Dee Molenaar papers - Archives West

Dee Molenaar papers, approximately 1930-2007

Overview of the Collection

Creator

Molenaar, Dee

Title

Dee Molenaar papers

Dates

approximately 1930-2007

Quantity

1.56 cubic feet (4 boxes, 1 CD, and 1 oversize folder)

Collection Number

4578

Summary

Papers of Mountaineer Dee Molenaar, an artist, mapmaker and author

Repository

University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu

Access Restrictions

Open to all users.

Request at UW

Languages

English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Born to Dutch immigrant parents, Dee Molenaar (1918-) was born and raised in Los Angeles. His early climbs were in the Sierra Nevadas. As a young man in 1938, Molenaar came to the Pacific Northwest to climb its volcanos. He began guiding tours on Mt. Rainier in 1940.

Molenaar earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology with a minor in Art from the University of Washington in 1950. After graduation he worked as a field assistant to geololgy professor Peter Misch. During Molenaar's career as a geologist, he was employed by Phillips Petroleum Company, Washington Department of Conservation, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Molenaar has also used his education as a geologist to complement his artistic abilities in creating oil and watercolor paintings of mountain and desert landscapes.

Molenaar climbed peaks through the western United States, Canda, Alaska, the Alps, Himalayas, New Zealand, and Antarctica. His expeditions included the Harvard Mountaineering Committee ascent of Mount St. Elias in 1946, which was the second ascent of the mountain and the first American summit of the peak; the 1953 American expedition to K2; Mount McKinley (Denali) in 1960; Mount Kennedy in 1965; and multiple peaks in the Alps in 1973.

The Challenge of Rainier, Molenaar's most widely-known publication, was based in part upon his experience serving as a summit guide (1940-41 and 1947) and National Parks Service Ranger (1950-1952) on Mount Rainier.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Diaries (Fuhrerbuchs), correspondence, maps, photographs, questionnaires, and a manuscript. Includes correspondence and questionnaires relating to Molenaar's research on the history of mountaineering on Mt. Rainier; correspondence relating to the publicaton of Molenaar's book The Challenge of Rainier . Also includes interviews with Ella McBride, Blanche Whittaker (Jim Whittaker's wife) and Pat Whittaker (Jim Whittaker's sister-in-law regarding the news that Jim Whittaker was the first American to summit Mt. Everest.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Some restrictions exist on copying, quotation or publication. Contact Special Collections for details.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arranged in two accessions:

Accession No. 4587-001, Dee Molenaar Correspondence, circa 1930-1995
Accession No. 4587-002, Dee Molenaar Papers, circa 1930-2007

Processing Note

Visual materials that originally accompanied this material were separated into a distinct Visual Materials Collection. For more information, contact Special Collections.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Accession No. 4578-001: Dee Molenaar correspondence, circa 1930-1995 (bulk 1956-1971)Return to Top

.21 cubic feet (1 box)

Scope and Content: Correspondence and questionnaires relating to Molenaar's research on the history of mountaineering on Mt. Rainier; correspondence relating to the publicaton of Molenaar's book The Challenge of Rainier, 1966-1995 (bulk 1966-1970).

Digital Content/Other Formats: View selections from this accession in digital format

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Source: Dee Molenaar, 7/30/1996.

Accession No. 4578-002: Dee Molenaar papers, circa 1930-2007Return to Top

1.35 cubic feet (3 boxes and 1 CD)

Arrangement: Arranged in five series:

Diaries, 1930-2000
Correspondence, 1940-1995
Photographs, 1954 and circa 1970-1986
Writings, Maps and Inventory, circa 1985-2007
Interviews, 1963

Scope and Content: Twelve of Molenaaar's climbing diaries ("Fuhrerbuchs"), correspondence, published landform-relief maps, black and white negatives of mountains and expeditions, and unpublished manuscript " High and Wide with Sketchpad" . Prominent correspondents include: Wolf Bauer, Fred Beckey, Charlie Bell, Chris Bonington, Nicholas Clinch, Norman Dyhrenfurth, Francis Farquhar, Sir Edmund Hillary, Charles Houston, Robert Kennedy, Peter Misch, Noel Odell, Clark Schurman, Austin Post, James Ramsey Ullman, Willi Unsoeld, Ed Viesturs, Jim Whittaker, Jim Wickwire, and many others.

CD includes interviews with Ella McBride, Blanche Whittaker (Jim Whittaker's wife) and Pat Whittaker (Jim Whittaker's sister-in-law regarding the news that Jim Whittaker was the first American to summit Mt. Everest.

Digital Content/Other Formats: View selections from this accession in digital format

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users. CD audio is open to all users onsite in the Special Collections Reading Room. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Restrictions on Use: Some restrictions exist on copying, quotation or publication. Contact Special Collections for details.

Acquisition Info: Source: Dee Molenaar, March and April 2010.

