Interviewer
Patricia E. O'Connell
Files
Description
Eva Cross discusses her personal and family history including how her family came moved to Red Lodge, Montana, in the late 1800s. She tells stories about her childhood and how often she moved around the country when after she was married. Cross describes her father’s journey from Missouri to Red Lodge in 1883, where he established a homestead and started several businesses, including a newspaper, ice harvesting and delivery and a cafe. She talks about her sisters and their marriages. Cross recalls the schoolhouse in Red Lodge, some of the first families who settled there, the coal mining industry in Red Lodge and Bearcreek, and the role of the railroad in the founding of Red Lodge. She recalls how the creation of the Rural Electrification Administration and arrival of electricity upended the coal mining industry in the area. Cross also details the many times that she and her husband moved around the country including Oregon, California, and Florida. She talks about the jobs they found, such as working for Douglas Aircraft during World War Two, and the businesses they started including an ice cream parlor and chinchilla breeding facility.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945; Ranching, Montana; Homesteading, Montana; Ice business; Chinchillas; Red Lodge, Montana; Ice cream shop; Coal mining industry, Montana; Liver-Eating Johnson; Dry Creek, Montana; Bearcreek, Montana; War rationing; Immigrant population, Red Lodge, Montana
Original Date
11-6-1993
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Eva Cross Oral History Project, OH 299, 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 299-001
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound cassette (90 min.) analog + 1 transcript (34 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
01:39:02 minutes
Local Filename
OH_299_001.mp3; OH_299_001.pdf
Citation
Cross, Eva, "Eva Cross Interview, November 6, 1993" (1993). Eva Cross Oral History Project. 1.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/evacross_oralhistory/1