My Montana, By Way of Cuba & Texas

BY ORLANDO SANCHEZ PHOTOS COURTESY OF ORLANDO SANCHEZ

Everybody has a story, with different threads and experiences and family and places we have called home. How Montana became this huge chapter in my life is the story I want to share.

In the early eighties, I returned to my hometown of Houston, Texas, after finishing my U.S. Air Force experience. There I met a friend whose family was from the Quad Cities on the Iowa side of the Big Muddy. My friend’s father, a WWII Navy veteran, had just sold his interest in a business he owned and moved right outside of Missoula, Montana. One day, my friend asked, “Would you like to come visit my dad in Montana?” I agreed, and off we went. What I didn’t know was that was the beginning of a long love affair with the West, the Rockies, nature, good down to earth people and the great state of Montana. It was a yearning in me waiting to be discovered.

Having been born in Havana, Cuba to parents of Spanish descent, my infant years were tumultuous. The Castro forces had just over-run the Cuban government, my parents fled the island and sought refuge in Caracas, Venezuela. My father was a sportscaster, focusing mostly on baseball.

In the early sixties, Houston, Texas, a fledgling Texas Gulf Coast city, was in search of a professional baseball franchise. It succeeded in landing one when Major League Baseball awarded Houston its first baseball franchise, The Colt 45s. From the outset, the team’s management wanted to broadcast the games in Spanish and hired my father. In May of 1962 I arrived in Houston, from Caracas.

In 1962, Houston was on the verge of crossing over the one million mark in population, today the Houston metropolitan area is home to more than 7 million people. Density is increasing, wide open prairie land has been paved, wetlands are no longer, and gridlock is the prevailing order of the day.

Meanwhile, I launched a career in public service, was elected to the Houston City Council, launched two close, but unsuccessful bids for mayor and held the position of County Treasurer. During one of my mayoral campaigns, a friend helping on my campaign and I began a conversation about Montana. I told him my dream was to own a ‘’fishing cabin” in Montana. He shared with me that his parents lived in Bozeman, and they had a longtime relationship with a real estate broker who owned Montana 406.

The introduction was made, and PollyAnna Snyder soon became my agent, and my friend.

PollyAnna found what she thought was the ideal property and emailed me the details. I jumped in the car and drove from Houston to Paradise Valley in December 2013 to Pray, Mt. located just 21 miles south of Livingston on US-89 S. I recalled Pollyanna telling me, “There’s a reason they call it Paradise Valley.” She helped me prepare the contract and the offer was accepted. (continues on page 8)

Today, my affinity for Montana has only deepened, not only for its beautiful topography, but also the people. Their rugged individualism, self-reliance, appreciation for nature, the environment, conservation and sportsmanship are evident and inspiring. As I approach nearly a decade as a property owner and taxpayer, I’ve developed friendships I’m sure will last as long as providence keeps me on this side of the dirt. My fishing guide, whom I met more than ten years ago as one of his clients, is still my guide and friend.

I’ve met folks at the local saloon who, after a couple of mugs from local breweries, invited me to their ranch along the banks of the Yellowstone River to fish their “honey hole.” I’ve hiked to majestic waterfalls, been horseback riding in Gardiner with Hell’s A-Roarin’ Outfitters, whitewater rafting, joined neighbors for outdoor cookouts followed by a gathering of some of the best musicians in the West around a campfire. I’ve served as volunteer and Ex-Officio Director of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, but I don’t miss the Livingston, Mt. Rodeo every July 4th. I’ve ventured over to Big Timer to catch their rodeo as well.

If someone believes that being in Paradise valley means the absence of exquisite cuisine, think again. Great choices abound, from home cooking at the Pray Café, River’s Edge Bar & Grill, The Livery at Old Saloon, Follow Your Nose BBQ, Wild Flour Bakery & Cafe, Pine Creek Lodge to the Sage Lodge and Yellowstone Valley Grill. I promise, you won’t go hungry.

Montana is a spectacular state; so much to see, so much to do. I know many have become fans of the television series “Yellowstone.” There’s a line early in the show where the character Dan Jenkin states, “Cities are the sunsets of civilization, monuments to an exhausted landscape.” While I don’t believe civilization is dying Montana may be the antidote for an exhausted landscape. I know it’s won over my heart!