Jim Sargent — Telling Montana families' story by Marjorie Smith Jim Sargent, '50 AnSci, has written the book my father always meant to write, along with most of the people I know. "When people read the book, the most common comment is, 'Change the names and it's our family's story,"' Sargent says. Sargent self-published Too Poor To Move, But Always Rich: A Century on Montana Land in June 2002. He's had to reprint twice and has sold over 1,400 copies. Those numbers may sound small, but in the world of self-published memoirs, they're huge. In Too Poor To Move, Sargent tells the story of his family, beginning with the lives of his parents: Gudruda Berg, daughter of Norwegian immigrants, and Frank Sargent, a young man from Illinois who homesteaded northeast of Big Timber. Jim, the second of six children, was raised on the homestead, and although his own career path led away from daily ranch work — he spent many years with the MSU Extension Service as a county agent and later as state 4-H leader — he maintains great fondness for the small family farm. His book is full of fascinating details about farm life in mid-20th century Montana. Like many Americans, Sargent had thought about writing a book about his family for years. He had the foresight to record extensive interviews with his parents before they died and the great luck to have a father who kept a diary and detailed notes on his farming operations. Sargent sat down one day in April 1999, wrote a chapter a day, persuaded his sister, Helen Pedula, and his cousin Louie Strand to each contribute a chapter--and then spent the next three years researching and revising, expanding his manuscript so it would tell the broader story of family agriculture in Montana. The result is a book that throbs with the life of generations of Montanans. "I didn't set out to make money," Sargent says. "I just wanted to tell the stories of a way of life that's almost gone." Sargent maintains a map of the U.S. and colors in each state in which he sells a book. In March, he was only waiting for first sales in Alabama, Delaware, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Although he obviously enjoys the promotion challenges of self-publishing and loves giving readings and book signings, he says he wouldn't mind if a big commercial company wanted to take over Too Poor to Move for the next round of reprints. He'd like to spend his time on his next book, centering on one-room country schools like the one he attended in Golden Valley County. "I've already got the title for that book," he says. "It'll be called Go Ahead and Look Back." Too Poor to Move is available for $15 plus $4 for shipping and handling--better rates for two or more books to the same address — from Sargent at 222 S. 14th in Bozeman (406-586-6198). He can also be contacted via e-mail at jfs@bigsky.net.