Discussing Smoke’s life and memoir, Hush of the Land: A Lifetime in the Bob Marshall
Arnold “Smoke” Elser is a professional animal packer and a semi-retired instructor of wilderness outfitting and packing at the University of Montana, from which he received a 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award. Elser’s work as an educator and outfitter has been covered in National Geographic and the PBS documentary Three Miles an Hour. He is the coauthor of Packin’ In on Mules and Horses. Eva-Maria Maggi, PhD, is a writer, social scientist, and packer and teaches courses on wilderness issues at the University of Montana.
Mike Korn has been involved in numerous field work, projects and folk festivals across the West and in the southern Appalachians, documenting traditional music, cultural and occupational traditions. He worked for the Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Program as well as on projects of the American Folklife Center of the US Library of Congress. In 1979 he was appointed the state’s first director of the Montana Folklife Project. During his time there, Mike was involved in numerous projects documenting and presenting the wide variety of Montana’s traditional cultures. Those included numerous articles and publications, a weekly syndicated radio show featuring Montana folk artists, production of two phono records, museum exhibits, among others, and was a “founder” of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada.
