Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Skowronek Family papers, approximately 1920-2015
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Skowronek (Family : Emil Skowronek : 1920-1979)
- Title
- Skowronek Family papers
- Dates
- approximately 1920-2015 (inclusive)19202015
- Quantity
- 6.86 cubic feet (6 boxes and one oversize folder)
- Collection Number
- 5849
- Summary
- Papers of the Emil Skowronek family and former University of Washington faculty member Felix Skowronek
- 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.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Emil Skowronek (aka Clark) (1904-1993) was born in Poland and immigrated to the United States as a young boy. Skowronek graduated high school in Tacoma. As a young man, Skowronek worked as a logger on the Olympic Peninsula for five years to fund his education at Washington State University, where he was a member of the wrestling team. While he worked as a logger, he was radicalized by the Industrial Workers of the World. Skowronek was a member of the Communist Party USA and served as a left wing labor organizer who (according to family lore) helped found the Seattle Ship Scaler's union in 1936. Skowronek later became a ship rigger in the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers, Local 104 (Seattle, Washington) and served as a business agent in the union. During World War II, Skowronek served in the merchant marine, where he was involved in the Battle of Okinawa. He lost his seamen's clearance for his political affiliations during the "Red Scare" of the 1950s, but was able to regain it.
Skowronek married Edna Theodosia Bundry in 1935. Edna Theodosia Skowronek (1903-1976), graduated in 1932 with Bachelor's of Science in nursing from the University of Washington. She worked as a registered nurse.
Theodosia Skowronek "Theo" Nassar (1939-), Emil and Edna's daughter, recieved her BA in Sociology from Washington State University and her MS in Teaching/Communications from Gonzaga University, working as a caseworker at Eastern State Mental Hospital and a copywriter and journalist in Spokane before moving to Los Angeles to become a screenwriter for ten years.
Felix Skowronek (1935-2006), Emil and Edna's son, played principal flute for the Seattle Symphony from 1956–1957 and 1959–1960. Skowronek also played in the Seventh Army Symphony from 1957–1959, Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra 1960–1966, and St. Louis Symphony 1966–1968, and was a member of the Casals Festival Orchestra in Puerto Rico and was a founding member of the Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet. He became a member of the faculty of the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, followed by the University of Washington, where he taught for 38 years, and served as president of the National Flute Association and Seattle Flute Society. He was a leading figure in the revival of wooden Boehm-style flutes in the USA and an expert in the use of various hardwoods in flute manufacturing.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Family papers, including correspondence, news clippings, handwritten family history, valentines, photographs, textbooks, sheet music, a diary, screenplays, documents on nursing, book Un-American Girl by Theo Skowronek-Nassar, cassette tape interview with Emil Skowronek, FOIA documents related to loss of clearence, a DVD of Theo Skowronek-Nassar's film "Flute wood make" about Felix Skowronek and flute-maker Alex Eppler, ephemera, and other materials.
Also includes materials related to the Boilermaker's Union, including proceeding book for an international convention, clippings, retirement account information, mailings, and ephemera.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Portions of creator's literary rights retained. Contact Special Collections for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Organized into 2 accessions.
- Accession No. 5849-001, Skowronek family papers, circa 1920s-1970s
- Accession No. 5849-002, Skowronek Family papers, 1942-2015
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Accession No. 5849-001: Skowronek family papers, circa 1920s-1970sReturn to Top
Scope and Content: Family papers, book Un-American Girl by Theo Skowronek-Nassar, cassette tape interview with Emil Skowronek, clipping, valentines, photographs, letters, screenplays, sheet music, and DVD about Felix Skowronek, textbooks, clippings, boilermaker materials, FOIA papers, ephemera, sheet music, diary, photographs, and documents on nursing.
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Restrictions on Use: Portions of creator's literary rights retained. Contact Special Collections for details.
Acquisition Info: Theo Nassar [birth name: Theodosia Skowronek], 2014-05-28
| Container(s) | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Box | Accession | |
| 1 | 5849-001 | Family papers, book Un-American Girl by Theo
Skowronek-Nassar, cassette tape interview with Emil Skowronek, clipping,
valentines, photographs, letters, screenplays, sheet music, and DVD about Felix
Skowronek.
