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Doris and Kelsey C. Milner Papers, 1937-2007

Overview of the Collection

Title
Doris and Kelsey C. Milner Papers
Dates
1937-2007 (inclusive)
Quantity
81.75 linear feet and 2 electronic files
15.43 megabytes of digital materials
Collection Number
Mss 799
Summary
The Doris and Kelsey Milner Papers consist of working subject files, correspondence, and speeches created by Doris Milner during her work with conservation organizations including the Save the Upper Selway Committee and the Montana Wilderness Association, Ravalli County's League of Women Voters, and other organizations in Montana. The collection also contains materials created by Kelsey C. Milner while he worked for Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana, as a microbial scientist and bacteriologist.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Doris Lydia Hess was born on a farm in Taneytown, Maryland on February 18, 1920, the middle child of three daughters. She attended Western Maryland College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1940. After graduation, Doris took a job as laboratory technician at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was there that she met her future husband, Kelsey Milner.

Kelsey Charles Milner was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on March 21, 1913. As a child, Kelsey was taught to play the piano and this became a lifelong passion. Kelsey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Chicago in 1934. After he graduated, Kelsey took a laboratory job at Charity Hospital in New Orleans where he met Doris in 1941. Within six months the two were married.

Doris and Kelsey both pursued graduate work in the field of microbiology at Tulane University in New Orleans. Doris finished the coursework for a master’s degree, but the arrival of her children postponed her thesis and the degree forever. Kelsey was awarded a PhD in microbiology from Tulane in 1951. In June of that year the Milners, along with their three children, Jean, Kelsey, and Eric, moved to Hamilton, Montana, where Kelsey took a job at Rocky Mountain Laboratory. Doris stayed at home to care for their three children. In 1953, their fourth child, Scott, was born.

In 1963, Doris Milner formed the Save the Upper Selway Committee with retired Forest Service Supervisor Guy M. “Brandy” Brandborg in response to a planned Forest Service timber sale that would include the Magruder corridor along the Selway River. Milner and Brandborg enlisted the help of Idaho Senator Frank Church and Montana Senator Lee Metcalf and facilitated the return of wilderness classification to the Magruder Corridor. In the late 1960s Doris became actively involved in the Montana Wilderness Association. She served as the organization’s council president from 1973-1975. The efforts of Milner and her colleagues helped to preserve the Selway Wilderness, the Scapegoat Wilderness, the Great Bear Wilderness, and The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. After stepping down as council president, Doris remained an active participant in the Montana Wilderness Association for the rest of her life.

In addition to her work with conservation organizations, Doris became involved in the League of Women Voters. She served on the board of directors for the League of Women Voters of Ravalli County in the late 1970s and again in the early 1990s, and as the League's President from 1981-1982. Doris also worked on Bitterroot Valley Resource and Conservation committees and was actively involved in the public planning process for development in Ravalli County, Montana. She was named one of ten Citizen Conservationists of the Year in 1978 by the American Motors Corporation. In 2014 she was inducted into the Montana Outdoor Hall of Fame.

While Doris was working to preserve wilderness in Montana, Kelsey was becoming internationally recognized for his work and research on the composition and biological properties of microbial endotoxins. Kelsey Milner was a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Infectious Diseases and Infections and Immunity. In 1977, Kelsey retired from the Public Health Service, thus ending his scientific career. After retirement, Kelsey joined the board of the Missoula Symphony and continued to play the piano.

On September 7, 2007, Kelsey Milner passed away. Doris died on December 28 of that year. The couple was married for 65 years.

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Content Description

Series One of this collection contains materials created by Doris Milner during her involvement with conservation, voter, and Ravalli County planning organizations in Montana. This series has been sub-divided into eight subseries. Subseries 1 contains speeches and writings. Subseries 2 contains personal correspondence and a small number of photographs. Subseries 3 relates to Milner’s involvement in the League of Women Voters. Subseries 4 relates to her work with Bitterroot Resources Conservation and Development committees and development in Ravalli County, Montana. Subseries 5 relates to her work with the Save the Upper Selway Committee. Subseries 6 contains meeting minutes, correspondence, committee materials, and other information created when Doris Milner worked directly with the administration of the Montana Wilderness Association while on the council and as president of the council. The bulk of the Doris Milner series is in Subseries 7: Working Subject Files. This subseries consists of extensive conservation-related subject files. These files often include correspondence and meeting minutes, as well as articles and documents related to the topic. This collection also contains some materials created by Cecil Garland, former president of the Montana Wilderness Association, which have been placed into Subseries 8.

