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Harry Oscar Bell Papers, 1905-1972

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Bell, Harry Oscar, 1884-1971
Title
Harry Oscar Bell Papers
Dates
1905-1972 (inclusive)
Quantity
10.9 linear feet and 39 reels of film
Collection Number
Mss 283 (collection)
Summary
Harry Oscar Bell was the owner of a successful Ford automobile dealership in Missoula, Montana from 1915 until about 1970. He also owned and operated the Bar Lazy B Ranch near Ronan, Montana, specializing in Arabian horses. This collection consists of publications, financial records, photographs, correspondence, artifacts and films relating to H.O. Bell, his family, his ranch, and his Ford dealership.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Funding for laboratory preservation work for a selection of films from the collection was provided by the National Film Preservation Foundation.
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Biographical Note

Harry Oscar Bell was born to William Jefferson Bell and Susan Marie (Mullet) Bell on December 4, 1884, in Coshocton, near Columbus, Ohio. He had an older brother, James, a younger brother, William Jr., and a younger sister, Arl Mary. When Harry was seven, the family moved to a 40 acre farm outside of Athens, Ohio. His father died when he was twelve and Harry was forced to leave school after the sixth grade. At thirteen, he moved to Indiana to live on his uncle Daniel Mullet's farm. In his later teens, Harry worked as a mechanic for Carl Fisher, who later founded the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He traveled with Fisher and Earl Kaiser as a mechanic in 1904 and 1905. He also designed a safety plug for the acetylene tanks used to illuminate early headlights. The plugs stopped dangerous explosions, a problem with early cars.

In 1906 he moved to Spokane, Washington, where he opened a car dealership and drove race cars at the Spokane Fairgrounds track. He married Grace Tyler on Nov. 20, 1909, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Their first daughter, Dorothy Leora, was born on Oct. 3, 1910. The couple's other child, Betty, was born in January 1931.

H.O. Bell moved with his family to Missoula, Montana, in 1915 and borrowed money from a friend to buy Floyd J. Logan's Ford auto dealership. The company was small in the beginning, with Bell and two employees servicing and selling the popular Fords. Within ten years, he employed 36 workers at his agency in the 600 block of South Higgins Avenue. When he opened his modern building across the street in 1929, the celebration attracted 10,000 motorists. A guest during the opening was noted pilot Nick Mamer and his Ford Tri-Motor airplane; Bell had a life-long interest in aviation as well as automobiles. In the mid-1920s, Bell was named chairman of the Missoula County Airport Board, a position he held until retiring in 1957. Missoula's modern airport is named Johnson-Bell Field in his and pilot Bob Johnson's honor.

In 1968, Bell was re-elected to his 3rd term as president of the Montana Auto Association. He also served in the Montana and national auto dealers' associations. In the Missoula community, Bell was president of the Chamber of Commerce, active in the Rotary Club, and a member of the board of directors of the Western Montana National Bank for 34 years. He was also on the Florence Hotel board of directors and involved himself in a host of other activities, including hospital fund-raising and the Boy Scouts. In 1969, after he had been selling and servicing Fords for 54 years, he received the coveted Benjamin Franklin Quality Dealer Award at the annual convention of the National Automobile Dealers Association, in Houston, Texas.

Bell served as a member of the Governor's Interim Highway Committee and on the National Highway Safety Committee under President Dwight Eisenhower. In later years, he spent considerable time at his cherished Bar Lazy B Ranch near Ronan, Montana, breeding Arabian horses and polled Hereford cattle. After the death of his first wife, Grace (Tyler) Bell, in 1950, he married businesswoman Mary Mista in Missoula in 1952.

H.O. Bell passed away in October 1971 in Missoula; Mary died in August 2000.

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Content Description

This collection includes incomplete runs of the The Ford Dealer News and The Dearborn Independent, from the 1920s as well as other automobile related publications. There are also financial records from the H.O. Bell Ford Dealership in Missoula from 1917 to 1942. Also included in the collection are H.O. Bell's personal films, in 39 reels of film and three videos, that include logging, fishing, hiking, horse shows, and University of Montana athletic events. Preservation copies and DVD copies of four of these films (1, 2, 10 and 11) were created in 2007 with funding provided by the National Film Preservation Foundation. The collection also contains personal and business correspondence, photographs, personal records, scrapbooks, and clippings from H.O. Bell and his family.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to the University of Montana. Photographs in the collection are currently in processing and researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections regarding access.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document, photograph, or film number], Harry Oscar Bell Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana--Missoula.

Alternative Forms Available

Films in Series X are available in multiple formats.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is divided into 11 series:

Series I: Magazines, 1.7 linear feet, 1921-1971

Series II: Personal Documents, 0.2 linear feet, 1913-1971

Series III: Correspondence, 0.4 linear feet, 1907-1971

Series IV: Financial Records, 2.5 linear feet, 1913-1972

Series V: Legal Documents, 0.2 linear feet, 1908-1957

Series VI: Memorabilia, 0.4 linear feet, 1923-1979

Series VII: Newspaper Clippings, 1.5 linear feet, 1915-1979

Series VIII: Photographs, 3.0 linear feet, 1905-1970

Series IX: Scrapbooks, 0.5 linear feet, 1932-1969

Series X: Film and Film Duplicates, 39 reels of film, 3 videos, 1 DVD, circa 1920-1939, 1960

Series XI: Artifacts, 1.5 linear feet, 1932-1971

Custodial History

The first accession remained in the possession of the creator, H.O. Bell, until donation to The University of Montana Library in 1966. An addition to the collection was in the possession of Bell's daughter, Betty Skibsted, following his death and was donated to Archives and Special Collections in 2000.

Acquisition Information

Gifts of H.O. Bell, 1966 and Betty Skibsted, 2000.

Processing Note

The actions of the original processors are unknown. In 2000, the collection was reprocessed and re-described and in 2009 additional materials were added and the collection was again re-described. Photographs in Series VIII were processed separately in 2015 and integrated into the collection.

Separated Materials

Archives and Special Collections also holds tape recordings of interviews with H. O. Bell (OH 024)

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Automobile dealerships--Montana--Missoula
  • Ford automobile

Corporate Names

  • Ford Motor Company--Periodicals
  • H.O. Bell Company (Missoula, Mont.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Business records--Montana--Missoula
  • Magazines (periodicals)
  • Motion pictures

Occupations

  • Automobile dealers--Montana--Missoula

Other Creators

Finding aid prepared by Gabriel J. Greenspan
2000

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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