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Merle Daniel Adlum papers, 1945-1986

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Adlum, Merle Daniel, 1919-1986
Title
Merle Daniel Adlum papers
Dates
1945-1986 (inclusive)
Quantity
67.56 cubic feet
Collection Number
2050
Summary
Trade union official, port commissioner, and civic leader of Seattle, 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

Open to all users.

Material stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Born in 1919, Merle Adlum was active in Seattle and Pacific Northwest union and civic affairs from the early sixties to his death in 1986. Among the most important positions held by Adlum were the presidency of the Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific from 1968-1979 and commissioner on the Seattle Port Commission from 1964-1983. Consequently, he had a major impact on the development of Puget Sound's maritime economy. Adlum worked for the Washington State Ferry System before joining the Inlandboatmen's Union. Among some of the civic organizations Adlum served were the Maritime Advisory Committee, the Interstate 90 Task Force (which was renamed the Committee for Balanced Regional Transportation), the Seattle-King County Development Council, a director of the San Francisco Branch of the Federal Reserve Board, 1979-1983; Seattle Opportunities Industrial Council, 1967-1984; the Washington Committee for Responsible Environmental Policy, 1970-1972; etc.

Adlum was born February 21, 1919 in Friday Harbor, Washington. His father was a purser who sailed the area around Seattle and the San Juan Islands, but he left the family when Merle was barely a year old. His mother, aptly named Oceana, was born at sea just two days after her Norwegian sea captain father anchored off Ballard. Adlum, himself, went to sea with an uncle at the age of twelve. He joined the Navy at seventeen, but was discharged after he broke his back during a storm. Returning to the Puget Sound area, Adlum recovered sufficiently to resume his maritime career working for the Washington state ferry system.

Captain Adlum was involved in numerous other organizations, but since his activites did not result in large quantities of material these records have been placed among the subject series of Adlum's personal papers. Adlum's personal filing system made little distinction between the organization he was representing. For instance, IBU or Port of Seattle stationary is routinely used for other business and material in one sub-group often relates to another. Subject files among his personal series also might relate to more than one function.

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Content Description

Correspondence, notes, minutes, and reports, relating to Adlum's union, civic, and political activities, particularly his work as Seattle port commissioner (1965-1977), officer of Inland Boatmen's Union of the Pacific (1967-1978), and his activities with Washington Committee for a Responsible Environmental Policy, Shoreline Committee for Initiative 43B (1972), Alternatives for Washington, and Dixy Lee Ray for Governor Committee (1976). Includes material relating to Adlum's other activities with AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Dept., Central Puget Sound Economic Development District, Committee for Balanced Regional Transportation, Economic Development Council of Puget Sound, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (Seattle Branch), Pacific Science Center Foundation, Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Seattle Ferry Terminal Design Study, Seattle-King County Economic Development Council, Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, Washington Council on International Trade, Washington Environmental Trade Association, and Washington State Canal Commission. Persons represented include Robert W. Bucklin, Henry M. Jackson, Gene Kaspar, and J. Eldon Opheim.

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Other Descriptive Information

Forms part of the Labor Archives of Washington.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Organized into 2 accessions.

  • Accession No. 2050-001, Merle Daniel Adlum papers, 1945-1986
  • Accession No. 2050-019, Merle Daniel Adlum papers, 1964-1986

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 


2007 (Last modified: 1/31/2020)

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