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File name:  jkh1.jpg
Caption:  December 1948
Credit:  Montana Historical Society, Photographer Andy DeMier

Long Program Description:
A journalist and historian, Joe Howard was one of the most influential and controversial figures in Montana during the 1930s and 40s. He graduated from Great Falls High School in 1923 and joined the staff of the Leader. He was the news editor until 1944. He resigned to become research associate for the Montana Study, a project of the Rockefeller Foundation and the University of Montana. He left this project after two years to devote full time to his writing. Howard was the author of "Montana: High, Wide and Handsome" a history of Montana which won wide critical acclaim. In 1946 he edited a large collection of Montana materials which were incorporated into a book, "Montana Margins: A State Anthology." He was extremely active in fostering writing efforts in Montana, working to draw attention to the social, political and economic struggles of the state. Still, his role in Montana's cultural development may have been his most significant contribution.