Yvonne

GRITZNER

House District 90

I am a native Montanan from a pioneer family. My earliest ancestor came to Montana Territory in 1864. Granny Yates left Missouri to move out West, having shod her milk cows with horseshoes, she milked them and from her churn affixed to the jolting wagon sold butter along the trail. She was 48 years old, a widow, and she brought with her, her unmarried children. She also brought along apples from Missouri and baked and sold apple pies to the gold miners in Virginia City for $1 a pie! She homesteaded in the Gallatin Valley, and I am one of her numerous descendents.

My childhood in Bozeman was spent in the midst of family - my parents, older sister and younger brother, surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, etc., on both sides of the family. I loved family gatherings more than anything. I have fond memories of riding horseback at our Uncle Bill's ranch, and in the alleys of Bozeman, holding tightly behind my big sister until I was old enough and brave enough to ride on my own.

In 1969 I married my husband, Jeffrey Gritzner. He was studying Geography at the University of Chicago, and his dissertation fieldwork and later career at the National Academy of Sciences and ultimately as a geography professor at the University of Montana have given us the opportunity to become acquainted with other countries and cultures. We have three wonderful children, Jason, Inge, and Justus, each of whom was married at our home in the Bitterroot. We've been blessed with three small grandchildren, Maya, Iris, and Taj, and one more on the way.

I recently retired after working sixteen years as Program Officer for the Montana Committee for the Humanities-now called Humanities Montana. I administered grants and programs in the humanities-history, heritage, Native American cultures, literature-that served organizations including schools, libraries, museums, and civic associations in communities in every county and on all seven reservations. It was a great privilege and pleasure to get to know people all across our state and to help them to bring their plans and projects to fruition.

Since retirement I have served as a volunteer on the Program Committee of the Montana Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (MOLLI) and as Co-Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Friends of MontanaPBS. In the 2007 Legislative Session I went to Helena as a citizen advocate working for legislation to assure that MontanaPBS had continued satellite transmission of its signal to all parts of the state during a two-year transitional period. We were successful, and the National Friends of PBS awarded me the "Grassroots Advocacy" award for my efforts in spear-heading that campaign. Similarly, I have been a grassroots advocate for legislation in Washington, D.C. for public broadcasting and for No Child Left Behind funding mandated for geographic education in the schools.