Interviewer
Gladys Peterson
Files
Description
Forrest Poe discusses his family’s history and how his parents moved from the Midwest to Montana. He talks about his father cutting timber as a logger in McNamara Landing near the Blackfoot River and his father’s dispute with the Northern Pacific Railroad over the land he was homesteaded in the Rattlesnake Valley in Missoula, Montana. Poe reminisces about local Missoula families and ranches, and he details the mining activities and kilns of the Rattlesnake region, specifically Lime Kiln Gulch and the surrounding area. He discusses World War Two, specifically the war’s effect on his elementary school in Lincoln, Montana, and the Missoula, Montana community. He notes how German students and German-Montanans were discriminated against during that time. Poe shares his memories of how the Great Depression affected affected his life, mentioning the scarcity of cash and bartering for groceries. He talks about the introduction of the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] and the Works Progress Administration [WPA]. Poe ends by discussing his contraction of polio in 1936 and how it affected his life.
Flossie Poe, Forrest Poe’s wife, occasionally comments throughout the interview.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Missoula, Montana; Rattlesnake Valley; Squatting; Homesteading; Northern Pacific Railroad; Logging; McNamara Landing; Great Depression (1929-1939); One-room schoolhouses; Scarlet fever; Effinger Ranch; Ray Ranch; Apple Seed John; Mining rights; Mineral rights; Kilns; Lime kilns; Lime Kiln Gulch; World War (1939-1945); Lincoln, Montana; Lincoln Elementary School; German-Americans; Great Depression (1929-1939); Franklin Roosevelt; Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC]; Works Progress Administration; Prohibition; Speakeasies; Polio; Montana Power Company; Friends of the Rattlesnake
Original Date
1-14-1988
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Life in the Rattlesnake Oral History Collection, OH 196, 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 196-001, 002, 003
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound cassette (01:30:00 min.) analog + 1 transcript (28 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
03:01:34 minutes
Local Filename
OH_196_001_002_003.mp3; OH_196_001_002_003.pdf
Citation
Poe, Forrest H., "Forrest H. Poe Interview, January 14 and 20, 1988" (1988). Life in the Rattlesnake Oral History Collection. 1.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/rattlesnakelife_oralhistory/1