MTHS Announces Free Public Programs for February

Black History Month and Valentine's Day are guiding the February free public programs for the Montana Historical Society in a couple of unusual ways.

On Feb. 9, join Kate Hampton, the director of the MTHS's Montana African American Heritage Resources Project, for a discussion on the history of several Montana laws that affected how Black residents were able to participate in society.

Since the establishment of Montana Territory in 1864 through the present day, Montana has enforced laws and policies designed to address – sometimes to limit and sometimes to protect – the rights of minority populations.

State and local authorities codified and regulated discriminatory policies regarding members of the state's Black, Native American, Chinese, and Japanese communities. Hampton's talk will provide an overview of some of those legal and regulatory acts that affected African Americans in particular.

Then on Feb. 23, Liz Gundersen, a retired Helena pediatrician, will share the research she conducted on the Holter Heart Monitor in the 1950s, which remains in use today.

Jeff Holter established the Holter Research Laboratory in Helena in 1948, and with Bill Glasscock, invented a device still in use today worldwide to detect cardiac problems. Gunderson used MTHS archives and photograph collections while working on an ExplorationWorks Science Museum exhibit honoring both Holter and Glasscock. The photo at right is the Holter Heart Monitor, aka an ambulatory electrocardiogram. A version of it remains in use today. It was created by Montanans Jim Holter and Bill Glasscock back in the 1950s in Helena. It was revolutionary because it was small enough to be carried alongside a patient, recording the person's heart during regular activities. It entered commercial production in 1962. Today, smaller contemporary versions weigh less than cell phones and can be concealed easily under a patient's clothing. But they're still called Holter Heart Monitors, used in cardiology wards around the world.

Both presentations begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Lewis and Clark Library, 120 So. Last Chance Gulch in Helena. For those unable to attend, the programs are recorded and posted on the Montana Historical Society's YouTube channel.

For more information, contact Deb Mitchell at dmitchell@mt.gov or 406-444-4789.