What really happened to the Mission Mountain Wood Band?

[steve1 5]

I keep hearing bits and pieces of what happened to the Mission Mtn. Wood Band. They were an up an coming band that bought the farm when a twin beech went down in Western Montana. Someone said the beech belonged to Roso from Idaho. I think the crash happened around 1980, near Polson. I was done jumping during those years. I think a low pass was involved. Anyone remember the facts?

And that reminds me of another plane crash I keep hearing about at Chico Hot Springs. I think this might have been at a boogie in the 90's. I heard it may have been wind related on take off. I was still on Wuffo status then too. Anyone know?....Steve1

[bozo 0]

Quote

I keep hearing bits and pieces of what happened to the Mission Mtn. Wood Band. They were an up an coming band that bought the farm when a twin beech went down in Western Montana. Someone said the beech belonged to Roso from Idaho.

I did some checking on Google.....the band you mention is still recording.They did a reunion concert in 05.
I know Tom Cananrozzo personally...I usta work for him as a TM/I......I dont remember ever hearing of one of his Imitari Beeches going in. He had four of them.


bozo

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.

[darkwing 4]

I think you (Steve) are essentially correct. I believe it was Rozzo's Beech, piloted by Joe Taylor. All of my info is at least second hand, but I seem to recall a buzz job gone bad. While it may sound unkind, having flown with, and been around Joe Taylor for a few years, I wasn't entirely surprised when I heard it. Still, I liked the guy, and enjoyed his company.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

I got the story from Rozo first hand. I also knew and rode with Joe Taylor on many a Beech load.

Seems as though Joe liked to take people and do hammer-head stalls with them in the plane; Tom did not know he was doing this.

The band was known as 'Montana' & there was a 12 yr old kid in the Beech at the time.

Yes, it was Rozo's Beech.

I was not surprised that this is how Joe ended things.

Jerry

[bozo 0]

Quote

I got the story from Rozo first hand. I also knew and rode with Joe Taylor on many a Beech load.
------------------------------------------------------------
I stand corrected.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The band was known as 'Montana'

That would explain the confusion in the band names.

I was gonna look Tom up and ask him but he has become a furniture salesman as of late and is hard to find. I saw him at his dads funeral but not at all since. I guess he had his fill of skydiving.

bozo

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.

[steve1 5]

Rozo was one of the most colorful characters that I can remember from back in the 70's. He and B.J. Worth were pretty close back then. I recall more than one party at B.J.'s house with Rozo. Talk about wild and crazy years. It's too bad he got out of jumping. He was a hard core Relative Worker.

I could have sworn that was the Mission Mtn. Wood band that were killed. I know another group with that name still plays today. I always thought it Ironic that they crashed very close to the Mission Mtns. But then again, maybe it was another band. I listened to the radio broadcast and read it in the paper, but I've just forgot a lot of stuff over the years.....Steve1

[bozo 0]

Quote

Rozo was one of the most colorful characters that I can remember from back in the 70's. He and B.J. Worth were pretty close back then. I recall more than one party at B.J.'s house with Rozo. Talk about wild and crazy years. It's too bad he got out of jumping. He was a hard core Relative Worker.

Rozzo....is in Vegas.....hangs at a place called PTs Pub......he has his own assigned video poker machine.
You are right........we did some partying.
He got out of jumping after we got sued by a novice jumper......a student we had trained....40 jumps....that rode a double mal into the desert.
Failure to cutaway a bad main....dumped the reserve into it. She got all broken to shit...sued us....we won, but it left a bad taste in Rozzos mouth.....he sold the DZ and got a real job.

bozo

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.

• Quote

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Ironically, I was in Vegas at a convention some years ago, had some time to kill one afternoon, there were two dz's inthe Vegas area, didn't which one Tom owned, took a guess and drove to one. Walked into the office, asked for him, she said he was in the rigging room and I helped pick out the two Vector tandem rigs to keep; it was his last day of ownership of the dz.

That was the last time I saw him.

Definitely a unique person in this skydiving thing. But a damn fun guy to be around.

Jerry

[BigSky 2]

Your not totally wrong. It was the Montana band that crashed. Terry Robinson was not only in the band, Montana, but also the lead singer for MMWB.

“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, th

[cosmobuddy 0]

On July 4th, 1987, N132E, a Twin Beech, crashed just a little south of Lakeside, MT, with Joe Taylor at the controls. In the right seat was his girlfriend, Jeannie. Jeannie was Rozzo's wife's (Frankie) sister. The Montana Band (and a few guests) were in the back. Total souls on board were ten.
The Montana Band had just played at a private party that afternoon at one of the homes along Flathead Lake. The story goes that after fueling at the Kalispell City Airport for the return trip to Idaho, it was decided to fly back down along the lake and do a flyby at the party site. The first pass was from the lake toward the shoreline and house; behind the house was rising terrain. After the pass, an abrupt 180 degree turn (wingover/hammerhead turn) was attempted to line up the aircraft for a second pass toward the house; with downsloping terrain this time. The aircraft did not maintain enough altitude to stay in the air crashing through trees and bursting into flames short of the house. Another factor was the general weather conditions that day. We had been jumping all day at Lost Prairie (about 30 miles from the crashsite) and it was noted that the climbs to altitude were very slow. It was a hot day; the density altitude was way up there.
Joe was a very talented pilot. I made many jumps from Rozzo's Beeches with him as PIC. I always felt very safe with him. In fact, we had been jumping N132E the weekend prior the crash at one of the Chico Hot Springs boogies.
The Montana Band and it's various off-shoots were and still are a part of the music scene in the Northwest since the 1970s. Rob Quist is one of the main driving forces of the current group. I met some of the members of the old group as early as 1969 as they traveled the area performing at teen dances and one-night gigs. I went to high school with Terry Robinson's brother, Bruce. The name of the group appeared several different ways; The Montana Band, The Mission Mountain Woodband, Woodband, and a few others.

