Oral Presentations
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Claire Arcenas
Faculty Mentor’s Department
History
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Thomas Brown Castles was born on August 10th, 1922, the seventh child of European Immigrants William and Catherine Irwin Castles. He grew up in a tiny Montana town called Superior, taking in everything it had to offer. Thomas dedicated his life to those around him, serving others in any way he could: local politics, running a family grocery store and serving the United States in World War II. The purpose of this project is to bring to light his powerful actions, while also allowing his experiences to shed light on the 20th-century history of Veterans Affairs and life after the war in a small Montana town. However, the true heartbeat of this project has been to understand where I come from on a much deeper level, as Thomas Brown Castles was a man I never got to meet: He was my great-grandfather.
Research for this project draws on a range of historical primary sources. For local Montana History and to understand his contributions to the Superior community, I investigated his hometown's newspaper, The Mineral Independent. For Veterans Affairs/ Battle of the Bulge, I turned to online resources such as the VA website and my family's military history book, “The Castles Brothers.” Lastly, I interviewed several surviving family members for interesting stories and relevant personal information.
Much can be learned from the history of the “common” man. My great-grandfather’s story is much less told compared to his more famous brothers, and the main goal of my project is to change that. Furthermore, my research on Veterans Affairs Policy combined with real-world examples will show how far the program has come from its trivial beginnings in the 1930s. Lastly, for those curious about how big the life of a small town in Montana can be, this project can inspire further investigation.
Category
Humanities
Thomas Brown Castles: A Portrait of Service beyond the Front Lines
UC 330
Thomas Brown Castles was born on August 10th, 1922, the seventh child of European Immigrants William and Catherine Irwin Castles. He grew up in a tiny Montana town called Superior, taking in everything it had to offer. Thomas dedicated his life to those around him, serving others in any way he could: local politics, running a family grocery store and serving the United States in World War II. The purpose of this project is to bring to light his powerful actions, while also allowing his experiences to shed light on the 20th-century history of Veterans Affairs and life after the war in a small Montana town. However, the true heartbeat of this project has been to understand where I come from on a much deeper level, as Thomas Brown Castles was a man I never got to meet: He was my great-grandfather.
Research for this project draws on a range of historical primary sources. For local Montana History and to understand his contributions to the Superior community, I investigated his hometown's newspaper, The Mineral Independent. For Veterans Affairs/ Battle of the Bulge, I turned to online resources such as the VA website and my family's military history book, “The Castles Brothers.” Lastly, I interviewed several surviving family members for interesting stories and relevant personal information.
Much can be learned from the history of the “common” man. My great-grandfather’s story is much less told compared to his more famous brothers, and the main goal of my project is to change that. Furthermore, my research on Veterans Affairs Policy combined with real-world examples will show how far the program has come from its trivial beginnings in the 1930s. Lastly, for those curious about how big the life of a small town in Montana can be, this project can inspire further investigation.