09/29/2026
HEY, BAKER KIDS — Did you know some of Montana's early aviation history flies right here through Baker?!! ✈️
Check out this flier: The Montana Department of Transportation Aeronautics Program is sponsoring its 2027 Aviation in Montana Art Contest for students in grades K–12, and before you start wondering what there is to draw…
We should probably introduce you to Monte Rolfe.
More than 100 years ago, when airplanes themselves were still something of a novelty, Baker had our own famous aviator.
And not just somebody who occasionally went up for a nice peaceful flight.
Monte Rolfe was known as the “Boy Birdman.”
Born in England, Rolfe became part of a Baker family. His father, L.R. Rolfe, had business interests here, including a flour mill and grain elevator. And there’s no question Baker considered Monte one of its own: in 1918, the Fallon County Times and other area newspapers referred to him very simply as:
“Monte Rolfe of Baker.”
By 1915, Rolfe was already making a name for himself in the skies over southeastern Montana.
That September, he flew exhibitions at the Custer County Fair in Miles City. The Baker Sentinel called him a “daring young aviator” and described him taking off before roughly 1,500 spectators, sweeping over the fairgrounds and flying above Main Street.
And apparently Monte wasn't much for keeping both hands on the steering wheel.
The Sentinel reported that he flew past the cheering crowd while “waving his hands freely in the air,” sometimes letting go of the controls for nearly half a minute. The newspaper said he made a “tremendous hit” with the crowd.
And remember: this was in 1915!!
The Wright Brothers' famous first flight had happened only 12 years earlier.
And Monte lived right here in Baker!!!
Monte went on to fly professionally around the country. Aviation in those days was dangerous — and he had crashes along the way, including one in Louisiana in 1915 and another serious accident in California. After World War I he continued flying and, in 1919, partnered with another aviation pioneer, Ben Epps, to establish the Rolfe-Epps Flying Service in Georgia, offering passenger flights, instruction and aerial photography.
By 1921, an aviation publication described Rolfe as “one of the best known pilots in the United States.”
Sadly, his career was short. Monte Rolfe was killed in an airplane accident in Havana, Cuba, on August 15, 1921.
He was only in his twenties.
And more than a century later, before Lindbergh, only 12 years after the Wright Brothers, and only a few years after Montana's Cromwell Dixon became the first person to fly over the Continental Divide in 1911, there was “Monte Rolfe of Baker.”
So, Baker students — when MDT says your artwork needs to be based on aviation in Montana, you don't necessarily have to look toward Billings, Bozeman, Missoula or Great Falls for inspiration.
You actually have a claim to Montana aviation history right here!
Maybe Monte Rolfe and his old biplane flying over Southeast Montana will inspire you. Maybe it's Cromwell Dixon. Or maybe you'll show us all what the future of flying in Montana might look like.
The contest is open to all Montana students in grades K–12, with separate categories for K–5, 6–8 and 9–12. Entries are due April 10, 2027, and the first-place winner in each category even receives a trophy, certificate and an introductory flight around their hometown!
More than a century ago, Baker had a young man looking up at the sky and wondering what was possible.
Maybe the next chapter of Montana aviation history starts with a Baker kid and a blank piece of paper.
Let's get some Baker entries headed to Helena!
