CLANCY — Bob Marks recalls standing in his family’s barn on frigid winter mornings at the age of 7, helping to harness Percheron work horses that towered above him.

His father and grandfather were horsemen — freighters — who helped shape the early history of the Clancy area.

Bob, now 76, inherited their work ethic, as have his children, several of whom run local businesses bearing the family name.

Following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, Bob became a savvy rancher and an astute businessman.

But he’s also made his own mark as a man devoted to both his community and state government. And he’s been a local leader in helping to boost Jefferson County’s local economy.

Bob’s grandfather, Ernest, emigrated here from Maine in the 1880s, when the mining towns of Lump City and Hartford were in their heyday. His grandfather’s freighting business was in great demand.

“My grandfather was a horse man and my father was a manufacturer of horsepower,” Bob said during a recent interview at his Clancy home. “He raised work horses. They were big, strong-blooded horses as big as the horses pulling the Budweiser wagons. He was an excellent trainer.”

Later, his grandfather began running cattle and raising feed.

“My father (Merle) started hauling ore when he was 13,” Bob said.

He’d drive a six-horse team to the Little Nell mine, hauling ore to the railroad, and then coal back to the mine.

By 1920, a lot of the local mines were played out. The price of silver had plummeted. And the role of horses was retreating as the gasoline engine roared onto the scene. The Marks family turned to ranching.

As hard times hit in the 1920s and 1930s, the Marks family bought up surrounding homesteads, growing the family ranch.

“Ranching is a wonderful way of life,” said Bob, “but it’s not very profitable in this area.”

Merle started a sawmill and did construction to augment the ranch’s income. And Bob joined him in these ventures after finding out that pursuing a university degree just wasn’t a good fit.

Over the years, Bob became a man of many talents, adapting to the changing economy — doing ranching, logging, milling, and building houses, including the electricity and plumbing.

“You have to anticipate change and be a part of it,” he said.

He also began serving the community at an early age, volunteering with the Clancy Volunteer Fire Department, which was started in 1937 by his dad. Bob’s volunteer firefighting career spanned 41 years.

At the age of 21, Bob was recruited to serve on the Jefferson High School board of trustees. He would eventually serve for 20 years.

He was a busy man, for it was also during these years that he and his wife, Barbara, ran the ranch and raised their six children.

He also immersed himself in state politics.

In 1962, Bob took his first run at a House seat, losing by 13 votes.

Politics were friendlier back then, he said. He and his opponent bumped into each other at Boulder Hot Springs on election night and wound up eating dinner together.

The next time Bob ran, in 1968, he won. He went on to serve in the Legislature for 21 years.

One valuable thing he took with him to the Capitol, he said, was an inside knowledge of how school budgets work. And his school board experience had helped him hone his people skills. He was soon in the House leadership, serving as House speaker twice, minority whip and Republican leader.

At times, as in the last Legislature, there would be a tie in the House, split down the middle between Democrats and Republicans. But they were all able to work together.

“I had a good working relationship with the other leader,” Bob said.

He predicted that the next Legislative session will go more smoothly now that legislators have had time to reflect on the last session.

One of Bob’s proudest legislative accomplishments, he said, was crafting a bill imposing a “beneficial use tax” on the Bonneville Power lines, which stretched from Colstrip across Jefferson County and other Montana counties.

“It made a tremendous taxable base and helped the schools and county government,” he said.

The tax was subsequently challenged by Montana Power Company and its partners all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and they lost at all three court levels.

“Of all the things I’ve done and of all the long-term effects they’ve had, that’s been a tremendous asset to our county,” Bob said.

At the end of his term in 1989, Bob was offered and accepted the directorship of the state Department of Administration under Gov. Stan Stephens.

Despite his successes at the Capitol, once Bob left he’s rarely turned back.

“Once you leave, you ought to be done, like Brett Favre,” he said.

At the local level, he volunteered on an economic development advisory committee that eventually became the Jefferson Local Development Corporation. He served as its president for seven years.

He and Barbara became partners in a development and construction group that built condominiums on North Davis Street, near Vigilante Stadium in Helena.

Retired isn’t a word that seems to fit Bob. He spends much of his time in his woodworking shop, crafting fine furniture and “other wood creations,” often for family members.

Although he doesn’t have much call to be a horseman anymore, he still rides for special outings with his family. One of his favorite places to ride is to a place he’s nicknamed Unnecessary Mountain up Quartz Creek. It’s a high meadow overlooking the Elkhorn Range with a view of all its drainages.

“I’m going back up there. You can see God’s creation. It’s absolutely fantastic. It’s very inspirational and spiritual,” he said.

Reporter Marga Lincoln: 447-4074 or marga.lincoln@helenair.com