HELENA — February is Black History Month, and one prominent black figure in Montana's history is Julian Anderson.
While he is best known for being a beloved bartender at the historic Montana Club during its heyday, his impact went far beyond the drinks he served.
A bartender who served the likes of Mark Twain, Prince Olaf of Norway, and President Theodore Roosevelt, what better way to celebrate his legacy during Black History Month than making one of the drinks he was best known for: his take on a mint julep.
According to an article on Montana's official state website, Anderson was born to enslaved parents around 1860 in Virginia.
While there are reports of him living in Germany for some time, Helena community historian Patty Dean recently discovered this was not the case.
"That is utterly false. We know this because his father, Page Anderson, was one of the first soldiers to volunteer for the very first African American or 'colored' troops regiment in the United States," she said.
When Anderson was around 18 years old, he moved West for more opportunities and because he was likely to escape Jim Crow laws in the South.
Eventually, he settled in Helena, where he worked at hotels, like the old Broadwater Hotel, and a barbershop before finding a place at the Montana Club.
Dean said, "It's kind of wonderfully ironic that the person that's probably most associated with the Montana Club is an African American man. It's not the white millionaires that he served, it's not the subsequent private club members. When people talk about the Montana Club, his name always comes up."
Anderson was almost let go from the Montana Club. A letter from the board of governors who ran the club said they no longer had money in the budget to keep him, but after outrage from club members, they kept him.
(Hear Dean talk about what happened below)
During his time at the Montana Club, Anderson worked a few different positions through the two World Wars, the Great Depression, and Prohibition.
Less than a year after Prohibition was ratified, Anderson became the second black person in the United States to publish a cocktail recipe book called Julian's Recipes.
"The subtitle of it, which is 'In Remembrance of Olden Times,' is very nostalgic because, of course, they could not legally make cocktails, serve, or consume them during Prohibition," said Dean.
(At one point during his time in Helena, Anderson was shot and wounded by an unknown assailant. Hear Dean recount the incident below)
Anderson retired from the Montana Club in 1953, but he returned for what was presumed to be his 100th birthday in 1960.
Two years later, Anderson passed away, but his legacy and recipes live on.
Let's cheers to Julian Anderson and all Montanans who should be celebrated during Black History Month.
For more information about Anderson, check out this article from a cocktail historian here and you can find information about his Helena home here.
A conversation with his daughter, Ella, can be heard here.
