Preliminary Guide to the Walter H. Gardner Papers

Preliminary Guide to the Walter H. Gardner Papers, circa 1934-2001

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Gardner, Walter H. (Walter Hale)
Title: Preliminary Guide to the Walter H. Gardner Papers
Dates: circa 1934-2001 (inclusive)
19342001
Quantity: 10 linear feet, (9 Boxes; 3 Oversize)
Collection Number: MSSM.091 (collection)
Summary: Papers of soil scientist Walter H. Gardner, a faculty member at Washington State University.
Repository: Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions: This collection is open and available for research use.
Languages: English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Walter Hale Gardner (1917-2015) was a soil scientist and soil physics expert, and a member of the faculty at Washington State University from 1950 until his retirement in 1982. He earned his bachelor's (1939), master's (1946), and Ph.D. (1950) degrees from Utah State University. He served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. His film, "Water Movement in Soil" (1960), employing time-lapse photography techniques, was an especially important contribution to the field of soil physics.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection of soil scientist Walter H. Gardner's papers consists of correspondence, articles, speeches and other writings by Gardner; records related to his involvement in the Soil Science Society of America; papers related to his work as a faculty member at Washington State University, particularly the Faculty Status Committee and the Department of Agronomy; photographs and films. One of Gardner's special areas of interest was the movement of water in soil, and this subject is well represented in the collection. Gardner was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1964.

Preliminary inventory:

MS.1992.58:

Alphabetical files; Washington State University Faculty Status Committee Chair files, 1981-1982; Kenite Corp. v United States files; miscellaneous Honors Program materials; C. Clement French talks; College of Agriculture minutes of meetings regarding "defection from Graduate School"; Vandecaveye files on Western Soil and Water Research Committee, 1950-1953; personal and miscellaneous materials.

MS.2011.30:

Box 1

Biographical information; Invited Lectures and Talks (largely historical and golf) binder; John Hale Gardner binder; Utah scientists and involvement in soil physics research binder; Papers presented, abstracts binder; Washington State University subjects and Gardner writings, 1981 binder

Box 2

WSU topics and American Society of Agonomy binder; University and Society Affairs, misc. binder; Correspondence, presentations, writings, collected material, circa 1970-1973 binder; 1967 Bolivia, Turkey, International Atomic Energy Commission, Amsterdam, Prague, Sofia, Istanbul, Athens, Frankfurt, return to USA binder

Box 3

Written Materials, 1934-1934 binder; 1956-1963 binder; Written Materials, 1964-1969 binder; Written Materials, 1974-1977 binder

Box 4

Written Materials, 1978-1980 binder; Written Materials, 1981-1986 binder; Written Materials, 1987-1997 binder

Box 5

Soil Science Society of America, 1950-1977 binder; Soil Science Society of America. 1985-1988 binder; Soil Science Society of America binder; SSSA Council on History binder

Box 6

Soil Science Society of America. Includes responses to historical survey of soil scientists conducted in 1991, SSSA history by J. Fulton Lutz (1973), programs, etc.; Photographs (prints, slides, negatives)

Box 7

WSU Honors Program (1960-1970) Loose, unsorted material Gardner thesis and dissertation SSSA File of papers about water movement in soil, including information about the film in Box 8

Box 8

Film: "Water Movement in Soil" (WSU Crops and Soils Department)

Boxes 9-10: two unidentified films

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Preferred Citation

[Item description]

Preliminary Guide to the Walter H. Gardner Papers, circa 1934-2001 (MSSM.091)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

This is an unprocessed collection. Arrangement reflects a pre-existing order from the records’ creators or previous custodians.

Location of Collection

(MASC STAFF USE) MS.1992.58: 2-14-15-7; MS.2011.30: 2-7-25-5

Acquisition Information

This collection was received in two installments, in 1992 and 2011. Walt Gardner donated the first installment in 1992 (MS.1992.58), and Marilyn Mortenson (daughter of Walter Gardner) donated the second installment in 2011 (MS.2011.30).

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Scientists -- Washington (State) -- Archives.
Soil physics.

Personal Names

Gardner, Walter H. (Walter Hale) -- Records and correspondence.

Corporate Names

Soil Science Society of America.

Archives West Finding Aid

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