George A. Frykman Papers

George A. Frykman Papers, 1906-1994

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Frykman, George A., 1917-
Title: George A. Frykman Papers
Dates: 1906-1994 (inclusive)
19061994

1950-1990 (bulk)
19501990
Quantity: 6.25 Linear Feet of Shelf Space, (13 boxes)
Collection Number: Cage 747 (collection)
Summary: George Frykman joined the Washington State College history faculty in 1950. He was an active participant in regional history associations and programs, including membership in the Association of Washington Historians and the Council in Regional Research. The collection includes professional papers reflecting Frykman's career and activities as a faculty member at Washington State University, particularly in the Department of History, the American Studies Program, Faculty Senate, and Phi Alpha Theta, and to his participation in professional and community associations.
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

George Frykman was born April 30, 1917 in San Francisco, California. In 1935 he graduated from Sequoia High School in Redwood City, CA; he then attended San Jose State College and Stanford University (1935-1941). From 1941 to 1942 he taught English and social studies at Kerman High School in Kerman, CA. He served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1946, achieving the rank of Captain in 1945, and was employed by the Army as a photographer, instructor of photography, and public relations officer. Frykman received a master's degree in history from Stanford University in 1947 and subsequently completed his dissertation, "Indigenous Sectionalism in American Historiography, 1877-1917," earning his Ph.D. in 1955.

Frykman joined the Washington State College history faculty in 1950. Soon after this he served for two years as the chief of the Social Science Division of the college library. Between 1960 and 1964, he worked as assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School in addition to his teaching duties. He was elected to the Faculty Senate, and served as its president. Frykman served on other important university committees, and on nearly every committee of the History Department. He also acted as the faculty advisor for Phi Alpha Theta (history honor society), WSU Chapter Gamma Psi.

Frykman was an active participant in regional history associations and programs, including membership in the Association of Washington Historians and the Council in Regional Research. He participated in many professional conferences, helping to organize several Pacific Northwest History Conferences.

Frykman devoted much of his professional energy to the history of the Pacific Northwest, and, more specifically, to Washington State University. In 1985, the WSU Press published his book about Edmond S. Meany, Seattle's Historian and Promoter: the life of Edmond Stephen Meany. That same year Frykman completed an oral history project on the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine, and was selected as WSU's Centennial Historian for the 1990 anniversary celebration. His 1990 history of the university, Creating the People's University: Washington State University, 1890-1990, was published as a result of this centennial appointment.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection includes professional papers reflecting Frykman's career and activities as a faculty member at Washington State University, particularly in the Department of History, the American Studies Program, Faculty Senate, and Phi Alpha Theta, and to his participation in professional and community associations. It consists of correspondence, reports, printed ephemera, photographs, and memorabilia.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Preferred Citation

[Item Description] George A. Frykman papers, 1906-1994 (Cage 747)

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

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in 11 series. The materials were left in their original order with the exception of a few instances where the processor determined that rearrangement was necessary to facilitate access.

Series 1: Early papers, 1933-1951

Series 2: Correspondence, 1950-1990

Series 3: Department of History, Washington State University, circa 1950s-1990

Series 4: American Studies, circa 1950s-1980s

Series 5: Other Washington State University activities, 1945-1990

Series 6: Professional organizations, 1956-1988

Series 7: Conferences, 1951-1994

Series 8: Essays, presentations, and book reviews by Frykman, 1951-1989

Series 9: Research files, 1906-1987

Series 10: Spokane World's Fair (Expo '74), 1972-1974

Series 11: Miscellaneous, 1963-1984

Acquisition Information

George Frykman donated his papers to the Washington State University Libraries in 1991 (MS 1991-42), and additional related papers were transferred by the WSU History Department in the same year (UA 1991-08). These two accessions were combined in 2010.

