Tom Oar, a former rodeo rider, crafter, and television personality, was born in Rockford, Illinois, in 1943. He is well-known as the star of the reality series “Mountain Man” on the History channel.
Early Years
Tom Oar (Pinterest)Tom Oar and his brother Jack grew up outdoors, playing freely in the small town they called home near Rock River, deeply affected by their horseman father Chike Oar: “When my brother and I became 7 years old, my father taught us how to trick ride, which involves doing stunts on the back of a running horse.”
Tom was accustomed to a challenging environment and way of life, and his acquired appetite for adrenaline drove him to enter the rodeo at the age of 15.
His mother supported him in his decision, even though it was a risky one: “My mother took me to the edge of town, dropped me off with my bull rope and my rigging bag, and I hitchhiked to Ohio, where I hired on to ride bulls and bucking horses.”
Career
Cowboy Rodeo
Tom Oar spent his whole adult life pursuing a career in rodeo, spending 18 and 25 years, respectively, riding bulls and bucking horses. Tom explains how he joined the International Rodeo Association (IRA), where he rose the ranks to become one of the top ten riders, in an interview with American Cowboy. “I worked the saddle bronc riding and the bull riding,” he says.
We had to decide whether to attend IRA or RCA (Real Cowboy Association) rodeos in 1961. I was a member of the IRA for 16 or 17 years since the Midwest and East hosted more IRA rodeos. Life was lovely.
Tom’s luck ran out on February 14, 1978, when his hand got tangled in the rope holding him to Woolly Bugger. Tom came dangerously close to dying during these two minutes when the rampaging animal viciously tore through his body. Even though he was knocked out for three hours after the close call, he was able to return to the ring a month later without any problems.
However, six years later Tom rode his final saddle bronc, albeit at the age of 41: “It was time for me to stop, you know, so I did.” His success in rodeo riding had never been the same.
Lifestyle In Montana
Tom and his wife Nancy frequently traveled to and stayed at friends’ homes in Troy, Montana while Tom was a rodeo rider. When Tom’s career in the arena came to an end, the couple, who were already accustomed to the lifestyle there, decided to relocate there: ‘There came a moment in our lives where we thought the majority of rodeoing was gone, and we wanted to move to Montana and construct a log house. So, to construct a house when we arrived here, we bought a chainsaw in Illinois. While we were building the house, we lived in a little two-room log cabin that we had purchased on an acre and a half of land. We built it over five years. We’ve been residing here for 34 years.
The couple’s first year at Yaak River was the hardest because they had to endure bitterly cold weather and travel 50 kilometers to get groceries. They did, however, manage to make a living by hunting and “living off the land” in their house in the Kootenai National Forest.
Hunting And Workmanship
Tom Oar calls himself a “guy born 150 or 200 years too late” and says he has always been interested in history. I’ve sort of lived it again in the present.
He began working independently as a trapper in the winter, selling and trading furs in the spirit of 1800s fur traders like Jim Bridger and Joseph Meek: “The West was settled by the people who created the fur trade.” He was passionate about traditions and looking for ways to make a living in his new home.
They were scouts for the Army and the ones who demonstrated how to cross the mountains to the settlers. I suppose the past is lost.
Tom also discovered a new hobby: brain tanning, which involves utilizing deer brains to transform raw fur into leather. Despite being a Native American custom, rigorous labor has its roots in the Stone Age and has been practiced on every continent.
Although at first, it was just a winter hobby, Oar soon found himself routinely selling tanned fur skin, including specially made clothing. We got into going to rendezvous, black powder rendezvous, and at these rendezvous, the nicest dress to be wearing is buckskin apparel, so for years, we’ve tanned buckskin.’ In the summer, Tom and his wife continued their business, selling their creations in town.
Reenactments of fur trading and historical events take place during black-powder rendezvous. These gatherings aid local artisans who market their handcrafted wares by providing them with weapons, clothing, and alcoholic beverages from the period. According to Tom Oar, he typically earned between $3,000 and $4,000 per event.
TV Debut Of Mountain Men
Tom participated in the inaugural season of “Mountain Men,” a reality television program on the History Channel that followed the lives of various hunters, naturalists, and adventures in the US, in 2012.
It was rumored in 2019 that Oar, who had emerged as the series’ most lovable star, was quitting the program to retire in Florida. However, as Tom was only visiting for the winter, the allegations were unfounded: “We adore Montana! In June, Nancy, Tom’s wife, told Montanian, “We are not leaving.”
Tom is still a cast member of “Mountain Men,” which is still broadcast today.
Individual Life
The early 1960s saw Tom wed Jan David. Together, they had two children: Keelie, who passed away in 2015, and Chad, who co-starred with his father in “Mountain Men.” In the 1970s, the couple filed for divorce for an undisclosed cause.
Nancy Oar was Tom’s second wife, and the two have been happily wed for more than 40 years. Tom’s ex-wife Jan later wed Dave Frazer, and the two of them produced a son they named Matt.
Tanner Oar, the son of Chad, is Tom’s lone grandchild.
Net Worth
Tom Oar’s projected net worth as of mid-2020 is $200.000 as a result of his job in buckskin tanning and fur trade, as well as his earnings from his appearance in “Mountain Man.”
Body Structure
Tom Oar (Pinterest)Tom Oar is a Caucasian male whose height and weight are also unspecified. Although he once had short, dark-brown hair and a mustache, he now has a big beard and grey hair.
Interesting Statistics
Chike Oar, Tom’s father, used to perform in American Wild West shows.
Tanner, Tom’s grandchild, has made several appearances in “Mountain Men.”
Tom has continued to be active in his business and does not currently have any plans to retire, but he has warned his wife about the risks associated with getting older: “We can’t keep doing this forever.” I kept saying to Nancy, “You’ll probably just find me spread out dead over the fleshing block one of these days.”
Tom calls his life “wonderful” and says, “I’ve loved every minute of it.” He reflects on the past with happiness. And dammit, I’m going to do it as long as I can still.
Through a friend of theirs who worked as a producer representative, History Channel got in touch with Tom and Nancy Oar: “Their friend, who operates Linehan Outfitting Co. based in Troy, Mont., guides hunters and anglers and owns cabins close to where the Oars live.”
Two weeks after Tom’s brush with Oar, Woolly Bugger, the bull that nearly killed him in his youth, passed away. The former rodeo rider claimed, “I guess I gave him a concussion, too.”
Given the additional publicity that Tom’s performances in “Mountain Men” bring, the success of Oar’s tanning salon has increased as a result.
‘(They) are really significant to me, and that’s very cool to meet all the different folks and chat to ’em,’ says Oar of his admiration for his fans. Something intriguing is always going on, and there are always interesting people to meet.