Dr. Henrietta Shirk, associate professor of communication at Montana Tech, shares stories and images relating to two hot springs—Sleeping Child near Hamilton and Lost Trail (formerly, Gallogly) near Sula—resulting from the springs’ centuries-long association with Montana’s First Peoples.

In commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the first woman being elected to the United States’ Congress, interpretive historian Mary Jane Bradbury portrays Jeannette Rankin, “America’s Conscience,” telling Rankin’s story from grassroots suffragist to being the only member of Congress to vote against the entry of the United States into both world wars. Bradbury uses Jeannette’s own words to share her views on equality and government reform—words that still ring true a century later.

Using first-person interpretive techniques, historians bring to life two colorful characters from Montana’s past. Dr. Bob Brown, former director of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, portrays Major Rawn. In the summer of 1877, the major founded Fort Missoula, was called upon to stop the Nez Perce at what became known as Fort Fizzle, and participated in the Battle of the Big Hole. Brown’s presentation includes reminiscences of Major Rawn’s entire career—including his involvement in the Civil War—but will focus on the frontier infantry in Montana and the Nez Perce War

Following the 1900 death of her husband—famed copper king Marcus Daly—Margaret Daly continued to advance the work of the Bitterroot Stock Farm until her own death in 1941. Thereafter, the Daly’s granddaughter, Margit Sigray Bessenyey, carried on the family’s legacy, operating the stock farm until her passing in 1984. Introduction by Daly Mansion executive director Darlene Gould, and presented by Mansion Archives volunteer Maureen Lischke. To make sure she gets it right, Lischke is ably assisted by Margaret Daly herself (as portrayed by historical interpreter and educator Jodi Delaney).

This presentation covers the creation, recruitment, and service of those individuals who served in the 10th and 20th Engineers during World War I by working in logging camps and sawmills in France. The primary goal of the Forestry regiments was to supply the American Expeditionary Force with much needed processed lumber used in combat zones and for support troops.

MHS Community Preservation Coordinator Kate Hampton reveals how the brief flowering of the University Heights community—a planned summer residential colony near Darby—grew out of multiple, over­lapping strains of optimism, including the Bitterroot Valley’s enthusiasm for commercial apple growing, the economic confidence engendered by railroad building, the social aspirations embedded in high-end western tourism, and the riches promised by land speculation.

In the early 1900s, a knapweed invasion in the Bitterroot Valley wreaked havoc, and farmers ultimately responded by increasing honey production. In her presentation, retired Park Ranger Lyndel Meikle links this episode to the larger story of Montana agriculture, as farmers and ranchers continue to find ways to meet challenges from insects, weeds, fire, drought, out-of-state competition, and the taking of prime agricultural land for nonagricultural purposes.

After a brief overview of the flight of the Nez Perce through Montana in 1877 by Sandi McFarland, USFS Nez Perce Trails Administrator, Tamar Stanley, Executive Director of the Ravalli County Museum, and Kristine Komar, President and Founder of the Bitter Root Cultural Heritage Trust, detail the story of The Nez Perce National Historic Trail in the Bitterroot. University of Montana master’s candidate Amy Miller presents on the methods used to locate the section of The Nez Perce National Historic Trail in Carbon County, including the outcomes of the findings, as well as its comparison to the Lolo section of the trail.

Between 1882 and 1886, the Montana Improvement Company engaged in wanton depredation of the public timberlands of western Montana to supply the construction of the Northern Pacific Railway Road and Butte’s mines. In his presentation,Princeton University PhD student William Brown will detail how the company’s prosecution by the federal government provides a unique window into the power, ideas, and practices of businesses during the early period of Montana’s economic development.

Retired Forest Service historian Mary Horstman Williams highlights the history of the Bitterroot National Forest from its inception as a Forest Reserve under the General Land Office through its evolution into a modern National Forest. She details how the valley communities and the forest grew up together, while profiling the sometimes colorful individuals and events that were key in their development.