The Montana Historical Society is bringing the 40th Annual Montana History Conference east to Sidney this fall and is looking for ideas and presentations to bring the history of Eastern Montana alive for you.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Boom and Bust: Extracting the Past,” and it will be held at the MonDak Heritage Center Sept. 19th through the 21st.
“Boom and bust cycles define much of Montana’s past. Extraordinary opportunities lure immigrants, who prosper for a time, but then with a turn in the weather, or the economy, or resource availability, the boom goes bad,” MHS Outreach and Interpretation Director Kirby Lambert said.
As the eastern part of the state once again moves into a boom cycle with energy development and hundreds of people flocking to the area for jobs, Lambert said there is much to learn from the past about how to deal with what is happening today.
“We are calling for proposals from anyone with a researched topic that deals with the oil boom or any other interesting aspect of Eastern Montana history,” Lambert said. The proposals do not have to come from professional historians, he said, but from any person or group that has researched any aspect of history such as a cemetery or building or event.
Benjamin Clark, executive director of the MonDak Heritage Center said his organization is excited about hosting the conference. If people are interested in volunteering or helping sponsor the conference, they can contact him at 406-433-3500.
“I’m tremendously excited for people from all across Montana and the country to come here and see history in the making because of the energy boom. This should be a really great conference,” he said.
To submit a proposal log on to http://mhs.mt.gov/museum/sessionproposal2013,asp or email [email protected] or call 406-444.4741.
Reader Comments(0)