Growing up in the 1970s here in Butte it seemed everybody had an Evel Knievel story to tell.  Some good, some, well, not so good.  My experience with the legendary daredevil growing up was limited to a brief moment during the 4th of July Parade when Knievel drove a hot rod as the procession reached the intersection at Silver Street.  (For the younger reading this, yes, the parade used to start Uptown,)  My mother snapped a picture of the back of my head as I and about 30 other kids mobbed the car in hopes of a handshake or an autograph, but at least we got the picture of my head.  At least, I think it's my head.  Unfortunately, that's my whole story.  I can't even find the picture now.

Others in Butte have quite different, even interesting stories to tell.  By the late 70's Knievel was a worldwide superstar and had amassed a considerable fortune.


His spectacular jumps and even more incredible crashes had put him on par with such legends of the day such as Muhammad Ali, Dean Martin and Johnny Carson.  He was roasted by Don Rickles for Pete's sake.

There are stories of Knievel buying meals for entire restaurants and lavish gifts for people he barely knew.  But others have stories of Knievel cheating them somehow or skipping out on a bill.  These stories always seem to be black or white.  Knievel was either the hero of the story or the villain. There's no mistake that with great fame and influence comes a bit of an ego and Knievel was certainly aware of his status.  Evel would say what he thought even up to his final days and rarely gave a damn what others thought of him.  Whether or not you like it, that's Butte through and through, and Evel Knievel will always be associated with Butte, America

Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel would have been 86 years old today.  Happy Birthday, sir.

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