Series Two of the collection contains materials created by Kelsey Milner in conjunction with his work as a microbial scientist and bacteriologist. This series has not yet been arranged and described by the Archives. An initial inventory of the series is available from Archives and Special Collections.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Non-exclusive intellectual property rights are held by The University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number], Doris and Kelsey C. Milner Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is divided into two series. Series I has been subdivided into subseries. Series II has not yet been arranged by the Archives.

Series 1: Doris Milner, 62.75 linear feet, 1939-2007

Subseries 1: Articles and Speeches, 0.5 linear feet, 1970-1997

Subseries 2: Personal, 0.5 linear feet and 2 electronic files, 1968-2006

Subseries 3: League of Women Voters, 1.5 linear feet, 1969-2005

Subseries 4: Ravalli County Planning, 1.5 linear feet, 1960-2006

Subseries 5: Save the Upper Selway Committee, 0.25 linear feet, 1958-1971

Subseries 6: Montana Wilderness Association Administration, 7.25 linear feet, 1958-1995

Subseries 7: Working Subject Files, 50.75 linear feet, 1941-2007

Subseries 8: Cecil Garland Materials, 0.5 linear feet, 1939-1972

Series II: Kelsey Milner, 19.0 linear feet, circa 1940-1980

Custodial History

These materials were held by the Milner family and stored at the Milner property in Hamilton, Montana, and at a storage unit in Hamilton prior to their transfer to the Archives in 2009.

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated to the Archives by the Milner family in 2009.

Processing Note

This collection was transferred to the Archives after being stored in outdoor sheds belonging to the Milner family for a period of years. Some of the papers had severe pest damage and particularly damaged materials were discarded before being transported to the Archives. The remainder of the materials were cleaned and refoldered during accessioning and processing. Original order within all folders was maintained.

The collection was arranged into series and subseries by the processor to reflect the conservation and other community work done by Doris Milner throughout her life. Doris Milner appeared to keep working subject files to which she would add materials to over a span of a few years. Once a folder was full, Milner would create a new working subject folder. The subject files were sorted alphabetically by subject or folder title and then chronologically. Materials directly related to the administration of the Montana Wilderness Association were organized into their own subseries.

Materials created by Kelsey Milner during his work with the Public Health Service and Rocky Mountain Laboratory are currently unprocessed.

Separated Materials

This collection suffered considerable pest damage while in storage before being transported to Archives & Special Collections. Items that were too damaged for use were discarded before the collection was brought into Archives & Special Collections. Published materials and government documents that did not contain annotations by Doris Milner were pulled from the collection during transfer and processing.

Related Materials

The University of Montana's Archives and Special Collections holds the papers of Cecil Garland (Mss 637). The University of Idaho's Special Collections holds 1.3 linear feet of Doris Milner Papers especially related to the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Selway River and Magruder Corridor.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Bacteriologists--Montana--Hamilton (Ravalli County)
  • Conservation of natural resources--Montana--Bitterroot River Valley--Societies, etc.
  • Conservation of natural resources--Montana--Societies, etc.
  • Land use--Montana--Ravalli County--Planning
  • Microbiological laboratories--Montana--Hamilton (Ravalli County)
  • Wilderness areas--Montana
  • Women conservationists--Montana--Hamilton (Ravalli County)

Personal Names

  • Garland, Cecil (creator)
  • Milner, Doris, 1920-2007 (creator)
  • Milner, Kelsey C. (Kelsey Charles), 1913-2007 (creator)

Corporate Names

  • League of Women Voters (U.S.)
  • Montana Wilderness Association
  • National Institutes of Health (U.S.). Rocky Mountain Laboratory--Officials and employees
  • Save the Upper Selway Committee

Geographical Names

  • Bitterroot River Valley (Mont.)--Environmental conditions
  • Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness (Idaho)
  • Great Bear Wilderness (Mont.)
  • Scapegoat Wilderness (Mont.)
  • Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness (Idaho and Mont.)

Finding aid prepared by Amy Weiss
2012

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

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