If you would have asked me a month ago which of the nearly 400 episodes of the ButteCast are my favorites, it wouldn’t have taken me long to mention the name Jim Norton.

His story absolutely blew me away.

“Norty,” as he was affectionately known in the Mining City, is exactly why I started this podcast in the first place. Not only did the podcast give me a chance to really meet Jim for the first time, I got to introduce him to all of you. And, boy, is he a guy you wanted to know.

I didn’t really know Jim before this conversation. I only knew he used to referee high school football games. Clint McGee suggested Jim as a guest. So, I gave him a call, and we met at the Hanging 5 on Halloween of 2023.

Since we both showed up wearing Boston Red Sox hats, Norty and I we spent the first part of the episode talking about the good times and bad times following the Olde Towne Team.

Then we talked a lot about Jim’s life. His upbringing was not easy. His story sounds a lot like the book Angela’s Ashes. Jim was the son of an Irish immigrant father. He said his father always had good intentions, but he fell short as a dad because of alcoholism.

Jim told the heartbreaking and heartwarming story of his mother and siblings working hard to keep the family clothed and with food on the table.

He told a few stories about the Thatcher brothers, and he talked about some of the great characters he worked with as a referee. He also talked about some of the best athletes the Mining City every produced. Spoiler alert, it is not Mike Thatcher. Here is how Jim described Mike as an athlete: “He’s the only guy in Butte I’m a better athlete than.”

But Jim said he would put a statue of Mike on the corner of Park and Main because, as Jim said, nobody did more for the people of Butte.

Nobody was better at telling a story than Jim, who passed away on Sept. 16. He was 76, and he will be missed.

In honor of Norty, I am brining back this interview one more time. If you did not catch it on episode No. 142, I encourage you to listen in and get to know why Norty was so loved. If you already heard it, it will be good to hear his voice one more time.

Today’s episode is presented by the Jewelry Design Center. Let Brian Toone and Co. be your jewelers for life.