Processing Note

This collection was processed in 2010 by WSU Ph.D. candidate Lee Ann Powell.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1: Early papers, 1933-1951Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box	Folder
1	1	Job applications, 1949-1951
1	2-30	Undergraduate and graduate essays and book reviews, 1933-1949
1	31-32	Correspondence, 1948-1949

Series 2: Correspondence (incoming and outgoing), 1950-1990Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box	Folder
1	33	1950
1	34	1951
1	35	1952
1	36	1953
1	37	1954
2	38	1955
2	39	1956
2	40	1957
2	41	1958
2	42	1959
2	43	1960
2	44	1961
2	45	1962
2	46	1963
2	47	1964 January-June
3	48	1964 July-December
3	49	1965
3	50	1966
3	51	1967
3	52	1968
3	53	1969
3	54	1970
3	55	1971
3	56	1972
3	57	1973
3	58	1974
3	59	1975
4	60	1976
4	61	1977
4	62	1978
4	63	1979
4	64	1980
4	65	1981
4	66	1982
4	67	1983
4	68	1984
4	69	1985
4	70	1986
4	71	1987
4	72	1988
4	73	1989
4	74	1990

Series 3: Department of History, Washington State University, circa 1950s-1990Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box	Folder
5	75-105	History department meeting minutes, 1960-1990
5	106	Pettyjohn Symposium application, National Endowment for the Humanities, 1979-1980
5	107	First annual Pettyjohn distinguished lecture and research symposium, and distinguished lectures series, 1980-1981
5	108	Pettyjohn distinguished lecture, 1981-1990
5	109	Public history ad hoc committee (reports and correspondence), 1979-1981
5	110	Public history and graduate history study pamphlets, circa 1980s
5	111	History department alumni new letters, 1985-1987
5	112-115	Phi Alpha Theta (WSU Gamma Psi chapter) (founding documents, correspondence, conference proceedings, and publications), 1950s-1980s
6	116-118	Phi Alpha Theta (WSU Gamma Psi chapter) (founding documents, correspondence, conference proceedings, and publications), 1950s-1980s (continued)
6	119-122	History department memoranda and reports, 1950s-1980s
6	123	Department of history and political science reports, memoranda, and meeting minutes, 1953-1956
6	124	History graduate education planning committee reports, 1964
6	125-128	Proposed doctor of arts in history (reports, memoranda, and correspondence), 1969-1972
6	129	Revisions of the guidelines for the study of history at WSU, 1975-1977

Series 4: American Studies, circa 1950s-1980sReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box	Folder
6	139-142	American Studies at WSU (reports, correspondence, memoranda, and meeting minutes), 1950s-1980s
7	143-149	American Studies at WSU (reports, correspondence, memoranda, and meeting minutes), 1950s-1980s (continued)
7	150	American Studies Association meeting minutes and newsletter, 1950s-1970s
7	151-153	Pacific Northwest American Studies Association (reports, correspondence, newsletters, conference proceedings), 1960s-1980s

Series 5: Other Washington State University activities, 1945-1990Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box	Folder
7	154	Library: Judge Walter B. Beals collection (correspondence, collection inventory lists, and status reports); also, other miscellaneous library matters; 1945-1954
7	155	Report: evaluation of the social science collection of the WSC library, and related correspondence, 1951-1956
7	156	Report on the economic status of faculty of WSC, 1956
7	157	Social Science-Humanities Research Library Committee, reports and correspondence, 1965 and 1969
7	158	Proposed institute for advanced study in history (proposal and correspondence), 1967-1969
7	159	Faculty committee to review graduate programs in English (correspondence, reports, and Frykman notes), 1971-1972
7	160	Committee to Review Master in Arts and Teaching program in social studies (correspondence and report), 1973-1974
7	161	Bicentennial lectureship project, Jack P. Green bicentennial lecturer (correspondence and applications for project funding), 1973-1975
7	162	Recommendations for an Asian American studies program at WSU, report to the Senate Steering Committee by the Asian American Advisory Committee, 1978
7	163	WSU Faculty Council newsletters, 1978-1979
7	164	WSU Faculty Senate (correspondence, meeting agendas, and meeting minutes), 1984
7	165	WSU foreign student quota guidelines, 1980-1986
7	166	Frykman centennial presentation to the Outlook Club (presentation outline and correspondence), 1990

Series 6: Professional organizations, 1956-1988Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box	Folder
8	167-180	Association of Washington State Historians (articles of incorporation, membership lists, general correspondence, correspondence related to Washington State HB656 and SB2413, election ballots, meeting minutes), 1973-1988
8	181-192	Council on Regional Historical Research (council charter, meeting minutes, newsletters, mailing lists, correspondence, and reports), 1956-1961

