Minnie Paugh oral histories, 1964-1975

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Paugh, Minnie Ellen, 1919-2003
Title
Minnie Paugh oral histories
Dates
1964-1975 (inclusive)
1999
Quantity
0.8 linear feet, (2 boxes)
Collection Number
0154, Collection 0154, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary
The interviews represented in this collection are an eclectic mix of Montana citizens sought out by Paugh to document the state's history. Paugh's interviews are represented by complete transcriptions, partial transcriptions, summary notes, and sometimes only by the tape itself. Montana places mentioned include: Fergus County, Gallatin County, Madison County, Powder River County, Bercail, Bozeman, Broadus, Browning, Butte, Fort Custer, Judith Gap, Lewistown, Two Dot, and Wisdom. Subjects include sheep and cattle ranching, homesteading, electric power generation, education, Battle of the Big Hole, the Yellowstone Expedition of 1869, Sisika Indians, Chippewa Cree Indians, and commerce.
Repository
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Languages
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Minnie Ellen Paugh was born in Virginia City, Montana on April 7, 1919 and grew up on the family ranch at Jack Creek. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Montana in Missoula, a Master's of Education degree from the University of Montana, a Master's in Library Science from the University of Denver.

Paugh first worked as a school teacher in various eastern and northern Montana communities and, in 1961, joined the faculty of Montana State College (later Montana State University) in Bozeman as a reference librarian and instructor. The bulk of her time at MSU she was assigned to the Special Collections Department at Renne Library, an area she actively built to preserve collections about Montana, Yellowstone National Park, agricultural history, and Montana Native Americans. During the course of her career, Paugh interviewed many old-time residents of Madison County and periodically borrowed original documents from them to photocopy. In some cases, these copied materials were given accession numbers and added to the holdings of the Special Collections department, but she kept others in her personal research files. In 1974, Paugh was granted an eight-month sabbatical to research and write a history of the Madison Valley and, while doing so, used many of the photocopies and interviews she had previously collected. The manuscript history she produced was never published.

Following her retirement, Paugh was awarded the rank of associate professor emeritus of library science by the Board of Regents of Higher Education for her many contributions. Paugh also received the Blue and Gold Award for bringing national distinction and dedicated service to Montana State University, and she died in Billings, Montana on March 20, 2003.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The interviews represented in this collection are an eclectic mix of Montana citizens sought out by Paugh to document the state's history. Paugh's interviews are represented by complete transcriptions, partial transcriptions, summary notes, and sometimes only by the tape itself. Interviewees include: Allinson, Elsie Nave (1895-1987); Brewington, George (1888-1979); Brooks, Elizabeth (1898-1979); Byran, Joseph M. (1881-1968); (Chattin, Lavina (1877-1974); Davis, Susan (1886-1967); Davis, Wiley S. (1886-1980); Foster, John (1890-1974); French, Florence Conway (1885-1971); Gilkerson, Winifred H. (1885-1981); Harper, Jewell (1909-1996); Heidel, Albert W. (1889-1974); Jackson, Dorman (1883-1973); Jones, Marlyn J. (1901-1980); Kifer, Alma Fly (1890-1978); Lawton, William H. (1892-1973); Martin, Wayne (b. 1895); Merrilies, Louise N. (1879-1966); Moen, Oscar A. (1883-1973); Mueller, Josephene (1883-1976); Ross, Marie Server (1885-1968); Salisbury, Grace (b. 1885); Saxton, Ruth (b. 1885); Sedgwick, Mollie Fay (1885-1986) SunChild, John (1930-2004); Talbot, Robert William (1924-2004); Todd, James (1889-1977); Toman, J. Fred (1886-1975); Wampler, David Cloyd (1879-1968); Zellick, Mary (1884-1974). Montana places mentioned include: Fergus County, Gallatin County, Madison County, Powder River County, Bercail, Bozeman, Broadus, Browning, Butte, Fort Custer, Judith Gap, Lewistown, Two Dot, and Wisdom. Subjects include sheep and cattle ranching, homesteading, electric power generation, education, Battle of the Big Hole, the Yellowstone Expedition of 1869, Sisika Indians, Chippewa Cree Indians, and commerce.

