ML Archives and Special Collections

In March 2009, National Women’s History Month is celebrating “Women Taking the Lead to Save our Planet”.  This post highlights two collections from the Mansfield Library’s Archives & Special Collections department that fit this theme.

 Elizabeth Reitell Smith Papers - Mss 623

 Born and educated in New York, Elizabeth Reitell Smith became inspired by the west in 1962 on a Montana Wilderness Society sponsored trip through what is now Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness.  That same year, Smith moved to Montana to become publications director for The University of Montana’s School of Forestry in Missoula.  It was in Montana that she met her fourth husband, environmentalist and wildlife biologist Eldon Smith. 

   Map of Proposed Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Montana Wilderness Association, 1972.  Elizabeth Reitell Smith Papers

From 1967-1980, Elizabeth Smith was director of the Montana Wilderness Association and she and her husband traveled the Western states advocating for wilderness and the environment. 

The Elizabeth Reitell Smith papers contain materials relevant to Smith’s work as a Montana wilderness and environmental activist. The materials include research, newsletters, drafts of speeches, position papers and correspondence dating from 1965 to 1980.  Smith remained actively involved in local and regional environmental issues until her death in 2001.

 GASP (Gals Against Smog and Pollution) Records - Mss 043

GASP was formed in the spring of 1968 by a group of Missoula women fighting against air pollution in the Missoula area. The group was active until 1970 and helped bring the provisions of the 1967 Clean Air Act to the Missoula Valley. 

GASP Newsletter. GASP Records

 The collection details the organization and history of GASP and documents air and water pollution conditions in Montana and in the United States. Included are correspondence, other GASP records, and an extensive collection of publications and clippings about GASP and pollution in general.

 Photo 98-1654, Intermountain Lumber Company, Missoula, Montana, 1968

Photo 98-1653, Teepee Burner, Missoula, Montana, undated

Sorry again for the (very) long delay. We just wanted to offer a few pictures of the now complete renovations:

Our new reference and instruction room:

Another photo of the same room. The artifacts are from the Mansfield Collection.

The new entrance:

The new Archives & Special Collections reading room:

We spent last week getting ready for construction, and walls should be coming down and going up soon. Here’s a quick shot of some Special Collections books in their new temporary locations on carts in the aisles:

We’ve begun transferring materials in preparation for our Summer renovation, and in the process we’re coming across some interesting things that we haven’t seen in a while.

(Linderman Memorial Collection,  MSS 7, Series IX, item L027)

This handmade saddle (pardon the quick overhead snapshot) was crafted from wood and leather with iron rings and deerskin stirrups. It’s a woman’s saddle, mostly likely Cree from the turn of the century, and it’s part of the Archives’ Frank Bird Linderman collection.

No doubt we’ll be able to highlight many more interesting items during the process.

Welcome to the Mansfield Library Archives & Special Collections blog. In addition to provide news about events, exhibitions, and new acquisitions, we’ll be using this space to highlight interesting items from our collections.