PLAINS - Chances are if you live in Plains, Stan Risland had a hand in building your home. Friends and relatives travelled from as far away as Washington D.C. to celebrate the retired construction magnate’s 95th birthday on Saturday. Approximately 80 family members and friends descended on the Risland ranch house to observe the occasion. Reacting to the presence of so much family around him Stan said, “I wish it was my birthday everyday.”
Risland relocated to Plains from Oregon in 1957 after his discharge from the Navy. He served as a gunner’s mate on the USS San Francisco, a New Orleans class heavy cruiser and one of the most heavily decorated ships of World War II earning 17 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation. The Presidential Unit Citation is given to military units that have performed an extremely heroic act, usually in battle in the face of an armed enemy.
The USS San Francisco survived the Pearl Harbor attacks unscathed and was immediately dispatched to the Pacific Theater a week later. While Risland was on board, the ship saw extensive action including the infamous Guadalcanal campaign in which the ship was severely damaged and her captain and admiral killed. During the naval battle of Guadalcanal, the ship was fired upon by torpedo bombers, hit by an out of control Japanese plane, and attacked by enemy ships.
“We lost seven ships that day. A lot of the officers on board were killed when the bridge was hit. It was one of the most vicious battles in naval history,” said Risland.
After his time in the military, Stan moved to Plains and began a career in construction. His daughter Becki estimated that almost 90 percent of the homes in Plains contain work done by her father. Specializing in masonry, Risland helped construct chimneys and fireplaces including the one in his own home. He also dug the basement of his home-by hand.
Risland also had his hands full raising a family. Becki, Sally, Susan, Nancy, Jan, Pam and Danny were all born and raised in Plains. Stan completely remodeled the ranch house they shared and made numerous modifications and improvements to the 25-acre property. According to daughter Becki Sorenson, despite the presence of seven kids, her father initiated most of the mischief around the house.
“Dad is the biggest kid we have in this family. He liked tricycle races with the kids. He usually won and did not feel guilty about it at all. He would drive around with the kids in the bucket of the tractor. He would lift the bucket up as high as it would go. If you asked them what was your favorite memory, every kid here would say riding around in the bucket of the tractor,” said Sorenson.
Surrounded by family members and friends from Seattle to D.C., literally coast to coast, Stan Risland held court in his living room as the patriarch of his extended family. Sitting near the fireplace he built, above a full basement he dug out by hand and under a roof he repaired to keep snow from falling in; veteran, father, and construction mogul Stan Risland basked in the reverence of a loving family.
So the next time residents of Plains walk up the stone steps into their front door or throw another log into the fireplace that warms their homes on a cold, snowy Montana night: they might just remember the man that likely had a hand in creating things so easily taken for granted.