This collection of audio reminiscences by Glen A. Smith details turn of the century homesteading and westward migration, Montana’s lumber and milling industry, the early days of the U.S. Forest Service and its range management efforts. Smith self-recorded these reminiscences circa 1950s or 1960s. In them, he discusses his upbringing on a Midwestern farm, his first employment working cattle in Oklahoma Territory, his life as a Montana lumber and milling employee, and his employment with the U.S. Forest Service. The original interviews are held as Oral History collection OH 006 at Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula.
This collection includes 9 interviews.
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Glen A. Smith Reminiscence 1, circa 1950s
Glen A. Smith
Glen A. Smith reflects on his childhood in Hume, Missouri, where he was born in 1879 and where he worked on the family farm until the age of 14 when he was sent to the home of an uncle in Fredericksburg, Illinois, after his mother ... Read More
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Glen A. Smith Reminiscence 2, circa 1950s
Glen A. Smith
Glen A. Smith describes how he traveled west in 1898 to work in lumber yards in Montana. He recalls starting work at Northwestern Mill near Columbia Falls as a sawdust cart driver, and then rising through the ranks to become a ratchet-setter and then foreman ... Read More
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Glen A. Smith Reminiscence 3, circa 1950s
Glen A. Smith
Glen A. Smith recalls passing his officer’s examination for the U.S. Forest Service with one of the top scores in Montana. He describes his posting in Libby, Montana, where he cleared trail and mapped the land while living in a cabin with fellow rangers Roscoe ... Read More
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Glen A. Smith Reminiscence 4, circa 1950s
Glen A. Smith
Glen A. Smith recalls how the U.S. Forest Service handled rancher permit abuse and trespass cases on National Forest lands. He recalls the difficulties faced during attempts to regulate roundups and insure that unbranded cattle were accounted for in the national forest recording systems. Smith ... Read More
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Glen A. Smith Reminiscence 5, circa 1950s
Glen A. Smith
Glen A. Smith reflects on his time as a U.S. Forest Service ranger in the Custer National Forest. He estimates that he spent some 150-165 days in the saddle per year patrolling boundaries and examining trespasses by local ranchers, a community which Smith reports, was ... Read More
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Glen A. Smith Reminiscence 6, circa 1950s
Glen A. Smith
Glen A. Smith describes the Prior Mountain range and the unique situation that stockmen faced raising herds in a land with little water. He reports on the early years of his marriage to Chrissy C. Rowe, and the birth of their three children. Smith describes ... Read More
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Glen A. Smith Reminiscence 7, circa 1950s
Glen A. Smith
Glen A. Smith recalls his role in planning road and lookout locations within the Kootenai National Forest. Smith emphasizes the Forest Service’s continued dependence on stock-use as the primary means of transport despite the new vehicle roads. He tells how land deemed agricultural was cleared ... Read More
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Glen A. Smith Reminiscence 8, circa 1950s
Glen A. Smith
Glen A. Smith reflects on his time as the Region 1 Chief Range Manager for the U.S. Forest Service, balancing sheep and cattle interests with the grazing needs of wild game in Montana and Idaho. He cites that much of his success came from being ... Read More
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Glen A. Smith Reminiscence 9, circa 1950s
Glen A. Smith
Glen A. Smith reflects on the importance of fair and amiable working relationships between the U.S. Forest Service and the ranchers who ran their herds on National Forest land. He describes how increased communication between ranchers and foresters had a positive effect on compliance with ... Read More