NTE2cg479.xml Guide to the Charles Edwin Blackburn Papers 1930-1976 Blackburn (Charles Edwin) Papers Finding aid prepared by Barbara Kovarik Gahl Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections © 2022 Finding aid encoded by Suzanne James-Bacon. 2022 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 479 Blackburn, Charles Edwin, 1915-1976 Charles Edwin Blackburn Papers 1930-1976 14 Linear feet of shelf space 17 Boxes The Charles Edwin Blackburn Papers consists of his correspondence, financial, and other papers related to family matters; the study and teaching of English; his Coast Guard service, 1942-1945; and employment at Washington State University, 1951-1959 and 1964-1976, and the Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington, 1959-1964. Collection materials are in English

Charles Edwin Blackburn was born to William Brownlow Blackburn and Julia Agnes McDonald Blackburn on August 2, 1915, on a farm near Elberton, Washington. He was the youngest of eleven children. Blackburn attended Tekoa High School and graduated in 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression.

The Depression played a large role in Blackburn's early adult years. His father died in April 1934 and the family moved from Tekoa to Moscow, Idaho, the following June. From 1934 to 1936 he held several different jobs. He worked in an office as a typist, he sold silk hosiery door-to-door, he worked a Comptometer in an office in Olympia, and for a time in 1935, was in the Civilian Conservation Corps. All the while he dreamed of getting to college -the one all-consuming goal in his life. Yet, he lacked the funds and an understanding of college admission procedures. In April 1936 he started work in the office of the West Coast Lumberman's Association in Seattle. In the fall of the year, while still working part-time, he enrolled at the University of Washington. He attended college and continued to work for the WCLA until December 1940, when he decided to devote his full attentions to school. While attending the U of W he met his future wife Alice Kiser. Both received their B.A. degrees in 1941, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. From 1941-1942, Charles attended graduate school, while Alice finished her fifth year studies to complete a Library Science degree.

America's entry into the Second World War delayed Blackburn's education for several years. He entered the service in the spring of 1942 and was assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Westport, Washington, as a radioman and yeoman. In 1944 he was transfered to the U.S.S. Casper (PF-12) as a radioman. In addition to his regular duties while on board the Casper he served as the ship's librarian and published the ship's newspaper, The Casper Clarion.

Charles Blackburn was discharged from the Coast Guard in late 1945; like so many young couples of the day, the Blackburns were faced with the task of rebuilding their lives. Blackburn returned to the University of Washington to continue his graduate education. In the fall of 1947, after only a year at the U. of W., he moved on to Yale University to complete his doctorate in American Studies. While at Yale, he taught English at Stone College (1948-1949) and the Junior College of Commerce (1949-1950), both in New Haven, Connecticut. During this time he was awarded a Yale University Fellowship (1949-1950) and a Sterling Predoctoral Fellowship (1950-1951).

Upon completing his Ph.D. in 1951, Blackburn joined the English faculty of Washington State University. He served as Chair of the Department of English from 1956-1957.

By 1959, however, the financial pressures of a growing family (children: Julia, 1947; Taft, 1949; Mary Beth, 1953) led Blackburn to look for a better paying position. In June of that year, he began a relatively short-lived career with the Boeing Company Industrial Products Division in Seattle, Washington. He started as a technical writer and over the next five years held several supervisory and administrative posts. Most of Blackburn's work was in marketing (writing and revising brochures and semi-technical documents) and administration (preparing and reporting the section's budget and coordinating his group with the European office). In addition, he was involved with the Boeing Employees' Good Neighbor Fund, a community service organization, from 1962-1964. Although Blackburn enjoyed his work and was promoted quickly, he found that he was not well suited to the business world. Therefore, from 1960 on he attempted to return to a position in academe.

In 1964, Washington State University again offered Blackburn a position in the English Department. WSU's attractive offer-- both in terms of salary and tenure considerations--in combination with Alice's appointment as Pullman City Librarian, brought the family back to Pullman.

From 1964-1976 Blackburn taught a variety of subjects: freshman/sophomore composition, technical writing, American Drama, 20th century Drama, and assorted literature classes. A talented actor himself, Blackburn had several roles with the New Pullman Summer Palace Theatre.