Interview synopsis sheets, transcriptions, and related documentation for all persons contacted by Paugh in the course of her efforts to build research collections. Each interview has been placed into a numbered folder, and in those cases where a recording exists, the object has the same folder number as the transcript or synopsis. Some interviewees loaned Paugh documents and photographs to copy, and in those cases the additional material has been placed in the folders immediately following the transcription or synopsis.

In the cases where no transcription or summary was performed of the tape, a folder has been placed to contain whatever accession information is available with the intention to replace that record with a more thorough description as time and resources allow. The interview subjects have been arranged in alphabetical order, with supporting information files containing substantive groups of copy photographs, clippings, and related materials in folders immediately following the subject's numbered interview file. Numbers in brackets following the transcription file synopsis represent the original accession numbers assigned by Paugh. The Allen Johnson interview, former accession number 458, was added to the collection on October 5, 2011.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Interview synopsis, transcriptions, notes, audiotapes, audiocassette tapes and related documentation created or gathered by MSU Special Collections Librarian Minnie Paugh were accessioned at various times between 1964 and 1980. The materials in this collection incorporate former accession numbers 155, 208, 231, 232, 281, 330, 341, 344, 352, 358, 361, 363, 383, 456, 520, 521, 527, 579, 596, 639, 868, 1020, 1053, 1139, 1181, 1182, 1310, 2008, and 2362. Former accession number 458 was added to the collection on October 5, 2011. Former accession number 535 was added to the collection on March 29, 2012. Former accession number 372 was added to the collection on June 5, 2018. Former accession number 456 was added to the collection on June 14, 2018.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2018 June 14

Separated Materials

The Madison County interviews which were specifically conducted for Paugh's research have been placed with her work on that project in Collection 2051, and the remaining interviews, which range over a wide variety of topics, have been gathered in this collection.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Allinson, Elsie NaveReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1
Allinson, Elsie Nave. Interview synopsis. Interviewed
Montana native raised in Radersburg and Townsend. Experiences growing up, homesteading, and being a dressmaker in Bozeman. The original tape was defective and discarded. [1310]
November 11, 1980
Cassette
2 31
Allinson recording
Folder
1 2
Allinson photocopied documents

Brewington, George. Interviewed, October 18, 1968Return to Top

Native of Livingston, Montana. Transcribed reminiscences include information on school at Careless Creek and Bercail, Montana; experiences in shearing sheep and freighting, ranching, and horse trading in the Judith Gap area. Brewington also mentions the following individuals: Alfred j. Bouchard, John Burke, James A. Craig, Charles A. Evans, Willard L. Halbert, Ramus E. Indreland, David Lake, Angus McKay, Edward Massing, Charles Meyers, P. I. Moule, John Ross, Lewis Patterson Stigen, and Louis Weber. The original tape of the Brewington interview was added by Paugh to a reel used to record a Montana Institute for the Arts, Bozeman History group meeting and can be found in Collection 298, Box 6, Tape 16. [383]

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 3
Interview transcript
compact-disc
2 3
Brewington recording
Folder
1 4
Brewington photocopies and clippings

Brooks, ElizabethReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 5
Brooks land abstract
Gallatin County resident and owner of a ranch in the Bozeman Pass that incorporates the townsite of Chesnut, Montana. Brooks mentions Una B. Herrick and the Turkey Trail in her interview. The audiocassette recorded interview was never transcribed and details Brooks memories about her life in Chestnut. The land abstract was provided to Paugh following the interview to establish the ownership history of the property. The tape has been placed in Series 2.[2008]
November 3, 1973
Cassette
Brooks recording

Chattin, Lavina "Vina." Interview synopsis, October 8, 1964Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 6

Early resident of Fort Benton, and Browning, Montana. Daughter of Blackfoot mother. Information regarding Charles Russell, Sacagawea, Jesse Donaldson Schultz. [281]

Davis, Susan "Susie." Accession record cardReturn to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 7

Early resident of Madison County. Childhood reminiscence and family history, along with remarks by Maude Beals and her memories of going to school in Red Bluff, Montana. Audiocassette was never transcribed or adequately described. It has been placed in Series 2. [1139]

Davis, Wiley S. Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 8
Davis, Wiley S. Synopsis of interview
Madison County native, son of Bannack settler N. J. Davis. Some information regarding Roecher's Drug store in Bozeman where Davis worked during the first decade of the twentieth century. Also worked for the Montana Power Company from 1920-1944. [155]
August 26, 1964
Cassette
Davis recording
Folder
1 9
Davis newspaper clipping, Rotary Club speech, "The Bozeman Power Company"
 1934

