Curator's Corner

History of Main Hall

This entry was posted in Curator's Corner and tagged A..J. Gibson, birth of the institutions, buildings, ceremony in 1898, clock tower and roof, Jerry Ballas, Main Hall, residency hall, The Oval, The University of Montana on May 9, 2013 by The Collections Department.

The University of Montana was established in 1893 and students took classes in the “old Willard School.” The first series of buildings were designed around the oval in 1895. The University of Montana expand its territories and set of buildings. Today the University of Montana has 156 acres, 64 buildings, a 23,500-seat football stadium and nine dormitory residence halls.

Main Hall is the oldest building at the University of Montana and is situated right across the oval at the “heart of the campus.” Main Hall presents the “birth of this institution.” A. J. Gibson, well known architect, designed Main Hall as “the Richardsonian Romanesque style building.” The Main Hall and school opening was in 1899. “During the university’s dedication ceremony in 1898, corn, oil, and water symbolizing plenty, joy, and peace were poured over the building’s cornerstone. Today the hourly chiming of the bells in the majestic bell tower serves as constant reminder of the enduring solidity of the university.”

The University of Montana was silent these days because the campus was in the process of making changes on the clock tower and roof. The University of Montana was able to fund $1.4 million state and university funds to renovate the clock tower and roof . The renovations includes masonry repairs and construct a web of iron structure inside the tower. “The goal of the project is to make changes while maintaining the legendary look of the University’s cornerstone. UM architect and project manager Jerry Ballas said this is the first major reconstruction project on the building’s exterior.”

Smokey Bear

This entry was posted in Curator's Corner and tagged 1944, Act of 1952 National Association of State Foresters, Jack Rollins, Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires., Smokey Bear, Smokey Says-Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires, Steve Nelson, The United State Forest Service, U.S. federal law on April 24, 2013 by The Collections Department.

The United State Forest Service created Smokey the Bear to educate people and children about the danger of forest fires. Smokey the Bear was a mascot for public including young children and older youth. This way the firefighters were able to create awareness to prevent fire on many places. A promotion of featuring Smokey was established in 1944 that came with the slogan.

The slogan stated “Smokey Says-Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires.” Later on a new slogan came out saying “Remember… Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires.” In April 2001, Smokey Bear had another new slogan saying ”Only You Can Prevent Wildfires”. According to the Ad Council, Smokey the Bear and his messages are recognized by 95% of adults and 77% of children in the United States.

In 1952, Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins wrote the song “Smokey the Bear.” The reason of adding “the” to keep a rhythm for the song. The Smokey’s namehas became very popular since 1950. You came across with Smokey’s name at schools looking at the rulers. Later on in the Little Golden Books series was called Smokey the Bear and the name Smokey was used in the book as well. It should also be mentioned that at the beginning the Smokey’s name was spelled different like “Smoky”

“The fictional character Smokey Bear is administered by three entities: the the United States Forest Service. National Association of State Foresters and the Ad Council Smokey Bear’s name and image are protected by U.S. federal law, the Smokey Bear Act of 1952 National Association of State Foresters,”

Happy Tax Day!

This entry was posted in Curator's Corner and tagged Banks, dogs, Mechanical, Taxes, toys on April 15, 2013 by The Collections Department.

Since today is tax day, we thought it would be a good time to feature these banks from the collection ( in case, like us, you are wishing you had saved up a little more to pay the tax man).

The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula has a couple of interesting banks from different time periods.

Among the earliest are these two. This little elephant is made of cast iron and would have been painted when he was first put together. A seam runs down the middle, showing where he could be pulled apart to reach the saved pennies inside. Alas, he has gotten quite rusty over the years, and his two halves seem firmly stuck together now. According to our paperwork, someone found this bank while digging under their house, which would help explain his degraded condition.

This bank below is a collection of gears and springs inside, which control the crank on top. You would insert a coin, turn the crank, and a number on top of the bank would flip over, helping you chart how many deposits you had made or how much money you’d saved (if you we’re putting in pennies). The bottom of the bank gives the date this model was patented – September 27, 1904.

You might think these two cast iron banks are also late 19th or early 20 century, but you’d be wrong. These are pretty reproductions.

Not being old doesn’t make them any less delightful, however – click below to see how they work:

P4150481

If only a dog did tricks when we deposited our paychecks…

A bank currently on display in the WWII propaganda exhibit takes a novel (and patriotic) approach – instructions that come with the bank say, “he’ll blast the axis with your loose change! Drop nickels, dimes and quarters in this Bomb Bank. Holds about $18.75. When loaded, break open and convert change into $25.00 War Bond at any post office or bank.” Made of paper mâché, the bank would have been easy to bust open, just like a little bomb.

