By Matthew Peek
The Montana Historical Society (MHS)is pleased toannounce the launch of the Montana History Wiki Subject Guide on the life and work of Senator Lee Metcalf, which is the culmination of 1½ years of work and research for the Lee Metcalf Photograph and Film Collections CLIR Hidden Collections grant project by project archivist Matthew M. Peek. Peek used the information gained from interviews with former Metcalf employees and friends,Metcalf’s papers, information from the photographs and filmsthemselves, and newspaper articles, to assist in the identification and description of the senator’s photographs and is using the information to assist in identifying Metcalf’s film reels.
The subject guide includesMatthew Peek’sunpublished, lengthy, cited papers on Metcalf’s role in Civil Rights; the conservation movement and the development of the Wilderness Act; the Economic Opportunity Act; Metcalf and the Montana congressional of the 1950s-1960s use of media to reach out to their Montana constituents; and the genealogy of Senator Metcalf and his wife Donna Metcalf’s families. Interesting information includes background histories on Metcalf’s two parents’ families, who were early Montana settlers in Ravalli County and Butte, and about whom nothing has been researched, written, or preserved in the state or in Ravalli County. The Metcalf Subject Guide also has links to all of the blog posts, newspaper articles, public talks, and television interviews done about Metcalf by Peek as part of theHidden Collectionsgrant project. This guide is the first cited research on Senator Metcalf, published in great detail, ever written,which extensively uses his materials from the Lee Metcalf Papers (MC 172) housed in the MHS Archives.The guide, part of the Montana HistoricalSociety’sstate history wiki, which provides the public with multiple historical subject guides, research aids, indexes, and othermaterials for public researchers, isfree to useby the public and school teachers.
The guide can be found on the Montana History Wiki under the Subject Guides and Bibliographies Section, under “Senator Lee Metcalf (1911-1978)”: http://montanahistorywiki.pbworks.com/w/page/85322191/Senator%20Lee%20Metcalf%20(1911-1978)
-Matthew Peek, CLIR Metcalf Project Photograph Archivist
Montana Historical Society