Foster, JohnReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 10
Foster, John. Accession record card
Resident of Lewistown, Montana. Interview covers topics such as the DHS Ranch, the Vigilantes of 1884, Chinese at the town of Maiden, and general history of Fergus County. Audiocassette was never transcribed, and recorded on the same cassette as Susie Davis. It has been placed in Series 2. [2362]
circa 1970
Cassette
Foster recording

French, Florence Conway. Synopsis of interview, 1964Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 11

Early resident of Beaverhead County. Information regarding Dillon and the Beaverhead County Museum. [232]

Wilkerson, Winifred HallReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 12
Gilkerson, Winifred Hall. Interview transcript
Resident of Bozeman, Montana and proprietor of a restaurant there and in West Yellowstone from approximately 1922 to 1940. Reminiscences about operating the Gilkerson cafeteria, customers, and some family history. The original audiocassette tape has been placed in Series 2. [1181]
1974
Cassette
2 12
Gilkerson recording
Folder
1 13
Gilkerson copy photographs of family and buildings; newspaper clipping

Harper, JewellReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 14
Harper, Jewell. Interview transcript
Rancher near Two Dot, Montana. Basic family history and some ranching experiences. The original audiotape reel also contains interviews from folder 21, Wayne Martin and folder 25, Josephene Meuller and has been placed in Series 2. [521]
1967
1 15
Harper copy photographs of the Dorn, Harper, Negus, Orr, and Whelan families and ranches at Two Dot and Big Elk, Montana
1 16
Harper copy photographs of the Dorn, Harper, Negus, Orr, and Whelan families and ranches at Two Dot and Big Elk, Montana
tape-reels
Harper

Hiedel, Albert W. Synopsis of interview, October 31, 1964Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 17

Early resident of Brodus, Montana. Established Powder River County Bank. [208]

Jackson, DormanReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 18
Jackson, Dorman. Synopsis of interview
Fergus County rancher. Mentions Charles M. Russell, area ranchers. No recording available. Two photocopied maps have been removed for oversize storage. Second recording of Jackson reading selections of his poetry, date unknown. [361, 547]
1965
compact-disc
2 18
Jackson recording

Jones, Marlyn J. "Judy"Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 19
Jones, Marlyn J. "Judy." Synopsis of interview
Canadian native and resident of Bozeman. Jones worked at the Hauseman and McCall retail store in Bozeman and helped establish skiing in the area. The original audiocassette has been placed in Series 2. [1182]
1974
Cassette
Jones

Kirk, Herbert interview, 1999 June 14Return to Top

Container(s): Box 2, Audiocassette 32

Interview with Herbert Kirk, conducted by Minnie Paugh and Kim Allen Scott. Discussion includes the history of the Kirk family.

Lawton, William H. Synopsis of interview, 1965Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 20

Son-in-law of Simeon Buford, pioneer sheep rancher, financier and store owner in Virginia City and the Madison Valley. In 1965 Lawton was a wool buyer, business known as the Whiteman Lawton ranch. No tape available. [363]

Martin, WayneReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 21
Martin, Wayne. Transcript of interview
Sheep rancher near Two Dot, Montana. Basic family history, with little detail regarding ranch operations. Original audiotape reel also contains interviews from folder 14, Jewell Harper and folder 25, Josephene Mueller and has been placed in Series 2. [520]
June 1967
1 22
Martin copy photographs of family and ranch near Two Dot and Big Elk, Montana
tape-reels
Martin recording

Merrilies, Louise N. Synopsis of interview, August 13, 1965Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 23

Early resident of Butte, Montana and daughter of brewer Christian Nissler. Memories of Butte, mentions meeting Marcus Clark. No recording available. [358]

Moen, Oscar A. Synopsis of interview, October 7, 1964Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 24

Early resident of Flathead county. Describes road building along Flathead Lake using convict labor and the Flathead Lake "Monster." No recording available [231]

Mueller, JosephineReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 25
Mueller, Josephine. Transcript of interview
Resident of Lewistown, Montana. Reminiscence regarding her life with husband Oscar Mueller and her father, Charles W. Cook, who was on the 1869 Yellowstone expedition. Original audiotape reel also contains interviews from folder 14, Jewell Harper and folder 21, Wayne Martin and has been placed in Series 2. [596]
1967
tape-reels
Mueller recording

