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Hazel Wolf papers, 1916-2002

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Wolf, Hazel, 1898-2000
Title
Hazel Wolf papers
Dates
1916-2002 (inclusive)
Quantity
31.89 cubic feet
Collection Number
3647
Summary
Environmental and social activist from Seattle, Washington
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to all users.

Some material stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Hazel Anna Wolf (1898 - 2000) was a prominent Seattle activist who fought for feminism, human rights, labor and environmental protection throughout her 101 years. She was born in Victoria, British Columbia, an experienced a childhood largely dominated by class and poverty issues. Activism was the mark of her lifetime: during the depression era, she struggled to organize unions while employed in the WPA. For the rest of her working years (1949 – 1965) she was a secretary for civil rights lawyer John Caughlan. She moved to Seattle in 1923 as a struggling single mother and became interested in labor issues. She was a member of the Communist Party from the 1930s into the 1940s, and was active in immigration issues, at one point nearly being deported to her native Canada. By the time of McCarthyism, she was being targeted by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service as a subversive foreign national. Her deportation cases lasted from 1949-1963, and, though she later became a U.S. citizen, she never made any apologies for her Communist affiliation.

In the early sixties a friend introduced Wolf to the Audubon Society, which spurred a decade-spanning love for and activism in environmental causes. Hazel joined the Seattle Audubon Society and was secretary for 37 years until her death. An exuberant organizer, she is also credited with the creation of 21 other Audubon chapters in this state.

Her environmental activism also reached beyond Audubon. In the late 1970’s Wolf revitalized the Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs, and served as its president in 1976-77. She began editing this organization’s newsletter, Outdoors West in 1981 and continued to do so until 1999.

Her causes also led her to international territory. Wolf visited Nicaragua five times from 1983-1994, for both environmental and political reasons. She was inspired by the Sandinista's connection between environmental stewardship and democratic socialism. She received the Association of Biologists and Ecologists of Nicaragua award for "work for the conservation of nature" in 1985. In 1990, she visited as an official observer of the elections.

Following from a core belief that “everything connects,” Wolf supported a great number of social justice causes in conjunction with her environmental work. In 1979 she helped organize the Indian Conservationist Conference. She is credited with helping found the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, an organization that addresses urban environmental concerns of minority and low-income communities. Because of her commitment to outreach to urban children, Audubon created the “Kids for the Environment Fund” in honor of her 100th birthday.

Wolf received numerous accolades for her activist work, including the Sol Feinstein Award in 1978, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility's Paul Beeson Peace Award in 1995, the National Audubon Society's Medal of Excellence in 1997, and Seattle's Spirit of America Award in 1999.

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Content Description

Consult the scope and content information for each of the accessions listed below.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Creator's rights transferredto the University of Washington Libraries.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Organized into 8 accessions:

  • Accession No. 3647-001, Hazel Wolf papers, 1964-1985
  • Accession No. 3647-002, Hazel Wolf papers, 1977-1984
  • Accession No. 3647-003, Hazel Wolf papers, 1984-1990
  • Accession No. 3647-004, Hazel Wolf papers, 1984-1992
  • Accession No. 3647-005, Hazel Wolf papers, 1980-2000
  • Accession No. 3647-006, Hazel Wolf papers, 1916-1997
  • Accession No. 3647-007, Hazel Wolf papers, 1946-2000
  • Accession No. 3647-008, Hazel Wolf papers, 1970-2002

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Old growth forest conservation--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
  • Women environmentalists--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Women political activists--Washington (State)--Seattle

Personal Names

  • Bork, Robert H
  • Wolf, Hazel, 1898-2000--Archives
  • Wolf, Hazel, 1898-2000--Archives

Corporate Names

  • Columbia Basin Project (U.S
  • Columbia Basin Project (U.S.)
  • Democratic Party (Wash.). Platform Committee
  • Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs
  • Hanford Oversight Committee of Washington
  • Seattle Audubon Society
  • Sierra Club. Cascade Chapter
  • Sierra Club. Cascade Chapter

Geographical Names

  • Columbia Basin
  • Hanford (Wash.)
  • Hanford Site (Wash.)
  • Nicaragua--Environmental conditions
  • Nicaragua--Politics and government--20th century
  • Washington (State)--Environmental conditions
  • Washington (State)--Politics and government--20th century
  • Washington (State)--Social conditions--20th century

Titles within the Collection

  • Outdoors West

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs (creator)
    • Seattle Audubon Society (creator)
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