Mr Dennis Gary’s Memories of The Early 1950’s Montana Situation => “Political Radicals”, “Senator Joe McCarthy-Ites”, Etc.

As Played Out On the Montana State College Campus:

Actors Are: MSC Professors Dunbar, Burlingame, Barsness, Frank, Fiedler & MSC President Renne.

By Dennis Gary, Graduate BS English, Montana State College, 1960; MS, University of Oregon, 1964
The intellectual and emotional strength of Professor Robert Dunbar were amazing. He fairly radiated his beliefs!

I can remember him telling us that "until the land is returned to those who domesticated it, there will be revolution."

Or at least, I believe Dunbar’s wording was something like that. At the time, I was puzzled at the use of “domesticated” in this regard and Googled it, coming up with a number of articles including one in Wikipedia that mention the Soviet Union's attempt to take the land from wealthy landlords and return it to the people who had originally opened up this land and thus domesticated the wilderness. So that word that stuck in my mind was quite probably the term Robert Dunbar would have used, considering his comments on the Soviet Union in his monograph, which he had written sometime earlier, and in our history class, made available to us.

In one of our Dunbar classes Current World Problems , he had an exchange student from one of the Arab countries address us. The student told us, "If you had to give the Jews a country, why did you give him ours? You should have given them New Mexico instead. Nobody lives there."

In that class the term paper was to consist of defining a problem, listing as many solutions as possible, no matter how improbable, then taking one of them and defending it as the solution. I chose French Indo-China where we already had some military personnel era the late 1950's. My solution was that since the United States liked to claim it had never lost a war, we should declare victory immediately and withdraw. What did Richard Nixon do in Viet Nam years later?

I intend these above Professor Dunbar anecdotes, along with the one concerning our assignment in Current World Problems, to show the strong emotional and intellectual nature of his classes, back in the mid to late 1960's. Hope that it does.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This also illustrates Dr Dunbar’s strong personality and leadership characteristics: Since Professor Dunbar introduced Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt On The Night Of Her Bozeman Talk, we surmise he must have been on the event organizational committee, which in turn would suggest he was in a leadership role, as a member of the local chapter of the United Nations Association. This may account for Professor Dunbar’s classroom (organizational?) meeting in Montana Hall Annex, reported by Mr Gary. Click Here.

At any rate, I later saw a copy of my term paper hanging on the History Department bulletin board and asked Dr. Burlingame about it. He informed me that they had hung it there and when the problem was resolved, they would take the paper down and read it to see how close I had come to the actual solution.

Incidentally, the History Department was at the time housed in the Montana Hall Annex, a wood frame structure, functional if not artistic, and you could enter it either through its own door or the Montana Hall basement and in fact, Burlingame frequently used a classroom in the basement of Montana Hall. The memories of that strange old building . . .

I doubt that I'll think of what I said to Mrs. Roosevelt: As was walking up to the after-talk-reception, I was just trying to formulate a sentence or two as I came nearer in the line, working on something meaningful rather than a simple "Hi, there.". And I’ve never kept a journal.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Please go to either of the above 2 Blue Links, for Dennis Gary’s full discussion of his being at Eleanor Roosevelt’s Bozeman Talk.

On the other hand, it was weeks after I sent you [Henry Gurr] the History Lizard* Link, before I recalled the Eleanor Roosevelt In Bozeman Episode at all. If this was all in my sophomore year, I had just started as a reporter, writing for the Exponent [MSC Student Newspaper] and not likely to have been given the assignment. [Hence no written record this way.] On the other hand, later I wrote about Leslie Fiedler** similarly being banned and then speaking off campus. Well, Fiedler was a professor of English.

I can remember remarking to Jack Barsness** about seeing none of the members** of the English Department at Fiedler's talk, and he had replied, "That's because we were all afraid of what Dr. Renne*** might do." [***See Bozeman Chronicle Link, at the bottom of this page.]

[**For more general information, and explanations of who all these MSC Faculty were, and what Mr Gary knew about them, at the bottom of this WebiPage, please consult the eight links, immediately following words => “Additional Links To Our Research Findings”, which are shown below.]
[*Also see below, for the whole story Re “History Lizard”!! ]

I recall that when I asked Dr. Burlingame about the issue of Roosevelt speaking, he told me it was Dr. Dunbar's issue, not his, and he wanted nothing to do with it, Since I did not meet Burlingame before the Fall of 1957, that may narrow things a bit.[Meaning we still hadn’t yet (at this point of writing), found the actual date of Mrs Roosevelt’s Talk.]

