Montana Historical Society

Big Sky ~ Big History

Museum and research center closed for renovations. For more info, call (406) 444-2694.

Leah Stewart Brickett

Born in 1910, Brickett moved from Virginia City to the Governor’s Mansion in Helena at the age of two after her father, Samuel Stewart, was elected Governor. Much of her childhood—including the years during World War I—was spent in the mansion. After the war, the family remained in Helena after Stewart left office in 1921. Brickett graduated from University of Montana in 1932, and traveled the world and released a book of poetry later in life. In the clips below, she reflects on her experiences during the war years, including:

  • Anti-German feelings during the war (If Your Sister Called You a Hun)
  • Her family’s support for those fighting abroad (We Were Quite Concerned About Those Fellas)
  • Patriotic songs and other forms of entertainment she participated in during the war (Entertaining Ourselves Over Here, Fighting Over There)
  • Food rationing during the war, and the coal shortage caused by strikes (A Much More Difficult Time)
  • The strikes in Butte during the war (It Was a Dangerous Time)

Click here for transcripts of the clips below.

Brickett, Leah Stewart, interview by Laurie Mercier, March 18, 1987, Helena, MT, for the General Montana History Collection, OH 1669, Montana Historical Society Archives. 1 audio tape (40 minutes).


Back to World War I Voices