Skip to main content
Gregory Hagenston

About Me

I live with my wife, Evelyn, and spend my days researching and writing with a deep passion to tell the story of Greg and Doc. I'm in a race with time to preserve the events of the past before they disappear into the dustbin of history. These stories matter—not just to me, but to anyone who believes in the power of memory, friendship, and truth.


Greg and Doc, Two Souls Surrounded by Badlands: A Memoir of Adventure, Discovery, Anguish and Triumph 

A chronologically detailed account of the founding of Makoshika, Montana's largest state park, and how almost single-handedly Dr. R. W. Hiatt, a true renaissance man, cradled Makoshika from its fragile beginning to its maturity as a state park. Through his meticulous record-keeping, the rich historical details of Makoshika Park come to life. Greg is a boy thirty years younger than his optometrist, Dr. Hiatt, and they form an inseparable bond. The youthful adventures of Greg weave in and out of the unfolding story of Makoshika, taking the reader along for a look as the two souls, Greg and Doc, go about their interrelated lives.

Greg and Doc II, Two Souls Surrounded by Badlands: Makoshika - Lakota Sioux translation - "land that is bad" (Greg and Doc, Two Souls Surrounded by Badlands)

From the chronologically bound pages of Dr. R. W. Hiatt's Makoshika dossier, an optometrist's avocation unfolds. Sink yourself into the years from1956 to 1965 and join Doc Hiatt in his journey through the badlands. Along for the ride is Greg, a boy thirty years younger than his optometrist, Dr. Hiatt, and whose youthful adventures weave in and out of the unfolding story of Makoshika.

Greg and Doc III, Two Souls Surrounded by Badlands: The inner workings of two fossil hunter minds

Stirrings from good times past! This third installment of Greg and Doc is derived from letters and notes found in Dr. R. W. Hiatt's Makoshika journals from 1966 through 1968, a narrative from Siberia, and Greg's diary and memoirs. Join me as we go back in time, and as we peruse these pages be ready for some deep thought, surprises, and adventure in the badlands.