Five things you may or may not learn when The Madisonian’s newest columnist comes to town

The Madisonian is pretty stoked to have a new columnist coming onboard in the coming weeks. Ben Larson, a self appointed “historian of weird and forgotten,” working musician and not quite cowboy poet will be joining the team to give you a little history, entertainment and a whole lot to think about a couple times a month. The great news is that you don’t have to wait for his work to appear on our pages to get to know Ben, he’ll be at the Madison Valley Public Library on Feb. 6 for a free workshop and to present his “Off the Beaten Path, the forgotten history of Montana” traveling show. The workshop is from two to four p.m. and the show starts at 6 p.m.  

When you see Ben at the library, you will almost certainly learn that his senior calculus teacher taught him how to count cards at black jack. You may also learn that the only time American bombers have dropped bombs on American soil took place in Miles City. You could learn that bison smile at their mates, or that the great pioneer photographer Evelyn Cameron’s work was lost until 1978. You will almost certainly learn that Ben has authored three books and just last week was at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, NV last weekend. I’ll come clean, one of those things is a lie, you need to come to the show to figure out which one. 

“We often scare the librarians when we wheel in big speakers, but as we tell them, it takes a lot of big speakers to make it sound good when you play in really quiet places,” Ben explained when queried about how his musical talents translate to the library setting.  

“We love playing in libraries,” he continued. “The performance is much different than in a bar. Though we plug in so everyone can hear, these shows become more like a conversation than a typical late night neon-bathed rock show in a tavern.”

Reviews of the show so far have been great as well, so much so that they borderline plagiarize the great radio host Paul Harvey. 

"A lot of Montanans know a little bit of Montana history. A few Montanans know a lot. But Ben Larson knows the "rest of the story" and presents it in an engaging format that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats waiting to hear what's next. Songs, poetry, sound effects and more, both original and well known, Larson and Pfahl weave tales that encompass all of Montana. A little something for everyone, this program is sure to delight and entertain,” Emily Wicks, director of the Chouteau County Library.

The best part of this visit to Ennis is that Ben is there to help you come up with a little piece of historic art of your own. At the workshop from 2-4 p.m. participants will get to use fascinating old books to craft their own pieces of historic word art. 

More information about the event is available at www.ennislib.org.