Robert G. Candee was born and raised in Richland County Montana. He attended country school, graduated Sidney High School in 1960 and studied Business Administration at Eastern Montana College. At the age of 18, Bob started to run scrapers as a dirt boss. In 1971, broke away from a "family operation" and bought a farm in Richey, MT. Then in 1976 he purchased a ranch at Forsyth. The ranch was sold in 1981 and he had to foreclose on a Billion dollar insurance company and repossess the ranch in 1987. That's right - He had to foreclose on them!
Bob has been blessed to be able to become a self-made first generation Candee on the farms in Richland, Dawson and Rosebud counties. Known for inventive and innovative practices, neighbors have called his place “Bob’s experiment farm”. His farm received a "Best Managed Farm" award for the top 25 in the nation in 1984 by Farm Futures Magazine. The farm was also featured in the 1995 "My Favorite Farm" calendar in honor of Dr. D. Howard Doane, the founder of Doane Agricultural Services Company. The calendar was the 75th anniversary of the Doane’s Agriculture Report of St. Louis, Missouri. The farm has had to endure the Eastern Montana weather, but has always been blessed with good hardworking employees along with a little rain now and then. In the memory of many good area people, Bob set up and the “Bob Candee Scholarship program” in Richey and Forsyth. As a great way great way of supporting kids, Bob has been awarding these scholarships for the past 19 years.
Along with the program Bob has also given scholarships in Miles City, Skyview, Colstrip and other schools. These scholarships have been very rewarding for Bob because it gave him the opportunity to meet great kids that you would never have known. He is very proud that the first recipient of his scholarship program is now a doctor. Bob feels that teachers give our children so much and that scholarships are a good way for many of us to give back. Giving back means so much more when you have to sacrifice some place else to do it. Bob has also been approached by a large oil company (Slawson Oil) expressing their desire to participate in his Eastern Montana Scholarship endeavors. (It pays to lead by example).
Along with the scholarship program in Richey, Bob has been a mentor for the youth. One youth was a high school dropout; Bob was able to get her back in school and on to the honor roll. After graduation the youth went on to college and is now working in the technology field. Another group of youth came out to the farm in the hopes of their parents that they would learn to work. Bob taught them to drive tractors and combines. Once in a while there would be some slipped clutches and smoking engines, but it was a learning experience for both. Safety of each youth was the biggest concern for Bob. He would continuously preach safety issues to them and have news clippings of accidents stuck to the wall so that everyone would try to be extra careful. He has also helped a local probation officer by working with the troubled youth. He has been a major supporter of area youth ranches for troubled and at risk kids.
Bob concern for healthcare is evident with his contributions to the Foundation for Community Care in Sidney. Bob has donated much of his time, materials, funding and labor for community building projects. Bob has helped a beginning farmer get his own farm started by helping him secure a loan, land and machinery. He enjoys being a good neighbor and having good neighbors in the small community of Richey. When the school needed a bus barn and multi purpose building, Bob along with his neighbors, got together and volunteered their resources and services and had a "barn raising". They built a nice building that did not take much out of the school's budget.Bob appointed by Governor Schweitzer to Montana Wheat and Barley Committee in 2005, but that year he also represented Montana at the U.S. Grains Council’s trade presentations in Tokyo, Japan.
In 1996, Bob was chosen as a delegate to the first ever "National Issues Conference" in Austin, Texas. The conference was an experiment in democracy put on by the University of Texas and Barbara Jordan, whom passes away two days prior to the conference. Many issues, ranging from national defense to welfare, were discussed. There was even a chance to interview the presidential candidates. The conference was hosted by then governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore was there to represent President Clinton along with Jim Lear, who was the moderator. The conference also voted Bob “BEST INFORMED”.Aside from writing a “Homestead Act” to counteract the depopulation of rural Montana, Bob has worked with John Melcher on various agricultural issues and believes that John did more for Montana than anyone ever knew. He has also worked with Senator Mike Halligan on various family law issues.
Bob is also proud of his family. He has a daughter, two sons and three granddaughters. Both sons have gone on to complete their college degrees and now work for large companies in Minneapolis and Denver.