There was a Sand & Gravel and Concrete business in Shelby, Montana, where I grew up. Jim Horner had a business with another fellow on the banks of the Marias River five miles South of Shelby. Jack Horner, who is the subject of this post, grew up with dyslexia, which is also an issue which troubled him immensely. The dyslexia was a source of Jack's reading issues, but making the most of his early childhood, was a matter of just barely making it through school.
Although barely graduating from High School, he was drafted into the Marines, and served in Vietnam as a Special Forces Recon. The sand and gravel business led Jack to be inquisative about rocks in general, and fossils especially. After living in a tent on the river, Jack's parents moved into a nice brick home in Shelby, on the side of a hill overlooking town. Later, he and his brother would take over the sand and gravel business. While building rockets, which he launched at the airport, he also managed to blowout the basement windows in the brick family home.
He never did obtain a PHD, but he did know where to look for fossils, including the hill across from his home on the hill overlooking Shelby. He helped anybody interested in fossils, mostly because he knew where and what to look for. I was one of those interested, and rocks and fossils went well together.
This piece of letterhead predates Jack's association with the museum. I thought it was appropriate to use it for this artwork!
