Skip to main content

Ladies Auxiliary of the B.L.F.E. Liberty Lodge #397 Montpelier, Idaho

 Collection
Identifier: UUS_Caine MSS 24

Scope and Contents

The papers contained in this collection are from the Women's Auxiliary of the B.L.F.E. This lodge began in 1918. Their activities revolved around helping Re-Echo Lodge 195. They helped with social functions, political action, and insurance policies. These records are primarily ledgers from meetings and a small correspondence file.

Dates

  • Creation: 1918-1943

Language of Materials

Material in English

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Ladies Auxiliary of the B.L.F.E. Liberty Lodge #397 Montpelier, Idaho must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Biographical Note

The history of the labor movement in the Western United States is one dominated by the unions representing the major industries such as mining and railroading. The papers chronicle railroad union activity on the Oregon Shortline (later the Union Pacific) of Idaho, Utah, and Oregon. Specifically the collections contain records from the Women's auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen. These records were found together in the Oddfellows Hall in Montpelier, Idaho, at which location the unions held their regular meetings. The records span the period from 1884 through 1954.

Construction of the Oregon Shortline Railroad, a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad, began in 1881 and was finished in 1884. The line left the mainline of the U.P. at Granger, Wyoming and joined the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company line at Huntington, Oregon. By the end of 1882, the company had built 330 miles of track. The route of the road came through Montpelier, so that in 1883 this Idaho farming community became a division point for the railroad. By the turn of the century a shop and roundhouse had been built in the Idaho town. Town histories indicate that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers established a lodge in 1883. Another union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive of Firemen's Re-Echo Lodge 195 moved their headquarters from Shoshone, Idaho to Montpelier in 1887. The earliest records in this collection chronicle the B.L.F.'s Re-Echo Lodge 195 and date back to 1884 when the lodge was headquartered in Shoshone, Idaho.

The railroad was a boon to Montpelier and became the main employer of that town into the 1950's. However, as trains became faster and more powerful and as engines changed from steam power to diesel, the need for a large railroad work force in Montpelier declined. By the 1950's many of the union men were moved to the divisional headquarters in Pocatello.

These railroad labor records cover important periods for the American labor movement. They document union activity through two world wars as well as the Great Depression. They also describe a period in which railroad employment played a key role in small western towns such a Montpelier, Idaho. In addition, the papers recount the difficulties of a manufacturing type of industry blending into a religious farming community.

Extent

5 boxes (3.25 linear feet)

Abstract

Records from the Ladies Auxiliary these include correspondence, financial records and lodge minutes

Arrangement

The correspondence are arranged alphabetically and the financial records are arranged chronologically.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The materials in this collection were purchased by USU Special Collections & Archives for inclusion in the Marie Eccles-Caine Archive of Intermountain Americana.

Related Materials

Fife, Kimball M. Montpelier, Idaho's locomotive firemen and enginemen : a community of railroaders, 1900-1920 (BOOK COLL 42 No. 87)

Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Lodge #607 Montpelier, Idaho(CAINE MSS 23)

B.L.F.E. Re-Echo Lodge #195 Records, Montpelier, Idaho (CAINE MSS 22)

Processing Information

Processed in May of 2006

Title
Guide to the Ladies Auxiliary of the B.L.F.E. Liberty Lodge #397 Montpelier, Idaho, 1918-1943
Author
Finding aid created by Special Collections and Archives
Date
©2011
Description rules
Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition)
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid encoded in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives Repository

Contact:
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan Utah 84322-3000 United States
435 797-8248
435 797-2880 (Fax)