ScholarWorks at University of Montana

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  Alvin Eugene “Gene” Miller Interview, September 30, 2009

  Alvin Eugene Miller

  Alvin “Gene” Miller discusses being part of a community agriculture project in Kankakke, Illinois, during World War Two because he had registered as a conscientious objector. He talks about his passion for gardening, growing up in the Swan Valley, and how he was one of ... Read More

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  Al Wise Interview, May 26, 1999

  Al Wise

  Al Wise shares a number of colorful anecdotes about his life from living in Illinois until he was married, then moving to the Swan Valley in Montana in 1932 for employment. He recalls homesteading there with his family and making ends meet by working as ... Read More

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  Bill Potter Interview, December 17, 2005

  Bill Potter

  Bill Potter describes coming to Montana in the early 20th century with his parents. He recalls the family homestead and the time they spent camping and backpacking in the Mission Mountains. Potter discusses the guest ranch he owns and operates and the timber stand he ... Read More

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  Bob Love Interview, October 23, 2001

  Bob Love

  Bob Love recalls moving from Western Pennsylvania, where he grew up, to Columbia Falls, Montana, where he’s lived since 1977. He describes his experiences with the local Blackfoot tribe, attending pow-wows and sweat lodge ceremonies, and how those experiences have shaped his own spirituality and ... Read More

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  Bob Reed and Peggy Reed Interview, November 7, 2001

  Bob Reed and Peggy Reed

  Bob Reed and Peggy Reed talk about the time they have spent in Swan Valley, Montana. Each tell how their parents homesteaded and worked odd jobs in and around the Swan Valley area. Bob recalls his time serving in the Navy during World War Two. ... Read More

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  Bob Van Gieson and Helen Van Gieson Interview, June 11, 2007

  Bob Van Gieson and Helen Van Gieson

  Bob Van Gieson and Helen Van Gieson describe their life together in Swan Valley, Montana, where they moved after marrying in 1944 on a New Mexico Air Force base. Bob discusses how he served in World War Two, then went on to pursue a career ... Read More

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  Brian Parks Interview, October 20, 2005

  Brian Parks

  Brian Parks discusses his experience building and maintaining a garden in Condon, Montana. He notes some of the unique challenges he faces, such as colder temperatures and pests. Parks describes the gardening techniques that he has developed to meet these challenges. He shares his opinions ... Read More

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  Cal Tassinari Interview, June 4, 1999

  Cal Tassinari

  Cal Tassinari describes his work and experience as a wilderness ranger for the U.S. Forest Service starting in the early 1960s in the Mission Mountains Wilderness area in Montana. He recalls his primary duties which included planning and constructing trails, observing wildlife, and managing the ... Read More

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  Clarence Stilwell and Mabel Stilwell Interview, February 5, 1999

  Clarence Stilwell and Mabel Stilwell

  Clarence Stilwell recalls his career as a ranger in the U.S. Forest Service, working in Idaho and Montana in the mid-20th century. He discusses working in the Upper Swan Valley, where he met his wife, Mabel Stilwell. He describes lookouts in Idaho, and his work ... Read More

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  Claudia Kux Interview, October 3, 2002

  Claudia Kux

  Claudia Kux describes moving to Montana in the late 1990s and volunteering for the Swan Ecosystem Center. She talks about working for the National Wildlife Federation in Washington D.C. prior to coming to Montana and how that influenced her decision to move west. Kux talks ... Read More

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  Colleen Kesterson and Wes Kesterson Interview, October 9, 2009

  Colleen Kesterson and Wes Kesterson

  Colleen Kesterson describes teaching school at Salmon Prairie School and Swan Lake. She and Wes discuss raising two Vietnamese foster children in addition to their biological daughter, Charlene. Wes recalls how his father came to Great Falls, Montana, when he was 12 and then served ... Read More

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  Dawn Bishop Interview, August 23, 1999

  Dawn Bishop

  Dawn Bishop describes her experiences gardening in the Swan Valley, Montana. She talks about the specific microclimate around her house and what plants will grow in zone 5-B. She also details the difficulty of growing plants in the native clay soil around her house, and ... Read More

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  Dixie Meyer Interview, October 22, 2001

  Dixie Meyer

  Dixie Meyer discusses when her family moved to Salmon Prairie, Montana, in the late 1930s. She talks about the family property and about going to elementary school in Salmon Prairie and high school in Missoula, Montana. She recalls how her father made a modest living ... Read More

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  Doris Haasch and Harold Haasch Interview, February 25, 2002

  Doris Haasch and Harold Haasch

  Doris Haasch recalls the memories that she documented in diaries since she was 12 years old. She describes her childhood in Woodworth, Montana, attending school and social function there, such as dances, and going to her father’s store.

