Interviewer
Clara McRae, Dylan Yonce
Files
Description
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 hit, the company laid off all of its employees. Eventually, wholesale became in demand, and the company brought back production staff to make cider. The COVID-19 pandemic also created problems getting supplies, including cans for the cider. Western Cider Company worked around this by ordering cans without labels and cans of discontinued beverages from other companies relabeled by Western Cider Company. Montana had restrictions on alcohol delivery, but the state temporarily eased these restrictions due to the pandemic, which benefited Western Cider Company. And finally, Billingsley talks about how Montana was considering legislation to allow permanent alcohol deliveries.
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Document Type
Oral History
Original Date
4-19-2021
Time Period
Twenty-first century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Wet Missoula: COVID-19 and Alcohol Oral History Project, OH 478, Archives & Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana
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 478-012
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
00:42:43 minutes
Local Filename
OH_478_012_use_audio.mp3; OH_478_012_transcript.pdf
Citation
Billingsley, Michael, "Michael Billingsley Interview, April 19, 2021" (2021). Wet Missoula: COVID-19 and Alcohol Oral History Project. 5.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/wetmissoulacovid19_oralhistory/5