Stan Lynde: Montana's Iconic Cartoonist

Stan Lynde took the heart of Montana and shared it on the funny pages of newspapers across the country and abroad.

A new exhibit at the Montana Historical Society – “From the Heart: Stan Lynde’s Comic Creations” – showcases Lynde artwork and artifacts.

Lynde was best known for the Rick O’Shay comic strip, which began in 1958 and had a daily readership of 15 million in 100 newspapers during its 20-year span. In 1979, he started the strip Latigo, which ran through 1983. He even found a international audience, particularly in Sweden.

That probably makes Lynde Montana’s most-read author, MHS information officer Tom Cook said. Cook grew up reading the strip in Nebraska and following the adventures of Lynde’s most famous characters, Deputy Sheriff Rick O’Shay and gunslinger Hipshot Percussion.

“Rick O’Shay was cool, but Hipshot was something else. He could go either way, good or bad,” Cook said.

Not long before Lynde died in 2013 at age 81, he donated much of his remaining collection to the historical society. Some is still singed – or even completely blackened – from a 1990 house fire that destroyed many of his things.

Lynde had a “rancher’s perspective” on the fire, taking a long view.

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