This collection contains interviews documenting how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the alcohol culture in Missoula, Montana. The interviews were conducted in April of 2021 by University of Montana students in HSTA377: Intoxication Nation: Alcohol in American History, taught by history professor Kyle G. Volk. The interviewees include Missoula bar and brewery owners, bartenders and servers, an AA member, a recovery counselor, a sales rep for distribution companies and more. More information about the project is available in the Raise a Glass press release. The original interviews are held as Oral History collection 478 at Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula.
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“Bruno F.” and Mrs. “Bruno F.” Interview, April 9, 2021
"Bruno F." and "Mrs. Bruno F."
In this anonymized interview, the interviewee, "Bruno F.," details his struggle with alcohol addiction and contributing factors such as time off from work and the workplace/office culture of the 1980s. The interviewee discusses his initial negative attitude toward A.A. [Alcoholics Anonymous] and how that impression ... Read More
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Chelsey Elizabeth George Interview, April 16, 2021
Chelsey Elizabeth George
In this interview, Chelsey Elizabeth George discusses moving home over 20 years earlier to assist her father with the family business—George’s Distributing. She talks about changing the company's mission from facilitating food distribution to distributing wine and beer to restaurants. However, their alcohol business suffered ... Read More
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Danielle Lellek Brooker Interview, April 23, 2021
Danielle Lellek Brooker
In this interview, Danielle Brooker talks about her role as the general manager of Draught Works in Missoula, where she has worked since 2012. She discusses how Draught Works has a good relationship with the health department and how they have been adhering to their ... Read More
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Douglas Ness Interview, April 15, 2021
Douglas Ness
In this interview, Doug Ness talks about Missoula Wine Merchants, a business he founded in 2015 in Missoula, Montana. Despite having yet to experience running a business or selling wine, Ness successfully launched a wine club for the store's customers. He explains how offering discounts ... Read More
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Gregory Ragan Interview, April 15, 2021
Gregory Ragan
In this interview, Gregory Ragan talks about selling wine for Intermountain Distributing as a sales representative. Ragan outlines how his district includes Missoula and the Bitterroot and how he sells wine to retail outlets, restaurants, and bars. When asked about the COVID-19 pandemic and its ... Read More
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Jeffrey Crouch Interview, April 17, 2021
Jeffrey Crouch
In this first part of a two-part interview, Jeffrey Crouch talks about his store, Grizzly Liquor, a privatized state liquor store in Missoula. Crouch and his wife have owned it for eight and a half years. The store has a “franchise agreement” that allows it ... Read More
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Jeffrey Crouch Interview, April 18, 2024
Jeffrey Crouch
In this second part of a two-part interview, Jeffrey Crouch talks about his store, Grizzly Liquor, a privatized state liquor store in Missoula. Crouch says that he wasn’t aware of any talk about whether liquor stores in Missoula should be closed during the COVID-19 pandemic ... Read More
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Logan Robert Cook Interview, April 14, 2021
Logan Robert Cook
In this interview, Logan Cook talks about his work at the Western Montana Mental Health Center, particularly with clients having substance use disorders. Cook speaks about implementing changes to their services due to the COVID-19 pandemic and how they can connect virtually with their clients ... Read More
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Michael Billingsley Interview, April 19, 2021
Michael Billingsley
In this interview, Michael Billingsley talks about moving to Montana and starting the Western Cider Company. Billingsley mentions how he and his wife first created the apple orchards in Stevensville, Montana, and then used the apples at the cidery they established in Missoula. When COVID-19 ... Read More
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Michael McCarty Grisley Interview, April 22, 2021
Michael McCarty Grisley
In this interview, Michael Grisley talks about his business, Osito Wine Distributing, and how his business imports wine from Europe, mainly from Spain, Portugal, and some from France. Grisley speaks of how the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major shipping issues getting his wine from Europe. ... Read More
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Sarah Lee Gittins Interview, April 20, 2021
Sarah Lee Gittins
In this interview, Sarah Gittins talks about her work at the Winds of Change Mental Health Center in Missoula, Montana. Gittins discusses starting the substance use program at the facility to work with the already established mental health component. The facility did not close down ... Read More