Sam Of All Trades

By Will Barrett - PRIME EDITOR

Sam and Rita Jackson have lived in Belgrade in the same home for 40 years, they even bought the neighboring lot to retain some privacy. The couple met in Sheridan, Montana at the local bowling alley where Jackson’s brother and Rita had worked as pinsetters. Jackson wasn’t too fond of bowling, but he started to come around more often once he met Rita. Soon after they started dating. Together, they raised five kids, who gifted them 14 grandchildren, and 19 greatgrandchildren. Having grown up in postdepression Whitehall, Jackson didn’t realize how little his family had. “The only ones who had more than we did were the doctors’ kids, and the druggists’ kids,” he recalls. He had six siblings, and his mother made his clothes out of the town doctors’ old suits. Shortly after high school, the couple married. They eloped in 1960 in Idaho, and when the newlyweds returned, Jackson’s mother threw them a reception. About her mother-in-law, Rita recalls, “she loved me, and my mother loved him, so everyone was okay with it.” Jackson even admits with a laugh that his sisters might have liked Rita a bit more than they liked him. Jackson and Rita had five kids, and in 1970 he and a friend bought some property to raise feeder pigs for extra income. After a couple years, he bought out his friends share, and continued on for another five years, all while helping Rita raise the kids. Raising the kids was mostly Rita’s doing,

except on Fridays when she would take off for bowling and leave Jackson behind to take care of the little ones. On other occasions when they worked together, like they did as janitors, Jackson’s mother would look after the children. During the 1960’s and 70’s, Jackson tried his hand at just about every job you could imagine, “you name it, I did it,” he proclaims. From breaking horses and raising his feeder pigs, to driving school buses and collecting debts, Jackson picked up quickly what jobs he was to enjoy, and those he wouldn’t. He knew he didn’t want to milk cows, but with great pride he remembers one of his favorite anecdotes from his younger days, where he and his cowboy buddy Johnny Reynolds broke 150 horses in 90 days. Breaking a horse is what you’ve got to do to get a horse ready to ride, something that usually takes 90 days on its own; but the two took it as a fulltime job, riding them sun up until sun down. His longest tenured job was working for Darigold, where

he drove a delivery truck for 18 years, before moving to the bottling plant for another 15 or so, and then on to collecting their debts for a short time. As a debt collector, “People hated to see him come,” says Rita. Of all the work he tried, this one he enjoyed, “I loved it, it didn’t bother me at all because all the state laws were in my favor.” In addition to the Darigold truck, Jackson also delivered caskets, liquor, and even kids when he drove the extracurricular bus in Whitehall.

Today, it’s hard to believe Sam and Rita ever worked. They communicate so well and enjoy life so much, it’s clear they’ve had a lot of practice. They dance every Sunday in Manhattan and occasionally go on RV trips with friends to Branson, Missouri to see the live entertainment. The first year they went, they saw the Ice Capades. Branson is known for its history hosting legendary country music performers; Rita even had a country band of her own. Jackson retired when he was 55, and Rita followed six years later. Early in retirement, he worked just enough to be around his youngest son, Chad. They ran a sealcoating business and cut firewood together, among other varying odd jobs. Before retiring, Jackson had the honor of handing Jeff, their eldest son, his High School diploma when he was serving on the schoolboard in Whitehall. When asked about what advice they’d give to the younger generation, they both seemed to have the same thought, as Rita summed it up, “go do something while you still can.”

“Jackson even admits with a laugh that his sisters might have liked Rita a bit more than they liked him.”

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A Note from the Editor:

Prime Magazine is looking for a new contributor for our, “Womens Perspective on Aging Column.” The ideal candidate has a lust for life, a bit of wit, and is eager to share their stories with the community. No writing background is required; however, any experience is a plus. If you or anyone you know is interested, email wbarrett@dailychronicle.com, or call 406-582-2688.

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