Extraordinary Sydney H. Cox – notes on Msla’s loss, Dartmouth’s gain, Schulberg, Kurt Vonnegut & Marlon Brando

The Faculty and Troubles During the fourteen years of the Clapp presidency only two difficulties with personnel occurred. One came when in 1926 Professor Sidney Cox, a most provocative teacher and a highly moral person, allowed the phrase “son-of-a-bitch” to be published in The Frontier, then a student literary magazine.[1][16] Read More

Louis Levine – Fearless University of Montana Professor

Louis Levine – University of Montana Professor The article below is an excerpt from: Louis Levine’s Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.   Louis Levine was born near Kiev, Russia, on December 4, 1883 to Jacob and Anna L. At age four, Read More

A local Rhodes Scholar – Wellington Duncan Rankin

Wellington Duncan Rankin Wellington D. Rankin was born in Missoula, Montana, on September 16, 1884, the son of pioneer Missoula businessman and rancher John Rankin and his wife Olive Pickering Rankin, an early Missoula County school teacher. His oldest sister Jeannette was the first woman elected to the United States Read More

Paul Dornblaser – “He is ‘straight goods,'” wrote Rev. John Maclean.

The following article appeared in The Missoulian Sun. Aug.4th., 1912. Paul Logan Dornblaser, a beloved football player/student at the University of Montana, was killed in Europe during WW1.   Dorn’s Father Reverend T. F. Dornblaser of Chicago is to deliver the invocation at the national progressive convention in the Windy Read More

7 Ch. 7 – The Simmons Years – 1936 – 1941 by H. G. Merriam

The following article is an excerpt from The University of Montana, A History, by H. G. Merriam, published by the University of Montana Press in 1970.   The Simmons Years 1936 – 1941 It is with men . . . that a University’s service is built George Finlay Simmons                    Upon Read More

6 Ch. 6 – The Clapp Years – 1921 – 1935 by H. G. Merriam

The following article is an excerpt from The University of Montana, A History, by H. G. Merriam, published by the University of Montana Press in 1970.   The Clapp Years[1] 1921 – 1935 The ability and a desire . . . to live successfully – which means happily, beautifully and peacefully Read More

5 Ch. 5 – The Sisson Years – 1917 – 1921 by H. G. Merriam

The following article is an excerpt from The University of Montana – A History, by H. G. Merriam, published in 1970 by the University of Montana Press.   The Sisson Years[1] 1917 – 1921 Richer than any fiscal abundance is the human wealth of the University. -E. O. Sisson             Read More

5 Ch. 4 – Leading Into the War Years – by H. G. Merriam

The following article is an excerpt from The University of Montana: A History by H. G. Merriam, published in 1970 by the University of Montana Press.   Leading Into the War Years             Before 1913 the units of higher education in Montana were four separate institutions. [These were listed in Read More

1 Foreword to “The University of Montana: A History” by H. G. Merriam

Below is the foreword by Norman Taylor as it appears in The University of Montana – A History, written by H. G. Merriam and published by the University of Montana Press in 1970. The book presents a history of the University of Montana by examining the term of each president Read More

2 Ch. 1 – The Craig Years – 1895 – 1908 by H. G. Merriam

  The Craig Years 1895 – 1908 The University – it shall prosper. -Oscar J. Craig             Montana, Wyoming and Idaho in the 1890’s constituted the New West in the North. They were large states sparsely populated. In Montana’s 147,000 square miles were 145, 000 people. The Continental Divide of Read More