Blackburn died September 7, 1976 at age 61 in a Springfield, Oregon hospital where he had been a patient for two weeks after suffering a heart attack while on vacation.

The Charles Edwin Blackburn Papers consists of his correspondence, financial, and other papers related to family matters; the study and teaching of English; his Coast Guard service, 1942-1945; and employment at Washington State University, 1951-1959 and 1964-1976, and the Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington, 1959-1964.

The Correspondence Series, 1940-1976, comprises approximately one half of the collection and contains letters from many family members and friends. Principal correspondents in this series are Alice Kiser Blackburn, Eva (Blackburn) Newsum, Fanny (Blackburn) Rasmussen, and Faye Blackburn.

The Subject File Series, 1930-1976, contains papers from Blackburn's educational, professional, and personal life.

Blackburn's term as Vice-President and later President of the Boeing Employees' Good Neighbor Fund is represented by agency reports, annual reports, correspondence, elections and membership, materials, minutes and many predating his period of service. The remainder of this group of Boeing materials pertains to Blackburn's job assignment and is made up of a work diary, interdepartmental correspondence, personal materials, sales staff meeting minutes, and Boeing News.

The Business, Medical and Financial records include correspondence and receipts referring to the rental of the Blackburn home in Seattle, auto repairs, medical records, income tax forms, and record books.

The section of educational materials encompasses Blackburn's entire academic career including papers from high school, the University of Washington, Yale University and Washington State University. Class notes, papers and exams make up the bulk of this section. A copy of Blackburn's dissertation (entitled: James Freeman Clarke: An Interpretation of the Western Years, 1838-1840) and a bound volume of his research notes are included. The last box in the series contains approximately 4500 dissertation research note cards In addition, some papers from Mrs. Blackburn's undergraduate years at the University of Washington are part of this group. The WSU material is mostly concerned with departmental activities such as correspondence, salary and rank information, promotion and tenure statements, faculty evaluations, and a small number of items from his 1970-1971 sabbatical in New York City.

Also included in this Subject File Series are the papers of John P. Sebree, an uncle on Alice's side of the family. He lived with the Blackburn family from 1969 until his death in 1975. His materials include correspondence, medical records, a college yearbook, memorials and a copy of his will and trust declaration.

The papers have been arranged into two series. Within the Correspondence Series, 1940-1976, the original group headings have been retained and then arranged in what appeared to be the order of importance. The folders within each group have been arranged chronologically and the original order of the material within each folder has been preserved. The Subject File Series, 1930-1976, was assembled as a unit by Blackburn and brings together loosely ordered materials, arranged alphabetically by subject heading. Within the Educational material subseries, the four main groups have been arranged in chronological order and folders within each group are alphabetically ordered.

This collection is open and available for research use.

Copyright restrictions may apply.

[Item description]

Charles Edwin Blackburn Papers, 1930-1976 (Cage 479)

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

The papers of Charles Edwin Blackburn were donated to the Washington State University Libraries by Mrs. Alice Blackburn (MS 77-61). Twenty-five additional items were received in 1983 (MS83-35) and added to the correspondence series, as folder 43A.

This collection was processed in 1983.

Pullman Community Congregational Church papers that were included in this collection were seperated out in 1983 and used to create the Blackburn Collection of Pullman Community Congregational Church Records, 1961-1977 (Cage 480).

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.

