Millard E. Peterson was born Aug. 20, 1897, in Twin Valley, Minnesota to Louis and Valmina Peterson. In 1912 the family moved to Culberson, Montana. Peterson attended Intermountain College in Helena before transferring to Montana State College in Bozeman where he graduated in 1923 with a degree in science. He later earned a master's degree in science in 1939 from the University of Montana. From 1923-1927, Peterson taught at Darby High School until moving to Missoula, where he taught at Missoula County High School. He married in 1938 to Jean Morgan Mair and retired from teaching in 1961. While attending Montana State College, Peterson was a member of Beta Epsilon, a locally established fraternity that became inactive around 1934. He was also a member of the Sigma Xi Science Honorary fraternity, a life member of the Montana Education Association, and former president of the Missoula Retired Teachers Association. He was a sponsor of the MCHS National Honor Society for 10 years. Mr. Peterson was a ranger naturalist in Glacier Park for three summers and a resident naturalist at Hyalite summer camp for the Montana School for the Deaf. Peterson died on February 12, 1989.
The Millard Peterson Scrapbook contains memorabilia, photographs, pamphlets and other documents collected by Peterson while a student at Montana State College from 1919 to 1923. Peterson was an enthusiastic member of the Beta Epsilon fraternity and many of the documents included in the scrapbook pertain to the fraternity's activities. Photographs include those of Peterson and his friends, along with views of the Beta Epsilon fraternity house at 501 South Grand Avenue. Dance cards and playbills for events and performances held on campus and in the Bozeman community are also included. The scrapbook contains several issues of the Beta Epsilon fraternity quarterly newsletter, 1921-1922 and documentation for the fraternity's unsuccessful attempt to affiliate with the national Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
This collection is open for research.
An original scrapbook created by Millard E. Peterson was purchased by Montana State University from Stuart MacKenzie, Chinook, Montana in March, 2014.
This collection was processed 2014 March 25