Processing Info: Processed by Deborah Hamilton; processing completed in 2010.

Separated Material: Molenaar's copy of The Challenge of Rainier, containing over 400 signatures from local and international climbers, was removed for separate cataloging.

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Accession
1	4578-002	Diaries Arrangement: Arranged chronologically.	1930-2000
		" Fuhrerbuch" : Mountaineering and Climbing Record of Dee Molenaar	1930-1978
		Mt. St. Elias	1946
		Geology 200 Field Course (North Cascades) of Dee Molenaar	1950
		K2	1953
		Helsinki 1983, The Alps 1973, Austria 1992, Diary of Dee Molenaar of trip with "K"...	1973; 1983; 1992
		Climbing Notes and Other Miscellaneous Observations	1979-1992
		Record of Trip to New Zealand and Antarctica November 21st-December 13th 1980	1980
		Record of Visit to Juneau Icefield	1985
		Record of Trip to Kala Patar Mt. Everest Region Nepal via Mountain Travel	1990
		Diary of Alaska Trip	1991
		Fuhrerbuch III	1992-2000
		Trip to Peru and Machu Picchu	1998
		Correspondence Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Scope and Content: Correspondents include: Allan, Stuart Allen, John Eliot Ayres, Harry Bates, Robert Bauer, Wolf Beach, Sharon Beckey, Fred Bedayn, Raffi Bell, Charlie Boehm, Julius Bonington, Chris Boyer, Steve Bjornstad, Eric Bloch, Gerry Brandt, Rex Brigham, Leon Brockman, C. Frank Brower, Anne Brower, David Brown, Bert Brown, Dorris Bryne, Peter Bryson, Ted and Kristel Bueler, William Bunning, Bonnie Burchell, Betty Butler, Bill Campbell, Arnie and Betty Carlson, Virgil and Lee Carpenter, Philip Cedzo, Karen Chamberlain, James E. Chinese Mountaineering Association Clark, Amanda Clinch, Nicholas B. Colson, Charles Cook, Gordon Corbet, Barry Craig, Robert W. Crenshaw, Jene Cross, Tom Cunningham, H.B. Cuno, John Dailey, Diana Dalrymple, Paul Dasler, Jon Day, John DeShazo, Donna Desio, Ardito Diemburger, Kurt Dodson, Robert Dunaway, Bil Dunne, Tom Dyhrenfurth, Norman Eastwood, Harland Engerman, Jeanne Engles, Harold Enzenbacker, Debbie Evans, Daniel Exum, Glenn Fairchild, Wilma Farquhar, Francis Farquhar, Margery Feth, Jack Fitzsimmons, Matt Ford, Art Fryxell, Jayx and Regina Gann, Ernest K. Geddes, Jack and Peggy Goforth, Nancey Gorton, Slade Grakovich, Valentin Greathouse, Mrs. Walser S. Haack, Wayne P. Haines, Aubrey Haglund, Ivar Hahn, Fred Hall, Henry S., Jr. Hall, Jim Lydia Hall, William Hardy, Janet and Douglas Harlin, John, III Harman, Evelyn Harris, Stephen Hawkins, Helene and Wayne Henderson, Kenneth Heuston, Paul Hicks, Floyd Hill, Mary Hillary, Edmund (Sir) Horner, Stephen Houston, Charles Howkins, Heidi Hunt, John (Sir) Jenkins, Peter Johnson, Burt Jones, A.G.E. Jurak, Josef Kauffman, Andrew J., II Kendall, Henry Kennedy, Ethel Kennedy, Robert F. King, Magda Kingsbury, Dwight Koopman, Jane Langmuir, Evelyn Lawson, Elliot Lee, Bob Leonard, Richard Lind, Dave Lloyd, Darvel Loganathan, A. Magnuson, Warren Mahre, Dave Maki, Junichi Mayer, LaVonne McCarthy, Jim McCoy, Keith McWhirter, Norris D. Merlino, Maxine Miller, Maynard Misch, Hanna Misch, Niki Misch, Peter Molenaar, Cornelius “K” Moldenhauer, Hans Monteath, Colin Moore, Terris Morgan, Murray Morrissey, James D. Moulton, Terry Munday, Phyl lis Nagler, Karl Nilsson, Erwin “Biff” Odell, Noel Ormes, Robert Partridge, Betsy Partridge, E.E. Patterson, Marijke Patterson, Pat and Mary Pauli, John Peck, Dallas Phillips, Bill and Lorraine Post, Austin Pyle, Robert Raible, Steve Ray, Dixy Lee Roberts, Elliott Roskelley, John Rowell, Galen Rutter, John Sanford, Scott Sceva, Paul Scheer, Irena Schmoe, Floyd Schurman, Clark Shipton, Eric Shorrock, Gertrude Siple, Ruth Siri, William Smith, Milton Standaert, Carol Steffens, Brandon Stockton, David Terai, Kei Thaller, Victor Thomas, Lowell Jr. Tobin, Daniel Town, Stephen