Western Washington University's "The Great Depression and its 50 Year Shadow" Symposium records

Western Washington University's "The Great Depression and its 50 Year Shadow" Symposium records, 1981-1982

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Western Washington University
Title: Western Washington University's "The Great Depression and its 50 Year Shadow" Symposium records
Dates: 1981-1982 (inclusive)
19811982
Quantity: 1 linear ft. , ( )
Collection Number: XOE_CPNWS0040wwudepression (collection)
Summary: The collection contains the records of a grant based project designed to document the effects of the Great Depression in Whatcom County. Includes grant applications, planning records, transcripts of symposium speakers and programs, and audio tapes and transcripts of oral history interviews with local figures on their Depression-era experiences.
Repository: Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions: The collection is open to the public.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Western Washington University's "The Great Depression and Its Fifty-Year Shadow" Symposium was a series of public programs, funded by a grant from the Washington Commission for Humanities, that took place during the fall of 1981. The programs were designed to explore how the Great Depression affected the community of Bellingham, Washington through first-hand accounts and analyses by historians, economists, and other scholars. The series culminated in the publication of a monograph edited by program director, Phyllis W. Bultmann, and published by the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in 1982. Material for the publication was derived from the edited transcripts of audio recordings of the public programs.

Organizations which supported the series included the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP), Whatcom Museum of History and Art, the Washington State Archives, the Bellingham Public Library, the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, and KVOS-TV.

The first public program was a planning session with members of RSVP, six of whom volunteered to record their recollections of life during the 1930s. The planning session was followed by Roundtable Discussions and Town Hall Meetings in which members of the public were invited to share their experiences and interpretations of the Depression. The public meetings culminated in a two-day symposium with speakers that included scholars, elected officials, leaders of community institutions, journalists and members of the business community.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Western Washington University's "The Great Depression and its 50 Year Shadow" Symposium records include grant administration records, tape transcripts, and original audio cassette tapes. Materials related to the grant administration include the initial grant application, financial records, and correspondence. The collection contains a draft of the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies' publication "The Great Depression and its fifty-year shadow," edited by program director Phyllis W. Bultmann, as well as edited transcripts of the six public programs.

Although reference to the availability of full transcriptions of the audio tapes is made in the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies' publication only edited transcripts are included in the collection. Reference is also made to clippings, pamphlets and other materials intended to generate publicity for the project but none of these materials are included in the collection. Materials relating to the television and radio programs are also not included.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Western Washington University's "The Great Depression and its 50 Year Shadow" Symposium records, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Western Washington University's "The Great Depression and its 50 Year Shadow" Symposium records are organized in accordance with the following series arrangement:

Series I. Grant Administration 1981-1982
Series II. Transcripts 1981
Series III. Audio Tapes 1981

Custodial History

Western Washington University's "The Great Depression and its 50 Year Shadow" Symposium records were donated to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies by program director Phyllis W. Bultmann, date unknown.

Related Materials

The published monograph "The Great Depression and Its Fifty-Year Shadow" can be found in the Archives Reference Room at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies.

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series I.: Grant Administration, 1981-1982 Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1	Proposal Description and Status Report	1981
1/2	Grant Application	1981
1/3	Grant Budget	1981
1/4	Grant Budget - Forms	1981-1982
1/5	Grant Budget - Printouts	1981-1982
1/6	Grant Budget - Cost sharing records	Undated
1/7	Grant Budget - Payment authorizations	1981-1982
1/8	Correspondence - Letters of appreciation	1981-1982
1/9	Correspondence- Final evaluation I	1982
1/10	Correspondence - Final evaluation II (attachment)	Undated

Series II: Transcripts, 1981Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/11-11/12	Manuscript drafts - full text	1981
1/13	Manuscript draft, miscellaneous additions and revisions	1981
1/14	Transcripts - Tape 1	September 16, 1981
1/15	Transcripts - Tapes 2 & 3	November 10, 1981
1/16	Transcripts - Tape 4	November 12, 1981
1/17	Transcripts - Tape 5	November 17, 1981
1/18	Transcripts - Tapes 6 & 7	November 19, 1981
1/19	Transcripts - Tapes 8 to 12	November 20, 1981
1/20	Transcripts - Additional and re-edited	November 20, 1981
1/21	Transcripts - Tapes 13 to 16	November 21, 1981
1/22	Sigfrid Ohrt statement	1981

Series III: Audio Tapes, 1981Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
box-tape
2/1	Planning Session	September 6, 1981
2/2	Roundtable at Bellingham Public Library	November 10, 1981
2/3	Roundtable at Bellingham Public Library	November 10, 1981
2/4	Roundtable	November 12, 1981
2/5	Town Meeting I	November 17,1981
2/6	Town Meeting II	November 19, 1981
2/7	Town Meeting II	November 19, 1981
2/8	Symposium Day 1, Welcome and Opening Address	November 20, 1981
2/9	Symposium Day 1, The Crash and It's Impact	November 20, 1981
2/10	Symposium Day 1, The Hoover Administration	November 20, 1981
2/11	Symposium Day 1, First Efforts to Cope	November 20, 1981
2/12	Symposium Day 1, Address by Ralph Munro and James Davis	November 20, 1981
2/13	Symposium Day 2, Address by Barney Goltz and Readjustment and Recovery Panel	November 21, 1981
2/14	Symposium Day 2, Readjustment and Recovery Panel and The Arts and the Depression Panel	November 21, 1981
2/15	Symposium Day 2, The Arts and the Depression Panel and Conclusion	November 21, 1981
2/16	Symposium Day 2, Conclusion	November 21, 1981

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