Posted on 11/12/2005 8:18:52 PM PST by Lorianne
LeRoy Beckman went to secondhand stores for hearing aids and heated only one room of his small house. He drove an old panel truck, favored bib overalls and found Social Security adequate in his old age.
"He looked dirt poor," said his friend Jim McDermand.
But when he died at age 88 in 1997, Mr. Beckman had an estate worth about $3 million. And it turned out that he secretly had a benevolent side. He directed in his will that his money be used to buy land and donate it to the state for use by hunters.
Now the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is fully realizing Mr. Beckman's legacy. The state is about to formally receive the fourth and final piece of land bought with Mr. Beckman's money, which is now all spent.
The four contiguous tracts, called the Beckman Wildlife Management Area, amount to about 6,500 acres, including grassland, pine and fir trees, gentle slopes, coulees, and the Judith River. The land is inhabited by antelope, wild turkeys, pheasants, foxes, coyotes, raptors, songbirds, an occasional mountain lion and, of particular importance to Mr. Beckman, mule deer.
"It had to be mule-deer habitat, not elk habitat," said Mr. McDermand, a personal representative for the Beckman estate. "He didn't like elk."
Mr. Beckman's donation is "a testament to basic decency and civic involvement," said Steve Doherty, chairman of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission.
Jim Luoma of Sand Coulee, who became Mr. Beckman's friend through a mutual interest in guns, said Mr. Beckman grew up poor, farmed as a young man, put money in gold stocks, then invested the return profitably in oil. Mr. Luoma believes his friend was a savvy investor who also had a smart adviser.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
6,500 Montana acres open to hunting. God bless Mr. Beckman.
Until some demonrats and libbies get a hold of the land and use it for a reserve...trying to rewrite his "living" will...much like they like to rewrite our "living" Constitution.
If you're going to leave all your money to the state I can't think of a better way to spend it.
You watch the greenies try to convert it to a Nature Preserve, - no hunting allowed.
Drat... Beate me by 30 seconds.
but..but..but the corporations! Guns are bad and hunting is racist!!
Great minds think alike. ;)
i just love guys like this...
many people today spend their entire lives paying interest on credit cards, paying for the new car, buying the latest fashions, buying the McMansion, etc.
Then they turn 50 or 60 and they wonder why they wasted so much of their time on earth on junk that really doesn't matter.
The stress of this over-leveraged, consumption driven, meaningless lifestyle puts people into an early grave, and while they live, they live miserable lives.
Imagine the peace of mind this guy must have had.
I have a hunch this guy never stayed awake at night wondering which bill he was going to let slip this month.
we could all learn a lesson from this fella.
Stuff like this must piss off the environs since they wouldn't want anyone stepping foot into their pristine lands. And here there will be hunters with guns to boot. This gotta make them go nuts.
And he made his money from the EEEEEVil oil companies
Probably he was getting stock tips from Hillary.
I wonder if Kerry will show up and repeat his famous question of election 2004?
"Can I get me a hunting license here?"
Hysterical coming from his phony,so-called upper class speaking style.
THIS GUY IS A TRUE HERO!!!
Imagine the pub he would get if he left it for a state sponsored abortion clinic.
At least we have freerepublic.
You wrote what I was thinking. I'm in my 50s and I ask myself when I buy something, is this purchase going to enhance my life or is this a vanity purchase.
great guy!
One thing though...since it sounds like he doesn't trust anyone, what makes him want to trust the state?
I guess if there is any state to trust, Montana would be one of them. It's beautiful there, I went for the first time in May...
I worked and saved and invested and retired at age 54. I am 60 years old now and can have almost anything I want.
I have found that there's not much I want that I don't already have.
I have my children, grand children and now a brand new great grand child. Money can't buy that.
A buddy I know who is in the news/freelance photography business told me how it got there-- because the nimrod held the fowl by the neck until his handlers told him to hold it by the feet. That story really made the rounds of the hunting population here and gave all a good laugh.
Well, what can I say other than we are both blessed. I still work and will probably do so for another 5 years (Good Lord willing) and after that who knows? We are in the process of possibly being "bought out" meaning the house and land I am on. I look around at all the possessions we would have to move and it is not a small volume. too much stuff!
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