W. Trenker, Luis Tsuda, Shuji Ullman, James Ramsey Ullman, Mrs. James Ramsey Unsoeld, Jolene Unsoeld, Willi Valsing, Ruth Van Diver, Brad Van Kleeck, Joyce (sp?) Vermeulen, Jim Viesturs, Ed Viola, Herman Vincent, Bronwyn Wallin, Stu Warburton, Mike Warmerdam, C. A. “Dutch” Washburn, Bradford Watanabe, Mas and Hisa Watson, Adam Weide, Bruce Welk, Lawrence Whitney, Tom Whittaker, James Wickwire, Jim Wiessner, Fritz H. Wiessner, Muriel Willey, Edith Maring Wilts, Ellen Winn, Karyl Witte, Joe Wenying, Wang Wharton, Robert Woodward, Eddy and Mel Woodward, E.J. Woodworth, John Wren, Chris Wroblewski, Lech Young, Jack Zelley, Mibs Zimmerman, T. C. Price	1940-1995
Box/Folder	Accession
2/1	4578-002	Correspondence (A-C)	1965-1995
2/2	4578-002	Correspondence (D-G)	1956-1993
2/3	4578-002	Correspondence (H-K)	1963-1991
2/4	4578-002	Correspondence (L-O)	1940-1994
2/5	4578-002	Correspondence (P-S)	1954-1993
2/6	4578-002	Correspondence (T-V)	1970-1994
2/7	4578-002	Correspondence (W-Z)	1956-1994
2/8	4578-002	Outgoing Correspondence	1977
2/9	4578-002	Correspondence- Unknown correspondent	1957-1991
2/10	4578-002	Correspondence-Additional Materials	Undated
2/11	4578-002	Expedition Postcards- Signed	1978; 1986
		Photographs	1954; circa 1970-1986
Box/Folder	Accession
2/12	4578-002	Photographs- Portraits of Dee	1986; undated
2/13	4578-002	Photograph- Dee Molenaar and Sir Edmund Hillary	1954
2/14	4578-002	Photographs- Head Shots Scope and Content: Head shots include: Boyd, Dan Dunn, George Edwards, Jason Ershler, Phil Houston, Charles S. Gombu, Nawang Hoey, Marty Horiskey, Joe Isaacs, Gary Lynch, Jerry Nielson, Larry Politz, Andy Roberts, Tracy Simonson, Eric Smolich, John Van Hoy, Craig Whittaker, Lou Whittaker, Peter	circa 1970s-1980s
		Writings, Maps, and Inventory	circa 1985-2007
Box/Folder	Accession
3/1	4578-002	Inventory-Library	circa 2007
3/2	4578-002	Maps-published in original wrappers	circa 1985-2002
mapcase
Oversize folder	4578-002	Maps	1987-1999
Box/Folder
3/3	4578-002	Writings-"High and Wide with Sketch Pad"	circa 2007
3/4	4578-002	Writings-"Miscellaneous Tourism Travels"	circa 2005
		Interviews Scope and Content: Interviews with Ella McBride, Blanche Whittaker (Jim Whittaker's wife) and Pat Whittaker (Jim Whittaker's sister-in-law) regarding the news that Jim Whittaker was the first American to summit Mt. Everest.	1963
compact_disc	Accession
CD408	4578-002	Interview with Ella McBride	April 19, 1963
CD408	4578-002	Interview with Blanche Whittaker General Notes: Wife of Jim Whittaker	May 9, 1963
CD408	4578-002	Interview with Pat Whittaker General Notes: Sister-in-law of Jim Whittaker	May 9, 1963

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Cartographers--Washington (State)--Archives
Geologists--Washington (State)--Archives
Mountaineering
Mountaineers--Washington (State)--Archives
Painters--Washington (State)--Archives
Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)

Personal Names

Bauer, Wolf G.--Correspondence
Beckey, Fred W., 1921- --Correspondence
Bonington, Chris--Correspondence
Clinch, Nicholas, 1930- --Correspondence
Dyhrenfurth, Norman G.--Correspondence
Farquhar, Francis Peloubet, 1887-1974--Correspondence
Haglund, Ivar, 1905-1985--Correspondence
Hillary, Edmund, 1919-2008--Correspondence
Houston, Charles S.--Correspondence
Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968--Correspondence
Misch, Peter, 1909-1987--Correspondence
Molenaar, Dee--Archives
Odell, N. E. (Noel Ewart), 1890-1987
Post, Austin--Correspondence
Schmoe, F. W. (Floyd Wilfred), 1895-2001--Correspondence
Schurman, Clark--Correspondence
Ullman, James Ramsey, 1907-1971--Correspondence
Unsoeld, William Francis, 1926-1979 orrespondence
Viesturs, Ed--Correspondence
Whittaker, Jim, 1929- --Correspondence
Wickwire, Jim, 1940-

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