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Charles Edwin Blackburn Papers, 1930-1976

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Blackburn, Charles Edwin, 1915-1976
Title
Charles Edwin Blackburn Papers
Dates
1930-1976 (inclusive)
Quantity
14 Linear feet of shelf space, (17 Boxes)
Collection Number
Cage 479 (collection)
Summary
The Charles Edwin Blackburn Papers consists of his correspondence, financial, and other papers related to family matters; the study and teaching of English; his Coast Guard service, 1942-1945; and employment at Washington State University, 1951-1959 and 1964-1976, and the Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington, 1959-1964.
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
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Biographical Note

Charles Edwin Blackburn was born to William Brownlow Blackburn and Julia Agnes McDonald Blackburn on August 2, 1915, on a farm near Elberton, Washington. He was the youngest of eleven children. Blackburn attended Tekoa High School and graduated in 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression.

The Depression played a large role in Blackburn's early adult years. His father died in April 1934 and the family moved from Tekoa to Moscow, Idaho, the following June. From 1934 to 1936 he held several different jobs. He worked in an office as a typist, he sold silk hosiery door-to-door, he worked a Comptometer in an office in Olympia, and for a time in 1935, was in the Civilian Conservation Corps. All the while he dreamed of getting to college -the one all-consuming goal in his life. Yet, he lacked the funds and an understanding of college admission procedures. In April 1936 he started work in the office of the West Coast Lumberman's Association in Seattle. In the fall of the year, while still working part-time, he enrolled at the University of Washington. He attended college and continued to work for the WCLA until December 1940, when he decided to devote his full attentions to school. While attending the U of W he met his future wife Alice Kiser. Both received their B.A. degrees in 1941, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. From 1941-1942, Charles attended graduate school, while Alice finished her fifth year studies to complete a Library Science degree.

America's entry into the Second World War delayed Blackburn's education for several years. He entered the service in the spring of 1942 and was assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Westport, Washington, as a radioman and yeoman. In 1944 he was transfered to the U.S.S. Casper (PF-12) as a radioman. In addition to his regular duties while on board the Casper he served as the ship's librarian and published the ship's newspaper, The Casper Clarion.

Charles Blackburn was discharged from the Coast Guard in late 1945; like so many young couples of the day, the Blackburns were faced with the task of rebuilding their lives. Blackburn returned to the University of Washington to continue his graduate education. In the fall of 1947, after only a year at the U. of W., he moved on to Yale University to complete his doctorate in American Studies. While at Yale, he taught English at Stone College (1948-1949) and the Junior College of Commerce (1949-1950), both in New Haven, Connecticut. During this time he was awarded a Yale University Fellowship (1949-1950) and a Sterling Predoctoral Fellowship (1950-1951).

Upon completing his Ph.D. in 1951, Blackburn joined the English faculty of Washington State University. He served as Chair of the Department of English from 1956-1957.

By 1959, however, the financial pressures of a growing family (children: Julia, 1947; Taft, 1949; Mary Beth, 1953) led Blackburn to look for a better paying position. In June of that year, he began a relatively short-lived career with the Boeing Company Industrial Products Division in Seattle, Washington. He started as a technical writer and over the next five years held several supervisory and administrative posts. Most of Blackburn's work was in marketing (writing and revising brochures and semi-technical documents) and administration (preparing and reporting the section's budget and coordinating his group with the European office). In addition, he was involved with the Boeing Employees' Good Neighbor Fund, a community service organization, from 1962-1964. Although Blackburn enjoyed his work and was promoted quickly, he found that he was not well suited to the business world. Therefore, from 1960 on he attempted to return to a position in academe.

In 1964, Washington State University again offered Blackburn a position in the English Department. WSU's attractive offer-- both in terms of salary and tenure considerations--in combination with Alice's appointment as Pullman City Librarian, brought the family back to Pullman.

