History conference comes to Havre

The 29th annual Montana History Conference, sponsored by the Montana Historical Society, will be in Havre Oct. 24-26 with the theme "History on the Line: Borders, Boundaries and Boxcars."

"We are excited to be on the Hi-Line this year, and Havre has

already rolled out the red carpet for Montana history," society librarian Charlene Porsild said. "We are going to have sessions and tours on a variety of subjects ranging from the Bear Paw Battlefield and the Nez Perce to Lewis and Clark on the Upper Missouri."

The conference includes sessions for history and museum professionals as well as events and sessions for Montana history buffs.

"For those who have not attended a history conference before, it is a lot of fun, and you get to meet interesting people who share your interest in Montana," Porsild said.

Some of the events and sessions that will be included are:

"125th Anniversary of the Nez Perce War" Sponsored by the National Park Service, this features historians Otis Half Moon, Sandi McFarland, Paul Fees, and Jerome Greene, who is author of a recent major publication on the war by the Montana Historical Society Press.

"Box Car Voices: Stories from the Tracks" In this

"real voices" session, former railroaders reminisce about their experiences working on the line.

"Treaty Lines, the Medicine Line, and Bad Medicine" Northern Cheyenne journalist Jodi Rave and others discuss how historical documents, ideas and events like the Dawes Act, the Medicine Line, and the Last Buffalo Hunt inform us about contemporary events.

"The Marias Adventure: Meriwether Lewis on the Hi-Line" Noted Lewis and Clark historian John Logan Allen talks about the Corps of Discovery on the Hi-Line and President Thomas Jefferson's view of the northern waters of the Missouri drainage and its impact on the explorers.

Guided tours of the Bear Paw Battlefield, Hill County and a Minuteman missile silo, and an evening performance by the Vigilante Theatre Company of "The Clark and Lewis Show" are highlights of the conference.

For registration or more information, call (406) 444-2694 or log on to http://www.montanahistoricalsociety.org.