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Ottilie Markholt papers, 1888-2005

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Markholt, Ottilie
Title
Ottilie Markholt papers
Dates
1888-2005 (inclusive)
1930-2000 (bulk)
Quantity
56.09 cubic feet (58 boxes)
Collection Number
4191 (Accession No. 4191-003)
Summary
Papers of Ottilie Markholt, Tacoma labor unionist, labor historian, and author, documenting her involvement in multiple labor organizations, research and writing on a variety of labor history and other topics, and personal life
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

Collection is open for research but records stored offsite; advance notice is required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Other Descriptive Information

Forms part of the Labor Archives of Washington.

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Biographical Note

Ottilie Lou (Kepner) Markholt was a white, female labor unionist, labor historian, and author who spent most of her life in Tacoma, Washington. She was born on February 25, 1916 to parents Alfred Silverthorne Kepner and Clara Reissennweber Kepner in Candle, Alaska. Her family moved first to Chicago in 1919 and then to West Seattle in 1921 where Ottilie spent the remainder of her childhood and adolescence. She attended West Seattle High School, working on the school newspaper, and graduated in 1933 as class Valedictorian.

After high school, Ottilie attended the University of Washington from 1933-1935. It was in college that she became active in leftist political organizing, joining the University Unit of the Young Communist League in 1935. Ottilie did not graduate college, leaving, according to the Preface of her book Maritime Solidarity, “to become a full-time revolutionary.” It was through the Young Communist League that she met her first husband, Bob (Robert) Dombroff. They married on December 7, 1935. Bob was also active in leftist organizing and the labor movement when they met. They were both members of the Communist Party but dropped out in 1936.

Bob Dombroff was a sailor and an active member of the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific as well as the Maritime Federation of the Pacific Coast (MFPC), a short-lived organization founded in 1935 to build solidarity amongst the different labor unions representing maritime workers. During this time, Ottilie helped form the Seattle Women’s Maritime Auxiliary of the MFPC, compiled the Union Labels for Union Men booklet in 1937, and helped recruit author and activist Ralph Chaplin, Jr. to work as Editor of the MFPC’s newspaper, the Voice of the Federation. Both Ottilie and Bob were openly critical of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) President, Harry Bridges.

Bob and Ottilie had two sons, Bob and Lee. Bob was born in 1937 and Lee in 1939. After Bob Dombroff and Ottilie divorced in 1941, she relocated to Tacoma with her sons and temporarily worked a unionized waitressing job. She began working for the Tacoma Metal Trades Council in 1943 where she joined the Office Employees International Union Local 20360 which later became the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 23. Ottilie worked for OPEIU Local 23 as Office Secretary beginning in 1949 until her retirement in 1981. She was also actively involved in the union itself, including attending the 1962 international convention as delegate and serving as Secretary-Treasurer in the 1960s.

Ottilie met her second husband, Halvor Markholt through Local 23. He worked as a timekeeper at the shipyards. They married in 1943, and Ottilie as well as her sons assumed the last name of Markholt. The family moved to a farm south of Tacoma in 1945. Ottilie and Halvor divorced in 1953.

Ottilie’s Research & Writing

Ottilie spent many years researching and writing scholarly articles and manuscripts on a variety of topics, primarily related to the labor movement. Her published book Maritime Solidarity: Pacific Coast Unionism 1929-1938 emerged from expanded research beginning with her work on the Sailors' Union of the Pacific manuscript, completed in 1942 and originally credited solely to co-author Peter B. Gill. Ottilie conducted extensive research and worked on multiple drafts of Maritime Solidarity for many decades, including versions detailing earlier time periods. Ralph Chaplin, Jr. was an influence in encouraging her to resume research and writing in the 1950s, and labor historian Archie Green encouraged her to publish it in the early 1990s. After rejection from a number of publishers, the Pacific Coast Maritime History Committee was formed, initially as a part of the Pierce County Central Labor Council and composed of members of the labor community, to coordinate the publishing. Through community donations, including contributions from labor unions, enough money was raised to publish the book in 1998.

In addition to Maritime Solidarity, she researched and wrote several other manuscripts, including The Concern of All: Tacoma Working People and Their Unions, 1883-1895, sponsored by the Pierce County Central Labor Council in the 1980s; a biography of her parents called Alaska Homestead, completed in 1947; Nome, Alaska’s Early Union Movement on early union organizing in Nome; and her autobiography, Against the Current, completed around 2001. She also assisted others in their research, including Ronald (Ron) Magden and A.D. Martinson for their 1982 publication, The working waterfront: the story of Tacoma's ships and men as well as Captain Harold Huycke in the early 2000s in writing a history of ILWU Local 90 in San Francisco, California.

