Henry John Drga, 90, of Big Sandy, passed away on Friday, March 15, 2013, at the Big Sandy Medical Center of natural causes. Funeral services will be held on Friday, March 22, 2013, 11:00 am, at the Big Sandy Church of God with Pastor Erik Sietsema and John Drga officiating. Burial will follow in the Big Sandy Cemetery. Henry's family has requested that you all wear your blue jeans and cowboy boots in his memory. The family has requested that memorials be made in Henry's name to the Big Sandy Library, the Big Sandy Medical Center, the Big Sandy Saddle Club, or the Great Falls Rescue Mission. Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements, and you can leave your memories and/or condolences for the family at www.hollandbonine.com. Riverview Greenhouse in Fort Benton is providing floral arrangements. Henry was born to Frank & Julia (Jirsa) Drga on October 1, 1922 in Great Falls, Montana. He grew up on the farm south east of Big Sandy. At five years of age, Henry walked to a one room grade school called Iliad. His first year of high school was in Great Falls at the age of twelve. He walked three miles each way to attend the Great Falls High School. He stayed out of school his second year because there wasn't enough money to send both boys to school. After staying out one year, Henry then went to school in Big Sandy and lived in the dormitory. He was in 4-H, FFA, drama club, played football and boxed. He fought under the AAU Golden Gloves and after winning a decisive fight was dubbed "Hammerin' Hank." He graduated from Big Sandy High School in 1940 then attended Northern Montana College. Henry competed in boxing during the two years it took him to get his agricultural degree. Henry was deferred during the war as some young men were needed to help on the farms. By staying on the farm, Henry accumulated cattle in lieu of wages. The first year he took cattle as payment. The second year he took the cash and purchased the land where he ultimately built his home and built his farm/ranch. During the period after high school while working on the farm, Henry broke and trained saddle horses both for him and others. On Sundays, a group of younger men would use their own horses or round up neighbor's horses and buck them out for the fun of it. Many of these horses had never been handled. They would blindfold them, saddle them, and then one of the men would ride that horse out in the open without the benefit of corrals, chutes, and announcers as we see rodeo today. Henry enjoyed those times and entered into local rodeos as well. He loved his horses and cowboying. Good horses were important since he often spent 13-14 hours in the saddle and in Henry's mind there wasn't anything better than a Morgan horse. The Big Drive of '89 was a highlight for him as he was able to be close to the herd and his longhorn steer was the lead steer out of the pen. Travel involved seeing most of the state parks in the West, going to Mexico with a friend, attending the World's Fair in Puyullap, Washington, travelling to Washington, D.C.; Saint Paul, Minnesota; and Salt Lake City, Utah. The last real family vacation was in 1973 when they attended the Calgary Stampede. Rodeos were considered a vacation day and every year the family went to the annual 4th of July Warrick Rodeo. Henry was one of the first board members of the Big Sandy Saddle Club which put on an annual Memorial Day Rodeo for many years. He enjoyed going to any rodeo and especially the Montana PRCA finals. On September 21, 1950 Henry married Violet Lanik in Havre, MT. They lived in a 21' trailer on Henry's parents place until they built their home on the land Henry had purchased earlier. His farm/ranch now consists of approximately 14 original homesteads. He used to comment about how it was such a change from making a living on 160 acres worked with horses to four wheel drive tractors with up to 450 horsepower and implements that could cover 60-100 feet per swath. In his younger years, Henry drove teams of horses in the field, pitched hay to threshing machines, and forked hay by hand. He had seen and worked horses, lug tractors, rubber tire tractors, as well as the modern ones. He read by kerosene lamps, talked on crank telephones that ran on the barbed wire fences and spoke on party lines. Henry did mechanical work and dirt work during his early years on the farm. He purchased a Caterpillar and can in the 1950's and did many improvements on his place. He contracted out to do dirt work for other people making dikes, dams, pits, reservoirs, etc. His other talent included dousing. He found several water sources for neighbors. In 1967, Henry and his brother Frank won the Soil Conservation Service Award for land improvements. He attended an artificial insemination school to improve his Hereford cattle. For the fun of it, he A.I.'d two cows to a longhorn bull. Those bull calves became his pets and a "visitor attraction." He also tried Pinzgauer and Simmental crossesa combination that put him under his pickup or over the fence many times. In 1959, a daughter, Ann, was born. He spent many years following her activities and adventures. He enjoyed showing people around the home place, acquainting them with special things about the land he owned, and sharing Montana with people. Favorite past-times of Henry's included playing cards and dancing. He and Violet would swirl around the dance floor at Osterman's Grove, Hopp Hall, and anywhere there was a dance. He taught many people how to dance and instilled a love for dance in Ann who then passed it on to his grandchildren as well as other young people. Cribbage, pitch, pinochle and poker were his favorite card games. He was a member of the Big Sandy Saddle Club, the Montana Farmers Union, and the Big Sandy Historical Society. He broke his leg in the mid 1960's when a horse fell on a patch of ice. Hence, he lived with one leg an inch shorter than the other. That eventually took its toll on his hips and landed him in the Extended Care Facility in Big Sandy when he could no longer walk. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Violet Drga; his parents Frank & Julia Drga; his brothers Frank Drga, Jr. and George Drga; and his nephews George Drga and Don Drga. Henry is survived by his daughter Ann (Larry) Bitz of Big Sandy, and his two grandchildren Rebecca Bitz of Helena and Daniel Bitz of Big Sandy.