Ross, Marie Server. Synopsis of interview, 1963Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 26

Native of Big Horn County daughter of Second United States Cavalry Sergeant Fred Server. Information on Server Hotel at Crow Agency and Fort Custer. No recording available [352]

Salisbury, Grace. Synopsis of interview, August 25, 1964Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 27

Gallatin County native, born 1885 near Reece Creek. Ranch ownership locations and childhood incidents. [154]

Saxton, RuthReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 28
Saxton, Ruth. Synopsis of interview
Resident of Hilger, Belt Montana and Fergus County. Family memoirs and some information pertaining to Charles M. Russell, Fort Benton, and John S. Matheson. The original audiotape reel has been placed in Series 2. [579]
1968
small-format-audio-tape
2 28
Saxton recording
Folder
1 29
Saxton copy photographs of Charles Russell, John S. Matheson, freight wagons, and Cree Indian women; newspaper clippings

SunChild, JohnReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 30
SunChild, John. Accession record
Member of the Chippewa Cree tribe of the Rocky Boy's Reservation in central Montana. Remarks on changes on the Rocky Boy's Reservation with particular emphasis on education. This interview was never transcribed, and the audiocassette has been placed in Series 2. [1053]
May 25, 1972
Cassette
SunChild recording

Talbot, Robert WilliamReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 31
Talbot, Robert William. Synopsis of interview
Early resident of Henry's Lake area. Information on Sherwood Store and Museum, Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, I. A. Hutchens, Dick Rock, Sawtelle, and a strange animal killed in the area in 1887. [341]
1967
1 32
Talbot clippings regarding Sarah Winnemucca; copy photographs of Sherwood Store and Museum, Sarah Winnemucca Hopics, Mrs. Dick Rock, Bannack, the Targee House, and Butte in
 1894

Todd, JimReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 33
Todd, Jim Accession record
Early resident of Gallatin Gateway (Gallatin County, Mont.) area. Information on the Flying D. Ranch, W. W. (William Wallace) Wylie, Gallatin Gateway, Camp Creek Basin, the Riverside Boarding House, Havana, and Gallatin Canyon. The interview was never transcribed and the original audiotape reel has been placed in Series 2. [868]
1968
tape-reels
Todd recording

Wampler, David "Cloyd"Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 34
Wampler, David "Cloyd." Synopsis of interview
Early resident of Wisdom, MT. Recollections of visiting Big Hole Battlefield nine years after the fight and hotel operation in Wisdom. Taped interviews not transcribed, and the two original audiotape reels have been placed in Series 2. [330, 344]
May 13, 1965; June 30, 1965
1 35
Wampler clippings and photocopies
tape-reels
Wampler recording

Zellick, MaryReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 36
Zellick, Mary. Transcript of interview
Mary was an immigrant from Yugoslavia who settled with her family on a homestead near Divide, Montana in 1907 and moved, in 1910, to Lewistown. Her daughter, Anna, was born in Lewistown. Information on difficulties in farming and functioning as non-English speaking immigrants. Original audiotape reel has been placed in Series 2. [639]
October 17, 1968
compact-disc
2 36
Zellick recording

Johnson, AllenReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 37
Johnson, Allen. Synopsis of interview
Johnson was former homesteader of Valley County, Montana northwest of the town of Glasgow. He recalled the isolation of the farm and the difficulty with securing teachers in the local school and transporting grain. Owner of the former Two Dot, Montana, hotel, Johnson also gives some background on the building. [458]
1966
1 38
Johnson copy photographs of Valley County homestead scenes

Kifer, Alma FlyReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 39
Kifer, Alma Fly. Synopsis of interview
Kifer was the daughter of Jennie Curtis Fly, an early Gallatin County pioneer who had come to Montana with her family from Utah around 1864. The William Fly property was at Central Park and his son, J.D. Fly's farmstead was on Dry Creek. The interview describes the Curtis family background of Jennie, her marriage to J. D. Fly, and her subsequent move to the Laurel, Montana area after Fly's death. [535]
September 1967
1 40
Copy photographs of the Fly and Curtis families

Sedgwick, Mollie Fay. Synopsis of interview, 1965Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 41