Additionally, Ottilie wrote for a variety of local publications during her lifetime, including the Tacoma Labor Advocate when Ralph Chaplin was Editor in the 1940s. She was also Editor of the Tacoma NAACP newsletter in the early 1960s and the Pierce County Central Labor Council Education Committee’s newsletter, The Labor Educator, which ran from 1985 to 1997.

Activism and Organizational Involvement

Ottilie was active in labor, civil rights, and social justice organizing, participating in a variety of organizations throughout her lifetime. In addition to her involvement in the Communist Party and OPEIU Local 23, she organized against “Right to Work” Initiatives 198 and 202 in Washington State during the 1950s. In 1964, Ottilie traveled to Buffalo, New York for research where she ended up volunteering in the office of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). She later joined the Tacoma-Olympia Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in 1971 and served as Branch Secretary for a number of years.

She was also actively involved in promoting and educating the community on the importance of labor history, including serving as the first Chair of the Pierce County Central Labor Council’s Education Committee and coordinating research and writing for a pictorial history exhibit and the publication of To Live in Dignity as a part of the Washington State centennial celebrations in 1989. Along with her son Bob who was teaching labor studies courses at the Tacoma Community College, Ottilie made efforts to integrate labor history education into community college curriculum in the 1970s and 80s. She was also a founding member of the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association (PNLHA), joining in 1979 and serving as Vice President for several years in the 1990s as well as attending and presenting papers at the organization’s annual meeting.

End of Life

Ottilie passed away on November 25, 2004 in Tacoma, Washington. A memorial was held on January 30, 2005 at the Local 23 hall of the ILWU in Fife, Washington.

Resources Consulted:

In addition to information derived from the collection itself, including a timeline of Markholt’s life and a memorial program located in SERIES 5, Subseries A: Family Papers, resources consulted include the Preface of her book Maritime Solidarity: Pacific Coast Unionism, her autobiography Against the Current, and an obituary published in the Seattle Times in 2004.

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Content Description

The papers of Ottilie Markholt span the years 1888-2005 and document multiple dimensions of her life as a trade unionist, activist, labor historian, writer, mother, and friend.

The collection is divided into two record groups, the bulk of which is located within RECORD GROUP 1: OTTILIE MARKHOLT PAPERS and contains:

  • SERIES 1: RESEARCH MATERIALS AND MANUSCRIPTS, 1889-2004: Ottilie’s research and writing files, including notes and copies of primary and secondary sources, including photocopies of historical images used as illustrations; drafts of published and unpublished manuscripts, articles, poems, and other reflections with annotations and revisions; and administrative files containing correspondence with library and archives staff and publishers, grant applications, records from research-related travel, and promotional event flyers and posters.
  • SERIES 2: INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD (IWW), TACOMA-OLYMPIA BRANCH, 1910-2002: Office and administrative records of the branch; publications and public relations material; international convention records; and primary and secondary sources by or about the IWW international and local branches. The records were collected by Ottilie during her time as member and Branch Secretary and are primarily from the 1970s through the 1990s, uniquely documenting a later time period of IWW organizing during the 20th century.
  • SERIES 3: PIERCE COUNTY CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL (PCCLC), 1935-2004: General administrative and office files of the council itself as well as records of the PCCLC Education Committee and files on other labor history-related events and projects coordinated by the labor council, including the 1989 centennial To Live in Dignity history booklet. Ottilie was the first to chair the committee and was also editor of the Labor Educator newsletter.
  • SERIES 4: OFFICE AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION (OPEIU), LOCAL 23, 1920-2004: Records of the Tacoma-based local collected by Ottilie who was represented by Local 23 during her time working as office secretary for the Tacoma Metal Trades Council and Local 23 itself. Local 23 merged into OPEIU Local 8 in 2015.
  • SERIES 5: PERSONAL PAPERS, 1923-2005: Files from Ottilie’s personal life, including correspondence with friends, family, colleagues, and others as well as family papers, including materials regarding her sons Bob and Lee Markholt.
  • SERIES 6: PACIFIC NORTHWEST LABOR HISTORY ASSOCIATION (PNLHA), 1972-2004: Administrative files of the organization, including meeting minutes, constitutions and bylaws, and correspondence as well as annual conference planning and publicity materials. PNLHA calendars are located in Series 10. Ottilie was a founding member and officer in this organization.
  • SERIES 7: LABOR STUDIES, 1929-1991: Files documenting Ottilie and her son Bob Markholt’s involvement in attempting to integrate labor history curriculum into Washington schools, including records from Bob’s labor studies courses at Tacoma Community College.
  • SERIES 8: OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL INVOLVEMENT, 1960-2001: Files from the Tacoma Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Three Stars Educational Club, and several other labor and social justice organizations that Ottilie was involved with.
  • SERIES 9: SUBJECT FILES, 1888-2005: A large assortment of published material, including newspaper clippings, full-sized newspapers, magazine clippings, newsletters, pamphlets, leaflets, flyers, magazine articles, stickers, scholarly papers, reports, and photocopied book chapters on a variety of topics related to the labor movement, including labor unions, labor history, and labor studies; civil rights and social justice; Black history; politics, especially radical leftist movements; and Tacoma and Seattle businesses and local happenings.
  • SERIES 10: CALENDARS, 1971-2003: Ottilie’s 1979 and 1980 annotated calendars as well as other assorted labor union, labor history, social justice, and leftist themed calendars. Includes annual calendars from the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association (PNLHA).
  • SERIES 11: ART PRINTS AND POSTERS, 1907-2000: Oversized posters and art prints, primarily labor and/or social justice-related. Includes art prints by artist and IWW activist, Carlos A. Cortéz, several of which are personally autographed to Ottilie.
  • SERIES 12: ARTIFACTS AND TEXTILES, 1930-1999: Labor-related apparel, buttons, and pins as well as Ottilie’s OEIU paper case with her signature on it and a shopping bag from the 1964 International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) "Don't Buy Judy Bond Blouses" boycott campaign.

