Describing Archives: A Content Standard

NTE2cg866.xml Guide to the Karl Hobson Papers 1934-1978 Hobson (Karl) Papers Finding aid prepared by Samantha Case and Steven Bingo Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections © 2025 Finding aid encoded by Suzanne James-Bacon. 2025 Finding aid written in English. English. Finding aid based on DACS 2nd Edition ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard). Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections Cage 866 Hobson, Karl, 1906-1986 Karl Hobson Papers 1934-1978 3.25 Linear feet of shelf space 7 Boxes The Karl Hobson Papers consist of the research and professional papers of Karl Hobson as an agricultural forecasting expert at Washington State College and an independent forecaster and publihser of Hobson's Farm Forecast. Collection materials are in English

Karl Hobson was born in 1906 on a farm near Sedan, Kansas. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Idaho and did graduate work at Cornell University. In 1935, he worked as a state specialist in forecasting and farm management for the Idaho Extension Service before joining Washington State College (now Washington State University) as a specialist in livestock marketing in 1947. In 1948, Hobson became a full-time specialist in farm forecasting.

In 1949, Hobson met Elliot Marple and in 1950 they formed a joint-partnership to publish Hobson's Farm Forecast, a weekly newsletter directed to farmers in the Pacific Northwest. Marple, a Seattle-based business forecaster, published Marple’s Business Roundup, a weekly newsletter covering business market opportunities in the Pacific Northwest. Hobson, in Pullman, provided the text, while Marple, in Seattle produced the weekly publication through his existing Roundup operation. In December 1952, Hobson and Marple dissolved their joint-partnership and created Hobson's Farm Forecast, Inc., in part as a preventive measure against possible libel suits from disgruntled subscribers to the Forecast. Shortly afterwards, Hobson left the Bureau of Agricultural Extension at WSC and worked full-time for the corporation. In 1955, Hobson and Marple sold Hobson's Farm Forecast, Inc. to Doane Agricultural Service, Inc., of Carmichael, California. The publication of Hobson's Farm Forecast also ended in 1955 with its subscribers subsumed by Doane's Western Farm Forecast.

Hobson accepted a promotion with the Bureau of Agricultural Extension at WSC, while continuing to write for the Western Farm Forecast part time. Doane ceased publishing the Western Farm Forecast in 1957. In 1966, Hobson won the Western Farm Economics Association’s Outstanding Extension Program Award for his prediction of wheat scarcity in the mid-1960s. Hobson retired in 1971. In the 1970s, he and his wife, Dorothy, moved to Maui, Hawaii, where he died from cancer in 1986.

The Karl Hobson Papers consists of materials related to Hobson's work on farm forecasting. These papers include correspondence files for Hobson’s Farm Forecast as well as personal correspondence. The collection also contains files of clippings by or about Hobson, research files, and publications by Hobson including “Economic Facts for Idaho Farmers” and “World Food Needs and Productive Capacities.” Lastly, there are records from Hobson and Marple’s commodity trading partnership.

Series 1: Hobson's Farm Forecast, 1947-1978. This series consists of records directly related to Hobson's Farm Forecast, a publication produced by Hobson and Elliot Marple. It is divided into two series, Correspondence and Research and notes.

Subseries 1: Correspondence, 1948-1975. This subseries consists of correspondence and surveys from subscribers to Hobson's Farm Forecasts.

Subseries 2: Research and notes, 1947-1978. This subseries consists of publications and articles about the newsletter and articles published in the newsletter.

Series 2: Research and personal papers, 1934-1976. This series consists of materials created and gathered by Hobson separate from his newsletter. This series consists of two subseries: Hobson and Marple commodity trading partnership and Work and education.

Subseries 1: Hobson and Marple commodity trading partnership, 1958-1968. This subseries consists of transaction records, tax forms, and business correspondence resulting from the trading of agricultural commodities conducted by Hobson and Elliot Marple.

