Stan Lynde has worn a lot of hats in his 50-year career -- cartoonist, painter, novelist, publisher.

But the hat he'll always be most known for is the cowboy hat.

Lynde spent 20 years, from 1958 to 1977 drawing the nationally syndicated Western cartoon Rick O'Shay, which was carried by over 100 newspapers across the country, including all the Montana papers.

Rick O'Shay ran in the Independent Record from the very start of its syndication in 1958 until Lynde stopped drawing it in 1977.

Old fans of Lynde and Rick O'Shay can take a walk down memory lane with an exhibit of Lynde's work currently on display in the Montana Secretary of State's office in the Capitol.

Lynde grew up idolizing cowboys, but not in the way most kids of his era did, watching them on the silver screen.

When Lynde was growing up in Lodge Grass in the 1930s and '40s, real cowboys were all around him, a part of everyday life, and Lynde followed them everywhere, soaking up everything about them.

Lynde always appreciated the kindness his role models showed him, even when, as he says it, he was "pestering them."

"They were my great heroes, and I guess they still are," he said.

Lynde, who has lived in Helena the last 10 years, was lucky enough to combine his two loves -- cowboys and comics -- in a career that spanned a quarter-century, including 20 years drawing the popular nationally syndicated comic strip Rick O'Shay.

"I'm one of the people who always knew what I wanted to do from the age of 5," Lynde said. "When I found out drawing cartoons was a profession you could make money at, I knew that's what I wanted to do.

Lynde's love of the Old West and his affection for the people who lived it show in his loving portrayal of the characters.

Lynde said Rick O'Shay's sidekick Hipshot Percussion was probably more popular than the strip's namesake character.

He said that popularity is probably due to the fact that Hipshot was a free spirit but that he had a spiritual side.

Lynde drew comics even as a kid, but his first published work was a strip called Typhoon that he did while in the Navy for the Marianas Mariner newspaper.

That strip, he said, gave him a captive audience and allowed him to learn the craft on the job.

Not long after he left the Navy, Lynde moved to New York City and got a job as a reporter with the Wall Street Journal by day while going to art school at night.

It was in New York that Lynde developed the idea for Rick O'Shay and began circulating it to syndicates.

He said the strip was rejected by 13 and accepted by one -- the Chicago Tribune Co. -- a relationship that lasted for 20 years.

Lynde continued to draw comics, including the syndicated strip Latigo, for many more years, but none captured the public imagination like Rick O'Shay.

A fire at his Billings home in 1990 destroyed virtually everything he and his family owned -- including all Lynde's art.

"It was like losing a member of the family, losing all that work," he said.

But despite the loss, he was able to continue the project he had begun of having all his comic strips reprinted in book form, with help from the Museum of Comic Art in San Francisco, which sent clippings of his strips.

Lynde shifted gears late in his career, writing Western novels published by Cottonwood Publishing, a company he started with Linda.

His books include four stories featuring the character Merlin Cransaw and a historical novel called Vigilante Moon.

In his new endeavor, he's stayed true to his love of the West -- and his love of telling stories.

"It's not that much of a change," he said. "It's still telling stories. I don't have to draw my descriptions anymore, I just write them.

"It's kind of a struggle. It's kind of exciting to keep learning."

The books have been popular, he said, and he has been gratified that his latest releases have been nominated for Independent Publisher Awards.

Secretary of State Brad Johnson said he started displaying art exhibits about six months after he took office. He said was surprised by the number of people who come through the Capitol for tours, and thought the exhibits would be a nice addition for tourists and artistts alike

Johnson said there hasn't been a need to search hard for artists to display their work -- there's been a constant waiting list to be shown.

"For an artist to have work displayed in the Capitol, it's kind of special," he said.

Reporter Joe Menden: 447-4087 or joe.menden@helenair.com