RECORD GROUP 2: MARITIME LABOR DOCUMENTS AND RESEARCH MATERIALS, 1912-2000 comprise files from a donation of ten boxes arranged and inventoried by Ottilie Markholt herself, likely compiled and used during her research for the book Maritime Solidarity and possibly the Sailors' Union of the Pacific. These materials are listed as a separate records group to maintain the context of how they were originally used and described by Markholt, though there is overlap with the research materials in SERIES 1, Subseries A: Maritime Solidarity.

This records group is divided into two main series and contains:

  • SERIES 1: MARITIME LABOR ORIGINAL RECORDS, 1922-1956, 1983-1984: Files documenting West Coast maritime labor, primarily during the 1930s, including the activities of the Maritime Federation of the Pacific, affiliated district councils, and the Editorial Board of their newspaper, the Voice of the Federation, as well as federation convention proceedings. Also included are records of a number of West Coast maritime labor union locals; the personal papers of Bob (Robert) Dombroff, Ottilie Markholt’s first husband, who was a member of the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific and actively involved in the Maritime Federation of the Pacific; and additional subject files on maritime labor. These records likely came into Ottilie’s possession from Dombroff.
  • SERIES 2: RESEARCH NOTES AND RESOURCES, 1912-2000: Photocopies of archival material from other repositories, books, and articles along with Ottilie’s extensive research notes on West Coast maritime labor. If consulting Markholt’s original inventory, please note that materials listed in the original Box 7 as containing additional research notes on early maritime labor history were not located during processing.

See the arrangement note for a full list of series and subseries in each record group. More detailed scope and content information for the materials in each series is included in the box and folder inventory below, as needed.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

To the extent that they own the copyright, the donor has transferred the copyright of the materials to the University of Washington; however, copyright in some items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. Users are responsible for researching copyright status before use.

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from this collection in digital format.

Preferred Citation

Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, Ottilie Markholt papers, 4191-003, box number, folder number

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged as follows:

Files within each subseries and sub-subseries (when applicable) in RECORD GROUP 1 are arranged chronologically except for Series 4, Subseries E: Collective Bargaining Agreements; all subseries within Series 9: Subject Files; and Series 11: Art Prints and Posters which are all arranged alphabetically. Files within each subseries of SERIES 1 in RECORD GROUP 2 are arranged chronologically; however, files within SERIES 2 are maintained in the original order as they were arranged and described by Ottilie.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated in parts by:

  • Ottilie Markholt, May 28, 1991 and June 22, 1994
  • Bob Markholt, February 20, 2005
  • Carolyn Stevens via Justin Wadland, UW Tacoma, August, 2013.

Processing Note

Initial rehousing and inventorying completed by labor archivists Conor Casey during the years 2011-2015 and Crystal Rodgers during the years 2016-2021. The final intellectual and physical arrangement was devised and implemented by Crystal as well as drafting of updated finding aid notes, including the scope and content and biographical information in Winter/Spring 2022. Assistance with additional rehousing, preservation photocopies, and review of published material for potential cataloging was completed by Labor Archives Curatorial Assistant, Euli Mathieu in Fall/Winter 2022. The 001, 002, and 004 accessions were merged into the 003 accession during final processing.

Related Materials

Related Materials at the University of Washington:

Related Materials at other repositories:

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 


2007 (Last modified: 11/14/2023)

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