Subseries 2: Work and education, 1934-1976. This subseries consists of research Hobson performed as an employee of Washington State College and the University of Idaho, clippings on Hobson's work, Hobson's thesis for the University of Idaho, and a dossier for the Outstanding Extension Program award from the Western Farm Economics Association.

The collection is arranged into two series by topic, each further divided by two subseries by subject.

This collection is open and available for research use.

[Item description]

Karl Hobson Papers, 1934-1978 (Cage 866)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

This collection was donated to the Washington State University Libraries in multiple installments. Elliot Marple donated materials in 1997 and 1999 (MS.1997.40 and MS.1999.12) and the Hobson family donated the remaining materials in 2010, via Jeff Hobson (MS.2010.20).

This collection was processed by Samantha Case and Steven Bingo in 2017.

Several 1945 and 1949 issues of the Washington State University extension publication titled "Economic Land Class Maps of Washington County" were added to the Agricultural Extension Service (Cooperative Extension Service) Washington State University Publications, 1891-2018 (WSU 17-42).

Issues of "Keeping Upon the Farm Outlook" from 1948-1953 were removed, but can be found in the Agricultural Extension Service (Cooperative Extension Service) Washington State University Publications, 1891-2018 (WSU 17-41).

Issues of the Agricultural Prices and Prospects from July 1954-December 1961 (retitled Farm Outlook in 1957) have been placed in Agricultural Extension Service (Cooperative Extension Service) Washington State University Publications, 1891-2018 (WSU 17-42).

The March 20, 1951 and May 26, 1952 issues of Hobson's Farm Forecast were added to the run currently housed with the Hobson's Farm Forecast Records (Cage 608).

Hobson's Farm Forecast, Inc. Records, 1951-1987 (Cage 608)

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.

