Alida Swenson Vine Papers, 1975-1976

Alida Swenson Vine was born in Greenwood, Wisconsin, in 1889. Her father emigrated from Norway at age eleven to Wisconsin and spent the rest of his life in the area as a farmer. Alida's mother grew up in England and at a young age journeyed to the United States. Alida's mother received her teaching certificate and taught school until she married. The Swensons had two children, Alida and a son, nine years younger than Alida.

Alida spent her childhood in the Greenwood area attending school; after graduation she pursued a teaching certificate. In 1909, twenty-year-old Alida began her first teaching job at the Christopherson School in Greenwood. Alida taught at the school for a year but decided not to renew her contract when family friends invited her to travel west with them. A family member was able to secure a plot of land for Alida in Poplar, Montana. Upon arrival in Montana, Alida worked to receive her teaching degree and taught at various schools in the area while homesteading her plot of land. Alida married Pricey L. Vine, also a Wisconsin native. The couple had two children, Floyd P. born around 1915, and Blanche M. born around 1917. The couple continued to live in Montana farming their land around Poplar. Vine died in 1980.