This collection of interviews details the daily lives of Montanans during the Great Depression. The interviews were conducted between 1984 and 1987 by Gladys Peterson. The interviewees describe the effect of the Great Depression on themselves, their families, and their communities. They discuss such topics as employment, education, farming, the timber industry, the state legislature federal programs, the effect on family life and social activities. The original interviews are held as Oral History collection OH 131 at Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula.
This collection includes 48 interviews.
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Andrew Cogswell and Pauline Cogswell Interview, September 14, 1984
Andrew Cogswell and Pauline Cogswell
Andrew Cogswell discusses growing up in Montana, attending the University of Montana in the mid-1920s, and working as a newspaper reporter in the late-1920s, before becoming a professor in the University of Montana’s School of Journalism for 15 years. Pauline Cogswell, who also worked as ... Read More
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Ardis Campbell Interview, September 29, 1986
Ardis Campbell
Campbell describes teaching in one-room schools, living in Bonner, Mont., in the 1920s and 1930s, and the effects of the depression on her life.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape counter index is available.
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Arthur R. Deschamps, Jr. Interview, November 1, 1984
Arthur R. Deschamps Jr.
Deschamps tells of his family's experience farming in Montana during the Depression. He also speaks about his education, Roosevelt’s social programs, and the jobs he held as a young adult to stay afloat.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape counter index is ... Read More
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Bamford J. Dodge Interview, May 22, 1987
Bamford J. Dodge
Bamford Dodge discusses working for the Northern Pacific Railroad during the 1920s and 1930s in Minnesota. He talks about the 1922 strike in the mechanical car department in 1922, and how it affected railroad unions. Dodge shares his experience getting laid off from the railroad ... Read More
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Carl Dragstedt Interview, October 8, 1984
Carl Dragstedt
Dragstedt talks of following in his father's footsteps as the owner of a men's clothing store in Missoula, Montana from the 1920s through the 1970s. He describes the effects of the Depression on the businesses and community of Missoula, including job distribution and consumers’ habits.
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Carolyn Frojen Interview, July 9, 1987
Carolyn Frojen
Carolyn Frojen discusses her childhood, her elementary education—mentioning how the educational system worked while she attended—and her high school education. She recalls what inspired her to be a teacher, and her first year working as an elementary school teacher in 1932. Frojen shares how the ... Read More
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Chester A. Frojen Interview, July 30, 1987
Chester A. Frojen
Topics include attending college and teaching in North Dakota during the Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in North Dakota, and teaching in Wyoming and Montana after the war.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape counter index is available.
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C. S. Porter Interview, September 20, 1984
C. S. Porter
C. S. Porter briefly mentions his background in physical education and his role as principal of the Central and Prescott schools in Missoula, Montana. He recalls how the Great Depression seemed to have little effect on the school children and how there didn’t appear to ... Read More
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Cynthia Bouchard Interview, October 10, 1984
Cynthia Bouchard
Cynthia Bouchard recalls how she and her husband moved to Bonner, Montana in 1924 after they were married, and how her husband got a job as a truck driver for the Anaconda Company [ACM] mill where he worked the entire time the Bouchard family resided ... Read More
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David Maclay Interview, September 12, 1984
David Maclay
David Maclay tells how his family came to the Bitterroot Valley in the 1880s and farmed and ranched. He describes the effects of the economic depression in 1920-1921, then decade of prosperity during which his father worked hard to build up the ranch. Maclay recalls ... Read More
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Evelyn Swant Interview, October 15, 1985
Evelyn Swant
Miss Swant talks of her years with the Missoula City-County Library as a student employee, working her way up to the director position and the effects of the Depression on the Library and her personally.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape counter ... Read More
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Florence Bakke Riel Interview, August 8, 1985
Florence Bakke Riel
Riel relates the varied effects of the Depression on her family. She also discusses the origin of Bakke Tire Company begun by her first husband and maintained as a family business.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape counter index is available.
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George Elmer Flynn Interview, October 21, 1985
George Elmer Flynn
Elmer and Mary Flynn discuss the history of the Flynn family and the ranch begun by Elmer's grandfather. They discuss how they were affected by the Depression and World War II, including the types of crops they had to grow and the jobs they could ... Read More
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George M. Otto Interview, October 19, 1984
George M. Otto
Otto discusses his family history, moving to Montana in 1925, and his father working for the Western Montana Lumber Company at Clark’s Mill. He talks about going to school, the Anaconda Mining Company, and the economy in the 1920s. Otto also discusses a government program ... Read More
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George Petaja and Doris Petaja Interview, October 16, 1984
George Petaja and Doris Petaja
The Petajas talk about the effects of the Depression on their lives. George M. Petaja grew up in Milltown and worked for the Anaconda Company sawmill at Bonner during the 1930's. Doris Petaja worked at the University of Montana until her marriage in 1939.
This ... Read More
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Gertrude Clark Interview, August 7, 1985
Gertrude Clark
Clark discusses her education and teaching career in Montana in the early 1900s. She speaks about the effects the depression had on her family and teachers in general.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape counter index is available.
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Glenna Moore Interview, September 11, 1984
Glenna Moore
Glenna Moore recalls life during the Great Depression in various places throughout Montana, such as Missoula, Phillipsburg, and Stryker, while she and her husband worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps. Moore describes teaching young illiterate CCC members how to read and write. She also discusses ... Read More
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Glenn Carmichael and Aili Carmichael Interview, April 28, 1987
Glenn Carmichael and Aili Carmichael
Glenn and Aili Carmichael discuss the history of Butte, Montana. Glenn Carmichael describes how his family came to in Montana, when he met Senator William A. Clark as a child, and how he ended up working in medicine. The couple talk about the Prohibition and ... Read More
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Gordon Reynolds Interview, 1984
Gordon Reynolds
Gordon Reynolds reminisces about his time as a dentist during the Great Depression and his life in Missoula, Montana.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape counter index is available.
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Guy C. Rogers Interview, October 22, 1985
Guy C. Rogers
Rogers describes growing up in Missoula, Montana in the 1920s and 1930s and the effects of the Depression on him and his friends. He also tells of the various jobs he held and his career as a bomber pilot in WWII and how that led ... Read More
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Hazel Karkanen Interview, October 19, 1984
Hazel Karkanen
Mrs. Karkanen describes her life and education in the West Riverside, Milltown, Bonner area of Montana and the effects the Depression had on job availability and wages. She speaks about her 55-year-long career in the Milltown library.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a ... Read More
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Irene Callahan Interview, February 17, 1986
Irene Callahan
Callahan discusses her nurses’ training in the 1920s and ‘30s, as well as her career in nursing in Montana throughout the 1900s. She speaks about changes in pay, the different positions she held as a nurse, and the political changes she and her peers worked ... Read More
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James Carter and Billie Carter Interview, August 8, 1985
James Carter and Billie Carter
The Carters talk of their lives as young adults during the Depression in Montana and Utah. They discuss the community activities in Missoula, the daily sacrifices they had to make, and the effects the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had on ... Read More
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James C. Garlington Interview, October 18, 1984
James C. Garlington
Garlington discusses the effect of the Depression on the practice of law in Missoula and the general effects on Montana. He includes biographical data.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape counter index is available.
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John E. Roberts Interview, February 15, 1985
John E. Roberts
Roberts talks of ranching in the Bitterroot Valley in the 1920s and working in the Missoula, Montana, post office from 1933 to 1965.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape counter index is available.