Woodcarver Henry Larum is Plains' home-grown artist

Mounted on the wall in the Plains High School gymnasium is a large wood carving of a horse. Beside that carving is a plaque dedicated to the memory of Bev Minemyer, a Plains High School student who died from a brain tumor at age 15 in 1976.

Minemyer’s father wanted, in some way, for her memory to live on. With that in mind, he approached local home-grown artist Henry Larum. Many hours of work and conversations between Minemyer’s dad Nick and Henry resulted in the beautiful carving on display today.

Larum made his first appearance in Plains at only a few months old, when his parents moved the family over from Malta where the depression hit the Larums hard. After several years of crop failures, they called it quits and headed west. In Plains his father purchased over 600 acres up Swamp Creek to ranch on.

Larum started attending school in Plains as a first-grader and continued until he graduated in 1953. His interest in wood carving was inspired by local forester Marshall Wood. Wood was killed in an accident while working and it was Mrs. Wood, Henry’s fifth-grade teacher, who encouraged his love of carving.

One of Larum’s first attempts at wood carving was a knife for his dad. When it was presented to his dad, Larum said with a chuckle, “My dad said he was going to put it on a shelf and see if I get any better.”

By this time, other students and neighbors noticed how good the carvings were getting. By the eighth grade, Larum sold his first carving of a cowboy branding scene for $5. During Larum’s junior high school years, he was asked by the school to carve all the trophies for the high school athletics awards.

After graduating from high school, Larum took a job in the local lumber mill and started dating his soon-to-be wife, Georgia. Life took them to Missoula where he worked in several mills until hard times hit the lumber industry in Montana. This gave Larum the opportunity to go full-time with his wood carving.

During this time, Larum was approached by a young man working on the OZ ranch in Lolo named Steve Ford. Ford was very interested in purchasing a carving for his dad, President Gerald Ford, for Christmas. Deciding on what he wanted for his dad, Ford put Larum to work.

That Christmas morning Larum’s phone rang at 4 a.m. The person on the other end of the line said, “this is the White House, the next voice you will hear will be President Ford.”

At this time Larum was thinking it was his friend John Minemyer pulling a trick on him until the voice of President Ford came on the line thanking him for his beautiful carving that would be on display in the Oval Office. When the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor Michigan was built, the carving was placed in the replica of the Oval Office.

AFTER GOING full-time with his carvings, Larum’s career took off, and with his wife Georgia being his biggest critic, his carvings continued to improve.

Larum chuckled and said, “If I did anything wrong with a carving, Georgia was sure to point it out.”

The next big boost to his career came in 1980 when he was accepted into the CM Russell show in Great Falls, and that lasted for over 20 years. The CM Russell art show was one of the most revered art shows in the West.

In 2020 Larum lost his wife to an extended illness. He also suffered a stroke then contracted Covid-19. His children worried that his love of carving had come to an end, only to be surprised to see Larum slowly get back into his workshop. Although he has slowed down quite a bit, he still has a loyal following. He is grateful for all the loyal Plains customers that have kept him busy over the years.

When asked about his future plans, he said, “To stay alive long enough to carve all the orders that are still coming in.”

You can see many of Larum’s carvings displayed at Quinn’s Hot Springs, generously donated by Jean Morrison.