Stan Lynde - 1931
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I. Biography
Stan Lynde was born on September 23, 1931 in Billings, Montana. The first child of Myron Wayne and Eleanor Lynde, he became a third-generation native. Lynde grew up on the Crow Indian Reservation, near Lodge Grass. The Lynde garden and gun always kept the family fed.
Lynde's father had hard luck finding a job and staying out of debt, but he finally managed to get a job as a sheepherder. The family moved from one type of home to another as they followed the sheep. Though the times were hard, Lynde loved the outdoors and the ranch hands that were friends of the Lynde family.
In 1937, Lynde started school and left his parents and new little sister, Chris, to following the sheep. He went to stay during the school year with his Uncle George and Aunt Catherine. Lynde loved the new world of the classroom, teacher, and peers. During grade school, Lynde started to collect and show a great interest in cartoons. In fact, he subscribed to the Denver Post just so he could receive the Prince Valiant cartoon. When comic books came out, Lynde and his school buddies traded them. Lynde also created notebooks full of cartoons and shared them with classmates.
Lynde graduated in 1949 from Lodge Grass High School. He and his classmates joked that they graduated in the top ten of their class, because there were only nine graduates. Lynde's desire to be a cartoonist increased, but he wasn't sure of what kind of education he should receive. He and his parents decided that the University of Montana would be suitable and that Lynde should study journalism and fine arts.
College seemed to be a bust for Lynde. He had bad study habits and the formality was not appealing to him. He felt he was wasting his time and his parents' money, so he quit in 1951. However, the Korean War was getting started, so Lynde turned his attention to serving his country.
Lynde enlisted with the Navy, where he got a position as a typist. Stationed in Guam, the navy had a newsletter called the Mariner and a single cartoon strip was in it. Lynde learned that the creator of the strip was going to be discharged, so Lynde asked the staff of the Mariner if he could have his own cartoon strip. They said yes, so Lynde created a comic about navy life. In fact, Lynde enjoyed being a cartoonist so much that he asked for a six month extension on Guam. Nobody had ever asked for an extension on Guam before, so he had to prove to the Navy that he wasn't crazy.
Lynde was discharged in 1955 and he went home to Montana for awhile and then on to Colorado to be an artist and reporter. Then in 1956, he journeyed to New York City to get his career underway with $30 in his pocket.
Once in New York, finding a job was tremendously difficult. He had to move in with a buddy from the Navy until he could find a job. Lynde once again got a job as a typist, but this time for the Wall Street Journal . He later moved up to be a reporter. In the meantime, he sent samples of his cartoon, Rick O'Shay, to countless syndicates.
Rejection letter after rejection letter came until Lynde was about to lose hope. Finally, he got a telegram from "Moe" Reilly of the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate that he wanted to speak with Lynde immediately. The strip was accepted and Lynde was overjoyed. On April 27, 1958, the first strip of Rick O' Shay was published and for 20 years Rick was a huge success. In 1962, Lynde moved back to the Montana he loved and continued to write there. After that came the cartoon Latigo from 1979 to 1983. Then Grass Roots, which is still published today.
Lynde's writing and art has gained worthy attention. He has worked with cartoonists he idolized as a child. He has won the Inkpot Award for his success in comic strips as well as the Governor's Award for the Arts of Montana. Recently, Lynde has completed two novels, The Bodacious Kid and Careless Creek, which is a sequel.
Lynde's family has had an important part in his life. He has been married three times, and his current wife is Sidne Henderson Lynde. Lynde has six children, Shannon Kathleen, Michael Casey, Mark Arnold, Richard Lewis, Matthew Stephan, and Taylor Justaad.
Stan Lynde's inspiration comes from the experience and majesty of Montana life. He wants to portray the West as it really is, not a recycled Easterner's view. Montana is a dear place to Lynde, and his writings reflect that.
II. Literary Works
The Bodacious Kid
Careless Creek
A Month of Sundays- The Best of Rick O'Shay and Hipshot
Grass Roots
Pardners
Latigo
III. Sources
Rick O'Shay, Hipshot, and Me
A Memoir By Lynde Lynde
This essay was submitted by a student of Steve Gardiner, a teacher at Billings Senior High School in Billings, Montana.