Set in the heart of the Rocky Mountains on the banks of the Yellowstone River, my home town of Livingston, Montana has a rich story to tell. It’s a little town with big character.
Panoramic view of Livingston, Montana
A story not just about old west characters like Calamity Jane (who drank with the best & worst of her day in the local bars), and Sam Peckinpah (who famously shot holes in his hotel room walls). Livingston has also been shaped by Yellowstone Park. By ranchers, cowboys and rodeo. Notable fishing and fishermen. Artists. And the railroad…
Warren McGee is a railroad man who celebrated his 100th birthday on September 7, 2014. The whole town was invited to his birthday party. So what makes him an Artist? After meeting him I would say, aside from his famous photo-documentation of train history, it has to be his way of being.
Warren McGee stands in front of a train engine & poses with his wife, Bernice, and the day’s catch
His 60,000+ photographs shot since the 1930s attest to his love affair with trains. But I can tell you his story embraces people just as strongly as locomotives. Every day when I walk down by the river, I see evidence of his service to this little town’s community. The spring explosion of pink-blossoming apple trees, and bright red-orange berries and fiery fall foliage of mountain ash. Over 30 years ago Warren and his wife led a major grassroots reclamation of the lagoon and watershed at Livingston’s Sacajawea Park, creating wildlife habitat and planting over 300 trees.
Here is an Artist, not only as a photographer, but as a visionary for his community. Happy Birthday Warren!
Warren McGee greets friends at his 100th birthday party
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