MacDonald, Marie Peterson, 1913-1988

found: Her After barbed wire, c1983:t.p. (Marie Peterson MacDonald) cover (Marie MacDonald)

found: LC data base, 9/16/83(hdg.: MacDonald, Marie Peterson; variant: Marie P. MacDonald)

found: NUCMC data from University of Montana--Missoula, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, K. Ross Toole Archives for MacDonald family papers, 1905-2019(Marie Peterson MacDonald was born on February 24, 1913 to Swedish immigrants who homesteaded near Great Falls, Montana. She attended the University of Montana for one quarter. After the onset of the Depression, she transferred to Western Montana College to earn a teaching certificate. She taught for two years at the Mee School near Highwood, and then enrolled in the University of Minnesota, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Journalism in 1936. Marie taught school in Ekalaka, Montana, before marrying Alexander "Mac" Colin MacDonald in 1941. Five of Marie and Alexander's six children were born in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area before the family moved to Glendive, Montana, where Alexander set up his dental practice in 1946. In 1954, Marie became the first woman elected to the Glendive City Council. She also served two terms as a trustee for the Montana State Historical Society and was an Eastern Congressional District Committeewoman for the Democratic Party. From 1964 to 1974, Marie worked as the city of Glendive's librarian. During this time, she wrote two books about Eastern Montana history: After Barbed Wire (1963) and Glendive: History of a Montana Town (1968). She died on July 24, 1988)