Hobson, Karl, 1906-1986 -- Archives Agricultural prices -- United States Agriculture -- Economic aspects Agriculture -- Forecasting Commodity trading advisors Agriculture Publishers and Publishing Series 1. Hobson's Farm Forecast 1947-1978 Subseries 1.1. Correspondence 1948-1975 1 1 A 1952-1973 1 2 B 1961-1976 1 3 C 1972-1973 1 4 D 1953-1955 1 5 E 1953-1955 1 6 F 1973-1976 1 7 G 1952-1954 1 8 H 1968 1 9 I 1954-1955 1 10 J 1953-1970 1 11 K 1953-1968 1 12 Financial correspondence 1948 1 13 Mc 1953-1975 1 14 N 1974-1975 1 15 T. Nishimura 1953 1 16 Max Nishioka 1953 1 17 Chester Noh 1952 1 18 Keish Noriyuki 1954 1 19 Willis Nutzman 1954-1955 1 20 John O'Donnell 1954 1 21 Tak Ogawa 1953 1 22 Yosie Ogawa 1952 1 23 Emil Ohme 1953 1 24 Verl S. Okelberry 1952 1 25 L. P. Olenslager 1954 1 26 Elmer J. Oliver 1952-1953 1 27 N. N. Olsen 1952 1 28 William O. Olsen 1952 1 29 C. A. Olson 1953 1 30 Walter W. Olson 1952 1 31 Oscar Oltmanns 1952 1 32 Melvin Oppliger 1953 1 33 Lee Ormond 1952 1 34 Murray O'Rourke 1952 1 35 Frank L. Orth 1952-1953 1 36 Raymond E. Osborne 1953 1 37 Milton Osterhout 1953 1 38 Lyman Otteson 1953 1 39 Tak Oyama 1953 1 40 P 1952-1974 1 41 D. L. Pace 1953 1 42 H. L. Pace 1953 1 43 L. C. Pace 1953 1 44 Richard C. Pajarola 1952 1 45 R. J. Palisch 1952-1953 1 46 Rudolph Pancheri 1952 1 47 Howard G. Parish 1952 1 48 C. L. Parkinson 1953 1 49 B. L. Patrick 1952 1 50 Floyd Patterson 1952 1 51 J. K. Patterson 1953 1 52 Ed B. Patton 1952 1 53 H. G. Peckham 1952-1953 1 54 Vernon Pendlebury 1952 1 55 Jake F. Perry 1953-1955 1 56 Ray Pershall 1953 1 57 E. H. Persigehl 1953 1 58 Clem F. Peters 1952 1 59 Frank A. Petersen 1953 1 60 O. E. Petersen and Son Don 1954 1 61 Peterson Orchards 1953 1 62 A. O. Peterson 1953 1 63 C. J. Peterson 1953 1 64 Earial Peterson 1952 1 65 Henry M. Peterson 1954 1 66 L. W. Peterson 1953 1 67 Lloyd H. Peterson 1952-1953 1 68 O. H. Peterson 1954 1 69 Omar C. Peterson 1953 1 70 Reuben Peterson 1952 1 71 Spencer H. Peterson 1952 1 72 Mrs. Henry Petrick 1953 1 73 H. R. Pettijohn 1953 1 74 Alfred Pettygrove 1952 1 75 Jud Pettygrove 1952 1 76 Joe C. Pharris 1952-1953 1 77 Edward J. Phillips 1954 1 78 L. B. Piercy 1953 1 79 R. D. Plessinger 1953 1 80 Ray S. Pocock 1952 1 81 J. C. Poe 1952 1 82 Kenneth H. Poe 1952 1 83 H. Michael Porter 1953 1 84 Anton Potucek 1952 1 85 Clarence Poulsen 1953 1 86 Floyd T. Powell 1953 1 87 Aubrey Pratt 1954 1 88 Cliff Precht 1953 1 89 James Prestidge 1952 1 90 Joe Pretl 1954 1 91 Sheldon Pulley 1953-1954 1 92 R 1955-1974 1 93 N. R. Raedels 1952 1 94 Paul B. Ragan 1953-1954 1 95 Richard Rambach 1953 1 96 D. D. Ramseyer 1953 1 97 H. F. Ramseyer 1953 1 98 Edgar Randall 1953 1 99 Lloyd F. Randall 1953 1 100 Pete M. Rarick 1953 1 101 Max D. Rector 1952 1 102 D. B. Reed 1954 1 103 Elmer Rees 1953 1 104 Bruce C. Regua 1952-1954 1 105 Conrad Rehn 1953 1 106 Edward Reichert 1952 1 107 Fred Reichert 1952 2 108 Robert Reichert 1953 2 109 Eldro J. Reid 1953 2 110 Henry Reil 1954 2 111 Ernest A. Reinke 1953 2 112 Louis E. Reinke 1953 2 113 J. J. Remington and Sons 1953 2 114 L. E. Remington 1952-1953 2 115 Herman E. Renfrow 1953 2 116 Allen L. Richards 1953 2 117 Chas C. Richards 1952 2 118 L. Lalovi Rigby 1953 2 119 S 1975 2 120 Alfred Simmons 1952-1955 2 121 T 1956 2 122 Roy Toft 1952 2 123 Cecil Toner 1953 2 124 J. M. Topsick 1953-1954 2 125 Mat Toupin 1952 2 126 Dave Tracy 1953 2 127 Evan R. Tracy 1953 2 128 Eugene S. Trask 1952-1953 2 129 C. A. Traughber 1953 2 130 Fred Treasure 1953 2 131 Herschel Trunnell 1953-1954 2 132 James Turnbull 1953 2 133 W. A. Turner 1954 2 134 U 1952 2 135 Leslie Ude 1952 2 136 Vernon