This is a collection of stand-alone interviews pulled together by Archives and Special Collections around the topic of unions and labor in Montana. The collection includes interviews with railroad employees, miners, Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] workers, and union members. These interviews were conducted from 1979 to 1994. The original interviews are held at Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula.
This collection includes 10 interviews.
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Bill Sharp Interview, October 6, 1993
Bill Sharp
Bill Sharp discusses his experiences working with the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] as a new recruit stationed at Fort Missoula in Missoula, Montana. He describes his everyday life while working with the CCC and discusses the evening classes available to the recruits. Sharp also details ... Read More
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Burton Appleton Interview, August 8, 1987
Burton Appleton
Burton Appleton discusses his experiences as an enrollee in the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC]. He describes serving at a camp in Glacier National Park, Montana, from 1939 to 1940 and the facets of his daily life there, including food, work, and exercise. Appleton also discusses ... Read More
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Clay Lewis Interview, March 4, 1994
Clay Lewis
Clay Lewis discusses moving to Montana during the Great Depression in order to mine for gold with a dredge line company. He describes his early mining experiences near Nine Mile, Montana, the equipment he used, and how the Depression affected the people in and around ... Read More
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Edgar E. Cozad Interview, November 19, 1979
Edgar E. Cozad
Edgar Cozad, a charter member of the International Association of Machinists, discusses the organization of the local chapter in Missoula, Montana, in 1936. He describes the effects of the Great Depression on machinists as well as the effect of the union on the local community. ... Read More
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Fern Gildersleeve Interview, December 5, 1983
Fern Gildersleeve
Fern Gildersleeve recalls growing up in Illinois with her sister and her father on her father’s farm, and helping him with outdoor work. She describes moving to Superior, Montana, and meeting her future husband, George Gildersleeve, who worked a placer mine on Cedar Creek. Gildersleeve ... Read More
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George Frank Schneider Interview, October 11, 1993
George Frank Schneider
George Schneider discusses growing up in Helena, Montana, and his experiences in school. He describes working for the Northern Pacific Railway as a fireman, the nature of the job, and the process of how firemen are assigned to particular trains. He describes spending time in ... Read More
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Godfrey "Bob" Johnson Interview, September 1994
Godfrey Johnson
Godfrey Johnson discusses working a series of seasonal jobs after leaving home at the age of 15. He describes living as a hobo during the Great Depression, marrying and settling down in Great Falls, Montana, and getting work with the Great Northern Railway. Johnson also ... Read More
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Jack Barnes Interview, October 1993
Jack Barnes
Jack Barnes discusses his experiences working in law enforcement in Whitefish, Montana, including his time as a dispatcher and jailor in Flathead County. He describes his experiences with specific inmates, what he remembers most about his time as a jailor, and the changing laws and ... Read More
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John A. "Del" Stark Interview, January 5, 1975
John Adelbert Stark
John “Del” Stark talks about his childhood, when his family moved from Chicago, Illinois, to a small farm outside of Roundup, Montana. He describes working on his family’s ranch herding sheep and how he became interested in mining. He tells stories of his fellow miners, ... Read More
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Vincent "Vince" Simons Interview, November 1988
Vincent "Vince" Simons
Vincent “Vince” Simons describes moving to Montana from South Dakota by hopping a boxcar in 1931 in hopes of finding a lucrative job as a miner during the Great Depression. Simons recalls finding a job in 1933 with a gold dredging operation in Pioneer Gulch, ... Read More