Montana History Conference: Keeping Up with the Past

70 years ago, tragedy struck at Mann Gulch when an out of control wildfire killed 13 firefighters. Fifty years ago saw the Woodstock music festival and Neil Armstrong take “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The Montana Historical Society will commemorate both of these anniversaries and explore many other topics during the 46th Annual Montana History Conference.
In recognition of such historic milestones as the Apollo 11 moon landing and Woodstock music festival, the conference will kick off with a 1969-themed reception. Participants are encouraged to don their favorite 1960s apparel for a chance to win a “best outfit” prize, while enjoying refreshments, conversation, and “Flashback: Montana 1969,” a special slideshow created by MHS Historian Christine Brown.
Sessions will cover a wide variety of topics ranging from prostitutes and cannibalism on the frontier to railroad tourism, historic photography, and the role of Cheyenne and Lakota women at the Little Bighorn. Famed western photographer Barbara Van Cleve will share her photographic journey, while Northern Arizona University professors Brant and Dayle Hardy Short will share their insight into retellings of 1949’s tragic Mann Gulch fire. The past will come alive in performances by Mary Jane Bradbury as Nancy Russell and Neil Lewing in a musical salute to the U.S. Forest Service, national parks, and the timber industry.
Pre-conference workshops will offer special instruction for educators and archivists; the Made in Montana Tour will focus on Helena’s art heritage; and post-conference field trips include a trip through Helena’s medical history and a self-guided tour of some of the Helena Valley’s most spectacular rural historic sites.