Pendlebury 1953 2 137 M. R. Vanausdlen 1952 2 138 Samuel E. Vance 1953 2 139 Wilburn C. Vance 1952 2 140 J. W. Vanderford 1952 2 141 Joe Verbeck 1953 2 142 Chas Verheyen 1954 2 143 Edgar D. Vincent 1953 2 144 Roger D. Vincent 1953 2 145 Glenn Vining 1954 2 146 Vinson Farms 1953 2 147 Aubrey E. Vittetoe 1953 2 148 W 1952-1974 2 149 X, Y, Z 1953 Subseries 1.2. Research and notes 1947-1978 2 150 Commodity reserves 1951-1953 2 151 Cotton research and correspondence with John Judge and Ralph Scanlan 1947-1949 2 152 Idaho Potato Summaries 1950-1972 2 153 International Wheat Agreement, World Food Board Proposals 1944-1946 2 154 Marple's Business Newsletter 1976-1979 2 155 Pacific Northwest Wheat Publications 1963-1970 2 156 Pea seed dealers - Portland 1970-1973 2 157 Stockpiling 1947 2 158 Western Farm Forecast 1955-1957 Series 2. Research and personal papers 1934-1976 Subseries 2.1. Hobson and Marple commodity trading partnership 1958-1968 3 159 Commodity vouchers on expenses - correspondence and ledger sheets 1959-66 3 160 Correspondence between Hobson and Marple 1964-68 3 161 Walston and Co (completed transactions) 1958-60 3 162 Goodbody and Co 1958-59 3 163 Bache and Co 1960-64 3 164 Siegel Trading Co 1966-67 3 165 Income tax and financial summaries (1 of 2) 1958-68 3 166 Income tax and financial summaries (2 of 2) 1958-68 Subseries 2.2. Work and education 1934-1976 4 167 Agricultural Outlook 1937 4 168 Agricultural Outlook 1938 4 169 Agricultural Outlook 1936 4 170 Agricultural price supports 1949-50 4 171 Agricultural prices post-World War II 1944-1947 4 172 Alpha Zeta members (Idaho) and chapter history 1966 4 173 Article, interview, and notes by Hobson 1934 4 174 Articles by and clippings about Hobson 1952-1966 4 175 Awards 1968 4 176 Biographical file 1934 4 177 Boise clippings 1953 4 178 Bonneville Power Administration job correspondence 1944 4 179 Civil service exhibit materials 1937-1941 4 180 Clippings about Hobson 1952-1975 4 181 Clippings about Hobson 1960-1968 4 182 Clippings about Hobson 1931-1953 5 183 Clippings by or quoting Hobson 1948-1949 5 184 Clippings by or quoting Hobson 1951 5 185 Columbia Basin project development 1954 5 186 Correspondence and "Looking Ahead" articles 1956-75 5 187 Desirable Adjustments in the Wheat Region of Washington 1935 5 188 Economic Facts for Idaho Farmers 1939-1944 5 189 The Economic Reserve System, by Ralph Scanlan (1 of 2) 1940s 5 190 The Economic Reserve System, by Ralph Scanlan (2 of 2) 1940s 5 191 Employment and education record 1942 5 192 Epsilon Sigma Phi 1948-1954 5 193 Extension correspondence 1948-1963 6 194 Faculty Executive Committee 1945-1966 6 195 Future Agricultural Development in the Pacific Northwest, preliminary draft (1 of 2) 1947 6 196 Future Agricultural Development in the Pacific Northwest, preliminary draft (2 of 2) 1947 6 197 Land Classification Maps 1945 6 198 Legislative Hearing - Olympia, Late July, 1973 1973 6 199 Price data 1945-1973 6 200 Proceedings of the First Annual Poultrymen's Institute 1958 6 201 Publication and curriculum vitae 1939-1947 6 202 Publications by Hobson and others 1935-1969 6 203 Reader correspondence 1974-1976 7 204 Retirement letters and clippings 1971-1975 7 205 Second Annual Washington State Potato and Vegetable Conference Proceedings 1958 7 206 Seed pea meeting data 1973 7 207 Speech and presentation notes 1953-1955 7 208 Thesis 1941 7 209 University of Idaho Extension publications by Hobson 1935-36 7 210 Washington State University Extension publications on the Wheat Program 1963 7 211 Western Farm Economics Association Outstanding Extension Program award 1966