Doug Oltrogge

Recent Posts

Trying to understand freight riders’ desperate freedom

Teens

“Bums,” they called them. “Lazy trash,” they said. I was standing at a railroad crossing in downtown Billings during a frenzied street dance when a slow-moving train passed by. Three modern-day hobos sat in one of the box cars—two young men and a young woman. The businessmen and women standing next to me that June afternoon apparently couldn’t help but comment to one another, as if reassuring one another that their lives were superior. Continue Reading →

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Hard-working Montana band taking show on national tour

Cure

It’s the day after, and the members of the Cure for the Common band are up and eating lunch at the Montana Brewing Company in downtown Billings. After a successful Saturday night gig at the Pub Station, the boys are addressing the imminent demands of a powerful hunger. Even though packing up equipment ran late into the night, all are up, all are in good spirits and all are eager to talk about the future. (more…) Continue Reading →

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