Weydemeyer, Winton, 1903-

Winton Weydemeyer was born in Cass City, Michigan, on March 19, 1903, the son of Harry and Margaret Weydemeyer. From the age of 6 weeks, he lived on the family farm about 6 miles north of Fortine, Montana. He graduated from eighth grade at the local one-room school at the age of 11, having skipped two grades. He graduated from Eureka High School in 1919. He then worked two years on the family farm before attending Montana State College in Bozeman, majoring in agriculture.

In 1939 he was one of the founding members of the Tobacco Valley Grange. He was active in the Grange for the rest of his life, serving as local secretary, master of the county Grange, and eventually master of the Montana State Grange. He edited the Montana Grange News for many years and was a lobbyist for the Grange in the Montana legislature.

Politically a conservative Republican, Weydemeyer served one term in the Montana Senate from 1951-1953. While there he advocated issues involving preservation of personal freedom and of Montana's natural resources. He co-sponsored legislation setting up a conservation education program in the schools. He believed fervently in the responsible development and use of Montana's natural resources. In 1971 he ran unsuccessfully for the Montana Constitutional Convention. Weydemeyer's advocacy of conservation of natural resources led him to be a founding member of the Montana Conservation Council, successor to the Montana chapter of the Northwest Conservation League. He served as president of the Council, and as the Council's lobbyist in the legislature. He also was active on the Montana Water Pollution Council.

Winton Weydemeyer was also an ornithologist, publishing numerous articles on Montana's birds. He was also a skilled nature photographer, publishing a book Picture Taking in Glacier Park (1986). Weydemeyer married Hallie M. Taylor in 1959. She had four children Richard, Hallie, Roberta, and Betty Thompson from a previous marriage. Winton Weydemeyer died February 4, 1993.

From the guide to the Winton Weydemeyer papers, 1924-1993, (Montana Historical Society Research Center)