Regarding a fatal crash at Chico Hot Springs, yes, that happened on June 27th, 1996, when a PA-28 was attempting to land. There were two people killed. We used to use the paved road leading up to the resort as the runway. It wasn't an easy place to get in and out. Turbulence and gusting winds were factors in this crash.

www.SkydiveLostPrairie.com

[steve1 5]

Thanks Fred!
That clears up any questions I had. You should write a book. I'd enjoy reading it....Steve1

[godfrog 2]

If Fred wrote a book besides being very informative there would be alot of humor, history and some really good stories about people. Ya oughta write that book for us

Experience is a difficult teacher, she gives you the test first and the lesson afterward

[steve1 5]

I was wondering if Fred was the first Montanian to break a 1,000 or 2,000 jumps back in the 70's. He and Dave Tousey had more jumps than any jumper I knew back then. I think Fred had more than Dave. They're both jumpers that I have a ton of respect for....Steve1

[cosmobuddy 0]

Dave and I made our Gold Wings jump on the same load on April 13, 1974. Yes, we were the first in Montana to have 1000. On the load with us were Gordy Lister, Monty Pugh, Dick "Stinky" Steinke, Nancy Kraus, Dale Johnson, and Bob Murray. I worn a red, white, and blue Mini System rig with a red PC in it. See details below.

Murray had a clear plastic bubble glued to the top of his helmet. In it was our dz pet white mouse, Fletcher Mousefield. Before he passed away of old age, (and was buried under the disk in the center of our pea gravel pit) he had logged dozens of jumps in the bubble.

Back in those days, it was the tradition for the senior jumpers to cut the back out of the shirt that new jumpers wore on their first jump. I once again wore my "first jump shirt" on my 1000th. This time, the front of it was cut out. I still have the pieces.

Dave and his brother, Nick, were my early jumpmasters. Dave had 133 jumps when I started.

I still have the solid red Para-Commander that I bought new for $297.50 when I had around 60 jumps. I put over 1400 jumps on it and never had it re-lined. There were a couple other jumpers who had solid red PCs, one was Rozzo, and another was owned by a guy named Steve.

I was also the first to 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8000 in Montana. Toot, Toot. Don't know about 9000 though; slowing down a little. Ta, Ta.

Write a book? Maybe someday. Already have a few possible titles for it though: "Dust in the Wind" (from Kansas), "Skyrockets in Flight" (from Starland Vocal Band), and my favorite, "Nothing surprises me anymore" (from 34+ years being on drop zones).

www.SkydiveLostPrairie.com

[steve1 5]

The names of those people on your 1,000th jump bring back a ton of memories.

I think I may have jumped with Fletcher Mousefield once. If I remember right he made some early jumps in a tin can and had his own canopy. I heard he even burned in once and survived. Sorry I missed his funeral!

Old Murray was a character. The first time I met him was in the University Center (at the U of M). He was trying to sell a first jump course to me, and I took it hook line and sinker. He used to wear a tooth brush on a string around his neck back in those days. So, I asked him why. He said that toothbrush had a lot of sentimental value. He went on to say, "Yes it means a lot to me I lost it once, and then I found it."

I can picture him in free-fall with a mouse, in a bubble, scurrying about, on his head. He loved to have fun. And I hear he's some type of Doctor today. He was a Russian Major for years. He was no doubt smarter than most of us back then.

Sometimes he'll still make a jump with us if you beg him hard enough. The last one may have been about five years ago...Steve1

[steve1 5]

This is a picture of some old Montana jumpers. Dave Tousey is way to the left. Next is his Nancy Kraus, Pug, Fred, me, Murray. B.J. Worth is looking out the door.

I'm almost certain that this is Wally Benton's (Bubble nosed Beech from Star, Idaho) I'm just wondering if this could have been the same aircraft that this band died in.

I got my first kiss pass from Nancy. But then again most of the club probably did too....There weren't many girl jumpers tough enough to jump back then.....Steve1

[SunbumPaul 0]

HI Fred and Steve,
Paul Juel here. I bought and jumped a red PC, used, from Kevin O'Neil. I'm thinking of flying over to see you during your meet in July. Your meets in the early 70's were great. Miss them. Hope to see you then. Paul

[steve1 5]

Hey Paul,
Hope you can make it. I heard Kevin hit a power line with a dangling rip cord, (back in the 70's) and the juice deformed his hand somewhat. He was probably flying that same Red Devil when it happened. I don't know all the details on that, but I'll bet Fred does.

Back in the early 70's Fred, Kevin, and I had the only red P.C.'s in the state. It's good to be famous for something.

And bring Anne with you. Maybe we'll get you both in the air again....Steve1