Film Archivist
Montana Historical Society
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| A tour group at an Anaconda facility, circa 1960s (PAc 2008-102) |
In his 1986 interview for the Montana Historical Society’s
oral history project ‘Metals in Montana: Industry and Community in the 20th
Century,’ lifelong Montana resident Bob Vine discussed his relationship with
the town of Anaconda and its namesake company: “I’ve been in Anaconda since
1950 when I got out of college. I taught art and English in the high school for
seven years. And then joined the company in June of 1957 as an artist.
Subsequently I went into communications and training. I was personnel director
in Anaconda, personnel director in Butte. Then I became director of education
and development for the entire Montana operations.” (OH 925, p. 2) Vine worked
for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company and ARCO smelter in Anaconda from 1957 to
1983, and during that time he developed an enduring respect for the individual workers
and the communities at large. In addition to providing MHS with two in-depth
oral histories (OH 925 and OH 1676) on the mining industry after his retirement,
Vine also produced a history of Anaconda’s first women smelter-workers at the
Washoe Reduction Works of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company titled “Women of
the Washoe” (978.687 V75W) and a centenary celebration of the town entitled
“Anaconda Memories 1883-1983” (PAM 1567).
Bob Vine’s most distinctive and voluminous contribution to the historical record of Montana exists not on the printed page, but rather within thirty-nine canisters of 16mm motion picture film. Donated to MHS by the Vine Family in 2008, this film collection (PAc 2008-102) adds up to approximately 10,000 feet – or five continuous hours – of regional moving image history about the mining industry. Most of the films created and collected by Vine were shot during the 1960s, and these color and black and white reels cover a wide range of activities related to Anaconda Copper during a turbulent decade for the company. Extensive notes on the original film canisters provide a wealth of detail regarding content, and the choice of subject matter throughout demonstrates Vine’s desire to temper his industrial images with more human scenes from the greater mining communities.
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| Blasting at the Berkeley Pit, circa 1960s (PAc 2008-102) |
The footage created by Vine consists primarily of mining and
smelting processes at various Anaconda sites, and the 1960s saw ACM trying to
balance rising costs with diminishing profit margins. Bonner Lumber Mill, the
Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway, and the Anaconda Reduction Department
are just a few of the many subjects documented by Vine. Canister labels provide
meticulous – and occasionally dramatic – program descriptions, as evidenced by this
small section from a canister note about filmed Berkeley Pit activities in
Butte: “changing truck tires with overhead crane; trucks being loaded; top rim
of pit NE of viewing stand; pit from above; powder truck; overhead view of
shovel; blasting crew; powder truck; BLAST!” The editing/splicing methodology
employed by Vine is not always apparent, however – images from rugged outdoor locations
such as the Berkeley Pit are occasionally and incongruously followed by
bureaucratic scenes in departmental offices and sterile control rooms.
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| An Anaconda Company control room, circa 1960s (PAc 2008-102) |
The Bob Vine film collection also covers some of the less
routine aspects of working life at the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. Awards
ceremonies, contests, training sessions, and stockholders’ meetings at the
Washoe Theater on Anaconda’s Main Street are just a few of the events listed on
the collection’s canister labels. Communications and education played a large
role in Vine’s career with ACM, and we also find several commercials that were made
to emphasize the more human side of the company. These commercials often used
footage taken from community events sponsored by ACM, such as the Smeltermen’s
Union Day at Washoe Park, Children’s Day at Butte’s Columbia Gardens, and public
tours through the plants themselves.
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| Smeltermen's Union Day at Washoe Park in Anaconda, MT, circa 1960s (PAc 2008-102) |
Eight films from the Bob Vine collection have recently been
digitized by MHS in cooperation with the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center
in Big Sky, Montana as part of an evolving multimedia project pertaining to
Montana and its history. These films can now be found on the MHS Moving Image
Archives YouTube playlist: MHS Moving Image Archive.
