Interviewer
Diane Khernberger
Files
Description
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 recounts getting married in 1932, the subsequent births of her children, and her expanding family. She describes the placer mining community, the difficult winters there, and her work cooking for the camp, as well as working as a cook for 11 years at the school in Superior. Gildersleeve recalls her family’s financial struggles during the Great Depression, especially due to the low price of metals. She details the process of placer mining, and mentions the visitors the family receives who are interested in the process and history of placer mining in Montana.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Women, Montana, Interviews; Gold mines and mining; Montana Cedar Creek; Winter; Montana Superior; Illinois Peak; Rebecca Lodge; Youth Conservation Corps; Cedar Creek; Trout Creek
Original Date
12-5-1983
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Unions and Labor Oral History Collection, 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 129-001
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound cassette (01:00:00 min.) analog + 1 transcript (26 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:55:20 minutes
Local Filename
OH_129_001.mp3; OH_129_001.pdf
Citation
Gildersleeve, Fern, "Fern Gildersleeve Interview, December 5, 1983" (1983). Unions and Labor Oral History Collection. 3.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/mtunionsandlabor_oralhistory/3