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Norman Bright Papers, 1927-2008

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Bright, Norman, -- 1910-1996
Title
Norman Bright Papers
Dates
1927-2008 (inclusive)
Quantity
5 linear ft., (14 boxes)
Collection Number
XOE_SC0009BrightN
Summary
The Norman Bright Papers document the life of a teacher, runner, mountain climber, and cold weather survival expert. This collection primarily consists of Norman’s personal diaries and logbooks, but it also includes newspaper clippings, correspondence, books, notes, photos, scrapbooks, and trophies.
Repository
Western Washington University, Special Collections
Wilson 6th Floor
516 High Street MS9103
Bellingham WA
98225-9123
Telephone: (360) 650-3193
Fax: (360) 650-3044
speccoll@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Norman Bright was born in Washington State in 1910. After graduating from Chehalis High School, he studied at the Bellingham Normal School from 1928 to 1931, receiving his Elementary and Junior High teaching credentials. He went on to earn a Bachelor’s in Education from Stanford in 1936, and a Master’s in Education from Miami University in 1960. While earning his degrees, Bright taught at variety of schools throughout Washington and California, including the Baugh School at Riffe Washington, Pearson School in Kitsap County, and Greenhill Academy in Chehalis.

Although Bright loved teaching, it was not his only passion. While studying at the Bellingham Normal School, he joined the track team and discovered he was a talented runner. Because of his abilities, Bright was selected for the 1936 Olympic trials in New York. During the trials, he shared a room with Louis Zamperini, and because of their relationship Bright was mentioned in the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Unfortunately, during the trials he sustained foot injuries that slowed his time and caused him to finish fifth in the final qualifying race. Although devastated by his loss, Norman quickly resumed competitive running.

In addition to running countless marathons and races, Bright was also an avid mountaineer and a survival equipment expert. He embarked on many expeditions to Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and the Antarctic from the 1930s to the 1950s in order to assist with scientific research and to test out cold weather survival gear. He also traveled throughout Europe, America, and Canada to improve his mountaineering skills, scaling peaks in the Alps, the Rockies, the Cascades, and the Olympic Mountains. Because of his expertise, Bright served in the Mountain Rescue division of the army during World War II.

In the early 1960s, Bright moved back to Seattle from Ohio, where he began working as a school psychologist. One day in the late-1970s while out for a run, Bright was struck by a car and hospitalized with severe injuries to his leg, shoulder, and head. Soon after his accident, his eyesight began to deteriorate due to his head injury. However, even after he started losing his eyesight Bright continued to run marathons with the help of running guides who would lead him with a piece of rope and verbal directions.

Norman Bright passed away in 1996.

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Content Description

Personal Writings (circa 1927-1993) are comprised of collected diaries, logbooks, notes, and reflections written by Norman Bright throughout his personal and professional life. He typically separated the different facets of his life into specific volumes, so there are volumes that record his daily personal activities and separate ones that record his outdoor adventures. The items that Norman called diaries are regularly written accounts of his emotional wellbeing, his interactions with his family and friends, his work, his training regimen, his regular movements, and any particularly memorable thoughts. These diaries may occasionally contain information regarding Norman’s interests in running, hiking, and mountain climbing, but these activities were typically recorded separately in items he called logbooks. There are specific logbooks for camping, hiking, and expeditions. Records of Norman’s frequent mountain climbing excursions can sometimes be found within the hiking logs or the expedition logs.

Correspondence (1968-1977) consists of bound volumes of letters created by Bright and addressed to various friends and acquaintances. The letters discuss a variety of subjects, including Norman’s personal life and his athletic endeavors. These may be rough drafts or copies of finished letters.

Biographical Materials (circa 1960-2008) include detailed timelines regarding Bright’s expeditions, education, jobs, assignments, mountaineering activities, supply and survival events, military training, research, commendations, and certifications. Series also includes photos, a doctor’s note about Bright’s blindness, newspaper and magazine articles collected by Georgie Bright Kunkel, and several pages of biographical information called “The Story of Me”.

Mountain Climbing and Expeditions materials (1938-1955) consist of records related to Bright’s interest in mountaineering and exploration. Includes newspaper clippings, itineraries, notes on mountain climbing and hiking, photos, reports regarding arctic conditions, and a scrapbook with newspaper clippings and photos regarding several of Norman’s arctic adventures.

Running materials (1931-2000) document Bright’s long history as a runner. Includes pamphlets and flyers, race and marathon results, running bib numbers, running certificates of completion, packets detailing information about specific marathons, photos, newspaper clippings, a scrapbook, trophies, plaques, and a Pacific Northwest marathon running guide.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Norman Bright Papers, Special Collections, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Norman Bright Papers are organized according to the following series arrangement:

  • Series I. Personal Writings, circa 1927-1993
    • Sub-series 1: Diaries 1927-1993
    • Sub-series 2: Logbooks circa 1932-1967
    • Sub-series 3: Notes 1938-1955
  • Series II. Correspondence, 1968-1977
  • Series III. Biographical Materials, circa 1960-2008
  • Series IV. Mountain Climbing and Expeditions, 1938-1955
  • Series V. Running, 1931-2000

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated by Georgie Bright Kunkel in 2008.

Processing Note

Wherever possible, original order was maintained during the processing of this collection. The majority of diaries were in sequential order by date, so the few that were out of order were rearranged to match this chronology. The books of draft correspondence were also rearranged so that they would reflect their original chronological order. Packets of papers that were placed together in envelopes have been re-foldered, but remain together in the same order. Loose papers without any apparent structure were kept in the same order if possible, but if no discernable original order could be discovered, order was imposed by the archivist. Some documents in this collection have likely been added by Norman’s sister Georgie Bright Kunkel after his death, but they have been left as part of the collection since they are connected to Norman’s accomplishments and activities.

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see our Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content.

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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

  • Athletes -- Washington (State) -- History -- Sources.
  • Scientific expeditions -- Antarctica -- 20th century -- History -- Sources.
  • Scientific expeditions -- Arctic regions -- 20th century -- History -- Sources.
  • Scrapbooks -- Washington (State)
  • Teachers -- Washington (State) -- History -- Sources.

Personal Names

  • Bright, Norman, -- 1910-1996 -- Archives

Form or Genre Terms

  • Diaries.
  • Personal correspondence.

Finding aid prepared by Emily Booth.
2015

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

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