previously not touched by man. Some accounts of animal companions end tragically in their vigorous existence; all of them touch sympathies of those who harbor an appreciation of the natural world.

The story's owner is older now, but very much alive. The account of his life and location, however, are distant in the experience of most in today's world. His life surpasses the boundaries of his own region, bringing the reader to confront in the end, the painful changes that have been inflicted upon his wilderness world.

A Place In Time is a vibrant account of the way many would like it to be again, the way most never knew it was.

About the Author

When Roger Longpre left Petty Creek, Montana, he eventually settled in southern Idaho where he lives with his wife, Janice, at the edge of a mountain village.

Janice joined him near the end of the Petty Creek experience, but their life together continued in the same tradition of rugged adventure that has characterized all of Roger's existence.

The addition of years and a series of injuries have finally softened Roger's resilience, but he continues to live his past adventure through his stories that are sought today by both young and old. His story was written because those who rode with him believe that his unique contribution to western history should be shared beyond his borders.

His horses are few in numbers now, but he is still passionate about them, and even more so about passing on his legacy to a little girl named Montana, who calls him Grandpa.

Excerpts

Reviews

""A Place in Time" by Roger Longpre as told to Janice Longpre (Trafford Publishing, $17).

What a lovely contribution to local histories is Roger Longpre's "A Place in Time," which recounts his years on a Petty Creek ranch.

"Forty miles southwest of Missoula, Montana is not the end of civilization, but the rugged mountains that grow there made it seem so," he writes.

Petty Creek flowed past the Longre family's tiny log house and barn. Their handful of cattle wandered, mostly unseen, through the timber.

"I simply grew into that country, as children do, until I was old enough to remember my life there," Longpre writes.

"That happened when I was 5, and it was then that I took up the business of living on Petty Creek."

And so we hear Longpre's stories of working, playing, hunting and surviving - and ultimately of trying, desperately so, to hold onto that life as the world around him changed.

"Time has dimmed my memories of our ranch on Petty Creek, and it seems necessary to recount tales of living there. I don't know why, except that the country slides into focus now as a place out of time and worthy of mention in a foreign world that developed it."

In Missoula, Longpre's memoir is available at Waldenbooks and Barnes & Noble."

Sherry Devlin
The Missoulian