The last bank also has a mechanical element. This promotional piece for Collier’s Encyclopedia advises savers that “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Drop a coin in the bank every day to turn over the date, and, one assumes, after a year perhaps you will have enough saved to buy an encyclopedia! (The “Conscience Slot” in the back allows you to deposits without turning the date over so you can deposit more than one coin per day.)

The cutest little kitchen you’ll ever see

This entry was posted in Curator's Corner and tagged children, kitchen, toys on April 9, 2013 by The Collections Department.

When you’re little, it seems like you can’t grow up fast enough. All you want is to be able to walk by yourself to the ice cream store, drive the car, push the lawnmower. You just want to do what mom and dad are doing.

While researching the toaster post, we came across some absolutely darling toys from the 1940s that put at least one grown-up thing — cooking — in the hands of little ones. These tiny toys are sized for tiny hands. Too big for the doll house, they were clearly designed for children to make pretend cakes, pour pretend lemonade, mash pretend potatoes and saute pretend omelets.

These tiny kitchen items are in the collection of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula.

Surveying these kitchen tools gives us a good sense of what the late 1930s / early 1940s kitchen looked like. There would have been a standing mixer, a pop-up toaster, and a hand-held egg beater. Mom might have done the ironing in the kitchen, too. (We’ve noticed fold-down ironing boards in the kitchens of older Missoula homes.) Perhaps in the fridge you had a glass dispenser that contained punch, lemonade or iced tea for those hot afternoons in July and August.

Collection of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. 1997.0003.085

This lil’ mixer, one of our favorite items in the group, ran on battery power. An old Everready is still in the compartment. Collection of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula.

Baking is a great entryway for children into cooking (kids love sweets!). Kid-sized cookie cutters shaped like a gingerbread man and a chicken attest to the fact that 1940s kids would have been making cut-out sugar cookies, too.

Many of these toys seem to be more than just play things — they are smaller, working versions of the real thing. A child could stand on a stool next to his or her parent and help beat eggs, turn silver-dollar pancakes, and mash potatoes, with tools that fit in a child’s hand.

The toys were donated by three sisters who grew up in our region, and the dings and scratches on each miniature appliance or utensil reflects how much they were clearly loved.

Did you ever “play kitchen” when you were growing up? What were your favorite toys?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

This entry was posted in Curator's Corner and tagged Beer, Garden City Brewing Company, Highlander, holiday, St.Patricks Day on March 14, 2013 by The Collections Department.

Since St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, we thought we’d share a little history of beer in Missoula. As you might guess, the beer-loving culture here is no recent phenomenon.

One of the city’s more famous brews, Highlander, was originally crafted by a the Garden City Brewing Company, which opened in 1895. The brewery was located in the Rattlesnake, at the base of Waterworks Hill, where Interstate 90 now roars overhead. Garden City made beer for the local community (transportation through the mountains made it less than cost effective to ship product farther afield) until Prohibition put a halt to the sale of all alcoholic beverages nationwide. The owners tried to sell in 1922, but no one wanted to invest in a brewery during Prohibition times. They hung on selling “near beer” and other non-alcoholic beverages, then sold the business in 1934, the year after Prohibition was repealed. The new owners renamed the business the Missoula Brewing Company.

Ownership changed hands again in 1944, when the company was bought by Mr. Emil Sick. Sick owned several other breweries in the Pacific Northwest, including the Rainier Brewing Company. He released a light lager under the Highlander brand, which became enormously popular in Missoula. Most folks who grew up here have memories of Highlanders in the fridge or on tap at a bar downtown. The brand adopted its classic tartan logo in the mid-1950s; the previous logo, of an eagle spreading its wings, was a slightly revamped version of the old Garden City Brewing logo, seen in the photo of “4 Mile Exchange” below.

Collection of the HMFM. 1987.069.013.

Highlander suffered, however, in the 1960s, when a general economic slowdown hit the region, and small breweries began to face fierce competition from new and growing beer conglomerates. Mr. Sick sold off many of his brands and decided to shutter the Missoula Brewing Company. The timing seems connected to the construction of I-90; Mr. Sick likely took the opportunity to close the brewery when an alternative (government buy-out) presented itself. Sadly, the old building was razed in 1964.

Missoula’s last old-school brewery closed in 1968, and it was almost 20 years before another one — Bayern — came to town. Now Missoula is back to producing excellent suds. What will you be downing this St. Paddy’s Day? In honor of the (mostly) German-American crew who created the brewing industry in Missoula (and America), we recommend a nice (green) lager and some pretzels with mustard (and corned beef). Or try a Highlander! The brand was revived in 2008. While the formula has changed, you’ll still be drinking a little piece of local history.

