As a kid growing up in Dillon and, later, Helena, Montana, I loved the nationally syndicated newspaper comic strips of Stan Lynde (1931-2013). Lynde’s best known characters were Rick O’Shay and Latigo. Both of them were “Old West” lawmen, hunters, and gunfighters (fishermen–not so much).
In his full-color Sunday comics, Lynde often addressed religious matters. Numerous times, Rick O’Shay and Latigo made clear that “nature” was their church–the place where they were closest to their Creator (which Rick referred to as his “Boss”).
Lynde, himself, was a Montanan. He grew up in Lodge Grass, on the Crow Indian Reservation, and later lived in Helena. I remember meeting him when I was pretty young, before my own family moved to Helena. While he may have preferred the mountains to a church, he was certainly a strong Christian in his later years. Perhaps my dad’s role as a Presbyterian pastor has something to do with my meeting the artist.
I suspect Lynde held many views I don’t share (his early portrayal of Native Americans is questionable, for instance). Still, his view of nature left an undeniable impression upon me. Time and again, when I am at our cabin, near a stream, or even just admiring the view of the mountains from home, I find myself remembering those old comics and agreeing with Lynde’s characters. Nature, the world-less-touched by humans, their greed, and their ignorance, is where I feel closest to my Creator.
Mr. Lynde signed my Dr. Seuss Book of Autographs, when I was little.
The Literary Fly Fisher 
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