Dale Tash, a native of Dillon, Mont., was a 1950 graduate of Western Montana College (WMC) with a Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in social studies and minors in English, physical education and science.
He graduated from Beaverhead County High School in Dillon, Mont. in 1943. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps for a three-year stint. After his honorable discharge, he enrolled at the Montana State Normal College (MSNC).
There was no slow-down mode for his Bulldog athletic career. Tash was a four-year letterman in basketball and football, and a two- year letterman in baseball and track and field. He was a member of four conference championship teams, two in football and two in basketball. Tash was a first team all-conference basketball selection after his junior and senior seasons.
He began his WMC teaching career in 1951. Two years later, he added a Masters in Education from the University of Montana. In 1963, he received his doctorate in education from Montana State College (now Montana State University).
His 47-year stay Western included student, teacher, head of the history department, academic dean and interim president. Tash was an inaugural member of the Western Montana College Athletic Hall of Fame.
He retired from Western in 1982, but did not slow down. He continued to teach on a part-time basis at WMC even though he accepted the position of manager at Bannack State Park in 1984. Montana governor Tom Judge appointed him to the Montana Coal Board in 1979. In 1994, Gov. Marc Racicot appointed him to the Montana Fish and Game Commission.
Tash was very active within the Dillon community as well including serving as chairman of the Beaverhead County Republican Central Committee, was a member of the Dillon Jaycees as well as many other organizations.
Dale and his wife Dolores “Buzz” were the parents of two sons and two daughters and the grandparents to eight grandchildren. Tash passed away June 25, 1998.
