Frank Joseph Kottke papers

Frank Joseph Kottke papers, 1936-1994

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Kottke, Frank Joseph
Title: Frank Joseph Kottke papers
Dates: 1936-1994 (inclusive)
19361994
Quantity: 4.0 linear feet, (8 boxes)
Collection Number: Cage 823 (collection)
Summary: The Frank Joseph Kottke Papers consists of materials correspondence and other records created and collected by Kottke over his adult life. The collection includes correspondence with his family during World War II, records generated from his position on the Citizen's Advisory Committee for Pullman Public Transit, and letters to Washington state politicians in the United States legislature. Dr. Kottke was a professor of economics at Washington State University from 1961-1979.
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

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Frank Kottke (1913-2002) was a Professor of Economics at Washington State University (WSU) from 1961-1979. Kottke, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, earned his PhD from Columbia University in 1940, was drafted by the Army in 1943, taught at the University of North Carolina from 1946-1951 and worked for the Federal Trade Commission as an expert in competition and monopolies. After joining WSU's faculty in 1961, Kottke taught courses in industrial organization.

In 1938, Dr. Kottke met Dr. Esther Hendee (1903-1974) and the two began a relationship. Like Kottke, Dr. Hendee was highly educated. She earned a PhD in biology from University of California, Berkeley and was working at Russell Sage College, an all-women’s school in Troy, New York. The two married in the fall of 1939 and had their first child, Margaret, in April of 1943. They remained married until Esther’s death in 1974.

Kottke retired from WSU in 1979 and served on the Citizen's Advisory Committee for Pullman Public Transit in the 1980s and 1990s. Kottke moved to Spokane in 1994, where he passed away in 2002.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection consists of three distinct sets of materials related to Frank Kottke's role as a member of the Citizen's Advisory Committee for Pullman Public Transit, as a citizen informing U.S. senators and representatives on his position on matters of public policy, and as a husband writing his wife during his time with the Army during World War II. This collection contains correspondence, minutes and reports related to public transportation in Pullman, Washington, and clippings informing his public policy letters to U.S. political figures.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Preferred Citation

[Item Description] Frank Joseph Kottke Papers

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

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into three series.

Series 1: Pullman Transit Citizen's Advisory Committee, 1985-1993. This series consists of papers relating to Kottke's position on the Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) for public transportation in Pullman from 1985-1993 and has been divided into two subseries.

Subseries 1: Meetings, 1988-1993. This subseries contains minutes and reports from CAC meetings and is arranged in reverse chronological order.

Subseries 2: Subject files, 1984-1990. consists of special reports, correspondence, budgets, and surveys on topics including bus fare, routes, ads on buses, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, student ridership, and a taxi service run by Pullman Transit. This subseries is organized alphabetically by the subject headings Kottke devised.

Series 2: Public policy correspondence, 1975-1994. This series consists of correspondence about public policy to members of the U.S. House and Senate from 1975-1994. These letters cover a wide range of topics from taxes and deficits to Medicare and Social Security to Anti-Trust Law and banking. It contains a number of responses from the offices of Washington state politicians, including Representative Thomas Foley, Senator Brock Adams, Senator Patty Murray, and Governor Booth Gardner. It also includes articles collected by Kottke related to the topics discussed. This series had been organized by Dr. Kottke and is arranged in reverse chronological order.

Series 3: Personal correspondence, 1936-1946. This series consists of the personal correspondence of Frank Kottke from 1938-1945. It includes incoming and outgoing letters between Kottke, his family and his fiancée Esther C. Hendee, who became his wife during the course of this correspondence. These letters fall into two categories: the initial exchanges between Frank and Esther during the months leading up to their marriage and letters to Frank from Esther and his family during Frank’s time in the Army (1943-1945). The latter correspondence includes commentary on wartime life, long distance relationships, and anecdotes and updates about their daughter Margaret. The letters reveal the initial apprehensions that both Frank and Esther felt regarding their age difference, thoughts concerning women in the workforce, and opinions about appropriate gender roles in 1940s America. Unlike the rest of the collection, the correspondence was not completely sorted by Dr. Kottke and its arrangement diverges significantly from its original order. The second folder includes an introduction by Dr. Kottke explaining his attempts to arrange the letters and his initial feelings regarding Esther written in 1980. This series is arranged chronologically.

Acquisition Information

The Frank Joseph Kottke Papers were donated to Washington State University by Kottke in 1993 and 1994 (MS 1993.23 and MS 1994.30). A latter accession was donated by Brigham Young University-Idaho archivist Martin Raish in 2011 (MS 2011.29). Raish came by a body of correspondence to Kottke and his wife Esther via his neighbor who purchased the letters from a second hand dealer.

Processing Note

Jason Hogstad and Steven Bingo processed this collection in 2015.

