Happy Memories: Locals Compare Their Favorite Old School Bozeman Jobs

Back before people somehow got paid just for taking selfies or picking out their outfits, you had to have a real job. Bozeman locals who grew up here are a hard working group of people, who probably got a job as soon as they were legal. Get ready for blasts from the past.

Bozeman might have been a much smaller town 20, 30, or 40 years ago, but the best part of this thought experiment was seeing folks respond with businesses that are still around to this day.

Of course, hearing about people's favorite jobs at really old-school Bozeman places was fantastic. If there's one thing this town is good at, it's bonding over fond memories of Bozeman's past.

We wanted to know what people's favorite 'old-school Bozeman' job was, so we asked - and the memories are fantastic. (Oddly, 'smells' were brought up a lot 😂)

• "My favorite job when I was much younger was making the egg salad served at Bungalow Drug in downtown Bozeman. Little did I know then, how much people would miss that stuff."
• "Pickle Barrel. It's a rite of Bozeman passage."
• "lol. After the Main Mall opened in 1980, I worked at House of Fabrics for a while and I loved working in a mall environment. Friends worked at other stores. It was a blast."
• "Pickle Barrel at Bridger"
• "I miss making the impact I did with Kiwanis Closet aka Stuff-a-Bus."
• "I used to work at Skate Palace on the weekends. Can still still get a whiff of that distinct smell in my dreams."
• "Casa Sanchez! I miss that restaurant."
• "I bartended at The Robin. Got to overhear some of the best conversations!"
• "Service Master Clean"

It's interesting to hear about people's favorite jobs from way back when. Strolling down Bozeman's memory lane is a cool reminder of why we love this place. Personally, I enjoy reading about businesses that were before my time.

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• "I delivered the newspaper for a couple years. It was a fun way to meet everybody in my neighborhood."
• "Gas jockey for Bozeman trail Texaco"
• "Orange Julius in the red carpeted Main Mall."
• "Samurai Sams!"
• "The movie theaters across from the Fieldhouse back when I was in high school."
• "The Cowboy Café"
• "The Pickle Barrel at Bridger Bowl. It was perfect."
• "Bartender at The Oaks Bar, 1978, when it was Downtown."
• "The point after, the crystal (Grunch years) and of course, Boodles.."

• "Bagelworks under Amelia and Gary."
• "Bartending at The Crystal for Grunch!!"
• "Dishwashing at MacKenzie on Main - ski most everyday, get fed and met some of my best friends in Bozeman."
• "JB’s 1990-2000"
• "Hastings!"
• "I bartended at Montana Fats! I carded a girl that looked a bit young and she handed me MY driver’s license that I had lost at the Molly Brown."
• "Lil Orbits Donuts"
• "Working for Ken and Kerry" (Pickle Barrel)