DescriptionPhoto of Alger Pocha (Little Shell) and Marie Gray Pocha (Little Shell) on their living room couch at their house in the Sixth Ward, Helena, circa 1955. Alger Pocha was born in Lewis and Clark County on the Dearborn on Bean Lake. The family homestead didn't support the family and in 1917 his father sold the farm and they moved to Gilman, where the family/his dad did odd jobs on farms and ranches. He and his two brothers moved down to the Helena area in the early 1920s. Alger's two brothers farmed by Montana City and he had a farm by Hauser Lake. Marie Gray Pocha grew up near Choteau. Ultimately, the Pochas moved into Helena. The Pochas had four children, two boys and two girls. He ran a bar (the Blue Moon), which is where the Neighborhood Center in Helena now stands. It was demolished as part of Urban Renewal/Model Cities Program. Everyone in Marie's family died young including Marie, who died of cancer in her mid-fifties. They sold the bar to pay her doctor bills. Alger lived to 90. TypeImageGenrephotographsDateCirca 1955SubjectPhotosSnapshotsContributing InstitutionHelena Indian AllianceGeographic CoverageHelena, MontanaDigital CollectionMontana Urban Indian CollectionDigitization SpecificationScanned with Epson Perfection V800 Photo scanner at 600 dpi.SourceDaniel L. PochaDate Digitized2024