From 1964-1976 Blackburn taught a variety of subjects: freshman/sophomore composition, technical writing, American Drama, 20th century Drama, and assorted literature classes. A talented actor himself, Blackburn had several roles with the New Pullman Summer Palace Theatre.

Blackburn died September 7, 1976 at age 61 in a Springfield, Oregon hospital where he had been a patient for two weeks after suffering a heart attack while on vacation.

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Content Description

The Charles Edwin Blackburn Papers consists of his correspondence, financial, and other papers related to family matters; the study and teaching of English; his Coast Guard service, 1942-1945; and employment at Washington State University, 1951-1959 and 1964-1976, and the Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington, 1959-1964.

The Correspondence Series, 1940-1976, comprises approximately one half of the collection and contains letters from many family members and friends. Principal correspondents in this series are Alice Kiser Blackburn, Eva (Blackburn) Newsum, Fanny (Blackburn) Rasmussen, and Faye Blackburn.

The Subject File Series, 1930-1976, contains papers from Blackburn's educational, professional, and personal life.

Blackburn's term as Vice-President and later President of the Boeing Employees' Good Neighbor Fund is represented by agency reports, annual reports, correspondence, elections and membership, materials, minutes and many predating his period of service. The remainder of this group of Boeing materials pertains to Blackburn's job assignment and is made up of a work diary, interdepartmental correspondence, personal materials, sales staff meeting minutes, and Boeing News.

The Business, Medical and Financial records include correspondence and receipts referring to the rental of the Blackburn home in Seattle, auto repairs, medical records, income tax forms, and record books.

The section of educational materials encompasses Blackburn's entire academic career including papers from high school, the University of Washington, Yale University and Washington State University. Class notes, papers and exams make up the bulk of this section. A copy of Blackburn's dissertation (entitled: James Freeman Clarke: An Interpretation of the Western Years, 1838-1840) and a bound volume of his research notes are included. The last box in the series contains approximately 4500 dissertation research note cards In addition, some papers from Mrs. Blackburn's undergraduate years at the University of Washington are part of this group. The WSU material is mostly concerned with departmental activities such as correspondence, salary and rank information, promotion and tenure statements, faculty evaluations, and a small number of items from his 1970-1971 sabbatical in New York City.

Also included in this Subject File Series are the papers of John P. Sebree, an uncle on Alice's side of the family. He lived with the Blackburn family from 1969 until his death in 1975. His materials include correspondence, medical records, a college yearbook, memorials and a copy of his will and trust declaration.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply.

Preferred Citation

[Item description]

Charles Edwin Blackburn Papers, 1930-1976 (Cage 479)

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

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The papers have been arranged into two series. Within the Correspondence Series, 1940-1976, the original group headings have been retained and then arranged in what appeared to be the order of importance. The folders within each group have been arranged chronologically and the original order of the material within each folder has been preserved. The Subject File Series, 1930-1976, was assembled as a unit by Blackburn and brings together loosely ordered materials, arranged alphabetically by subject heading. Within the Educational material subseries, the four main groups have been arranged in chronological order and folders within each group are alphabetically ordered.

Acquisition Information

The papers of Charles Edwin Blackburn were donated to the Washington State University Libraries by Mrs. Alice Blackburn (MS 77-61). Twenty-five additional items were received in 1983 (MS83-35) and added to the correspondence series, as folder 43A.

Processing Note

This collection was processed in 1983.

Separated Materials

Pullman Community Congregational Church papers that were included in this collection were seperated out in 1983 and used to create the Blackburn Collection of Pullman Community Congregational Church Records, 1961-1977 (Cage 480).

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Aircraft industry -- Washington (State)
  • English language -- Study and teaching
  • Universities and colleges -- Washington (State)
  • World War, 1939-1945

Personal Names

  • Blackburn, Charles Edwin, 1915-1976 -- Archives

Corporate Names

  • Boeing Company
  • State College of Washington -- Faculty -- Archives
  • United States. Coast Guard
  • Washington State University -- Faculty -- Archives

Finding aid prepared by Barbara Kovarik Gahl
2022

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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