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