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Pat Cary Peek papers, 1900-2018

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Peek, Pat Cary
Title
Pat Cary Peek papers
Dates
1900-2018 (inclusive)
Quantity
2.5 cubic feet
Collection Number
MG 542
Summary
The research files from author and educator Pat Cary Peek, wife of University of Idaho professor James Peek. Together the Peeks spent significant time exploring and studying Idaho's wilderness areas. They spent time at the U of I's Taylor Ranch research station, an experience which formed the basis of Pat's book "One Winter in the Wilderness." The ranch is also connected to the story of David "Cougar Dave" Lewis, another topic that Pat wrote about.
Repository
University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Content Description

Most of the material was collected by Pat Cary Peek as she researched for her book projects on Taylor Ranch research station, David "Cougar Dave" Lewis, and the Couer d'Alene mining wars. Research materials include copies of newspaper articles, copies of journals and correspondences, copies of interviews, and some secondary sources. Peek also conducted several interviews and the collection includes transcripts or her notes from those interviews. There are also ten journals kept by Peek that document the travels of her and her husband.

Pat Cary Peek and her husband James Peek, a former University of Idaho professor of wildlife resource management, traveled extensively between 1988 and 2012. Pat kept journals documenting their travels with frequent entries concerning the people and animals they saw, the places they visited, and the activities they undertook. There are also personal notes about family events. There are 9 journals, each containing approximately 150 pages of writing. A small amount of loose material is tucked into pages, some pictures are taped onto pages.

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Historical Note

Pat Cary Peek is an author and educator based in north central Idaho. Her husband, James Peek, was a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Idaho for many years. Pat taught special education in the Potlatch School District until her retirement in the early 1990s. Peek's memoir about the winter she spent with her husband at the U of I's Taylor Ranch research station won the book of the year award in 1998 from the Idaho Library Association. In "One Winter in the Wilderness" Peek recounts in journal form the difficulties and uniqueness of living deep in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. Her connection to the area informed her interest in David "Cougar Dave" Lewis, a notoriously colorful character in Idaho's history. She spent years separating myth from fact to write a history of one of the state's last "mountain men."

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Author, Description or "Title" of item, date. Collection name, collection number, box, folder. University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives, Moscow, ID.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The arrangement of this collection loosely follows the file structure created by Peek, and many of her original files are still included after rehousing the materials. The files have been grouped by general topic, but researchers should note that there is a great deal of subject cross-over among the series. The collection is made up of three accessions received by Spec over the course of a decade.

Acquisition Information

Materials were received from Pat Cary Peek in 2005 (MA 2005-05), 2016 (MA 2016-28) and 2022 (MA 2022-31).

Related Materials

Related materials may be found in MG 190 David (Cougar Dave) Lewis Papers https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv40698/.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

  • Series I: Travel Logs

    • Description: Travel Logs 1 and 2
      1 folder : two spiral bound journals covering June 3, 1988 to August 1991 and August 16, 1991 to September 29, 1994
      Dates: 1988 - 1994
      Container: Box 1, Folder 1
    • Description: Travel Logs 3 and 4
      1 folder : two spiral bound journals covering September 30, 1994 to August 12, 1996 and August 15, 1996 to November 3, 2000
      Dates: 1994 - 1996
      Container: Box 1, Folder 2
    • Description: Travel Logs 5 and 6
      1 folder : two spiral bound journals covering October 2000 to October 2003 and March 2004 to March 29, 2006
      Dates: 2000 - 2006
      Container: Box 1, Folder 3
    • Description: Travel Logs 7 and 8
      1 folder : two spiral bound journals covering April 10, 2006 to November 23, 2008 and January 1, 2009 to November 2011
      Dates: 2006 - 2011
      Container: Box 1, Folder 4
    • Description: Travel Log 9
      1 folder : one spiral bound journal covering January 2012 to August 2018
      Dates: 2012 - 2018
      Container: Box 1, Folder 5
  • Series II: Cougar Dave Research Materials

  • Series III: Silver Threads Research Materials

  • Series IV: One Winter Research Materials

  • Series V: Taylor Ranch Research

    • Description: Taylor Ranch journal
      1 folder : journal of Pat and Jim Peek's winter at the Taylor Ranch research station)
      Dates: 1992 - 1993
      Container: Box 3, Folder 1
    • Description: Taylor Ranch history research materials
      1 folder : materials related to the history of the Taylor Ranch research station
      Container: Box 3, Folder 2
    • Description: Research materials about Jess Taylor
      1 folder : materials related to Jess Taylor, member of the family that acquired property from Cougar Dave
      Container: Box 3, Folder 3
    • Description: Research materials about Holly and Jim Akenson
      1 folder : materials related to Holly and Jim Akenson, caretakers at Taylor Ranch
      Container: Box 3, Folder 4
  • Series VI: Miscellaneous Research Materials

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Labor disputes
  • Wilderness areas--Idaho

Geographical Names

  • Coeur d'Alene Mine (Idaho)
  • Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness (Idaho)
  • Taylor Wilderness Research Station
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