Interviewer
Mary Melcher
Files
Description
Frieda Geary reminisces about her parents emigrating from Germany to the United States in 1889. She details her childhood chores, life on her parents’ farm and growing up in a German community in Nevada. She discusses her limited schooling and her struggle to learn in both English and German. Geary describes the societal pressure on women to marry and her decision to marry. She also talks about the birth of her children, the pain of losing her first child in childbirth, and the lack of education about birth control for women during this time. Interviewee describes how she and her husband purchased his father’s ranch, which they ran until he died of a sudden heart attack. Geary concludes by recalling her interactions with the Native American and Roma communities.
When this interview was conducted, the interviewee requested to remain anonymous in the transcript and audio. Archives and Special Collections has chosen to lift this restriction now that the interviewee is deceased.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
German immigration; Women in Montana; Homesteading, United States; Ranchers, Montana; Women ranchers
Original Date
6-2-1977
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Montana Women's Oral History Project, OH 049, 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 049-017
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound cassette (01:00:00 min.) analog + 1 transcript (20 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:34:55 minutes
Local Filename
OH_049_017.mp3; OH_049_017.pdf
Citation
Geary, Frieda, "Frieda Geary Interview, June 2, 1977" (1977). Montana Women's Oral History Project. 30.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/mtwomen_oralhistory/30