Sigurd F. and Elizabeth Olson papers, 1916-2003

Author / Creator

Olson, Sigurd F., 1899-1982

Available as

Physical

Summary

Papers, 1916-2003, of Sigurd Ferdinand Olson, a nationally-known conservation advocate, outdoors man, and writer who was raised in Ashland, Wisconsin, but lived in Ely, Minnesota during most of his...

Papers, 1916-2003, of Sigurd Ferdinand Olson, a nationally-known conservation advocate, outdoors man, and writer who was raised in Ashland, Wisconsin, but lived in Ely, Minnesota during most of his adult life. The collection consists primarily of personal and family correspondence. Olson's literary career is also represented, including editorial correspondence, notes for public speaking and teaching, and book manuscripts for "Listening Point" (1958) and "Of Time and Place" (1982). Personal papers of his wife, Elizabeth Uhrenholdt Olson, are also included. Photographs document canoe trips in Minnesota and Canada, family life in Ely and Ashland, professional activities, and post-World War II conditions in Europe.

Personal correspondence includes letters to and from Olson with his wife Elizabeth and their sons Sigurd T. Olson and Robert Keith Olson. Coverage is best for the periods when the family was separated during Olson's post-World War II teaching in England and Robert's Foreign Service assignments in Libya, Beirut, and Vietnam.

Olson's literary career records include printed and draft articles, book reviews, correspondence with editor Marie Rodell of Alfred A. Knopf, notes for public speaking and teaching, and Robert's letters as his father's literary executor. The most important manuscripts concern Listening Point (1958) and Of Time and Place (1982).

Subject files relate to friendships with William O. Douglas, Lady Elinor Grogan, Robert E. Matteson, and others; canoe trips and conservation work in the Quetico-Superior region; and Olson's conservation legacy. Some biographical information and interviews are available only on film or in audio form; the clippings are available only on microfilm. Other documented individuals include Kenneth E. Olson, Johanne Uhrenholdt Johnson, and the Uhrenholdt Family of Seeley, Wisconsin.

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