Superior's Shawn Smalley oversees troopers in two counties
Sgt. Shawn Smalley supervises all of the Montana Highway Patrol officers in Mineral and Sanders counties.
Unfortunately, the origin of the numbers 3-7-77 seen on the flight suits of the Montana Air National Guard and most notably, the shoulder patch on the Montana Highway Patrol uniforms is elusive.
According to Wikipedia, the number set may have something to do with the date March 7, 1877 which was the first documented evidence of use of the symbol in a vigilante scenario. Or the numbers represent the dimensions of a grave: 3 feet by 7 feet by 77 inches deep.
Frederick Allen, in his book "A Decent Orderly Lynching," says the number meant the person had to buy a $3 ticket on the next 7 a.m. stagecoach to take the 77-mile trip from Helena to Butte.
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