Sigma Alpha Epsilon - University of Montana

SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON PAGE 3 Jon Krutar '66 Takes Pride in Family Homestead Ranch I t goes without saying that the state of Montana means everything to Jon Krutar '66. Jon was raised at his family's ranch in Ovando, Mont., which his parents purchased in 1949. He established his roots on the ranch throughout his youth while he went to a one-room schoolhouse nearby. Jon's roots remained in Big Sky Country when he went off to college at the University of Montana. As he adapted to life in Missoula, he found a family feel at the fraternity house of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The Mon- tana Beta Chapter helped instill several core characteristics in Jon that he used later in his life. "I think it was a good experience in terms of leadership," Jon said. "We had a cross-section of individuals in the house during the years that I was there. We had everything from athletes to academics that you could find. It was a good experience." Going from a one-room schoolhouse to a state college was a big step for Jon, but he had the comfort of only being about an hour away from home. Jon took a big step out of his comfort zone when he went to Michigan State for graduate school, as the campus had 40,000 students. One of the important experiences that Jon took away from his time at UM was during his senior year when he acted as the EA of Montana Beta. The leadership that Jon learned from that role came in handy when he served in the Air Force and worked in the Montana governor's office. "It was during a period of time when Montana was undergoing a lot of change as such as coal development and so on," Jon said of his experi- ence in the governor's office. "It was quite interesting working with the legislature." The majority of Jon's career was spent as a professor at Carroll College in Helena. Jon taught at Carroll for nearly two decades before retiring in 1994. His wife, Diane, retired from teaching at Carroll that same year. "I taught economics and accounting. Economics was my main special- ty," Jon said. "I was very inclined to courses that involve policy—mon- etary policy, physical policy, and so on." Jon and Diane moved to the family ranch permanently following their respective retirements. One of Jon's biggest projects on the ranch start- ed in 2001 when he built the Krutar Homestead with his sons, Eric and Chad. Krutar Homestead, which provides visitors stunning views of the mountains, opened to the public in 2002. "It's my roots. I grew up there and went to grade school two-and-a-half miles from the ranch," Jon said. "There are a lot of memories. That country has changed a lot, too, of course." You can email Jon at khomestead@blackfoot.net or visit the Krutar Homestead website at www.khomestead.com. House Director, Chef Bill Buseman, Initiated into Montana Beta SAEs Stay Active Despite Snow-filled Winter T he semester is well underway for us here at Montana Beta. We are fresh off celebrating our newly initiated brother, Bill Buse- man, on March 9. Bill has been our chef and house director for the last two-and-a-half years. Not only does he cook phenomenal food every single day, but he goes above and beyond to keep our house in the best condition possible. The connections he has made with us goes well beyond just cooking food and we wanted to show our appreciation by offering him a bid and dedicating an entire night to him. We thought it was great to host this event for Bill on our National Founders' Day. The chapter is extremely excited for our spring formal that will be held in Whitefish, Montana. As the weather is warming up, the brothers are itching to go outside and move on from the snow. We are in the pro- cess of planning another brotherhood retreat in Haugan, Montana, at the same place we usually do our retreat in the fall. This winter has been harsher than we all expected, but we've made sure to take advantage of the snowfall that reached our mountaintops. Broth- ers were able to ski and snowboard together plenty of times, go to the Snow Bowl, and enjoy several nice hikes. Montana Beta will be hosting nominations and elections once our spring break ends, which will bring in an entire new group of men in officer positions! In the Bonds, Mick van den Bos '20 Eminent Archon vandenbosmick@gmail.com Brothers take on Whitefish Mountain Resort for a fantastic long weekend. Front row, from left: Travis Roy '21 and Eric Mott '20. Back row: Kevin Thropp '21, Alec Moe '21, Mick van den Bos '20, Joe Hollowell '21, Mac Burns '21, and Jack Quaschnik '20. Right: Eminent Archon Mick van den Bos '20 and Recruitment Chairman Kevin Thropp '21 with the IFC representatives at the University of Montana, Panhellenic representatives, chapter presidents, Greek Life Director Lacey Zinke, and President of University of Montana Seth Bodnar.

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