The Garden City Brewing Company, probably sometime between 1895 and 1905.

Some of the men who worked at Garden City in the early 20th century included Joe Steiger (back row, left), Henry Emmerich (back row, 6th from left), and Joe Riddle, (back row, right).

Henry Emmerich stands at lower right, next to brewing equipment.

Inside the brewery. Collection of HMFM. 1979.032.020

The Louvre Saloon in the old Hotel Florence must have sold Garden City Brewery beer; at right is Henry Emmerick, who worked at the brewery. Circa 1907. Collection of HMFM. 1979.032.007

1979.032.009

In the early 20th century, a glass of beer cost a nickel at the 4 Mile Exchange in Cold Springs, Missoula.

Many of these photos were donated to the Historical Museum by Irene Dolan, whose father Henry Emmerick, shown in many of these images, worked at Garden City Brewing Company.

For more history of beer in Missoula, check out this Missoula Independent article or visit the Highlander website.

Pocket Watches

This entry was posted in Curator's Corner and tagged Germany, Gold chain, Ladies watch, Mary Queen of Scots, Peter Henlein, Women and Men pocket watches on March 5, 2013 by The Collections Department.

The history of pocket watches began around 1700 and they are still on the market today. Their rich history made them to look more valuable and brought lots of importance for their usages. Pocket watches have different shapes, colors and designs and each of them carries historically significant importance. The pocket watches with a heavy gold chain were considered the most popular and fancy among other kinds of pocket watches. They had a high demand because people acknowledged them as symbol of importance.

The primary differences between a watch and clock is portability. Peter Henlein from Germany was the first person who created many different watches. They were made of iron and designed in a drum shape that stood about six inches high. Henlein accomplished his great work in making watches in about 1500.

Later on, he came up with with different idea of creating a special watch for ladies. The models watches designed as medal and chain shapes. Ladies were comfortable wearing those model watches on a sturdy chain around their neck. Mary Queen of Scots had one of the most popular kind of these watches. It came in the shape of human skull and had the inscription; “The impartial foot of pale Death visits the cottages of the poor and the places of kings”
In 19th century watches were popular and most of them carried in the pocket.”Men did not wear wrist watches for fear of being thought effeminate.”

HMFM at Museum Advocacy Day!

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on February 27, 2013 by The Collections Department.

HMFM director Dr. Bob Brown and his wife Claudia were in Washington D.C. this week for Museum Advocacy Day! Check out all the exciting things they were part of:

Claudia and I arrived in DC late Saturday, Feb. 23 to get ready for AAM’s Museum Advocacy Day. Sunday we had a day off and managed to walk about 87 miles from our hotel to the Lincoln Memorial – awesome; Korean War Memorial – one of the most moving memorials I’ve ever seen, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial – a perfect setting, a perfectly wonderful monument to one of the great Americans of the late 20th century, and the WW II monument – a truly fitting and monumental tribute to the Greatest Generation. We walked past the White House, Washington Monument (closed), and Sackler Gallery.

Monday was an incredible day of training for lobbying with our Congressional delegation and made me feel much more confident, rather than like a fish out of water. Perfecting the Museum’s “elevator” speech, and learning the basics of Washington, DC-isms.

Today I truly had the honor of participating in the most American tradition of them all – meeting with our elected officials and petitioning them for a cause close to my heart – the future and the health of the museum community. While Representative Daines and Senators Baucus and Tester were understandably busy given the current situation of sequestration, I,John Barsness (of Bozeman) and Olga Dmitryuk (a student from Moscow) had a great meeting with staff members from all three Congressmen. They were all friendly, open, and helpful – in other words, Montanans. We urged then to sign a letter supporting “robust” funding for IMLS (Senator Baucus has already signed – thank you!), encouraged them to preserve the Charitable Deductions for nonprofits, and remember that museums are an integral part of the educational system as Congress looks at acting on a new Elementary and Secondary Education Act. All were very supportive and I hope that each will take advantage of my invitation to visit the Museum.

Senator Baucus has been a big friend of the entire country’s museum community and of the Historical Museum in our efforts to obtain and restore the ADC Headquarters.

Senator Tester is closely connected to us through his efforts for healthy forests and a healthy forestry industry; not to mention Trolley #50 that was restored in Big Sandy. We hope that Representative Daines will become a friend and I look forward to giving him and his staff a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum the next time they are in town.

Being in Washington, the center of the universe, is an exciting and moving experience. I felt truly humble and blessed as I wandered around the Rayburn House Office and Hart Senate Office Buildings. Fantastic!