Scope and Content:
|
| 2 | 5849-001 | Textbooks, clippings, rolled photographs, boilermaker
materials, FOIA papers and ephemera.
Scope and Content:
|
| 3 | 5849-001 | Letters of the Skowronek family.
Scope and Content:
|
| 4 | 5849-001 | Sheet music, diary, textbooks, reports, photographs,
clippings and documents on nursing.
Scope and Content:
|
| 5 | 5849-001 | Newspaper clippings and letters.
Scope and Content:
|
Accession No. 5849-002: Skowronek Family papers, 1942-2015Return to Top
Scope and Content: Correspondence, news clippings, family photographs, handwritten family history, a convention proceeding book from an international convention of the Boilermaker's Union, and other materials.
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Acquisition Info: Theo Skowronek-Nassar
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | Accession | ||
| 1/1 | 5849-002 | Correspondence
Scope and Content: Letters sent to Mrs. Skowronek, including photograph of
Theodosia Skowronek
|
1950-1956 |
| 1/2 | 5849-002 | Mary Ann Wells Dance Concert program |
1948 |
| 1/3 | 5849-002 | "Some Family History" by Frank J. Clark Photocopy
Scope and Content: Handwritten account of family history from approximately 1862 to
approximately 1940
|
approximately 1979 |
| 1/4 | 5849-002 | Emil Skowronek Clippings Photocopies
Scope and Content: Seattle Times articles about Boilermakers' Union including
reference to Emil Skowronek
|
1944, 1956 |
| 1/5 | 5849-002 | Emil and Felix Skowronek
Scope and Content: Empire Way Community Club membership card, University of
Washington School of Music concert program, Seattle Symphony program, Seattle
Post-Intelligencer opinion article clipping, 1943 tax forms, and letter from
1951
|
1942-1975 |
| 1/6 | 5849-002 | Joffrey Ballet Clippings
Scope and Content: Includes articles about the Robert Joffrey Ballet and program,
photographic negative of a dancer, letter to Mrs. Theodosia Skowronek,
postcards to Mrs. Emil Skowronek, and hand-drawn portrait of Mrs. Skowronek
|
1950-1992 |
| 1/7 | 5849-002 | Photographs |
approximately 1920s-1950 |
| 1/8 | 5849-002 | Scholarship Application and Clipping
Scope and Content: Theodosia Skowronek scholarship application and South Seattle
Star edition with article interviewing Theo Nassar
|
1957, 2003 |
| 1/9 | 5849-002 | Felix Skowronek Memorial Website
Scope and Content: Print-out of comments left on Felix Skowronek's memorial
website
|
2015 |
| 1/10 | 5849-002 | Union Materials
Scope and Content: The ILWU Story: Three Decades of Militant Unionism (1963)
including clippings about Harry Bridges, "The Maritime Crisis" pamphlet by the
International Longshoremen's Association Local 38-79, and International
Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and
Helpers mailings
|
1961-1970 |
| Box | |||
| 1 | 5849-002 | Boilermaker's Union Local 104 Buttons 10 buttons
|
1949-1958 |
| folder:oversize | |||
| OS Folder | 5849-002 | Eleventh Annual Rainier District Pow Wow
poster |
1944 |
| OS Folder | 5849-002 | Clippings
Scope and Content: Includes articles with references to the Skowronek family,
recital program, and Felix Skowronek's music exercise book
|
1946-2003 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Flute--Construction--History--Sources
- Nursing--Washington (State)--History--Sources
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
Personal Names
- Skowronek, Edna, 1903-1976--Archives
- Skowronek, Emil, 1904-1993--Archives
- Skowronek, Emil, 1904-1993--Interviews
- Skowronek, Felix--Archives
- Skowronek-Nassar, Theo--Archives
Corporate Names
- International Brotherhood of Boiler Makers, Iron Ship Builders, and Helpers of America. Local 104 (Seattle, Wash.)--History--Sources
Family Names
- Skowronek (Family : Skowronek, Emil, 1904-1993)--Archives
Other Creators
-
Corporate Names
- Labor Archives of Washington (University of Washington) (creator)
- Washington State Jewish Archives (University of Washington)