Sedgwick was the daughter of Robert Culbertson, the brother of Major Alec Culberson, a pioneer Fort Benton trader. Mollie's interview details the Culberston family genealogy and gives sparse details on her own life in Kalispell, Montana. [372]

Copy photographs of Mr. and Mrs. Alec Culbertson and photocopied clippings about the familyReturn to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 42

Bryan, Joseph M. and Jessie VictoriaReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 43
Bryan, Joseph M. and Jessie Victoria. Transcript of interview
The Bryans were ranchers in Powder River County, Montana and interviewed in their Brodus home by Paugh, Jack Jenkins, and Merrill G. Burlingame. Bryan rcalls how he came to Miles City first in 1890 and to Otter Creek in 1891. He and his wife describe their ranching and social life in the area. [456]
1966
compact-disc
Bryan recording

Toman, J. FredReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 44
Toman, J. Fred. Transcript of interview.
Toman was a rancher who came to Montana from Nebraska and interviewed in Brodus cCafe by Paugh, Jack Jenkins, and Merrill G. Burlingame. Toman recounds his life in Powder River County and his extisive writings and correspondence that were subsequently donated to the Montana Historical Society and held by them as MC 351 . [456]
1967
tape-reels
2 44
Toman recording

Zupan, MaryReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box tape-reels
2 36
Zupan recording

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Academic librarians
  • Academic librarians--Montana--Bozeman
  • Big Hole, Battle of the, Mont., 1877
  • Education--Montana
  • Electric power production-Montana
  • Frontier and pioneer life--Montana
  • Oral history
  • Pioneers--Montana--Interviews
  • Ranching--Montana
  • Sheep ranches--Montana
  • Siksika Indians
  • Women pioneers--Montana--Interviews

Corporate Names

  • Renne Library
  • Yellowstone Expedition (1869)

Geographical Names

  • Bercail (Mont.)--History
  • Bozeman (Mont.)
  • Bozeman (Mont.)--History
  • Broadus (Mont.)--History
  • Browning (Mont.)--History
  • Butte (Mont.)--History
  • Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana
  • Fergus County (Mont.)--History
  • Fort Custer (Mont.)-History
  • Gallatin County (Mont.)--History
  • Judith Gap (Mont.)-History
  • Lewistown (Mont.)--History
  • Madison County (Mont.)-History
  • Montana
  • Montana--Commerce
  • Montana--History
  • Powder River County (Mont.)-History
  • Twodot (Mont.)-History
  • Wisdom (Mont.)-History

Form or Genre Terms

  • Interviews--Montana
  • Oral histories
  • Oral histories--Montana

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Allinson, Elsie Nave, 1895-1987 (ive)
    • Brewington, George, 1888-1979 (ive)
    • Brooks, Elizabeth, 1898-1979 (ive)
    • Chattin, Lavina, 1877-1974 (ive)
    • Davis, Susan, 1886-1967 (ive)
    • Davis, Wiley S., 1886-1980 (ive)
    • Foster, John, 1890-1974 (ive)
    • French, Florence Conway, 1885-1971 (ive)
    • Gilkerson, Winifred Hall, 1885-1981 (ive)
    • Harper, Jewell, 1909-1996 (ive)
    • Heidel, Albert W., 1889-1974 (ive)
    • Jackson, Dorman, 1883-1973 (ive)
    • Jones, Marlyn J.,-1901-1980-Interviews (ive)
    • Lawton, William H.,-1892-1973-Interviews (ive)
    • Martin, Wayne,-b. 1895-Interviews (ive)
    • Merrilies, Louise N.,-1879-1966-Interiews (ive)
    • Moen, Oscar A.,-1883-1973-Interviews (ive)
    • Mueller, Josephine Cook,-1883-1976-Interviews (ive)
    • Ross, Marie Server,-1885-1968-Interviews (ive)
    • Salisbury, Grace,-b. 1885-Interviews (ive)
    • Saxton, Ruth,-b. 1885-Interviews (ive)
    • SunChild, John,-1930-2004-Interviews (ive)
    • Talbot, Robert William,-1924-2004-Interviews (ive)
    • Todd, James,-1889-1977-Interviews (ive)
    • Wampler, David Cloyd, 1879-1968 (ive)
    • Zupan, Mary, 1884-1974 (ive)

Kim Allen Scott, 2011; revised by Jodi Allison-Bunnell, 2022
2022

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