You’ll find Larry Tipton working almost every day at the American Legion Hall just outside Columbus on the banks of the Stillwater River.
It’s just one of the ways he gives back.
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“I kind of treat it as my second home. There’s been many weeks that I have spent 20 plus hours out here mowing and cleaning up and just taking care of the place,” Tipton says.
It’s not always an easy job. During the historic floods of 2022, the river spilled over, leaving much of the cabin and campground swamped.
“It took about three weeks, but I got it cleaned out,” he says.
Tipton comes from a long line of military veterans. His grandfather was a member of the American Legion in Columbus and both Larry and his father served as district commanders.
He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. His first assignment was working at the sick officers’ quarters at the Navy hospital in Bremerton, Wash.
“A lot of the guys were coming in—older gentlemen who were my age now were captains and commanders in World War II, so I was up there taking care of history,” he says.
Later, he got the news that he was headed overseas.
His work as an outstanding veteran was recognized last year when Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte named Tipton one of the recipients of Montana’s Governor’s Veteran Commendation.
“That’s what I want to do. If they are veterans, I want to help if I can,” he says.
Tipton thought about getting into the medical field after his time in the service, but instead went to work in an oil refinery.
He also worked in the grocery store business and founded a sales and marketing company that sold Beanie Babies—a craze that took off in the mid-1990s.
“I still have some of the original ones. They are probably worth five dollars right now if I could find someone who wanted to buy them,” he says with a laugh.
There’s one other hat that Tipton loves to wear. He’s been a Shriner for almost a half century—joining late U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns as the only Montana Shriners to be awarded the Imperial Potentate’s award of merit for outstanding achievements and extraordinary contributions to the Shriners' mission.
“The nice thing about it is the parents don’t have to pay. The hardest thing about being a Shriner is walking up to a kid’s parents and saying I’m a Shriner I think I can help. I think I can help. That’s a tough one to do. It’s awful hard,” he says.
But if you haven’t figured it out yet, Tipton is the kind of guy who always seems willing to help.
“I love the Shrine. I love the American Legion. I just love the fraternal life. I love volunteering. It’s kind of hard on me-- I’m 50 years old I look like I’m 81,” he jokingly says.
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