In the early summer of 1990, two college lovebirds by the names of Kari Bradley and Gabrielle Malina decided they wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of university life in Chicago and go west to immerse themselves in the vast beauty of the mountains and forests. Both had family out in Montana but after visiting Kari’s cousin in Bozeman, they realized that it wasn’t the right fit so they went to stay with Gabrielle’s uncle, Arnie, up in Helena. Arnie Malina was the founder of the well-established community arts center, The Myrna Loy, and being immersed in the cultural scene of Helena, he was able to show the two around the best parts of Helena.
On their first full day in town, he took them to “The Red Ghetto” which was an apartment complex where many of the Feathered Pipe Ranch crew at the time were living. There they met VJ Supera who made their connection to India Supera and the Feathered Pipe Ranch. Kari and Gabrielle were looking for summer jobs at the time, and the seed was planted to check out the Ranch. In June, they had an interview with Howard Levin, long-time ranch manager, and they were hired on to be chefs. They were immediately welcomed and accepted into the Feathered Pipe’s ever-growing family.
Through that summer, Kari and Gabrielle became mainstays in the Feathered Pipe kitchen. Kari recalls his first ever shift in the kitchen with India and Howard on Indian Night, chopping all the garlic and ginger and rushing to get dinner out on time. As the season went on, they began to have kitchen shifts together and impressed Howard and India as well as the guests with the delicious meals they served. By the end of their first summer, the two had earned their titles as “Head Chefs”. They went on to graduate from the University of Chicago, earned their respective degrees, and moved out to Helena soon after.
Kari and Gabrielle would continue to work for the Ranch through the 90s. Despite the chaotic conditions within the small, busy kitchen, their love and passion for cooking, experimenting with new recipes, and the Ranch as a whole kept them connected deeply with the community. If they weren’t working, they were hiking and exploring the backcountry of Montana, or hanging with the crew listening and creating music. They’d go on to live in the The Red Ghetto themselves where they met another Feathered Pipe-connected family, The Marsoleks, and a number of friends in the Laughing Water’s Real Food Store community. In 1993, Gabrielle joined India and a number of other Feathered Pipe friends to visit India (the country) for her first time and even ended up solo traveling for a couple of weeks after everyone left. Kari went on to serve time on the Feathered Pipe board alongside India and got to see behind the scenes how the Ranch worked.
After the 90s, Kari and Gabrielle decided their time at the Feathered Pipe Ranch was coming to a close and were ready to start a family of their own. In 2004 after they had their third child, it was decided it would be best to move back east to Vermont where they had family that could help them with taking care of their kids. It wasn’t until the summer of 2017 that they would make their way back to Montana with two of their kids, Jacob and Ella. Jacob fell in love with the Ranch instantly. That next summer, he would drive out with his mom and work his first summer, becoming a second generation Bradley-Malina at the Feathered Pipe. Jacob has continued to work the summers since then in the kitchen making delicious breads, breakfasts and dinners we all enjoy, as well as entertaining all with his guitar virtuosity when asked.
This last summer, Ella came out and worked the last month of the season after deciding to take a gap year to establish Montana residency for school. She’s always loved the Ranch and being able to work with her best friends made it an even better package deal. She will be returning this summer for the 50th year anniversary along with many other second/third generation staff!