Series 7: Conferences, 1951-1994Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box	Folder
9	193-210	Pacific Northwest History Conference (programs, correspondence, calls for papers, paper proposals), 1951-1994
9	211	Teachers of American History conference program, 1951
9	212	Pacific Coast Branch American, Historical Association (annual meeting program), 1952
9	213	Northwest College audio-visual conference program, 1955
9	214	Pacific Northwest Library Association conference program, 1956
9	215	Community College conference on history program, 1966
9	216	Washington State University symposium on the historical novel program, 1966
9	217	National Defense Education Act History Summer Institute program, 1966
9	218	Western History Association conference letter to participants, 1966
9	219	Education Profession Development Act Institute in Social Science (correspondence, program, and outline of Frykman presentation), 1969
9	220	Pacific Northwest American Studies conference program, 1972
10	221	Pacific Northwest Labor History conference (application and preliminary program), 1976
10	222	Idaho History conference program, 1980
10	223	Centennial Forum Series: Spokane and the Inland Empire (programs and announcements), 1981
10	224	Ninth annual Neighborhoods conference, Tacoma, WA (correspondence, nomination form, publicity, agenda, and Frykman presentation outline), 1983-1984

Series 8: Essays, presentations, and book reviews by Frykman, 1951-1989Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box	Folder
10	225	"History Journals and Sources for the Study of Post Reconstruction," 1951
10	226	"Regionalism, Nationalism, and Localism," 1952
10	227	"The Role of Indigenous Sectionalism in American History and Historiography," 1954
10	228	"A Philosophy for Regional and Local Historian of the Pacific Northwest," 1964
10	229	"Edmond S. Meany and the Development of Historical Thought in Washington," 1970
10	230	"From the Open Range to the City: the Evolution of the Veterinary Profession in Washington," 1974
10	231	"Edmond S. Meany and the development of the Washington Historical Quarterly," 1975
10	232	"From College to University: Washington State University's Pivotal Years," 1979
10	233	"The Role and Mission of Washington State University and Its Department of History, 1983
10	234	"The Bryan Years at Washington State University," 1984
10	235	"Student Activism at Washington State University, 1961-1976," 1986
10	236	"The Land-Grant Mission and the Natural History of the Students: Several Episodes in the History of Washington State University," 1987
10	237	"WSU's Presence in Spokane: What Part Does it Play in the Centennial History?" 1987
10	238	"From Empiric to Scientist: the Social History of the Veterinarian in Washington" 1977
10	239	"Portrait of the Veterinarian: A Pacific Northwest Profile," 1979
10	240	Book reviews by Frykman, 1981-1989

