Interviewer
Eleanor Wend
Files
Description
Mary Heller describes how her father, George McVeigh Fisher, a Presbyterian minister from New York, moved to Montana in 1878 to start a church in Missoula, Montana. She tells of her father’s hunting trips in Flathead Valley, where he constructed the first Presbyterian church in the area after finding no churches there. She talks about growing up in Kalispell, Montana, becoming a teacher because her family expected her to, and the career opportunities that were available to women. She describes living on cattle ranch in Thompson Falls, Montana, before moving to Cut Bank, Montana. She talks about how Prohibition affected the Cut Bank community, as well as its relationship to the Chinese immigrants who worked on the railroad. Heller reminisces about growing up a minister’s child, and what was considered proper behavior.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Chinese immigrants, Montana; Flathead Valley, Montana; Kalispell, Montana; Cut Bank, Montana; Thompson Falls, Montana; Churches, Montana; Presbyterian Church, Montana
Original Date
4-30-1977
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 049-023
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound cassette (01:00:00 min.) analog + 1 transcript (19 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:45:07 minutes
Local Filename
OH_049_023.mp3; OH_049_023.pdf
Citation
Heller, Mary, "Mary Heller Interview, April 30, 1977" (1977). Montana Women's Oral History Project. 60.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/mtwomen_oralhistory/60