The Flood of 1964

By Brad Reynolds With centennial celebrations across the Treasure State, 1964 was a year of reflection. Montanans considered their triumphs and tribulations the past 100 years, unaware that [...]

The Moon

On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. In response, President John F. Kennedy addressed the nation, announcing his goal of putting a man on the moon by [...]

Montana’s Territorial Centennial

By Brad Reynolds May 26, 1964 marked one hundred years since Montana had been incorporated as a territory of the United States. Across Big Sky Country, communities celebrated in a variety of [...]

JFK in the Treasure State

By Brad Reynolds September 26, 1963 was a hot and sunny day in Great Falls, Montana. Yet neither the heat nor the state’s Republican leanings deterred crowds of roughly 100,000 from coming out to [...]

By Land and By Sea

The 1960s were a decade of scientific ambition. Some of those ambitions—like computer development and the space program—led to enormous scientific achievements. Others decidedly did not. One [...]

The Magic of Television

By Brad Reynolds In the Sixties, the average American household had one TV, the standard screen was 21 inches, and only three channels were available (CBS, NBC, and ABC). Much of the programming [...]

Sleighs and Sleigh Bells

You might be surprised to find that the earliest form of the sleigh bell dates back to the Roman Empire. In these days, a single bell (usually gold or silver) would be fixed to a warhorse as a [...]

The Dime

Author Unknown Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn’t wear boots; he didn’t like them and anyway he didn’t own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few [...]

A Long Winter Sleep

By Marlene Affeld There is fresh snow on the high mountain ridges, a bone chilling wind from the west rattles the tamarack, scattering golden needles across the forest floor. Tendrils of silver [...]