Archives West Finding Aid

The personal and professional papers of Carlton Fordis Culmsee, USU's dean of the College of Humanities and Arts for 25 years, consist mainly of his writings (including rough drafts), revisions, and published materials for his poetry, articles, and essays. The collection also contains personal and professional correspondence (bulk dates from the late 1920s to 1980s), personal papers, publications, and diaries from his trip to Taiwan (1955-1956). The papers in the collection date from 1897-1993, with the bulk of the papers ranging from the 1920s to the early 1970s.

The collection contains thirty-six boxes. The first two boxes contain his poetry (drafts), which are arranged in alphabetical order. The subject matter for the poetry varies widely, from Utah, the West, his father, and his family, to poetry that is more philosophical and/or religious.

The subject matter for his essays and articles (drafts) is much the same as his poetry but also contains a significant number of essays on mining in Utah, including essays on the Dream Mine and the Silver Reef. The essays and articles (drafts) are arranged alphabetically (this section also contains manuscripts and literary reviews--arranged alphabetically within the essays and articles). The articles and essays make up five boxes (Box 3-7) and there are two boxes of news clippings (Box 8 & 9). Box 7.A was added from the 2000 acquisition to update and expand the collection of essay and article drafts.

There are three boxes of correspondence (Box 10-12) that are mainly comprised of Christmas cards and sympathy cards about the death of Carlton's first wife Edna Culmsee in 1976. These boxes also contain personal correspondence from family members, and friends (notably: T. Y. Booth, Harrison Groutage, Heber J. Grant, Lowry Nelson, Veneta Leatham Nielsen, and Joyce J. Cardon (Mrs. Guy N. Cardon). The incoming correspondence is arranged alphabetically by last name. The third box of correspondence contains institutional correspondence and outgoing correspondence from Carlton Culmsee. The institutional correspondence is arranged alphabetically and the outgoing correspondence is arranged in chronological order.

There is one box (Box 13) of personal papers that contains items from Carlton's parents, his birth certificate, transcripts, honors, awards, and letters (letters to his parents from some friends and family, and letters of congratulations from colleagues about his distinguished service award, retirement, and emeritus status). The box also contains five folders (fd. 36-40) that specifically contains information about close friends of Carlton Culmsee.

Box 14 contains published articles by Carlton Culmsee in regional and national magazines from Taiwan. Carlton spent one year in Taiwan (1955-1956) helping to rebuild the National Chengchi University. The articles relate mostly to the political strife between Taiwan and mainland China. The box also contains news clippings, official documents, and two of his personal diaries kept during his stay there. Boxes 15 and 16 contains published materials also, including articles, essays, speeches, and poems. The subject matter is almost the same as stated earlier—Utah, Mines, etc.— but there are some articles that discuss social and political issues relating to Taiwan and China.

There is one box (Box 17) that pertains to the LDS Church. The items mainly relate to his personal involvement in his ward and local church events, e.g., Relief Society programs, firesides, and Sunday school talks.

Boxes 19, 20 and 21 include scrapbooks and items taken out of the scrapbooks. Items from the scrapbook were placed in folders in the order they were removed. There was also correspondence within the scrapbook, but it was left in among the other scrapbook items.

Boxes 22 and 23 contain letters sent between Carlton and Edna during their courtship and first years of marriage, dating from 1930 to 1933. The letters are arranged chronologically. Box 24 is a collection of additional letters, mostly to Edna, by family members and close friends.

Boxes 25 through 27 contain many personal items mostly from Edna Ball relating to her education, youth in Illinois, and genealogy. In Box 25 are journals and bound notebooks from Edna and Carlton, dating from their youth (1912 to mid-1920s). Box 26 contains items regarding the education of Carlton, including transcripts, a yearbook, and diplomas from BYU. Box 27 contains items from Edna's genealogical research. There is also an oversized volume of her genealogical research in Box 21.

Box 28 relates to the special duties and appointments of Carlton Culmsee as he worked at Utah State University. These include items from his time on an accreditation team, on the planning commission which oversaw the construction of the USU Chase Fine Arts Center, and his service on various writing bodies. Boxes 29 and 32 contain notes, rough drafts, and book manuscripts from Dr. Culmsee's prodigious writings. Box 33 is a scrapbook containing souvenir cards collected over many years.

Boxes 34 and 35 relate to Dr. Culmsee's career as an officer in the U.S. Navy, including his training at the Naval Academy at Ohio State University, and his teaching at St. Mary's College Academy. This collection includes personal items such as poetry and journals from World War II as well as photographs, books, and essays on the U.S. Navy. Box 36 contains artifacts such as an old Dutch Jacob's Ladder, a plaque, WWII dog tags, and so forth.

Much of the appended material from the second acquisition in 2000 was either redundant or complementary to the original material and has been collated into the appropriate sections. However, due to space constraints, these often have not been added in the original alphabetic order, but have been appended at the end of existing boxes or in boxes of their own at the end of the collection.

LIST OF ITEMS REMOVED: Photos: 1. Retirement Photos (Box 13 Fd 32) 2. Photos of and by Edna Ball from Illinois, BYU, and Utah. Books: 1. Carlton F. Culmsee Interview, 1981, by Oliver Smith 2. "The Classicism of Ben Jonson", 1937 by Carlton Fordis Culmsee (Thesis) 3. "Echoes Calling", by Carlton Fordis Culmsee (2 copies) Other Items: 1. US Army/Navy Journal of Recognition published during WWII 2. United States Navy Book of Regulations.