Interviewer
Mary Melcher
Files
Description
Thyra Haugen describes how her family emigrated from Copenhagen, Denmark, to the United States and her childhood Minneapolis, Minnesota during the 1890s. She talks about the chores she did, attending school, and working as a clerk in a store when she was a teenager. Haugen discusses moving to Great Falls, Montana, with her husband in 1897, how marriage was an expectation for women, and how most wives found jobs to help support their family. She recalls her involvement with the Order of the Eastern Star, which included organizing social events to support the women’s suffrage and prohibition movement. Interviewee reminisces about living in Choteau, Montana, the birth of their seven children, and working in her husband’s general store. Haugen concludes by describing the interactions between the white Choteau residents and the Native American, African American, and Chinese American communities in the area. She also recalls the drought of the 1920s and 1930s.
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
Danish immigration; Great Falls, Montana; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Women in Montana; Order of the Eastern Star; Women’s organizations; Women’s suffrage, Montana; Prohibition; Choteau, Montana; Business owners, Montana
Original Date
8-9-1977
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 049-022
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound cassette (01:00:00 min.) analog + 1 transcript (15 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:24:40 minutes
Local Filename
OH_049_022.mp3; OH_049_022.pdf
Citation
Haugen, Thyra, "Thyra Haugen Interview, August 9, 1977" (1977). Montana Women's Oral History Project. 32.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/mtwomen_oralhistory/32