Dive into the dusty streets of Park City, Montana, where a simmering feud over irrigation water turned deadly on a quiet July morning in 1953. On The Big Fat Podcast, we peel back the layers of a gritty tale—Walter Caine, a rancher with a .45 revolver, and Lester Lesher, his neighbor, clashed in a fatal showdown on a football field. Part of our "They Gazed on the Beartooths" series, this episode unearths journals, news clippings, and a community shaken by vengeance, in partnership with the Museum of the Beartooths and sponsored by Pinnacle Property of Montana. Like, subscribe, and share to keep Montana’s raw history alive!
Thank You to Our Sponsor: Pinnacle Property of Montana
Donna West, Owner/Broker
https://www.pinnacleproperty.com
Thank You to Penny Redli, Executive Director - Museum of the Beartooths
https://www.museumofthebeartooths.com
**Chapter Timestamps:**
00:00 Introduction: A Quiet Morning Turns Deadly
01:00 Park City, 1953: The Journals of Finch Brown
06:00 Ranchers and Roots: Caine and Lesher’s Lives
10:00 Masonic Ties: Brotherhood Before Bloodshed
14:00 July 11, 1953: Shots at Dawn
19:00 You Should Know: Irrigation Wars of the West
21:00 The Scene: A Body by the Ditch
25:00 Coroner’s Inquest: Witnesses Speak
30:00 Guilty Plea: Second Degree Murder
35:00 Sentencing: 15 Years for Caine
42:00 Aftermath: A Farm Auctioned, A Man Unraveled
50:00 Jovene Vodka: A Distillery Detour
57:00 Reflections: Stillwater’s Hidden Histories