Interviewer
Gladys Peterson
Files
Description
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 as a result of the Great Depression and then riding the rails looking for work and staying in hobo camps. Dodge mentions women working office jobs for the railroad during the 1920s and what people did for entertainment during the Depression. He also describes the railroad during World War Two and racial tensions among railroad employees. Dodge reminisces about working for the railroad during Thomas Dewey’s presidential campaign. He also recalls the switch from coal as fuel for train engines to diesel talks about dieselizing engines, and moving to Missoula where he worked as a diesel supervisor for the railroad.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Northern Pacific Railway; Great Depression (1929-1939); World War (1939-1945); Railroad workers; Railroad strikes; Railroad unions; Missoula, Montana; Thomas Dewey
Original Date
5-22-1987
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Depression Years in Montana Oral History Project, OH 131, 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 131-052
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound cassette (01:00:00 min.) analog + 1 transcript (17 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
01:00:05 minutes
Local Filename
OH_133_052.mp3; OH_133_052.pdf
Citation
Dodge, Bamford J., "Bamford J. Dodge Interview, May 22, 1987" (1987). Depression Years in Montana Oral History Project. 6.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/depressioninmissoula_oralhistory/6