Interviewer
Mary Bielenberg
Files
Description
Homer Bailey reminisces about his parents’ arrival in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana, in 1912 during the Bitterroot Valley apple boom and their eventual move to Corvallis to raise sheep until 1920 when they started raising sugar beets. He talks about the history of the valley’s sugar beet industry and the beet factories in the area. Bailey talks about his 51 years of beet growing experience, and explains the planting, harvesting and processing of sugar beets. Betty Bailey describes additional aspects of daily sugar beet operations and her life on the Baileys’ ranch, which included providing meals for their field hands. She also details the prisoner of war [POW] camp in Corvallis during World War Two and the German POWs who worked in the Bailey beet fields.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Bitterroot Valley, Montana; Apple industry, Montana; Sheep ranching, Montana; Beet farming, Montana; Sugar beet industry, Bitterroot Valley; Sugar beet farmers, Bitterroot Valley; Corvallis, Montana; Prisoners of war; World War (1939-1945)
Original Date
10-1984
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Bitterroot Historical Society Oral History Project, OH 120, Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula
Digital Publisher
University of Montana--Missoula. Mansfield Library
Rights
Copyright to this collection is held by the interview participants and by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Permission may be required for use. For further information please contact Archives and Special Collections: (406) 243-2053 / library.archives@umontana.edu
Oral History Number
OH 120-020b
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound cassette (01:00:00 min.) analog + 1 transcript (13 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:30:09 minutes
Local Filename
OH_120_020_b.mp3; OH_120_020_b.pdf
Citation
Bailey, Homer and Bailey, Betty, "Homer Bailey and Betty Bailey Interview, October 1984" (1984). Bitterroot Historical Society Oral History Project. 7.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/bitterrootvalley_oralhistory/7