ALMA MARGARET BIELENBERG HIGGINS

Alma Higgins with her niece Betty, in the Apex Hotel, Butte

ALMA MARGARET (nee BIELENBERG) HIGGINS

1874-1962

Born: 15 July 1874, Deer Lodge, Montana Territory - Died: 15 March 1962, Butte, Montana

Born in Deer Lodge, Montana in 1874, Alma Margaret Higgins moved to Butte with her husband in 1920. At the time, Butte was considered one of the most unsightly towns due to the environmental devastation wrought by sulphur dioxide fumes from Butte’s role as an industrial mining center. Higgins recalls that, “These were the days when Butte was advertised as the most barren place in the whole world, a place where there was not a tree or blade of grass”. Quickly discovering that several Butte residents possessed private gardens, and with the help of a local photographer, Higgins began to publicize the gardens of Butte through local photography exhibitions. Her efforts generated a movement to beautify Butte and other cities in Montana and contributed greatly to the nascent conservation movement in America.

In her youth, Alma Higgins studied at the College of Montana-Deer Lodge and at the Visitation Convent in Minnesota. Returning to Deer Lodge, Higgins became an involved participant in local women’s clubs and married Warder I. Higgins, a prominent local businessman. In 1902, Higgins founded the Civic Improvement League of Deer Lodge. Through her involvement in various civic organizations, Higgins began a letter-writing campaign to the state legislature advocating the formation of a state forestry service. Six years later, the U.S. Forest Service was launched in Missoula and by 1909 a State Forester had been appointed. The efforts of Higgins and the Montana women’s clubs were part of a nationwide progressive conservation movement around the turn of the century. Profoundly inspired by the naturalist author Gifford Pinchot, Higgins succeeded in spreading the popularity of the conservation movement. She corresponded with many of the most influential conservationists of her day, seeking advice on contemporary environmental theory and activism. Alma Higgins was one of the most influential conservationist organizers as she successfully linked natural conservation with aesthetic beautification, combining the personal efforts of the individual with the political progress of the movement.

After promoting the concept of living Christmas trees in an article written for American Forests in 1923, Higgins became nationally known as “The Christmas Tree Lady” and is credited with inspiring the planting of the first National Christmas Tree. The popularity of Higgins’ exhibitions of Butte gardens expanded interest in gardening and city beautification throughout Montana. Higgins continued her activism throughout her life. In addition to her photography exhibits and organizational activities, Higgins served as a radio host for a program on gardening and wrote a book entitled: The Christmas Tree: Its Origins, Legends, and Symbolism of the Ornaments. During World War Two, Higgins was one of the primary advocates for “Victory Gardens,” family gardens which could provide vegetables for families allowing retail vegetables to be used in the war effort. Higgins continued her activism until her death in 1962, leaving behind a legacy of conservation, dedication to civic improvement, and an exemplary model of an early women’s leader. Sadly, not many people know of her many contributions as standard history of forestry and conservation have focused primarily on the leadership of men, at the expense of the effective efforts of Alma Higgins.


Reference:
Janet Finn and Ellen Crain (Eds.), Motherlode: Legacies of Women’s Lives and Labors in Butte, Montana. Livingston, MT: Clark City Press: 2005, pp. 204-228.

Time Travelers: Teaching American History in the Northwest, 2007 Regional Learning Project, University of Montana.
Retrieved 6 May 2009 from http://mcewww.cec.umt.edu/tribes/ttcourse/Year2/unit1/week5/people.html

PUBLICATIONS
The story of the Christmas tree by Alma Margaret Higgins. [Butte?] : Higgins, ©1929.

O tree of light and life : a Christmas pageant with peace theme by Alma Margaret Higgins. Butte, Mont. : [s.n.] ©1940.