Ron Strickland is an American writer, conservationist and trail advocate, best known as the founder of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail.
Ronald Gibson Strickland was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1943 and attended Georgetown University. Inspired by Harvey Manning and Paris Walters, Strickland hiked the Cascade Crest Trail in 1970, fell in love with backpacking, and began planning a hiking trail that would extend from Glacier National Park in Montana to the Pacific Ocean. He founded the Pacific Northwest Trail Association in 1977 with the mission of developing, preserving and protecting the trail. The Pacific Northwest Trail was developed and built over the course three decades, receiving National Recreational Trail designations along the way before finally achieving National Scenic Trail status in 2009.
Strickland has authored several books on hiking: Shank’s Mare: A Compendium of Remarkable Walks (1988), The Pacific Northwest Trail Guide (2001), and The North Country Trail: The Best Walks, Hikes, and Backpacking Trips on America’s Longest National Scenic Trail (2013), and a memoir about the creation of the Pacific Northwest Trail titled Pathfinder: Blazing a new Wilderness Trail in Modern America (2011).
He also undertook several oral history projects which led to the publication of River Pigs and Cayuses: Oral Histories from the Pacific Northwest (1984), Whistlepunks & Geoducks: Oral Histories from the Pacific Northwest (1990), Vermonters: Oral Histories from Down Country to the Northeast Kingdom (1986), Texans: Oral Histories from the Lone Star State (1991), and Alaskans: Oral Histories from the Last Frontier (1992).
Ron Strickland is the recipient of the L.L. Bean Outdoor Heroes Award, American Land Conservation Award (2002) and the Chevron Conservation Award (2001).
Arranged in 10 series.
This collection consists of correspondence, recordings, manuscripts, interview transcripts, photographs and ephemera related to Ron Strickland's published and unpublished books. It also includes his portable tape recorder and microphone used in his oral history interviews.
Open to all users, but access to portions of the collection is restricted. Contact Special Collections for details.
Copyrights retained by creator but the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections can use and grant use permissions.
Donated by Ron Strickland on August 15, 2021.
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(handwritten)
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Handwritten transcriptions
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Includes oral histories from Tim Williams, Mervyn "M.D." McGuire, Viggo "Vic" Meedom, Ernie Bumgarner, Jack McKellar, Harold "Pappy" Melvin, Elsie Larson, Don Coppini, John Chambers, Lloyd Roberts, Manuel Figueiredo, Nick Lackey, M.F.K. Fisher, Lore Olds, Bruce Anderson, Kim Wallace, Bun Lucas, Walter de Vecchi, Gerald Agee, Joseph Haley Greer, Edward "Pat" Brown, Russell Chatham, Simone Welsh, Charlene Portschy and George Thomas, General Jimmy Dolittle, Warner Keeley, George Chamberlain, Eva Armenta Pagaling, Elaine Schneider, Beatrice Wood, Janet Hamber, Jim Prine, Nick Peirano, Lloyd Searcy, Cliff May, Ray Evans, Marcia Borie, Sam Arkoff, Julian Myers, Sab Shimano, Randy Miller, Bernardo Yorba, Tom Dennis, Virginia Parke, Hobie Alter, Valerie Thompson, Dan Pearson, Mark BoyceLinnda Burre, Phil Foster, George Dillinger, Allison Wells, Tomas Virgen, Heath Hi9bbard, Frank Bogert, Art Miller, Helen Bagley, Oran Booth, Dowie Crittenden, Norman "Bigfoot" Orfall, Dennis Houghton, Gardner Kent, Walt Svetich, Harold "Andy" Anderson, Warren "Batso" Harding, John Swanson
Includes oral histories from Russell Chatham, Katherine and Hobie Alter, General Jimmy Dolittle, Gerald Agee, Alex Apostolides, Louis Cavallini, Sab Shimono, Eva Armenta Pagaling, Elaine Schneider, Ray Evans, Charlene Portschy, George Thomas, M.F.K. Fisher, Lore Olds
Oral history interviews
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includes 6-3.5 inch floppy diskettes
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Includes oral histories of Joan Adam, Laurie Adkins, Isabelle Arcasa, Dave Beck, Roman and Julia Bialk, Mark Boyce, Luigi Chiarani, Barbara Davidson, Angel Davis, Carol Beery Davis, Etta Leightheart Egeland, Jim Ellis, Diane Ellison, Grace Ford, Rosa Guerrero, Stephen Hites, Walter Jackson, Ed King, Leo Land, Ninon McEvoy, Harry McIntyre, Jeanne and Jimmy Moses, Margaret Trevor Pardee, Charlene Portschy and George Thomas, Thomas Qualia, Herman Rediess, Agripina Rosas, Roy Shetler, Larry and Sheila Smith, Lillian Stieler, Walt Svetich, Lucille Thurlow, Jack Trambitas, J.D. True, Karen, Orville Wheat, Tiba Willner, Tom and Audrey Wolff
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Several versions of manuscript; includes oral histories of Susan Stafford Kerr, Mario Zadra, Dowie Crittenden, Billy Mahoney, Sr., Johnnie Stevens, Walt Svetich, Malcolm Story, Pedro Escudero, Helen Bagley, Oran Booth, Heath Hibbard, Dennis Houghton, Ralph Biggs, Peggy Pond Church, Norman Cleaveland, Evelyn Cecil Frey, Virginia Parke, Gerard Pesman, Lloyd Searcy, Tom Taylor
Acrylic on Masonite
Joann Neumayer was a folk artist in Bonners Ferry, Idaho
Cut and pasted drafts from different book projects
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NPR interviews, other assorted cassettes