Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

Name to a Face: Jim Stearns

Jim Stearns has been a proud member of the Whitehall community for 15 years, but his ties to Whitehall go back far longer.

Jim was born in Butte, Montana in 1947 due to Harlowtown not having a hospital. His parents, Hal and Jean Stearns, purchased the Harlowtown Times and Jim was raised in the newspaper business. Through his work at the paper he was able to learn unique skills like reading backwards, upside down, backwards upside down, and upside down backwards.

Jim would often visit his grandparents, Joe and Cora Kountz, at their ranch only 4 miles southeast of Whitehall. He worked hard as a child and young adult working for the Harlowtown Times, his grandparent's ranch, his Uncle Bill and Aunt Bernadette Connor's ranch, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Jim admits he never wanted to go into the news business and would have much rather been a rancher and taken over his grandparent's farm. However, he worked hard all the way out of Harlo High in 1966 and into the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, by the request of his father. He graduated with a degree in Psychology in 1970, instead of Mathematics, which he originally had gone to college for. He learned through his Psychology training that he worked better with children when it came to a choice between rats or children.

Missing home, Jim moved back to Montana and received his education credits from Montana State University in Bozeman in 1971, then moved to Billings where he taught at an elementary school from 1971 to 1975. He returned to MSU to receive his Masters in 1977, followed by his Special Education Certification at the University of Montana in 1978. Jim quickly turned to teaching at the elementary school in Helena from 1977 to 2005. During this part of his teaching career both of his parents had unfortunately passed away.

In 2005 Jim was ready for a change and was offered a chance to buy a piece of land in Whitehall from his godparents. He built his current home on the property and settled in.

In 2006 he began working at the Lewis and Clark Caverns, where he was a well known and loved tour guide until his retirement from the position in 2020.

Jim is involved in the Knights of Columbus and helps out with Bingo. He is known throughout Whitehall for his colorful tie-dye attire. His tie -dye can be seen on warm days in full glory as Jim loves to walk - one of the reasons he excelled as a tour guide (though his stories and great personality made his guiding even more enjoyable.)

Jim loves this community because of its safe, friendly atmosphere. He loves the values he grew up on, that continue to flourish in Montana. With his family located all around him, he also loves Whitehall's central location. He finds it funny Whitehall is one of the only towns without the other side of the "main street", as it's only a park and parking area.

Mr. Tie-Dye Jim Stearns is a great character with brilliant stories. Just ask him - he will share them with you!

 

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