Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Oliver S. Van Olinda papers, 1895-1950
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Van Olinda, O. S. (Oliver Scott), 1868-1954
- Title
- Oliver S. Van Olinda papers
- Dates
- 1895-1950 (inclusive)18951950
- Quantity
- 1.54 cubic feet (3 boxes)
- Collection Number
- 4353 (Accession No. 4353-001)
- Summary
- Papers of a newspaperman, local historian, author of children's stories, photographer, and pioneer resident of Vashon Island, Washington.
- 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
The papers are open to all users.
- Additional Reference Guides
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Oliver Scott Van Olinda (1868-1954) was a career newspaperman who learned to set type at the Redington Press (Nebraska) at the age of 17. In 1891 Van Olinda moved to Vashon Island, Washington, where he started his first newspaper, The Island Home. The paper, lacking advertisers, was supported solely by a faithful readership of paid subscribers. In succeeding years, Van Olinda published and edited a number of papers: The Vashon Island Press (1895-1897); The Stanwood Press, a Snohomish County paper; The Island Times (1900-1909), a Coupeville paper; and The Vashon Island News-Record.
Van Olinda served for 18 years as historian of the Vashon-Maury Pioneer Society. He was an adept writer, producing many lively stories of Puget Sound pioneer life for both adults and children. His children's stories were created for his grandchildren, and each was specially bound and contained hand-drawn pictures. In 1935 Van Olinda published a book of local history, History of Vashon-Maury Island.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Van Olinda's papers consist of historical writings for adults and children, as well as scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings on local and regional history.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
The photographs and slides that form part of these papers have been issued electronically via the World Wide Web by the UW Libraries' Digital Initiatives Program under the title Oliver S. Van Olinda Photographs .
Restrictions on Use
The creator's literary rights have not been transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Preferred Citation
Oliver S. Van Olinda Papers. Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, Washington.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The papers are arranged in ten series.
Acquisition Information
The papers were donated to the University of Washington Libraries by Mrs. Howard Shipman, Oliver S. Van Olinda's daughter, in 1977.
Processing Note
Processing of the papers was completed in 1993.
In 1993 approximately 88 photographic prints, 30 lantern slides, and one photograph album containing 353 photographic prints, 1 drawing, and 5 additional items were relocated to the Oliver S. Van Olinda Photographs and Ephemera collection, 1884-1946, PH Coll 376, which is also held by the Special Collections division of the University of Washington Libraries.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
WritingsReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | "The Fog Did It" and other stories |
1932-1934 |
| 1/2 | History of Vashon-Maury Islands |
1935 |
| 1/3 | Nothin Much; a Composite Picture of Life in the Northwest |
1936 |
| 1/4 | "Etherealized" |
1910 |
| 1/4 | "The Last Potlatch" |
1904 |
| 1/5 | "Little Dramas of the Old West" |
1933 |
| 1/5 | "Little Yarns of Early Days on Vashon" |
1934 |
Children's storiesReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/6 | "Rusty" |
1946 |
| 1/7 |
The Bughouser Tales A compilation.
|
circa 1933-1935 |
The Bughouser Tales |
1931-1933 | |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/8 | "The Wise Old Owl and the Grouch" |
|
| 1/8 | "Marjories Has Company" |
|
| 1/8 | "Cooking Lesson" |
|
| 1/8 | "Mr. Monk Shows Things" |
|
| 1/8 | "The Jingled Hippo" |
|
| 1/8 | "The Frog and the Wishpole" |
|
| 1/8 | "What a Joke!" |
|
| 1/9 | "The Big Rockcandy Mountain" |
|
| 1/9 | "A New Path" |
|
| 1/9 | "Strictly Modern" |
|
| 1/9 | "Taken for a Ride" |
|
| 1/9 | "A Bughouser Mother Goose" |
|
| 1/9 | "The Blue Goose" |
|
| 1/9 | "Monkey Business" |
|
| 1/9 | "Up a Tree" |
|
| 1/9 | "Nellie" |
|
| 1/9 | "Marjorie in Mother Goose Land" |
|
| 1/9 | "Budweiser" |
|
| 1/9 | "End of a Perfect Friendship" |
|
| 1/9 | "Mick, Mack and Mike" |
|
| 1/9 | "The Funny Cheese" |
|
| 1/10 | "Just for Fun" |
|
| 1/10 | "Peter Goes to See (and Sea)" |
|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/11-12 | "Polygot Island" |
1939 |
Speeches and writings of others, 1906Return to Top
Container(s): Box-folder 1/13
Scrapbooks, 1935-1949Return to Top
Container(s): Box-folder 1/14-19
Ephemera, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box-folder 1/20
School records, 1884-1916 Return to Top
Container(s): Box-folder 2/1
PeriodicalsReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2/3 | Ghost Town News |
1946 |
| 2/4 | The Nor'wester |
1934 |
| 2/5 | Social and Civic Reform |
1901 |
| Box | ||
| 3 | The Marine Digest |
1950 |
NewspapersReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2/6 | The Outlook |
1973 |
| Box | ||
| 3 | The Island Views |
1948 October 13 |
| 3 | The Vashon Island Press |
1895-1986 |
Clippings, 1896-1971Return to Top
Container(s): Box-folder 2/7
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Authors, American--Washington (State)--Vashon Island--Archives
- Children's stories, American--Washington (State)--Vashon Island
- Historians--Washington (State)--Vashon Island--Archives
- Newspaper editors--Washington (State)--Vashon Island--Archives
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
- Pioneers--Washington (State)--Vashon Island--Archives
- Publishers and publishing--Washington (State)--Puget Sound Region
- Publishers and publishing--Washington (State)--Vashon Island
Personal Names
- Van Olinda, O. S. (Oliver Scott), 1868-1954--Archives
Geographical Names
- Puget Sound Region (Wash.)--Newspapers
- Vashon Island (Wash.)--History
- Vashon Island (Wash.)--Newspapers
Form or Genre Terms
- Children's stories
- Newspapers
- Periodicals
- Scrapbooks
- memorabilia
- writings
