Norman And Belle Fligelman Winestine Collection, 1882-1985

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Winestine, Norman, 1895-1986
Title
Norman And Belle Fligelman Winestine Collection
Dates
1882-1985 (inclusive)
Quantity
2.5 linear feet of shelf space
Collection Number
MC 190
Summary
Norman and Belle Winestine were residents of Helena, Montana. Belle Winestine's (1882-1985) papers include correspondence, writings (fiction, poetry, and non-fiction), a Jeannette Rankin subject file, and Fligelman family materials. Norman Winestine's papers (1911-1954) include correspondence, Montana Historical Society and Montana Institute of the Arts materials, and miscellany.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Norman Winestine was born February 15, 1895, in Wassaic, New York, and was raised in Waterbury, Connecticut. He received a bachelor's degree from Yale University and did post-graduate work in medieval history at Columbia University and at the newly established Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning in Philadelphia. At Dropsie, Winestine studied Semitic language and Judaism. On April 18, 1918, Winestine married Belle Fligelman whom he met in Washington, D.C., while working for the Hoover Food Administration. She was the daughter of Herman Fligelman, president and one of the founders of Helena, Montana's New York Dry Goods Store. In 1920 Winestine accepted the offer of the position of general manager of the New York Store and moved to Helena. He managed the store until his retirement in 1958. In Helena, Winestine was active in the Congregation Emanu-El, a Jewish reform congregation. Winestine was also involved with the Montana Institute of the Arts and the Montana Historical Society. He was appointed to the Board of the latter organization by Governor John Bonner in 1949, and served as its president. Norman Winestine died on April 4, 1986.

Belle Fligelman was born in Helena in 1891. She attended Helena schools, graduating from high school in 1909. She then attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and during her senior year was elected president of the Women's Self-Governing Student Body. In 1914 she returned to Helena to work as a reporter for the Independent. The following year she was hired to manage and edit the weekly Montana Progressive , published by the state's Progressive Party. It was during this time that she became involved in the successful congressional campaign of Jeannette Rankin. She accompanied Rankin to Washington, D.C., and was employed to write news releases. Throughout her life, Belle Winestine was active in polities supporting movements such as women's suffrage, the Equal Rights Amendment, world peace, etc. In 1932 she unsuccessfully ran for the Montana Senate with her main campaign issue being the creation of a state children's bureau. She was also a prolific writer of short stories, children's stories, plays, and poetry, some of which were published. Belle Winestine died in April 1985.

Norman and Belle Winestine had three children: Minna, Judith, and Henry.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers of Belle Fligelman Winestine include biographical materials, general correspondence (1916-1982), a subject file (1917-1985) of materials relating to Jeannette Rankin and her congressional career, writings (dates vary), miscellany including family memorabilia (1882-1971, for Herman and Frieda Fligelman) and a scrapbook (1909-1913) kept during her years at the University of Wisconsin, and clippings. The series of writings is arranged alphabetically by title for fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.

The papers of Norman Winestine include general correspondence (1917-1953), a subject file (1947-1951, 1982) relating to activities of the Montana Historical Society and the Montana Institute of the Arts, and miscellany. The materials for the Montana Historical Society concern the publishing of a magazine and the selection of K. Ross Toole as director of the Society, and include correspondence between Winestine and Toole, Joseph Kinsey Howard, and Merrill Burlingame.

Artifacts, photographs, and printed materials have been separated to the Museum, Photo Archives, and Library respectively.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

by series

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information:

available upon request

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection

Belle Fligelman Winestine Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Biographical Materials
Box/Folder
1 / 1
Biographical notes, etc.
n.d.
General Correspondence
Box/Folder
1 / 2
Chronological (correspondents include Frieda Fligelman [sister]; John Angus Burrell; O.R. Freeman; Thomas J. Walsh; Jeannette Rankin; various magazine publishers; Payne Templeton; John C. Board; Arnold Olsen; Mike Mansfield; Hannah Josephson; Peggy Speer; Howard B. Brin; Elinor Richey; Radcliffe College; Heather Huppe; Allyn Cox; Vivienne Hunter)
1916-1982
Photographs
Box/Folder
1 / 3
List of photographs transferred to the Photo Archives
Printed Material
Box/Folder
1 / 4
List of printed materials transferred to the Library
Subject Files
Box/Folder
1 / 5
Jeannette Rankin
1917-1985
Writings
Box/Folder
1 / 6
Fiction: A (includes "An Ice for Mademoiselle"; "And a Happy New Year to You"; "Another Wedding"; "Author Writes Her Name")
1 / 7
Fiction: B (includes "Baliani Sapphire"; "The Big Deal"; "Black Girl"; "The Blanket of Blinkey")
1 / 8
Fiction: B (includes "Blue Dog Day"; "Boom! Boom! the Leaves" with illustrations; "Bonus"; "Brave"; "Bread Song"; "Business on the Jhelum")
1 / 9-12
Fiction: B (includes "Bee Line to Heaven")
1 / 13
Fiction: C (includes "Chinook", play)
2 / 1
Fiction: C (includes "The Comical People [illustrated children's story]; "Cream Separators")
2 / 2
Fiction: D (includes "Dawn"; "The Decision"; "Decoration"; "Distilled Penny"; "Doctora Enelda Fox, Guardian Angel of Mexico")
2 / 3
Fiction: F (includes "F.F. Buses through these United States" [outline for play]; "Finders Weepers"; "Flight to Paris"; "For Remembrance"; "The Four Sides to the Circle"; "From the Heart"; "The Funny Howchudoes" [children's story])
2 / 4
Fiction: G (includes "General Snoodle and his Zipper War" [illustrated children's story])
2 / 5
Fiction: G (includes "The Gift"; "Golden Reunion"; "Golden Spark"; "Good Will"; "Grace Notes")
2 / 6-7
Fiction: G (includes "The Gravy Boat" [play])
2 / 8
Fiction: G (includes "The Great Race" [illustrated children's story])
2 / 9
Fiction: H (includes "Heartease"; "Hey, Little Girl!"; "Hippidy, the Hopper" [illustrated children's story]; "The Honorable Errand Boy"; "The Human Heart"; "Human People"; "Hundred Percent Starsky")
2 / 10
Fiction: I (includes "Ibsen Comes to the Styx"; "In a Hospital Garden"; "It Marches on Little Wheels")
3 / 1
Fiction: J-K (includes "Jig-Saw"; "Jolly Evening"; "Journey to Kiev"; "Krafton")
3 / 2
Fiction: L (includes "Language of Liberty"; "Life" [various titles include "At This Late Date", "Time", etc]; "The Lightening Lady"; "The Li'l Ol' String"; "Little Toilers on the Farm"; "Locked Room"; "Lockinvar"; "Lost"; "Love Story")
3 / 3
Fiction: M (includes "May You Be Inscribed"; "Meeting in the Mulberry Tree"; "Moonshine"; "Mother's Day and Father's Day"; "Mucho in Common"; "Music"; "Music all over Manhattan")
3 / 4
Fiction: O-P (includes "October in the Shade"; "Old Lady"; "One Hundred in the Shade"; "Pattern for Giving"; "Pineapple"; "Pot Roast and Kartoffel Kloese"; "The Promised Land")
3 / 5
Fiction: R (includes "Replenishing the Earth"; "Reunion in Hollywood"; "Reverie on the Chrysler Hour"; "Rough Crossing"; "Rustle of Spring")
3 / 6
Fiction: S-T (includes "Sanctuary"; "Sin on Yom Kippur"; "The Sleeping Giant"; "The Small Noises of Shlomo"; "Speech? Speech!"; Squaring the World"; "Tears of Mary"; "Tell It to Your Uncle Sam")
3 / 7
Fiction: W (includes "Windward William" [illustrated children's story])
3 / 8
Fiction: W-Y (includes "The Wedding of Prospera"; "What Shall We Do with the S?"; "Will There Be Time?"; "The Wings of Achievement"; "World Almanac, I Love Thee!"; "You Can't Ever Tell")
3 / 9