Series 9: Research and subject files, 1906-1987Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box	Folder
10	241	Pamphlet: Charles McKinley, "Five Years of Planning in the Pacific Northwest," 1939
10	242	Pamphlet: National Resources Planning Board, Regional Development Plan: Pacific Northwest (Preliminary Statement), 1940
10	243	Pamphlet: Northwest Regional Council, "Discovering Anew the Pacific Northwest," 1940
10	244	Pamphlet: "United States-Canada Boundary Treaty Centennial: 1846-1946," circa 1946
10	245	[not used]
10	246	Pamphlet: "Final Report of the Pacific Northwest Assembly on State Government," 1956
10	247	Pamphlet: Oregon Historical Society," A Bibliography of Pacific Northwest History," 1958
10	248	Project 249, "The Significance of Sectionalism and Regionalism in American and Pacific Northwest History..." (reports, funding requests, project outlines, expense records, and related correspondence), 1957-1962
10	249	[not used]
10	250	Fortnightly Club, Pullman, WA: photographs of charter members, compiled for the club's 35th anniversary, 1928
10	251	"How I Make Both Ends Meet" by Peter Kragt (typescript, reproduction), 1932
11	252	Wilson and Helen Compton (photographs, ephemera, correspondence, all donated to Frykman by Dr. and Mrs. Herbert Wood), 1945-1979
11	253	Washington State College name change information, 1959
11	254	Pamphlet: "Inaugural Address of Daniel Jackson Evans as Sixteenth Governor of the State of Washington," 1965
11	255	Student unrest and protests at WSU (series of printed letters from President Glenn Terrell), 1968-1974
11	256-257	WSU student strike ephemera and press releases, 1970
11	258	WSU student political participation leave for 1970 general elections, 1970
11	259	Report: "The First Decade of the University Honors Program" (typescript), 1970
11	260	Report: WSU University Senate Graduate Student Affairs Committee, "Source Material on Graduate Students and Graduate Assistants," 1972
11	261	WSU Current Social Problems Workshop, 1972
11	262	"After Mount St. Helens: Seven Gray Days in May" by Don Dillman (typescript), 1980
11	263	Student paper: "The Late Rise of a Sleeping Giant: Student Activism at Washington State University, 1970" by Nancy Tadlock (typescript), 1983
11	264	Student paper: "The First Five Years of the W.S.U. Scholarship and Development Fund, 1957-1961" by Deborah Playfair (typescript), 1984
11	265	Student paper: "The Foundation of the Western Washington Research and Extension Center" by Julie Morgan (typescript), 1985
11	266	Pamphlet: Alison Comish Thorne, "Visible and Invisible: Women in Land-Grant Colleges, 1890-1940," 1985
11	267	Student paper: "Student Unrest and the University's Reaction, 1961-1974" by Patricia Hall (typescript), 1986
11	268	"The Compton Years: The State College of Washington, November 1944-September 1951" by Claude Simpson (typescript, photocopy), 1986
11	269-281	[not used]
12	282	Student paper: "Origins of the W.S.U. Greek System" by Jeff Whitehead (typescript, photocopy), 1987
12	283	Student paper: "The Compton Years: Washington State College, 1944-1951" by Ruth Rasmussen (typescript), undated
12	284	Soil testing at Washington State University (typescript report on history of soil testing by A. R. Halvorson, with related documentation), circa 1967-1980
12	285	"A History of the Washington State College Bureau of Visual Teaching from 1946 to 1952" by Warren Babcock (typescript), circa 1970s
12	286	[not used]
		History of veterinary medicine (collected material and notes)
Box	Folder
12	287	Scrapbook: "Greetings from Friends to Dr. [Sofus B.] Nelson," 1928
12	288	Research file: collected material about veterinarian Herman A. Trippeer (photocopies, printed ephemera), 1906-1965
12	289	Dr. Howard Slack (correspondence and materials donated to Frykman, including documents related to Slack's veterinary practice; includes two photographs: the 1930 WSC Veterinary College football team, and Bryan Hall), circa 1930s
12	290	[not used]
12	291	"A Chronological Historical Sketch of the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University" (typescript), circa 1973
12	292-293	Seminar material, Washington State Veterinary Medical Association, 1973
12	294	Miscellaneous, 1973-1975
12	295	[not used]
12	296	Presentation: "Veterinary Medicine in the Pacific Northwest: A Profile of Professional Diversity" by Merle Kunz (typescript, photocopy), 1977
12	297	Student paper: "'Doc' to DVM: The Veterinary Profession Grows Up. Reflections by Northwest Veterinarians" by Chris Eckard, 1986
12	298	Frykman research notes, undated
12	299	"State of Washington, History of Veterinary Medicine" by E. E. Wegner (typescript, photocopy), circa 1960s-1970s
12	300	"Report of the Veterinary Medicine Subcommittee: Summarized History of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University" (typescript, photocopy), circa 1970s
12	301	"Summary of the Life of O. G. Button" (typescript, photocopy), undated

Series 10: Spokane World's Fair (Expo '74), 1972-1974Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box	Folder
13	302-303	Pamphlets and poster
13	304	Photographs and general information
13	305	"Festival of Entertainment" information
13	306	Press releases
13	307	Student paper: "Expo '74: Development of Spokane's World's Fair, 1968-1973" by Peter Overmeyer (typescript), 1974
13	308	WSU Day
13	309	"Waterworld" (WSU exhibit; includes photographs, ephemera, correspondence)
13	310	Environmental symposium press release and pamphlet

Series 11: Miscellaneous, 1963-1984Return to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box	Folder
13	311	Parent Teacher Association Coordinating Council (bylaws, PTA bulletins, correspondence, financial report, meeting minutes, conference schedule), 1963-1965
13	312	National Defense Education Act summer history institute at Oregon State College (participant materials), 1965
13	313	Report: "Alternatives for Washington Graphical Interpretation and Display of the Citizens Outputs," Institute for Environmental Studies, 1974
13	314	Report: "Council on Higher Education State of Washington Comprehensive Plan, 1976-82" (typescript, "unedited first draft"), 1975
13	315	"Diary of Discovery" (Lewis and Clark children's program) scripts (typescripts) and correspondence with Lou Furman, 1982-1983
13	316	Student paper: "Women of the Grange: Community Enforcers" by Lisa Ballou (typescript), 1983
13	317	Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (brochures and correspondence), 1980-1984

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