When Michael Bugenstein began researching the Kalfell family with intentions to write a short Kalfell family history, he found a story larger than he anticipated. The result became Since the Days of the Buffalo, ($24.95, Kalfell Ranch, Inc., 2013) a comprehensive history of eastern Montana.
“I found a lot of documents that were previously unpublished,” said Bugenstein of his decision to expand the family history into a broader book about eastern Montana ranching. “I asked Lance [Kalfell] about adding this information, and the project turned into a multifaceted history of eastern Montana using the Kalfell Ranch as a focus.”
A map maker by trade and history buff by inclination, Bugenstein met Lance Kalfell at a trade show in Glendive, Montana. Kalfell contracted with him to create an operations map of the Kalfell Ranch, and then asked Bugenstein to write a brief family history for the Montana Stockgrowers Association’s 125th Anniversary book. And the project kept growing.
Since Gottlieb Kalfell staked his claim on Camp Creek, the Kalfell ranch has been in the family for 130 years, making it one of the oldest ranches in eastern Montana.
“The Kalfell Ranch, established when the buffalo herds still roamed the plains, can be considered an example of what long-term ranchers can expect over the years. The book is intended to contribute to the success of ranchers in future generations,” explained Bugenstein.
Balancing the personal family history with the broader account of frontier farming and ranching, Kalfell admitted, was a challenge. Kalfell wanted a detailed family history to pass on to future generations, and Bugenstein was after a broad history book.
“We decided to keep most of the family details in a separate book just for the family,” said Kalfell, “and focus more on the general history of eastern Montana for the public book.”
“The book has nine chapters,” said Bugenstein, “including accounts of tribal and military history, ranching and homesteading history, early railroading and outlaw history, an in-depth account of the 1920s Montana economic collapse, and the effect of Roosevelt’s New Deal on eastern Montana. The final chapter describes the challenges Kalfell Ranch has faced since the 1930s.”
“There are a lot of Montana histories out there, but none centering on eastern Montana,” Bugenstein said about his book’s unique qualities. “I wanted a different angle than other histories, so we emphasized tradesmen’s procedures rather than just places and dates.”
Lance Kalfell, along with editors Linda Grosskopf and Nancy Morrison, provided invaluable assistance outlining the agricultural procedures in the book. Said Lance, “I wanted to pass on some perspective of who we are as a family and how we got here, in addition to how other farmers and ranchers got here. And I hope someone else can gain some good from it.”
Since the Days of the Buffalo is available at local bookstores and gift shops, through online retailers, or from distributor Farcountry Press at 1-800-821-3874 or http://www.farcountrypress.com.
About the Author
Michael Bugenstein has produced a series of Montana county Historical Maps, maps of the Historical Crow Nation and Astorian Expeditions, the Upper Missouri River Corridor, northern Montana Tribal movements and migrations from 1877-1882 newspaper reports, a pre-1900 replica brand book of the North Dakota Badlands, BNSF Railway station maps, and an Operations Map of the Kalfell Ranch, among many other projects. His website is http://www.highplainsmapping.com. He works as a conductor for BNSF Railway and lives in Glendive, Montana.
About Distributor Farcountry Press
Celebrating more than 30 years in business, award-winning publisher Farcountry Press specializes in softcover and hardcover color photography books showcasing the nation’s cities, states, national parks and wildlife. We also publish several popular children’s series, guidebooks, cookbooks and regional history titles nationwide. We publish more than 50 books annually; our backlist has grown to more than 300 titles. We also distribute books for several publishers, including Northern Rockies Publishing, University Pride Publishing and Sweetgrass Books, Farcountry’s custom-publishing division. For more information please go to http://www.farcountrypress.com or call 800-821-3874.
For a press kit (cover image, interior photos, review copy), contact Heather Ripkey, Sales Assistant at [email protected] or call 406-422-1267.
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