John R. Garber was born in 1890 to John D. and Ruth Garber. John D. represented Sanders County in the Montana Legislature and the Montana Senate. John R. was an active member of the Committee for Paradise Dam from 1957-1963 based on his support for publicly owned utilities and the belief that the project would provide a source for publicly owned electricity in the region. His daughter, Gretchen Billings, ran a newspaper with her husband, Harry, called The People's Voice that also supported the Paradise Dam and the movement from private utilities to public utilities.
By February 1957, the Committee for Paradise Dam formed under the name Montanans for Paradise Dam. The committee embarked upon a campaign that supported Senate Bill 3114 in 1958 for the creation of a Federally owned corporation to control power production in the Columbia Basin and Senate Bill 1226 in 1959 that proposed the building of a dam on either the Clark Fork or the Flathead River. Garber and the Committee for Paradise Dam strongly favored a dam on the Clark Fork. The Committee drew support from Representative Lee Metcalf and Senator James Murray, both of whom sat on their respective chamber's committees on Interior and Insular Affairs. Ultimately, the supporters for public utilities failed to pass the building of the Paradise or Knowles Dam.
The John R. Garber papers document the campaign to build a dam along the Clark Fork River near Paradise, Montana. The collection is largely comprised of clippings and correspondence to legislators, other members of the Committee for Paradise Dam, and unions backing the project. The collection also contains the bylaws of the Committee for Paradise Dam, as well as minutes and policy statements from the committee. Legislators contacted by Garber include Representative Arnold Olsen, Senator James Murray, Senator Mike Mansfield, and Lee Metcalf as both a member of the Senate and House. The collection also contains reports by the Army Corps of Engineers on the feasibility of a dam near Paradise and Garber's testimony in a public hearing.
Materials in this collection are housed in folders arranged chronologically.
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.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Non-exclusive copyright has been transferred to Archives and Special Collections.
[Name of document or photograph number], John R. Garber Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
The collection was acquired from Garber's grandson Leon Billings, who acquire the papers from Garber's daughter.
The John R. Garber Papers were acquired from Leon Billings in 2011.
The John R. Garber Papers were processed by Steven Bingo in 2011. Materials were either foldered or refoldered and materials from a three-ring scrapbook were removed and foldered.
Arnold Olsen was hired as a consultant for the Committee for Paradise Dam. Olsen's papers are located at The University of Montana-Missoula Archives and Special Collections under the following title: Arnold Olsen Papers (Mss 201). Of particular interest is Series VIII: Committee for the Paradise Dam.
The University of Montana-Missoula Archives and Special Collections also holds the Edmund Christopherson Papers (Mss 066), which contains several folders of materials on the Paradise Dam campaign.
Frances Logan was also active in the Committee for Paradise Dam, as is illustrated by her correspondence in this collection. Her papers are located at the Montana Historical Society Archives under the following title: Frances Logan Merriam Papers (MC 58).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.