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Tennyson, Thomas (Tom)

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Description"While visiting Aspen View Retirement Community in Billings, Montana, I made the acquaintance of Mr. Thomas (Tom) Tennyson. Mr. Tennyson agreed to an impromptu interview which took place in the activity room just off the main dinning area. Some background noise during the interview was unavoidable. Mr. Tennyson spoke to me about his link to the Huntley Irrigation Project. Mr. Tennyson’s father, John Henry Tennyson came to the Yellowstone Valley about 1900 and was a blacksmith who shod the horses of the construction crew who were building the irrigation canal beginning around 1904. Mr. John H. Tennyson homesteaded the area directly west of the research and experiment station and had 40 acers of irrigated land and 280 acers of land which was being dry farmed. Mr. Thomas Tennyson was born on the Huntley Project farm owned by his parents in 1920 and recalled attending the Osborne school until the third grade. Due to the way the school bus route was being handled, it made it easier for Tom Tennyson to attend the school in Worden after that. Tom remembered attending the Methodist Church in Huntley, Montana but was not able to attend regularly. He did speak about putting the plumbing in the new addition to the church when he was an adult. Tom stated that his father John H. Tennyson became sick and had a stroke in 1936 when Tom was 16 years old. His father was not able to walk or talk after that and Tom took care of all the farm work from then on. The family did not have a tractor but used a team of horses to do the work. Tom did not have much free time and did not remember attending any dances held by the Altar Society at Pompeys Pillar. Tom eventually sold the family homestead. Mr. Tom Tennyson met his wife at a dance. They were married for 62 years before she passed away. Tom and his wife had three children, one grandchild and two great grandchildren. Throughout the interview, you can also hear the voice of Tom's life partner June helping him remember various topics. Tom's mother was Nora Etta McCammon. More information about about the John Henry Tennyson family and the McCammon family is contained in some detail in the book, ‘Sod ‘n Seed ‘n Tumbleweed, A History of the Huntley Project’, written and compiled by the Huntley Project History Committee 1977 Ballantine, Montana. Second printing 2003. This book is still in print and available for purchase from the Huntley Project Museum, www.huntleyprojectmuseum.org, or by calling the Museum office #406-348-2533. " TypeSoundCreatorBiggers, Trudie Porter Genresound recordingsLanguageengDate2016-04-25SubjectIrrigationIrrigation projectsAgricultural development projectsEconomic development projectsRural development projectsDitchesDiversion structures (Hydraulic engineering)AgricultureIrrigated agriculture Irrigated farmingBeetsSugar beetBeet sugar industrySwedish immigrants to the United States 1900John Henry TennysonTom TennysonNora Etta McCammonContributing InstitutionHuntley Project Museum of Irrigated AgricultureGeographic CoverageHuntley Project, Montana; Yellowstone County, Montana; Huntley, Montana; Pompeys Pillar, Montana Digital CollectionHuntley Irrigation Project Oral HistoriesDigital Formataudio/mp3 Digitization SpecificationsRecorded using Audacity 2.1.2 on a MacBook Pro.

CollectionHuntley Irrigation Project Oral Histories

Tom Tennyson.mp3

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Tennyson, Thomas (Tom)

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