Poetry: A-D (includes "A Hat Pin"; "A Turning Point"; "Any Day Now"; "Apple Blossoms": "April"; "April Fool, Uncle Sam"; "The Awakening"; "Bouquet for Autumn"; "The Bridge Awaits"; "The Chinook"; "Circle on Straight Line"; "The Color of People"; "Communication"; "Compatability"; "Concert"; "Conference Date"; "Contact"; "Crack in the Rock"; "Crossword Information"; "The Cycle"; "Dandelion"; "Dawn"; "The Day"; "Daybreak in Taormina"; "Dreams")
3 / 10
Poetry: F-L (includes "For N---"; "For Sandra"; "Fresh Challenge"; "General Delivery"; "Greek Market"; "Grief at Partings"; "Grief Parade"; "Here Go the Warriers"; "Hunters"; "I Am the One in the Big City"; "I.B.M. Replacement"; "Inspiration"; "The Last Argument")
3 / 11
Poetry: M-P (includes "The Makings"; "Masked"; "Modern Triangle"; "Mother's Day, 1943"; "Mountain Morning" [various titles include "Sunrise in Montana", "Daybreak in Montana"]; "Mt. Sinai"; "Music for the Deaf"; "My Sons, the Trees"; "Night in the Rocky Mountains"; "No Folding, No Stapling"; "Nosegay for You"; "November Orchestra"; "October and April"; "On the March"; "One Fine Day"; "The Planted Trees")
4 / 1
Poetry: R-T (includes "Recipe for Meddling with the Universe"; "The Ride"; "Ruins of Baalbek [Lebanon]"; "Seasons Come"; "Season's Greetings"; "September Evening"; "Spring--and Other Seasons"; "Spring Comes Again"; "Springtime Joy"; "Spurious Song"; "The Star Party--etc."; "Storm"; "Summer Conversation"; "There Were Those Three Dots"; "Tragedy in the Abstract"; "The Turning Year")
4 / 2
Poetry: U-W (includes "Universe"; "Unused"; "Upon Failing an Examination"; "Vacation"; "Vernal Eternal"; "Verses" [collection of poems]; "Visiting Turtle"; "Waiting"; "The Waiting Room"; "Wassail"; "The Weather"; "While the Trees Are Green"; "Windward William"; "Winter Cloak"; "With Love from Occupant"; untitled)
4 / 3
Nonfiction: D-T (includes "Doing Your Bit in Washington" [re patriotism, the war effort]; "Don't Try Too Hard" [re writing for publication]; "Elections"; "The Ethics of American Intervention in Panama in 1903" [thesis]; "Graduating from Marriage"; "Millionaire Tommy Cruse 'Angel' for Young Actors"; "The New Freedom"; "Old Arguments against Suffrage Get a New Hearing in France"; "The Oslo Group"; "Politics in Montana"; "The Present Generation"; "The Squawking Eagle" [re politics, elections, public officials]; "Trip to Rumania"; untitled essay re parenting)
4 / 4
Re Herman Fligelman [father] and family
n.d.
4 / 5-6
Re Jeannette Rankin
4 / 7
Miscellaneous notes
Miscellany
Box/Folder
OvFd / 1
Freida Fligelman college diploma
1910
4 / 8
Belle Fligelman Winestine passport [with photo]; membership card; college diploma [in OVERSIZE FOLDER 1]; article by Rita Blouke entitle "Belle and Norman Winestine: a 20th Century Montana Treasure"; Montana Club invitation honoring the Winestines
1920-1983
4 / 9
Herman Fligelman citizenship statement; passport [with photo]; stock certificates; salute by Lester Loble; etc.
1882-1971
4 / 10
List of artifacts separated to the Museum
Volume
Vol. 1
Scrapbook from University of Wisconsin
1909-1913
Box/Folder
5 / 1-2
Items removed from scrapbook for preservation reasons
1909-1913
Clippings
Box/Folder
5 / 3
Miscellaneous (re peace, managing Jeannette Rankin campaign, equal rights, women in politics, obituaries)
1916-1985

Norman Winestine Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Incoming Correspondence
Box/Folder
5 / 4
Chronological (correspondents include United States Food Administration; Gen. Hugh S. Johnson; United Jewish Appeal re resettlement of German Jews in Palestine; Merrill Burlingame; unidentified)
1917-1953
Subject Files
Box/Folder
5 / 5
Montana Historical Society; Montana Institute of the Arts (re hiring of K. Ross Toole, etc.)
1947-1951, 1982
Miscellany
Box/Folder
5 / 6
Enlistment record; passport [with photo]; Kiwanis certificate and program; stock certificate; marriage certificate of parents; membership card; high school diploma [in OVERSIZE FOLDER 1]; etc.
1918-1954, n.d.
5 / 7
High school class book; daily theme book
1911, 1913

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Authors
  • Jews
  • Poets
  • Women in politics