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The Railroad Shaped Our Town

October 7, 6:30pm, Library 231

Explore the early history of Billings illustrating the railroad鈥檚 impact in planning, designing, and promoting the settlement of Billings. Our historian explains why the railroad built away from the Yellowstone River and why it placed its tracks in the middle of the downtown.  The program demonstrates how the city of Billings is still shaped by choices made by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1882. 

Speaker

Lauren E. Hunley has spent nearly 20 years in the museum field. Earning her Master of Arts in Learning & Visitor Services in Museums and Galleries through Leicester University in England, she鈥檚 worked for both small museums and national museum service organizations. She is the author of 101 Museum Programs on a Shoestring Budget and has presented at numerous museum conferences. She is currently the Community Historian at the Western Heritage Center in Billings, Montana, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Mountain-Plains Museums Association and the Montana Association of Museums. Her recent projects include Conquering Diseases of the Past, Saints & Sinners: Women Breaking Tradition, and Ba谩 Hawassiio & 脠nom贸ht氓h茅seh: Healthcare on the Crow & Northern Cheyenne Reservations. Her work was instrumental in the Western Heritage Center receiving the 2021 Mountain Plains Museums Association鈥檚 Leadership & Innovation Award and the Mountain Plains Museums Association Education Committee鈥檚 2021 Award for Excellence in Programming for the joint Moss Mansion/Western Heritage Center Youth Volunteer Program. Ba谩 Hawassiio & 脠nom贸ht氓h茅seh: Healthcare on the Crow & Northern Cheyenne Reservation further won the Museums Association of Montana鈥檚 2022 award for professional accomplishment for a new exhibition.

Railway Mania: Fraud, Corruption, and the Making of the Transcontinental Railroads

October 14, 6:30pm, Library 231

In this presentation, Dr. Cody Patton delves into the underbelly of the Gilded Age transportation revolution by exploring the corporate fraud, political corruption, and economic disasters that accompanied the construction of America's transcontinental railroads during the nineteenth-century. 

Speaker

Dr. Cody Patton is an assistant professor of modern American history at 九一麻豆制片厂, specializing in the fields of business and environmental history. Dr. Patton was born and raised in the railroad town of Ogden, Utah, where the local museum in the old Union Pacific train depot played a significant role in sparking his interest in history from a young age. Dr. Patton earned his BA in history from Utah State University and went on to receive a PhD in modern American history from The Ohio State University. Currently, Dr. Patton is working on writing a book on the history of the American brewing industry and teaches courses on the history of Montana and the West, American Environmental History, and the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. 

From Boxcar Libraries to Bootleggers: How Trains Became Crucial Community Builders in the Copper-King Era

October 21, 6:30pm, Library 231

In this lecture, Labuskes will use her internationally best-selling novel The Boxcar Librarian to highlight the many ways trains acted as connective tissue in Montana during the 1920s. The novel was inspired by Missoula鈥檚 own Ruth Worden, who created the Lumberman鈥檚 Library to bring books to lumberjack camps via the railroads that mining companies already had in place. Those books鈥攁nd magazines, newspapers, and music鈥攑rovided a bit of relief and entertainment to workers who lived harsh, isolated existences in Montana鈥檚 wilderness. That impulse to help neighbors and build community can be found in many examples throughout this era where Montana was weathering a painful depression鈥攍ong before droughts and bank closures hit the rest of the country. Labuskes will explore all the ways trains played a role in that history while also answering what exactly the 鈥渂ootleg lady of Glacier Park鈥� has to do with any of it.

Speaker

Brianna Labuskes is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Globe and Mail best-selling author who writes historical fiction and psychological thrillers. She has published more than a dozen novels; her work has been translated into more than twenty languages worldwide; and she has sold over a million copies of her books. Brianna got her start in political journalism, and thus knows way too much about the Ways and Means Committee. Brianna鈥檚 historical fiction often focuses on the ways that books and stories can give voice to the powerless and bring light to even the darkest times. She lives in Pennsylvania with her dog, Jinx. 

Is There a Future of Restarting Southern Passenger Rail in Montana?

October 28, 6:30pm, Library 231

Speakers

Jess Peterson hails from homesteaders on both sides of his family that took the train to Montana and started the good life that Jess and his family enjoy today. He is a 5th generation rancher. In 2007, he established Western Skies Strategies (WSS), a public policy, executive management and strategic communications firm. WSS also assists NGOs, ranchers, land managers, investors, telecommunications and energy companies navigate the local, state and federal process. He currently serves as the Executive Director for the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority. Jess balances this work with his yearling and haying operation. J2 Bar Land & Livestock is based in Hysham and assisted by 6th generation ranchers Cadence and Chloe. Jess is an alumnus of Gonzaga University and Miles City Community College. He serves on the Chair of the Billings Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Vice President of the Producer Partnership Board of Directors and former chair of the Montana Land Reliance Future Montana Committee.