Files
Description
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 of the mill. Smith recalls accidents and close-calls that represent the dangers of mill work at the turn of the century. He also mentions his work with Smith Mill and the O’Neil Lumber Company in Kalispell. Smith reflects on the Scandinavian and French-Canadian labor force that made up the logging and milling communities of the early 1900s. He notes that getting married and having a family encouraged him to diversify his economic interests and invest in a stucco plant. Smith recalls the changes he has witnessed in Montana from the early to mid-1900s including how once open land has been replaced by fenced-off wheat-farms.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Armitage, Montana; Lumber mills; Sawyers, Montana; Fire-fighting; French-Canadian labor; Scandinavian labor; Fort Benton, Montana; Smith, Glen A. – Interviews; Kalispell (Mont.) – History; Columbia Falls (Mont.) – History; Lumbering -- Montana – History; Lumbermen -- Montana – Interviews; Lumbermen -- Wounds and injuries -- Montana – History; Immigrants -- Montana – History; O'Neil Lumber Company -- Employees – Interviews; O'Neil Lumber Company – History; Sawmills -- Montana -- Kalispell – History; Sawmills -- Montana -- Columbia Falls -- History
Original Date
1950
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Glen A. Smith Reminiscences Oral History Project, OH 006, 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 006-002
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 reel-to-reel (03:00:00 min.) analog + 1 transcript (22 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
02:06:39 minutes
Local Filename
OH_006_002.mp3; OH_006_002.pdf
Citation
Smith, Glen A., "Glen A. Smith Reminiscence 2, circa 1950s" (1950). Glen A. Smith Reminiscences Oral History Project. 2.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/glensmith_reminiscences/2