– Dr.Bob

The Modern Miracle of the Electric Toaster

This entry was posted in Curator's Corner and tagged 20th century, cooking, electricy, household, kitchen, toaster, utilities on February 25, 2013 by The Collections Department.

Downton Abbey fans might remember a humorous moment early in this season, when Mrs. Hughes, the head housekeeper, brings home an electric toaster. She plugs the contraption into a socket in her room and proceeds to happily burn her first piece of bread in the pursuit of toast.

via http://mrshughestoaster.tumblr.com

Carson, the head butler, distrusts this electric toaster as much as he distrusted the telephone when it first came to Downton, but the electric toaster provided a convenience that was part of the modern era. A pamphlet in the collection of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula describes how one could make toast right at the breakfast table instead of standing over the stove — “Crisp hot toast made before your eyes. On the dining room table — or where there is an electric light outlet — just as you like it.”

This advertisement for the GE Radiant Toaster was printed sometime between 1908 and 1917, just as the first successful electric toasters were coming onto the market. Missoulians may have been as excited as Mrs. Hughes about trying these new contraptions, and after 1908, they had ready access to the electricity necessary to power the devices, too.

While electricity had been in Missoula since the late 19th century, it took the construction of the Milltown (formerly Clark) Dam in 1905-08 to provide the city with reliable power for its street cars, street lights and, of course, toasters.

The toasters in the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula’s collection date from the 1920s and 30s, when most urban homes had reliable power and many different companies were manufacturing toasters for home use.

Though the design has changed, the mechanism for toasting bread has remained remarkably consistent over the years. Electric current heats coils of metal wire, which turn your bread a toasty brown (while “not drying it hard as a bone,” as the Radiant Toaster ad boasted).

For most of the ‘teens and ’20s, electric toasters looked like this:

Place the bread in the little door, close, then toast until done. This is the Marion Giant Flipflop, called such because you “flipflopped” the bread once one side was toasted to get the other side done. These models don’t appear to have an on/off switch – you had to unplug the machine to turn it off – which must have made life more interesting!

Will You Be Our Valentine?

This entry was posted in Curator's Corner and tagged card, holiday, paper, valentine on February 14, 2013 by The Collections Department.

Are you sharing today with someone special? Did you buy a box of paper Valentines for your little one to pass out to all her classmates? Commercially printed Valentines have been around since at least the 1840s, and the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula has many from different eras in its collection.

As with most things, the graphic style of Valentines changed over time, and these cards are a charming throwback to the early 20th century.

Courtesy of the Gail Owen Collection (1977.051)

The practice of sending humorous cards on Valentine’s Day dates to the mid-19th century. This young man is “stuck” — on his Valentine and also on some fly paper.

Courtesy of the Gail Owen Collection (1977.051)

Some Valentines in the collection wear their hearts on their sleeves, though. Poetry never hurts when trying to win the love of a lady!

Courtesy of the University of Montana Mansfield Library Collection (1995.061)

The poem reads, “Please have me for a partner, do, Oh, Kitty, dear, I love but you!”

Many of the museum’s cards were donated by a teacher who kept the Valentines sent to her by her students. They offer a sweet look at how children celebrated Valentine’s Day in years past.

Courtesy of the Norma Green Collection (1996.020)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

HMFM Burma Shave!

This entry was posted in Curator's Corner, Eye on Exhibits on February 5, 2013 by The Collections Department.

Anyone driven down Guardsman Lane lately? Curious to know about the new bright red signs adorning the edges of the road on your way to the museum?

Nothing like some Burma Shave Signs to celebrate the new Signs of the Times exhibit!

Why Burma-Shave?

Burma-Shave was first introduced in 1925 as a liniment made from ingredients found on the Malay Peninsula and inBurma. However sales were slow and the company wanted a product with greater appeal hence “Burma-Shave brushless shaving cream” was born. Burma-Shave became the second-highest selling brushless shaving cream in theUnited Statesat its peak.

The Burma-Shave signs were an early example of popular highway advertising that lasted into the 1960’s. Generally a series of six sequential signs were placed at the edge of a road for passing motorists to read, the last sign in the series almost always had the name of the product. As motor vehicle travel expanded and speeds increased it became more and more difficult to attract the attention of drivers and the signs were eventually discontinued for safety’s sake. Interestingly, today several state highway departments use signs in the same style to dispense travel safety messages to motorists.

The signs were creative and used humorous puns and rhymes to sell their product. 1963 was the last year of the official advertising campaign. The final slogan, repeated from 1953 was,

“Our fortune / Is your / Shaven face / It’s our best / Advertising space /Burma-Shave”.