Interviewer
Gladys Peterson
Files
Description
Ruby Longbottom describes her family history and her life in Stevensville, Montana, during the 20th century. She talks about her family’s roots in Nebraska where her parents met and married before moving west, originally to cultivate an apple orchard during the apple boom in the Bitterroot Valley. She discusses her family life and the cattle farm she grew up. Longbottom talks about working as a bookkeeper before marrying in 1930, and recalls the expectation of married women to stay home. Longbottom talks about the financial difficulties the Depression created for her family, and recalls the Works Progress Administration [WPA] and Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] programs that provided jobs for people in the community. She describes the origins of the annual creamery picnic in Stevensville, how the town has changed over the years, and her favorite memories of growing up there. She speaks briefly about raising her children and helping her husband with his woodworking shop before working for the school district for nearly 20 years as an assistant to the superintendent.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Great Depression, 1929-1939; Stevensville fire; World War, 1914-1918; Flu epidemic, 1919; Apple boom, Bitterroot Valley, Montana; Farming, Bitterroot Valley, Montana; Montana towns, growth; Works Progress Administration [WPA]; Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC]; Stevensville Creamery Picnic
Original Date
8-3-1988
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Stevensville Oral History Project, OH 207, 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 207-003
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
00:43:56 minutes
Local Filename
OH_207_003.mp3; OH_207_003.pdf
Citation
Longbottom, Ruby, "Ruby Longbottom Interview, August 3, 1988" (1988). Stevensville Oral History Project. 3.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/stevensville_oralhistory/3