I suspect Dr. Renne was really making a political decision, not an academic one. As I have written, I always got along with him. But when I asked Jack Barsness why no members of the English Dept. attended Leslie Fiedler's talk across the street from the campus, he replied, "We were all afraid of what Dr. Renne might do." And the editor of the college newspaper, the Exponent, used my article on the talk instead one he had been writing to avoid "locking horns" with Dr. Renne.

On the other hand, I did not have that kind of worry re Dr. Renne. For example: Dr. Milford Frank of the Education Dept, had told me I had no right to sign a contract to teach in Klamath Falls, Oregon, because I was expected to stay in Montana, Despite this, when I encountered Dr. Renne at the Northern Pacific Depot as I was about to embark for Klamath Falls, Dr. Renne's reaction was "Montana's loss is Oregon's gain. I'm delighted that Montana State will be represented in Oregon by some one of your caliber!" Then he first grasped my hand and then my father's as I introduced him to my father.

Mr. Dennis Gary, In Finding the Following Additional Published Information, Has These After thoughts Regarding Montana Right Wing Conservatives, and Their Witch Hunts, Similar To Those Of “The Senator Joe McCarthy Era”:

Apparently, Eleanor Roosevelt spoke in Bozeman MT, at the Willson Auditorium in 1957, which is discussed =>In my earlier writings posted here on ZMMQ Site. [To see any of Mr. Gary’s Memories, please choose among the items with “Dennis Gary”, in ZMMQ Menu at Left.]

Unlike the story of Leslie Fiedler speaking incident, the Bozeman Eleanor Roosevelt speaking incident had completely slipped my mind: This is despite I was thinking, about and writing my MSC Memories, over a period of ~ 3 years!!

What’s the reason for this “memory omission”? Perhaps because both my parents detested Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Moreover, my father was a McCarthy-ite! Psychological suppression? Perhaps!
I later came to admire both Eleanor & Franklin.

Links to Additional Reading Related to the Above Dennis Gary Memories.

Montana State College’s President Renne & Montana Politics:
A Series of Newspaper Quotations, Concerning “attacks from far-right critics” & Eleanor Roosevelt …. refused speak on campus” By MSU’s Present Day, History Professor Robert Rydell:
Click Here For Bozeman Chronicle Newspaper Article, July 17, 2011, That Gives A Historical Perspective).

Rydell said he admired Renne for the way he stood up to attacks from far-right critics, but faulted Renne for capitulating when former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt came to Bozeman in 1957. Renne refused to let her speak on the MSC Campus, and so she spoke, off campus, at Willson Auditorium In downtown Bozeman. Rydell quotes MSC President Renne => “He felt if he wanted a political future, he had to draw the line, …” [and therefor bared Mrs Roosevelt from speaking on the MSC Campus. ]
“Rydell said => “Renne resigned from the college in 1964 to run for governor as a Democrat, and lost by 7,000 votes.” [To which Mr. Gary adds: Considering this, Professor Dunbar "Didn’t have a prayer” to budge (or MSC appeal), the position of MSC President Renne !!] Click Here To Read More:

From InterMountainOpera Website, Interesting Information Re Willson Auditorium, Former Home Of Gallatin County High School =>
" “[Opera] Performances take place in the historic Willson Auditorium located at 404 W. Main Street in Downtown Bozeman.” ''

[To which Mr. Gary adds: ] Yep, the same place where Gary Cooper went to high school. With seating for only 1100 people …. It is in fact part of the old Willson Middle School, named after the building’s architect.
….. It is rumored in the Gary family that => Gary Cooper in looking for a stage name chose “Gary” because he used to date my dad's cousin, Agnes Gary.

Here Is A Brief Robert Dunbar Biography Plus A Bibliography:
Believe you will be interested in how he served in WWII and also his being a founding member of Bozeman's Unitarian-Universalist fellowship, which now bears his name.

