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Northwest Scientific Association Papers, 1935-1987

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Northwest Scientific Association
Title
Northwest Scientific Association Papers
Dates
1935-1987 (inclusive)
Quantity
5 containers., (5 linear feet of shelf space.)
Collection Number
Cage 591
Summary
Correspondence, financial records, membership lists and reports, chiefly related to annual meetings and publication of Northwest Science, a journal. Most records are from the period 1965-1980.
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 for research use.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The first meeting of the Northwest Scientific Association took place in the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Washington on the evening of February 9, 1923. The organizing committee had formed at the urging of Spokane's Superintendent of Public Schools, Orville C. Pratt to organize a scientific association for the Inland Empire. The first general meeting was held at the Lewis and Clark High School April 6, 1923 and it was attended by a small group of regional scientists. In April of 1924, the first NWSA program meeting was held in conjunction with the Inland Empire's Teacher's Association Annual Meeting. Forty-seven papers were presented in the categories of Botany-Zoology, Chemistry-Physics, Education, Geology--Geography, Medicine-Bacteriology and Plant Pathology. Membership was $1.00 annually.

Many prominent Northwest scientists contributed to the leadership of the NWSA including: Dr. M.F. Angell, University of Idaho; Dr. Curtiss Meriman, Cheney Normal; Dr. F.D. Heald, Washington State College; E.A Bryan, Washington State College, and W.C. Hungerford. It was due largely to the efforts of these men and other dedicated regional scientists that NWSA began to publish a quarterly journal which included publication of the papers presented at the NWSA Annual Meetings.

NWSA became duly incorporated as a nonprofit organization under Washington State law on May 7, 1928 (Article 6566). Three officers, eight councilors and eleven trustees comprised the structure of the association at that time. There was some restructuring in the 1950s and again in the 1970s. The councilors were replaced by members elected to standing committees by the president and the position of Secretary-Treasurer divided into two separate positions.

NWSA became affiliated with the Pacific division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1932. NWSA membership included more than 500 scientists and educators from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California. An endowment for the organization was established in 1936 as a memorial for NWSU Past President and Trustee Howard R. Flint, who had died in 1933. The Flint family and several members of the U.S. Forest Service including Major E.W. Kelly and Bob Marshall contributed to the fund. AAAS grants and the Flint Fund made it possible for the NWSA to fund scientific research grants.

The NWSA had two primary goals. The first was to encourage scientific research in the Northwest in the form of grants and by creating a forum where scientists could meet and exchange ideas. The second goal was to establish a journal to publish and aid scientific research in the Northwest. The first Northwest Science journal was published in May, 1928. In 1948, publication of the journal switched from the presses of the Daily Idahonian in Moscow, Idaho, to the State College of Washington Press. The journal published research on the natural and social sciences in the Northwest and was one of the earliest forums for research relating to the Columbia River Basin Project. In 1952, Northwest Science was abstracted or indexed in the Agricultural Index, Bibliography of Agriculture, Biological Abstracts and Chemical Abstracts; institutions and individuals in 34 countries subscribed to the journal.

NWSA continues to be the foremost organization of its kind in the Northwest. Its membership spans the globe and it has expanded its geographical focus to include British Columbia. The journal has enjoyed a sixty five year long reputation for scholastic and scientific excellence to the benefit of NWSA members and the scientific community.

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Content Description

Some items of interest include: the history of the association and some correspondence with the IRS from 1970-1974 which includes a long argument about nonprofit status and incompetent IRS personnel.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item description]

Northwest Scientific Association Papers, 1935-1987 (Cage 591)

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

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

There are six series contained in the Northwest Scientific Association records. Each series is arranged alphabetically by subject heading and chronologically thereunder. Each series consists of records pertaining mainly to the time period 1965-1980. These bulk dates are consistent throughout the collection, though there are some materials which date back to the 1920s and continue through to 1991. Some of the financial records also continue past 1980.

Acquisition Information

The records of the Northwest Scientific Association were donated to the WSU Libraries in two accessions, the first in 1988 and the second in 1991. (MS88-42, MS91-15)

Bibliography

For a more complete history including a list of officers, trustees, and of researchers published in the journal since 1928, see: Merriam, Willis B, A History of the Northwest Scientific Association, WSU Press, 1960 and The Northwest Scientific Association: What It Is, Its Aim, Its Method of Work, ca. 1936, both located at Box 2, Folder 29.

Related Materials

Copies of the Northwest Science journal formerly held as part of this collection can be found in the MASC’s WSU Publications collections, as WSU 118.

Preliminary Guide to the Northwest Scientific Association Records, 1924-2013 (MS.2002.12).

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Science -- Northwest, Pacific--Congresses
  • Science -- Periodicals--Publishing--Archives

Corporate Names

  • Northwest Scientific Association --Archives (creator)

Titles within the Collection

  • Northwest science

Finding aid prepared by Liza Rognas
1992

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

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