Top Left to Right:  Moses Tingley, Bertrand Sinclair, Grandpa George Hicks, Sheriff
Sitting Left to Right:  Elijah Ostle, Amos Christian

Born and raised in Montana. Aged in Arizona.

In 1867 my family settled in the northwest portion of Montana in an area later named Wolf Creek.  My Great Grandfather and some of his brothers developed a large ranch area between Wolf Creek and Augusta and continued to expand over the years.

When I was a child, I used to attend some of the branding sessions, whereby the cows are de horned, branded etc.  I noticed that during the branding portion of the session, there was an open fire with a large black iron frying pan placed directly above the center of the flame.  I noticed that my Grandfather had reached into the right pocket on his cowboy shirt and pulled out a bag with a little yellow drawstring, opened it, and lightly sprinkled its contents on the meat that was cooking.  Now, we all know that cowboys always had tobacco and papers in the left shirt pocket of their cowboy shirts, so what was he sprinkling on the meat being prepared in the frying pan?  So, I said “Grandpa, what is in the frying pan and what are you sprinkling on them?”  He said “Son, I’m frying up some “oysters” and using this seasoning to make them taste just right”.  Well, I was never a fan of oysters, clams, or salmon, so never had a second thought about the seasoning.

When we moved from the ranch at Wolf Creek and into the metropolis of Great Falls, Montana, I noticed that when my Dad barbecued in the back yard, darned if he didn’t have the same type of bag that he was using to sprinkle on those big T-Bones.  And boy, they were yummy and didn’t even come close to tasting like any kind of seafood.!

After my Father passed away in ’63, I noticed that in his Last Will and Testament, he had left me the recipe for what he called “Montana Gold Seasoning”.  I saved that sacred piece of paper for 45 years and decided to take a look at it about 2 months ago.  It was meticulous in the preparation of many various and hard to find spices and flavors.  So I had this great idea of re creating this seasoning as close as I could and rename it “Oro Valley Gold” from the “Montana Gold” original.  I did this for two reasons.  Number one, is that I now live in Oro Valley, and Number two, some of the flavorings are extremely difficult to locate, let alone purchase in bulk.  So, since we could no longer find Grizzly Bear Toe-jam, nor Jackalope Lips we’ve substituted Garlic and Onion, which is almost a perfect match!

So there, you now know the history of the long term development of Oro Valley Gold Seasonings and we hope you join the throngs that wish Montana and Arizona well.