HISTORICAL NOTE: Robert George Dunbar was born April 30, 1907 in La Grange, Wisconsin. He married in 1937 and had two children. He received a B.A. in History with a minor in Spanish from Milton College in Wisconsin in 1929. In 1933 he received his M. A. in History from the University of Wisconsin and earned his PhD in 1935, also from the University of Wisconsin. He taught at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, 1935-1937 and at Colorado State University at Fort Collins, 1937-1947. During World War II, he served in the U. S. Navy as an instructor at Navy War Orientations Programs in Bainbridge, MD. He joined the faculty of the History Department at Montana State University in 1947. He was an Associate Professor of History from 1948-1950 and Professor of History from 1950-1973. He served as Director of the Center for Inter-Cultural Affairs from 1968-1973. At M.S.U. he also founded the International Studies Center in 1955, and in 1963, he succeeded in establishing a Peace Corp training program focused on helping agricultural projects in Ecuador. He was an authority on water rights and irrigation in the Western United States. He was the author of "Forging New Rights in Western Waters" (University of Nebraska Press, 1983); "The Farmer and the American Way" (Oxford Book Company,1952); "History of Agriculture;" chapter 5 of vol. 2, "Colorado and Its People" (Lewis Historical Pub. Co, 1948); "History of Agriculture;" chapter 12, of vol. 1, "A History of Montana," by Merrill G. Burlingame and K. Ross Toole (Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1957) and numerous articles in professional journals and newspapers. He served as president of the American Agricultural Society, 1966-67 and spoke frequently to national and state agricultural groups. He vigorously advocated inter-cultural programs and Native American Education. He was a founding member of the Bozeman Chapter of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, which bears his name. Upon retirement in 1974, he was awarded the rank of Professor Emeritus in History. Dr. Dunbar died February 15, 1993 at age 85.

Robert G. Dunbar Papers, 1930-1986 Archives West: Collection 2437

CONTENT DESCRIPTION NOTE: Creator: Dunbar, Robert G. Provenance Note: The bulk of Robert G. Dunbar's Papers were donated by the Department of History and Philosophy of Montana State University - Bozeman in 2000. Several smaller accessions were incorporated into the collection: Collections 1166, 1168, 1266, 1367, 1402, 2088 were donated by Robert G. Dunbar from 1974-1984, and Collection 1154 was donated by Edward J. Bell and Robert G. Dunbar in 1985.
Please Click Here To See The Full Contents Of This Montana State University Archive.

Here’s The Event That Sparked Mr Dennis Gary’s Totally Forgotten Memories Of The Eleanor Roosevelt Bozeman Speaking Event, As Recorded In His Email To Henry Gurr:

From: Dennis Gary [dennisgary@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, September 20, 2013 1:55 PM To: Henry Gurr
Subject: A MONTANA RADICAL -- ROBERT DUNBAR AND ELEANOR ROOSEVELT - CORRECTION: ONE ARTICLE DOWN

Henry, Ran across article thought might be of interest to you: See SECOND item down on webpage here: http://hxlizard.wordpress.com/tag/montana-state-university/
Dennis
To This Henry Gurr Replied: Dennis
Thanks very much!!! This Article below, by Ms, History Lizard, is quite good and we will add link, to ZMMQ Links WebPage!!
… This nicely relates to (compliments and factually supports), your Memories of MSC’s President Renne, as well as your Professor Dunbar, here => http://venturearete.org/ResearchProjects/ProfessorGurr/Documents/SarahVinkeMemories1
YES!! Of course, this Article, by Mrs History Lizard, with link will be added to the "Further Reading" at bottom of the appropriate ZMMQ Pages.
Henry

Dennis Gary And Henry Started Our "Eleanor Roosevelt Webpage Project", Back In September 2013, When Mr Gary Said In An Email => "Ran Across Article ... Thought Might Be Of Interest! … This Whole Most Interesting Article Now Follows" =>

