Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Norman B. Adkison Papers, 1893-1976
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Adkison, Norman B. (Norman Brown), 1886-1978
- Title
- Norman B. Adkison Papers
- Dates
- 1893-1976 (inclusive)18931976
- Quantity
- 2.25 linear feet, (5 boxes)
- Collection Number
- MSS 018
- Summary
- Chiefly transcripts of oral history interviews (547 p.); together with Adkison's published writings on Idaho commerce, industry, history, and Indians (particularly the Nez Perce War of 1877); scattered correspondence; family histories; and other papers. Topics of oral history include Adkison's career as science teacher and administrator at Idaho Technical Institute (1910-1923) and Boise Junior College (1936-1940); his work as political aide to Idaho Governor Charles C. Moore and U.S. Senator John Thomas; activities as secretary-manager of Idaho Home Industries Association; and his government service as administrator for Civilian Conservation Corps and Selective Service System (World War II).
- Repository
-
Boise State University Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
1910 University Drive
Boise ID
83725
Telephone: 2084263990
archives@boisestate.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is available for research.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Norman Brown Adkison, educator and author, was born March 31, 1886, at Grangeville, Idaho. He was the son of pioneer parents, John Riley Adkison and Harriett Brown Adkison. He attended Grangeville High School and graduated with honors from the University of Idaho in 1907. In the years immediately following his graduation, he taught in Denver, Idaho, and at Grangeville High School, also serving as superintendent at Denver and principal at Grangeville.
In 1910 he was invited to become head of the science department at the Idaho Academy in Pocatello. The school was soon renamed the Idaho Technical Institute, and later became Idaho State University. Adkison remained at Idaho Technical Institute during the school's formative years, until 1923. Besides his teaching duties, he served as dean of men and established the pharmacy department, now the Pharmacy School at I.S.U.. While on the faculty of Idaho Technical Institute, he studied during the summers at Columbia University in New York, earning a masters degree in chemistry in 1919.
Adkison left Idaho Technical Institute in 1923 to become secretary to Idaho Governor Charles C. Moore, serving as speechwriter and general political aide. He worked for Governor Moore until 1925, when he became secretary-manager of the Idaho Home Industries Association. In that position he founded and edited the association magazine, Golden Idaho through 1934, retaining the position during service in Washington, D.C. (1931-1932) as secretary to U.S. Senator John Thomas.
The activities and publication program of the Idaho Home Industries Association declined during the early 1930s, and Adkison took a position as an educational director with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Idaho. He remained with the CCC until 1936, when President Eugene B. Chaffee of Boise Junior College asked him to head up the education and psychology department at the college. Adkison was a member of the faculty of Boise Junior College until 1940, when, as an officer of the National Guard, he was called to active duty to organize the Idaho Selective Service System. He operated the Idaho Selective Service System throughout the war, and after the war became an administrator with Veterans Administration. He remained with the Veterans Administration until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 1956.
Adkison wrote historical articles for newspapers and magazines and in 1966 published a book, Nez Perce Indian War and Original Stories. In 1967 he published Indian Braves and Battles with More Nez Perce Lore.
Adkison was married twice, first to Della Shaff in 1910, and secondly to Rose Richer Gilgan in 1935. Adkison died November 19, 1978, at a Boise nursing home and was interred at Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Norman Brown Adkison collection contains an oral history of Adkison's life, some of his correspondence, photocopies of his newspaper and magazine articles and some biographical material on his mother, Harriet Brown Adkison and himself. The oral history is the main item in the collection.
Adkison was a prominent educator at Idaho State University (1910-1923) and later at Boise Junior College (1936-1940), during their formative years. Adkison describes in great detail his career at the two colleges, in his oral history. He also served as secretary to Idaho Governor Charles C. Moore (1923-1925) and U.S. Senator John Thomas (1931-1932). Adkison records his perceptions of these men as he worked with them, as well as other figures such as President Warren G. Harding. Adkison also describes his involvement in the Selective Service System and the Veterans Administration during and after World War II, and recounts in detail his family history, childhood, farm life near Grangeville, Idaho, student days at the University of Idaho, and work with the Idaho Home Industries Association and the Civilian Conservation Corps. The oral history exists in unedited transcript form, and the original tape recordings have been retained.
Many of Adkison's articles and publications contained in the collection deal with Idaho history around Grangeville. From 1926-1934 Adkison was the editor of Golden Idaho, a publication which sought to promote home industries in the state. The collection also includes biographical material relating to Adkison's mother, who took part in the Nez Perce Indian wars of 1877.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
[item description], Norman B. Adkison Papers, Box [number] Folder [number], Boise State University Special Collections and Archives.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 1 | Biographical Material: Norman Brown Adkison | |
1 | 2 | Biographical Material: Harriett Brown Adkison | |
1 | 3 | Biographical Material: Other Family Members | |
1 | 4 | Biographical Material: Correspondence | 1937-1970 |
1 | 5-15 | Oral History Transcripts | 1974 |
1 | 16 | Writings: Golden Idaho | 1926-1934 |
1 | 17 | Writings: Letters to the Editor | 1932-1976 |
1 | 18 | Writings: Newspaper Articles | 1957-1964 |
2 | 1 | Miscellaneous Articles | 1937-1962 |
2 | 2 | A Century of Strength (Harriet Brown Adkison) | |
2 | 3 | Books | 1952-1967 |
2 | 4 | Certificates | 1947-1958 |
2 | 5 | Transcripts and Report Cards | 1893-1919 |
2 | 6 | Class Reunions: University of Idaho | 1957-1963 |
2 | 7 | Scholarship: Boise State University | 1962-1974 |
2 | 8 | The Wickiup - Idaho Technical Institute Yearbook | 1923 |
3-5 | Oral History audio tapes 1-11, reels 1-44 | ||
Folder | |||
3 | 1 | Original Selective Service Commendation |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Conservation of natural resources
- Education
- Education, Higher
- Home economics
- Idaho--Politics and government
- Indigenous people
- Native Americans
- Nez Percé Indians
- Nez Percé Indians--Wars, 1877
- Politics and government
- Public Service Employment
- Universities and Colleges
- Veterans
Personal Names
- Moore, Charles C. (Charles Calvin), 1866-1958
- Thomas, John, 1874-1945
Corporate Names
- Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.)
- United States. Selective Service System
Form or Genre Terms
- Oral histories