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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John H. Toole Interview, July 16, 1987
John H. Toole
John Toole discusses his family history and how his grandfather, Kenneth Ross, worked at Bonner Mill under Marcus Daly. He describes his grandfather’s experience with the financial crash in 1929 and about life in Missoula during the Great Depression. Toole recalls working at the Bonner ... Read More
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John K. "Jack" Beckwith Interview, April 16, 1985
John K. Beckwith
John “Jack” Beckwith discusses his family history and their connections to C. H. McLeod and A. B. Hammond. He talks about the Missoula Mercantile Company, growing up in St. Ignatius, and life during the 1920s and during the Depression and its effects on the Flathead ... Read More
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Katherine T. Reardon Interview, February 15, 1985
Katherine T. Reardon
Reardon discusses the effects of the Depression on the Missoula community, focusing on retail shops. She discusses her career working in retail, including her clientele and her dress shop that she opened up out of her home.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a ... Read More
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Kenneth Hayes and Rachel Hayes Interview, July 14, 1987
Kenneth Hayes and Rachel Hayes
Kenneth Hayes describes living in Wibaux, Montana, and how the Great Depression affected his family, with his mother serving as both a housewife and farm hand on their family’s farm. He recalls joining the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] in 1935, the people he met, and ... Read More
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Lucille C. Forsman Interview, November 19, 1985
Lucille C. Forsman
Forsman speaks about her family history and life growing up on a homestead in rural Montana in the early 1900s, and how the Depression affected her family. She discusses her teaching career, moving around Montana from rural schools to mid-sized towns. She also talks about ... Read More
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Mabelle Hardy Interview, February 25, 1987
Mabelle Hardy
Hardy describes her experiences growing up in Missoula and going to high school and the University of Montana during the Depression. She talks of her dual role as a housewife with children and social worker/teacher of social work at the University.
This audio has not ... Read More
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Mary Frances Alexander McDorney Interview, October 8, 1985
Mary Frances McDorney
Mary McDorney describes growing up on her family’s homestead in Eastern Montana. She talks about attending Montana State Normal College in Dillon, Montana, to earn her teaching certificate and then teaching in rural Montana schools from 1926 to 1935. McDorney discusses how during the Great ... Read More
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Mildred Dufresne Interview, October 11, 1984
Mildred Dufresne
Mildred Dufresne discusses her experiences as a mother and school teacher during the Great Depression primarily in Bonner, Montana. Dufresne recalls how her family left their small farm in Missouri in 1922 to settle in Missoula, Montana. She talks about attending high school in Missoula ... Read More
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Nellie Morris Roark Interview, November 6, 1984
Nellie Morris Roark
Roark speaks about her childhood and schooling in Montana in the early 1900s. She describes the effects of the Depression on the ranching families living in the Blackfoot Valley, including changes in their spending habits, how they fed themselves, and their financial and political outlooks ... Read More
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Raymond F. Thill and Regina Thill Interview, September 13, 1986
Raymond F. Thill and Regina Thill
Thill recalls the effects of the Depression on St. Ignatius, Montana, and on his job as rural mail carrier. His daughter, Regina, details her remembrances of the Depression as a child. Thill speaks about his post-retirement activities, including charity work and vacations he’s taken. Regina ... Read More
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Robert D. Watt Interview, November 15, 1984
Robert D. Watt
Watt discusses the effects of the depression in St. Ignatius, Montana, and his careers as teacher and legislator. He talks about the changing tides of politics in Montana, especially dealing with taxation and how his teaching career helped lead him to his political one.
This ... Read More
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Robert E. Jones Interview, April 8, 1985
Robert E. Jones
Jones relates his own experiences in Missoula, Montana, during the Depression, his view generally of the effects of the Depression on Missoula, and other biographical information, such as his part in founding the Frenchtown pulp mill.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape ... Read More
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Russell L. Neal and Elaine Neal Interview, September 18, 1984
Russell L. Neal and Elaine Neal
Russell and Elaine Neal discuss Missoula's West side--the Lowell and Whittier school areas--and the effects of the Depression on the teachers and families in the area. They speak about the effects organizations such as the PTA and the Westside Club had on the schools, community, ... Read More
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Ruth Sale Interview, September 18, 1984
Ruth Sale
Ruth Sale describes her family’s lumber business—Polley’s Lumber Company—which her grandfather started and her father operated. She mentions the collapse of the business due to the crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression. Sale recalls how the Depression affected her personally such as not ... Read More
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Sydney M. Kraabel Interview, October 16, 1985
Sydney M. Kraabel
As co-owner of Fisher-Kraabel Chevrolet, Kraabel discusses the automobile business in Missoula from 1932-1966 with emphasis on the 1930s and the economic impact of the Depression.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape counter index is available.
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Theodore Shoemaker Interview, December 11, 1985
Theodore Shoemaker
Shoemaker recalls life in Missoula from 1921 to 1985. He talks of his father's work with the Forest Service and the work of his mother, Lillian Easton Shoemaker, with the Salvation Army during the Depression. He speaks about his roles in higher education, both earning ... Read More
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Tom Haines Interview, April 8, 1985
Tom Haines
Tom Haines discusses moving in and out of Montana before buying the OK Trading Company on South Fifth in 1932. He talks about how his business functioned during the height of the Depression, how credit systems and relief orders worked, and how people made money ... Read More
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Willie Clanton Spaulding Interview, August 5, 1985
Willie Clanton Spaulding
Spaulding describes Missoula and the University of Montana in the 1920's and the changes that occurred with the Depression. She describes her husband's work with the state relief programs.
This audio has not been transcribed, but a tape counter index is available.
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Winfield Page and Alice Page Interview, December 11, 1985
Winfield Page and Alice Page
Winfield and Alice Page speak about the effects of the Depression on their personal lives, touching on education, careers, and wages. They speculate on the politics of the 1920s and ‘30s, both locally in Missoula and on a national level. They discuss Winfield’s lengthy political ... Read More
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Winfield Page and Alice Page Interview, December 13, 1985
Winfield Page and Alice Page
Winfield and Alice Page speak about the effects of the Depression on their personal lives, touching on education, careers, and wages. They speculate on the politics of the 1920s and ‘30s, both locally in Missoula and on a national level. They discuss Winfield’s lengthy political ... Read More
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Winfield Page and Alice Page Interview, December 4, 1985
Winfield Page and Alice Page
Winfield and Alice Page speak about the effects of the Depression on their personal lives, touching on education, careers, and wages. They speculate on the politics of the 1920s and ‘30s, both locally in Missoula and on a national level. They discuss Winfield’s lengthy political ... Read More
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Winfield Page and Alice Page Interview, November 15, 1985
Winfield Page and Alice Page
Winfield and Alice Page speak about the effects of the Depression on their personal lives, touching on education, careers, and wages. They speculate on the politics of the 1920s and ‘30s, both locally in Missoula and on a national level. They discuss Winfield’s lengthy political ... Read More
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Winfield Page Interview, September 1986
Winfield Page
Winfield Page discusses his political career in the mid-1900s in the legislature and provides clarification on points from previous interviews.
This audio has not been transcribed.