Related Materials

Kottke provided an oral history for the Centennial Oral History Project (UA 202)in 1987. The interview may be viewed on the MASC Digital Collections website.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1: Pullman Transit Citizen's Advisory Committee , 1985-1993Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
		Subseries 1: Meetings	1988-1993
Box	Folder
1	1	Meeting	March 25, 1993
1	2	Meeting	December 17, 1992
1	3	Meeting	October 1992
1	4	Meeting	May 28, 1992
1	5	Meeting	April 16, 1992
1	6	Special meeting on six year plan	March 4, 1992
1	7	Meeting	February 20, 1992
1	8	Americans with Disabilities Act hearing	January 16, 1992
1	9	Meeting	December 1991
1	10	Meeting	October 17, 1991
1	11	Meeting	August 22, 1991
1	12	Meeting	June 20, 1991
1	13	Meeting	April 1991
1	14	Meeting	February 6, 1991
1	15	Meeting	December 20, 1990
1	16	Meeting	October 10, 1990
1	17	Meeting	August 8, 1990
1	18	Meeting	May 16, 1990
1	19	Pullman Transit Annual Report	May 1990
1	20	Meeting	April 11, 1990
1	21	Meeting	February 7, 1990
1	22	Meeting	December 1989
1	23	Meeting	October 11, 1989
1	24	Meeting	August 9, 1989
2	25	Meeting	February - May 1989
2	26	Pullman Transit Annual Report	1988
2	27	Meeting	November 1988
2	28	Meeting	April 1988
2	29	Backup data for meeting	April 1988
		Subseries 2: Subject files	1988-1993
Box	Folder
2	29	Backup data for meeting	April 1988
2	30	Advertisements on buses	1985
2	31	Budgets	1984-1987
2	32	Bus purchase	1986
2	33	Bus storage	1986
2	34	Capital improvements program	1988
2	35	Charters	1986-1988
2	36	Data for WSU student body impact on transit	1985
2	37	Dial-a-Ride	1985
2	38	Faculty parking	1989
2	39	Fare - late night express	1989
2	40	Goals	1984-1986
2	41	Pullman Transit Annual Report	1985
2	42	Pullman Transit Annual Report	1986
2	43	Pullman Transit commission	1986-1988
2	44	Pullman Transit development plan	1990
2	45	Pullman Transit system review	1985
2	46	Ridership	1984-1987
2	47	Small bus	1987
3	48	Taxi	1984-1988
3	49	WSU student cost and input	1986

Series 2: Public policy correspondence , 1975-1994Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
3	50	Public policy correspondence	1994
3	51	Public policy correspondence	1993
3	52	Public policy correspondence	1992
3	53	Public policy correspondence	1991
3	54	Public policy correspondence	May - December 1990
3	55	Public policy correspondence	January - April 1990
3	56	Public policy correspondence	1989
3	57	Pullman cable television correspondence	1988
3	58	Public policy correspondence	1988
4	59	Public policy correspondence	1987
4	60	Public policy correspondence	1986
4	61	Amendments to antitrust laws	1986
4	62	Public policy correspondence	1985
4	63	Public policy correspondence	1983-1984
4	64	Public policy correspondence	1981-1982
4	65	Public policy correspondence	1975-1980

Series 3: Personal correspondence , 1936-1946Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
5	66	Incoming correspondence to Esther Hendee	1936-1944
5	67	Correspondence	December 1938
5	68	Correspondence	January 1939
5	69	Correspondence	February 1939
5	70	Correspondence	March 1939
5	71	Correspondence	April 1939
5	72	Correspondence	May 1939
5	73	Correspondence	June 1939
5	74	Correspondence	July 1939
5	75	Correspondence	August 1939
5	76	Correspondence	September 1939
6	77	Correspondence	October 1939
6	78	Correspondence	November 1939
6	79	Correspondence	December 1939
6	80	Correspondence	January 1940
6	81	Correspondence	November 1941
6	82	Correspondence	December 1942
6	83	Correspondence	circa January - March 1943
6	84	Correspondence	January 1943
6	85	Correspondence	February 1943
6	86	Correspondence	March 1943
6	87	Correspondence	April 1943
6	88	Correspondence	May 1943
6	89	Correspondence	June 1943
6	90	Correspondence	July 1943
6	91	Correspondence	August 1943
6	92	Correspondence	September 1943
6	93	Correspondence	October 1943
6	94	Correspondence	November 1943
6	95	Correspondence	December 1943
6	96	Correspondence	January 1944
6	97	Correspondence	March 1944
6	98	Correspondence	April 1944
6	99	Correspondence	May 1944
7	100	Correspondence	June 1944
7	101	Correspondence	July 1944
7	102	Correspondence	August 1944 - November 1944
7	103	Correspondence	December 1 - 19, 1944
7	104	Correspondence	December 20 - 31, 1944
7	105	Correspondence	January 1 - 15, 1945
7	106	Correspondence	January 16 - 31, 1945
7	107	Correspondence	February 1 - 14, 1945
7	108	Correspondence	February 15 - 28, 1945
7	109	Correspondence	March 1945
8	110	Correspondence	April 1 - 15, 1945
8	111	Correspondence	April 16 - 30, 1945
8	112	Correspondence	May 1945
8	113	Correspondence	June 1945
8	114	Correspondence	July - September 1945
8	115	Correspondence	October - December 1945
8	116	Correspondence	January 1946
8	117	Miscellaneous correspondence	undated
8	118	Miscellaneous correspondence	undated
8	119	Miscellaneous correspondence	undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Economics teachers -- 20th century--Washington (State)--Pullman--Archives.
Hendee, Esther C. (Esther Crissey), 1903-.
Local transit--Washington (State)--Pullman.
Love letters.
Washington State University--Faculty--Archives.
World War, 1939-1945.

Archives West Finding Aid

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