Jim Harmon

In the summer of 1924, Missoula experienced a rash of petty robberies and burglaries, so many that police were “of the opinion that there was a gang working here, different robberies not being the work of one man.

It’s important to note that Mother’s Day is singular, not plural. It was created to honor your own mother, not all mothers. In that context, I honor my late mother, Vesta Jane (nee Knoke) Harmon, who wrote her own story of growing up on the Huntley Project in Montana in 1908.

The wedding was marvelous; the bride and groom were so happy – absolutely gleeful! I survived without CPR, despite no air-conditioning.

Dear Savannah Guthrie, I’m sorry I fired you. It’s actually true. Your humble history columnist actually did fire (well, “laid off”) the one and only Savannah Guthrie, in what became known as “Black Friday” in Butte: October 30, 1993.

He apparently was too deep into his childhood fantasy to “notice a bunch of urchins peeking out of a doorway across the street.”

Hello, history fans! I’m still on my quest: encouraging all of you to write down, or do some audio recordings, of your family history. Otherwise, all of that knowledge will be gone when you pass.

Jim Harmon writes, "If you grew up in a small town in Montana in the 1940s and '50s as I did, you know shopping for clothing was a challenge."

Jim Harmon writes, "One photo, which might be of my mother at age one or two (there was nothing to identify it) is absolutely fascinating. It’s what is called a 'tin-type.'"

Jim Harmon writes, "My hope in sharing this story is to encourage all of you to document your family’s stories before those stories are lost to time."

This winter I’ve been digitizing old family documents. I encourage everyone – if you haven’t already done it – to ask your parents and grandparents to share stories from their past because, as my father realized, the accuracy of those memories can diminish with time.