When he was a starving student at MSU-Bozeman, Will Harmon was invited to a potluck. Because he knew how and because it was a pretty cheap thing to make, Harmon baked an apple pie. "I got invited to like five more potlucks that week," he recalls, and adds, "It kind of inspired me to get serious about a good pie." And Harmon is very serious about pie - apple pie in particular.

"I have neighbors that think that I'm the most anal retentive pie man on earth," he says, adding, "I think of it as attention to detail."

Harmon, who is a local writer and fiddle player, started making pies alongside his mother when he was 6 years old. Her recipe - "out of some ancient cookbook" - is the same one Harmon uses today from memory.

A Harmon apple pie is just one of 12 baked goods included in the "Men Who Bake" prize to be auctioned off during the Holter Museum's annual Rites of Spring fund-raiser on March 18. Every month for a year, one lucky winner will receive a different bread or dessert made by some of Helena's best home bakers, who also happen to be men.

Harmon says that it really was kind of an epiphany when he discovered that pie could open doors. Not only did he manage to eat well through college, but he found that girlfriends liked pies, too.

"So there's an advantage there," he explains.

When he meets people for the first time, he's often surprised to find out that they've already heard of him.

"You're the guy that makes the good pies!" they'll say.

In 40 years, Harmon estimates that he's made hundreds of pies for potlucks, fund-raisers and often, for his family - wife, Rose, and two teenage sons.

"My 14-year-old could live on apple pies," he says, and adds, "It's apples, you know, it's good for you."

In the fall when the apples are good, the Harmons go through a pie a week - at least.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with having two pieces of pie in one sitting, big ones," he says.

If he makes a pie for dessert, Harmon says there might be a slice left for breakfast in the morning.

And he does mean for breakfast.

When his two boys were students at Hawthorne Elementary, Harmon's baking skills were put to good use during the school's annual pie auction fund-raiser, where a good pie can go for as much as $150.

Harmon says that when your kids brag about your apple pie, and when the person who bids on your pie is likely to be a neighbor, the pie better be good.

"It gets pretty competitive," he added.

So what makes a good pie?

It all starts with the apples. Harmon prefers Macintosh or another semi-sweet variety.

"I'm not too crazy about an all Granny Smith pie," he says.

The apple slices should all be the same thickness; Harmon lays them in the dish one by one to ensure that there are no unfilled pockets.

"You gotta lay them in just right," he says.

The apples are coated in a mixture of flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and cloves.

A fair amount of flour -one half to three quarters of a cup - combined with less sugar than most recipes call for is what makes a nice sauce for the filling, which should be well cooked, but not to the point of being applesauce.

The recipe for the crust is simple: one and a half cups flour, a full half cup of shortening (Harmon prefers butter-flavored Crisco), a quarter cup of water, a dash of salt and a little apple cider vinegar.

Just like with the apples, it's the handling of those ingredients that makes a Harmon pie extraordinary.

"There's this instinctive feel for how things are supposed to go together and you make adjustments," explains Harmon.

Once the apples are in, Harmon adds his secret ingredient - a drizzle of maple syrup - before adding the top crust, which should be rolled out very thin.

Slice a few vent holes in the top, bake at 425 degrees for 40-50 minutes and you're done. With some practice, your pie could be almost as good as Harmon's.

Although apple pie is clearly his specialty, Harmon also bakes bread and other desserts.

He says he makes a really good Orange Burg Spice Cake with cream cheese frosting, and then takes it back.

"I shouldn't advertise that," he says, laughing.

As far as other baked goods to be found in Helena, Harmon says that neighbor and fellow pie enthusiast Colleen Purcell makes an apple pie as good as his own.

"Her's is about the only Granny Smith pie I've ever cared for," he says.

He also professes a weakness for Sweetgrass Cuban rolls.

"This is gonna sound crazy, but the apple fritters at Van's Thriftway - they're the best in town."

Harmon admits that he's been the target of some teasing because of his baking, but the initiators are usually careful not to take it so far that it sounds like they're complaining.

They wouldn't want to miss out on having a piece of Harmon's apple pie.