North Fork Landowners’ Association
The North Fork History Project was started by members of the NFLA who love and respect the oral and written histories of the North Fork. The purpose of this page is to exchange ideas about how that history might be captured and share some of the results. If you have questions or ideas about the North Fork History Project, please send email to NFhistoryproject@gmail.com or contact any member of the committee including its chairperson, Debo Powers. Oral History documentsThe following documents are used to help prepare and conduct the oral histories for the project.
Oral History interviewsBeginning in the Fall 2011, members of the North Fork History Project began to record the oral histories of people who have lived in the North Fork for a long time. Larry Wilson - October 15th, 2011. Interviewed by Debo Powers. Larry was born in 1937 in Kalispell, Montana. He first came to the North Fork during WWII when he was four or five years old and camped with his family at the mouth of Whale Creek. In 1947, his family bought the Kintla Ranch and ran it as a dude ranch until 1953. Larry spent his summers growing up in the North Fork and knew many of the homesteaders who he talks about in his interview. After his family sold the Kintla Ranch, he was the caretaker and made enough money to purchase the property where he now lives. Ray Hart - October 13th, 2011. Interviewed by Debo Powers. Ray was born in 1929 in Texas. In his interview, he tells about how his good friend, Bob Funk, came to the North Fork. In 1965, Ray and his family stayed in the Funk cabin and fell in love with the North Fork. Some of the homesteaders were still here at that time. Ivan Windsheimer - October 17th, 2011. Interviewed by Linda Nelson. North Fork short storiesThe History Committee invites all North Fork writers (and we have a lot of them!) to submit stories about North Forkers that have lived in the past. Introduction to Short Stories about Burt and Thelma Edwards by Debo Powers I became interested in North Fork history from listening to stories by Burt and Thelma Edwards. They lived in a homestead cabin three miles north of Polebridge on the west side of the North Fork Road. I would sit for hours and listen to their stories. I wrote these two short stories while they were still alive. I read the draft stories to them and they corrected some of the details which helped a great deal in the editing process. Wilderness Woman: A short story by Debo Powers about Thelma Edwards on a women’s backpacking adventure in Glacier National Park in 1929. Following is an excerpt: Four woman backpackers must have been quite a sight in 1929. Their broad hats kept the sun off their faces as they posed for a picture at snow-covered Logan Pass. Nurses were considered a wild bunch in those days and I suppose it was true, because here they were on a two-week backpacking trip into the heart of Glacier National Park in Montana. Backpacking was not a common thing for women to do in 1929. Actually, it was not a common thing for anyone to do. In those days, people usually traveled through the wilderness on horseback. It wasn't until many years later that backpacking became a popular sport and even a few decades ago, it was unusual to find women backpacking, especially without the company of men. Download the complete story about The Wilderness Woman from here. I must have missed the Loop Trail, Burt thought, it is so dark that I can hardly see He thought back over everything that had happened since he woke up at dawn. He had Download the complete story about The Smoke Chaser from here. |
