Week 6- Sit Down and Read!

This was a great week of research for me! I have been reading the books I have and really enjoying them. One book, called Before Barbed Wire is a great informational book that tells many stories and relates them to others, telling the general history along the way. It is my favorite because it belonged to my Grandpa Haughian, and it includes many great photos from the earlier years of Montana. Another book I have, The Frontier Years, tells a more general history of Montana, but it includes quite a bit about the ranching history as well. The third book I am reading includes an overview of Montana ranching and many stories about the ranches who have been around for a century. This book, The Weak Ones Turned Back, The Cowards Never Started, was written in commemoration of the 125th Anniversary of the Montana Stockgrowers Association.

I have been learning a lot about how the homesteaders lived, and I couldn't imagine living a life like theirs! The houses were very small and had many flaws, all of their work was hard, and they always had to provide for themselves. While it wasn't a glamorous life, many people considered it the best life there was, and I don't blame them. If only they knew how many years their ranches would last and how big they would grow to be.

I hope to almost finish this video this weekend, but we will see. I am on the final stretch and only have a few more things to do before it is finished! I am pretty excited to see how it turns out and to see what you all think of it!