"Searching for Eleanor Roosevelt" Is An Essay, By a MSU Student who calls herself "History Lizard": April 1, 2010:
… Again, my favorite class intrigued me with a tidbit to pursue. [This was] In American History, [in which Professor] Dr. Robert Rydell closed class by bringing the McCarthy era home to us. He told our class about a gentleman who used to be part of the MSU staff, [Professor] Robert Dunbar, and his invitation to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to come speak here at the (then) Montana State College.
… Even Eleanor Roosevelt was accused of communism for her support and activity with the UN.
… For those who didn’t know, Mrs. Roosevelt had been a signer in the formation of the United Nations. She worked feverishly to alleviate hunger and suffering across the world in the aftermath of World War II. But since, in the eyes of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the UN weakened America, anyone supporting it – and especially those who were instrumental in creating it! – was seeking the destruction of America, and must therefore be Communist.
At the time, then MSC President Roland Renne had some political ambitions and was seeking the office of Governor of Montana. He had grave concerns regarding Mrs. Roosevelt’s pending visit and how it would reflect on him. Fearing association with a suspected Communist sympathizer, Mr. Renne actually had the audacity to deny Mrs. Roosevelt a place on campus to speak! She was only able to take her plans into downtown Bozeman and speak at another venue (Dr. Rydell wasn’t sure which. If I’m able to find out, I’ll update this.) Dr. Dunbar was flabbergasted, of course, but powerless to do anything about it. Mrs. Roosevelt stepped up to speak on a stage completely draped in red – the carpet, the podium cover, the curtains, all of it. The implication was obvious. Still, she went on to deliver her message to a packed house.
… Dr. Dunbar, in the meantime, was accused of communism by the Bozeman community. He received numerous death threats, kidnapping threats aimed at his children and other persecution. Like Mrs. Roosevelt, Dunbar wasn’t deterred. He went on to form the school’s first Peace Corps chapter – a group that in 2008 received recognition from the parent organization for high volunteerism and service.
… What I found most perplexing was the near complete lack of information available about this episode with Mrs. Roosevelt. There is a very brief mention on the University’s website (historical page) and, so far as I have found, nothing else. Why? Perhaps it wasn’t (isn’t?) considered noteworthy. That may be, but looking at the utter nonsense that otherwise finds its way into historical documents, this seems at least as memorable or significant. Perhaps it’s a splotch of mud on our shining coat. No one today likes to be remembered as reactionary or worse, duped.
… Most likely, I’m just not looking in the right place. That’s what I’m hoping. If true, then once more, I’ll update this when more facts are known. In the mean time, here’s looking forward to more of Dr. Robert Rydell’s classes. May they all be as thought provoking as this series have been!
… Tags: American History, Communism, Dr. Robert Rydell, Eleanor Roosevelt, McCarthy Era, McCarthyism, Montana State University Posted in history | Leave a Comment »
A NOTE TO AUTHOR OF THIS ESSAY=>
Dear Ms. History Lizard: Please click contact me, at the bottom of this page: We would like your permission to continue to post your Most Excellent & ZMM Relevant Essay here on this page!! Thank you!! Professor Henry Gurr.

Just Discovered: Elizabeth Linehan Is Ms History Lizard!!!
In that vein and as a History (w/Teaching) major at Montana State University, Bozeman, a Liberal Arts education and subsequent fall out are becoming the foundation for my next 40 years or so (God willing and the tires stay on the road!)

This blog will have a few areas of focus:

I have a husband (times 16 years and counting), four fast-growing children, two labra-dogs, and a rather obnoxious cat. They may also be mentioned from time to time.
… So, tonight my four children and I will be sitting in the SUB ballroom, listening to McPherson educate us on “Tried by War: Lincoln as Commander in Chief.” I’m totally stoked! (Hope my nine-year-old can keep his feet still.) Rich, my husband, won’t be able to be there. He has to drive to Idaho on his regular run. Guess I’ll just have to fill him in on every last detail.
Well, as the wife of a commercial truck driver and business owner, I couldn’t let this rest.

Has a whole series of her writings, including the Eleanor Roosevelt blocked from speaking Re Right Wing Politics Renne etc.
http://hxlizard.wordpress.com/

Just above mentioned Eleanor Roosevelt
http://hxlizard.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/searching-for-eleanor-roosevelt/

You can read my articles on Suite101.com. There, I write about ASL and the Deaf culture, trucking, student concerns, and a few more.

If you’re interested in truck driving or the trucking life, see my other blog at http://trucksage.wordpress.com

Suite101.com

Additional Links To Our ZMM Book Research Findings Concerning Montana State University's Relation To ZMM Book: (For Other Topics, please consult the Main Menu at left:)

• To read Robert Pirsig’s “Montana Radicals Story”, go to ZMM Page 104
  • ’‘The Mrs Professor Sarah Vinke Of My Student Days’‘
  • Dennis Gary’s: ‘‘Following My Mentor => Prof Sarah Vinke’‘
  • Dennis Gary’s ‘‘Following My Values: School & Career’‘
  • Dennis Gary’s ‘‘Memories of His Professor Dunbar & How Dunbar’s sponsorship of Eleanor Roosevelt’s Talk Campus (in Pirsig’s words) “.. was banned because she was ‘too controversial.’ “ The ban was by MSC by MSC President Renne, fearing Montana “ultra conservatives”, in Dunbar’s words.
  • Memories of MSC Faculty Mountain Trip To Deer Creek ~1959 (Likely Including Dr Dunbar.)
  • 1947-60: Photos of MSC Faculty & Sarah Vinke (Vinki Vinche Finche Finch) Including a Robert Dunbar Portrait Photo. He also appears in the group picture which includes Sarah. He is on the far left (appropriately enough) of the front row.

Historical Research At Montana State University Re ZMM

Written by Dennis Gary with Editing by Henry S Gurr 4 March 2014. RevHSG29Oct23
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