Our friend and colleague Troy Helmick passed away early this year. Troy was a close associate of Les Davis for many years and sketched many of his artifact illustrations. He was an avid artifact collector, champion atlatl thrower and contributed greatly to the field of archaeology in Montana. Following is a video of Troy interviewing Leni Clubb, one of the founders of the World Atlatl Associatoon at a competition at Blacktail Ranch. There is also an interview with Troy and shots of Troy throwing the atlatl.
Troy's Obituary (reprinted from the Helena Independent Record)
Troy Clifford Helmick, 84 of Townsend passed away on February 20, 2018 at home with members of his family after a heartbreaking battle with cancer. He was born on August 31, 1933 to Kathleen Riggleman and Creed Helmick in Frenchton, WV but spent his adult life in Montana.
Troy was self-reliant, hard-working, patriotic and civic-minded. As a young man, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force only to have his dreams cut short by a medical discharge due to a congenital foot deformity. Following that setback, he moved to Montana where he lived an active and physically-demanding life.
He began his career on a survey crew with the Bureau of Reclamation and later transferred to the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) as a Civil Engineer Technician. He had a wide variety of interests and roles including volunteer fireman, historian, archeologist, flintknapper, artist, photographer, athlete, sportsman, father and husband. He was loved and respected by all
