Grace

Grace Baker Larson was born in Hot Springs, Montana in 1940. A midwife assisted with her delivery. She grew up on a large sheep ranch where she learned to do all kinds of work. This prepared her to undertake jobs that, in the 1970’s, were usually filled by men. Grace loved horses and riding. She would frequently ride 8 miles to Polson, across the hill, tie her horse behind the Theatre, and watch the movie. She would ride home afterwards arriving in the middle of the night. Grace has worn many different hats. She owned and operated a Day Care Center in Minnesota. Supporting her 5 children was not easy so she learned to paint and became a Journeyman Painter, a job that paid a decent wage. Grace missed Montana every day of the 13 years she lived in Minnesota. When she was able to move back to Montana she “ kissed the ground” ;she was home. She was able to find jobs as a self employed painter and house cleaner. But when the opportunity came up to work in the woods Grace took it. She skidded logs with a Pettybone skidder and was able to skid 200 logs a day. It did take her 2 hours longer than it took the men to skid that many logs, but she loved the work and delighted in the smell of the timber. In the 1970’s, in spite of her fear of stepping into a man’s world, she found work as a painter working for large construction companies. Grace had always been self employed so this was a big, scary step. She also worked for the Anaconda Company, and was the first woman hired in the trades in Anaconda Company history. When the Anaconda Company’s Arbitor Plant shut down she went to work for a private contractor in Butte as his foreman. While working in Butte she also sandblasted the large combustion pit for the MHD generating plant. After her work in Butte ended she went to work at the Montana State Prison at Deer Lodge. She was hired as the inmate paint crew supervisor and had as many as 11 inmates on her crew. The wages were low in comparison to what the Anaconda Company paid, so when a job for a painter came up at the Anaconda Company Smelter she took it.

LA INDEPENDENT WOMEN FILM AWARDS SELECTED "ONCE IN A LIFETIME COMES A MAN" Screenwriter Anne Gold.