  The audio for this interview is restricted. ... Read More

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  Doris Haasch and Harold Haasch Interview, January 25, 2002

  Doris Haasch and Harold Haasch

  Doris Haasch and Harold Haasch tell the story of how they first met when Harold was working on Doris’ father’s ranch in Woodworth, Montana. They describe marrying in 1943 and then moving up to Swan Valley, Montana, in 1946. Both Harold and Doris discuss living ... Read More

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  Ed Foss Interview, September 11, 1999

  Ed Foss

  Ed Foss tells how he moved to the Swan Valley, Montana, after discovering the area during a packing trip through the Bob Marshall Wilderness. He recalls how, on the advice of one of his pack guides, he purchased 160 acres in 1965, which had originally ... Read More

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  Eunice “Dune” Wilhelm Hultman Interview, September 15, 1999

  Eunice Hultman

  Eunice Hultman describes being raised in the Swan Valley of Montana, by her parents Babe and Eva Wilhelm who owned the 33 Bar Ranch near Holland Lake. Hultman discusses how she and her husband Buff ran the ranch from 1951 to 1974. She recalls growing ... Read More

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  Gerald Edwin “Jerry” Underwood Interview, September 29, 2009

  Gerald Edwin Underwood

  Gerald “Jerry” Underwood discusses moving to the Swan Valley with his parents and brother as a young child so his father could work as a logger. He talks about fishing on Cooney Creek, attending school at Smith Flat, and watching the wildlife that lived around ... Read More

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  Gloria Busch Interview, February 9, 2006

  Gloria Busch

  Gloria Busch discusses the origin and development of Rustics, a business in Swan Valley that builds and sells log cabin homes and which she started in 1969 with her then husband, Jim Busch. She recalls how they moved from New York to Montana in 1967, ... Read More

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  Gyda Newman and Bob Newman Interview, February 1, 1999

  Gyda Newman and Bob Newman

  Gyda Newman briefly describes her father’s job with the U.S. Forest Service and when her family moved from the Swan Valley into Missoula, Montana. Bob Newman recalls when his parents purchased a home in the Swan Valley area, which he inherited after his father died. ... Read More

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  Gyda Newman and Bob Newman Interview, January 29, 1999

  Gyda Newman and Bob Newman

  Gyda Newman recounts her time growing up near the Lindberg Lake, Elbow Lake, and Elk Creek, Montana areas as a child with her brother and father. Bob Newman discusses the logging and maintenance of the cabin that Gyda grew up in on Elk Creek as ... Read More

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  Harold Haasch and Doris Haasch Interview, January 14, 1999

  Harold Haasch and Doris Haasch

  Harold Haasch describes growing up on his family’s homestead in Montana during the early 20th century. He talks about hauling wood, gardening, milking the cow, and caring for livestock. Haasch discusses going to work for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company when he was 15 and ... Read More

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  Harold Haasch and Doris Haasch Interview, July 18, 1999

  Harold Haasch and Doris Haasch

  Doris and Harold Haasch reminisce about their marriage in 1943 and subsequent honeymoon spent riding packhorses for the U.S. Forest Service in the Seeley-Swan Mountain Range of Montana. They talk about the advancements in the sawmilling industry in the Swan Valley are. Doris recalls boarding ... Read More

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  Harold Haasch Interview, February 26, 1999

  Harold Haasch

  Harold Haasch discusses the families and people who homesteaded in Montana’s Upper Swan Valley. He talks about the bachelors in the area such as Ole Semling and Oscar Southern, trappers who lived in the area, and buildings that used to exist, such as the old ... Read More

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  Harold Haasch Interview, July 17, 1999

  Harold Haasch

  Harold Haasch describes working as a guide in and around Montana’s Swan Valley for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks [FWP], the U.S. Forest Service, and guest ranches such as the Bar 33 and Gordon Ranch. He recalls leading groups of hunters and other vacationers around ... Read More