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 ...
I read this and then think of my cousin who just turned 30. He was complaining about his life and marriage and how he and the wife each had to work 60 hours a week just to pay their basic bills.
He and his wife both work like dogs to pay for their brand new cars, their brand new house, rooms full of brand new "stuff" and literally tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt.
They acknowledge that they spoil their kids with "things" in order to compensate for the lack of time they spend with them. He can't even recall what grade his daughter is in, but that's not surprising, given that they He only sees the kids an hour a day.
Then he related that he can't remember when he and the wife had a romantic evening. They don't even talk anymore. They work and sleep.They live simply to pay the bills on stuff they don't have time to use.
What kind of life is that?
I assume divorce and/or bankruptcy is coming soon....
after the Christmas shopping season....
Great story---Kerry trying to be one of the guys was the funniest thing I had ever observed.
I live in Massachusetts and Kerry was like an invisible man to me until he ran for president---I didn't even know he had children.
He lucked out in the marriage department(if money is what you want) but as a Presidential candidate he was a complete failure.
Remember "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty" at the DNC? I almost fell out of my chair laughing.
We have the same problem and wife has a reason to keep it all tho' she's showing signs of changing at last. Just the thought of moving is exhausting !
I am so glad they are actually using this money as the man intended. It's heartening to see some people still have morals and decency.
The Bible says mans life is just a vapor. Short and uncertain.The worldly possessions appeals to our senses and often times puts us in moral dilemmas. If God comes first and you put others before yourself, things will turn out alright. If I don't get a pony in this lifetime, there's always the next! LOL
You must apply to the Bureau of Ponies, and receive the signature of a member of Pony Enforcement to receive Pony in the next life. God bless Mr Beckman.
"Ken I git me a huntin' lie-sunse heah?"
You'll be disappointed
I live 16 miles from the Judith River. This is interesting, first either my husband (a hunter) or I have heard of this.
Hillary!(tm) never would have dreamed of investing in gold stocks, taking profit and rolling it over into oil stock. Her only "investing" success was taking the $100,000 brib...errr...$99,000 "profit" in beef futures, "earned" through "thoughtful" interpetation of trending the daily futures quotes from the Wall Street Journal, an exercise she could neither explain coherently or duplicate. Plus, she used some Tyson Chicken executive's investment account because she couldn't figure out how to open her own.
You're right. It's too late to stumble over there and say "DAD! IT'S ME!
Actually, it's a good thing the guy did, but the govt. of Montana will probably screw it up eventually.
Glad to see the State of Montana followed through on this... great story!
"Say 'hello' to my little friends, all three million of them."
Very cool! Thanks Mr Beckman.
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