Born into a pioneer family in 1895, newspaper man and historical buff Jay J. Kalez has been an ardent student of Spokane history since his youth. He served in the Navy in World War I, graduated from the University of Washington, and later began a career as a newspaperman and freelance writer of mystery, detective, and adventure stories. During the Great Depression Kalez was personnel director for the Spokane district of the Works Progress Administration. In addition, his work required that he become deeply involved with the District Federal Historical records and the Writers and Newspapers Indexing projects. He was also connected with several historical projects sponsored by Washington State University during this period. Familiarity with these historical projects of the Depression years added another dimension to Kalez's dual roles as civil servant and writer. For a time he served on the editorial staff of the Spokesman-Review and the Spokane Daily Chronicle. In 1965 Jay J. Kalez retired from U.S. Corps of Engineers. However, he continued freelance writing and has written many feature stories retelling the unique history of Spokane and eastern Washington from the viewpoint of a native resident.
The Jay J. Kalez papers consist of typescript drafts of Kalez's Saga of a Western Town...Spokane (1972), This Town of Ours. . . Spokane (1973), and Harnessed Waters (1976). In addition, there are some research notes, clippings, and correspondence. Many of the chapters which comprise the above works originally appeared over several years as feature articles in Spokane newspapers.
The papers are arranged in four series. Each folder in series 1, 2, and 4 corresponds to a chapter in the Kalez works cited above. The author's original arrangement has been retained, each folder contains a typescript draft of his story about some personal experience or incident in Spokane history. A newspaper clipping, notes, and correspondence pertinent to each story (a chapter in one of his books) are also contained in each folder. Series 3 contains typescript drafts of speeches and informal talks.
This collection is open for research use.
[Item Description]. Cage 162, Jay J. Kalez Papers. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
The Jay J. Kalez papers were donated to Washington State University Library by Mr. Kalez in August 1975. Additional papers were added in June 1976.
Additional Kalez material may also be found at the University of Oregon (see Catalogue of Manuscripts in the University of Oregon Library, compiled by Martin Schmitt. Eugene: 1971.)
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.