Blackburn, Charles Edwin, 1915-1976 -- Archives State College of Washington -- Faculty -- Archives Washington State University -- Faculty -- Archives United States. Coast Guard Boeing Company English language -- Study and teaching Universities and colleges -- Washington (State) Aircraft industry -- Washington (State) World War, 1939-1945 Washington (State) Colleges and Universities Series 1: Correspondence 1940-1976 Blackburn family; 1 1-11 Blackburn family 1947-1975 643 items. 1 12 Charles and Alice Blackburn 1947-1948 40 items. 1 13 Julia Blackburn 1960-1966 75 items. 1 14 Julia, Taft, and Mary Beth Blackburn 1968-1976 65 items. 1 15 Mary Beth Blackburn 1971-1976 200 items. 2 16-21 Charles and Alice Blackburn 1941-1943 455 items. 3 22-27 Charles and Alice Blackburn 1943-1944 375 items. 4 28-32 Charles and Alice Blackburn 1944-1945 305 items. 5 33-37 Charles and Alice Blackburn 1944-1945 210 items. 6 38-42 Charles and Alice Blackburn 1945 255 items. 7 43-49 Kiser Family 1947-1976 420 items. 7 50-59 Family 1940-1957 479 items. 8 60-68 Family 1950-1965 470 items. 8 69-72 Family and Friends 1936-1946 300 items. 9 73-85 Family and Friends 1944-1961 940 items. 10 86 Family and Friends 1958-1961 50 items. 10 87-98 Friends 1946-1975 577 items. Series 2: Subject File 1930-1976 Boeing: 11 99-101 Boeing News 1961-1966 68 items. 11 102 Brochure and Newsletter Preparations 1959 30 items. 11 103 Diary 1959 1 item. Good Neighbor Fund: 11 104 Agency Reports 1953-1964 20 items. 11 105 Annual Reports 1961-1966 9 items. 11 106 Correspondence 1963-1964 140 11 107 Elections and Membership 1962-1964 17 items. 11 108 Events 1963-1964 20 items. 11 109-113 General 1963-1965 180 11 114 Minutes 1962-1963 30 items. 11 115 Photos 1963-1964 16 items. 11 116-120 Interdepartmental Correspondence 1959-1964 176 items. 11 121 Hage Fund 1963-1964 40 items. 11 122 Personal Materials 1959-1964 30 items. 11 123 Sales Orientation Seminar 1959-1960 7 items. 11 124 Sales Staff Meeting Minutes 1959-1962 38 items. Business, Medical, and Financial Records: 12 125-126 Business Letters and Seattle House 1962-1968 125 items. Cars: 12 127 Chrysler 1967-1970 25 items. 12 128 Rambler 1961-1975 100 12 129 Correspondence -- Financial 1970-1976 60 items. 12 130 Diabetic Records 1963 1 item. 12 131-132 Financial and Medical Records 1951-1972 125 items. 12 133 Financial Records 1966-1975 50 items. 12 134-136 Income Tax Reports 1942-1969 67 items. 12 137 Record Books 1942-1951 1967-1973 10 items. 12 138 Calenders 1961-1974 11 items. 12 139-141 Casper Clarion 1944-1945 35 items. 12 142-143 Community Congregational Church 1961-1975 150 items. 13 144 Democratic Party 1962-1969 20 items. Education: 13 145 Diplomas 1930-1941 4 items. 13 146 High School 1932-1935 35 items. 13 147 Tekoa Blade 1934 1 item. University of Washington: 13 148 The Austin Tree 1936 1 item. Literature 58: 13 149 Fictional Technique in Cross Section 1937 1 item 13 150 This Road to Follow 1937 1 item 13 151 Personal Values in Literature 1937 1 item. Philosophy I: 13 152 Berkely in Review 1937 1 item 13 153 Descartes in Review 1937 1 item 13 154 Russell in Review 1937 1 item 13 155 Various Tests 1937 1940 4 items. 13 156 English Literature; The Bible as Literature 1938-1939 1 item. 13 157 The Hurly Burly 1938 1 item. 13 158 Newspaper Articles, Tempo Articles 1938 1941 3 items. 13 159 Philosophy 101 Problem Papers 1938 2 items. 13 160 Philosophy 102 Notes 1939 1 item. 13 161 Literature 153, 161, 162, Zoology 16-17, History 140 Notes and Tests 1939-1940 1946 8 items. Literature 1940 13 162 164 Two Travelers in America 1 item 13 163 171 Notes on Some Long Winded Characters in Shakespeare 1 item 13 164 Philosophy 103 Notes 1940 1 item. 13 165 The Fantasy Worlds of Three British Authors 1941 1 item. 13 166 American Literature Notes 1946 1 item. 13 167 English 221 John Calvin and Paradise Lost 1946 1 item. 13 168 History 175 Notes, American Colonial History 1946 1 item. 13 169 The Emerson Brothers and some dissertation correspondence 1946-1949 30 items. 13 170 English 202 Notes and Tests 1947 1 item. History 1947 13 171 144 Notes 1 item 165: 13 172 Among the Dry Bones 1 item 13 173 Tests and Book Reviews 3 13 174 The West in American History, Notes 1 item Undated Material: 13 175 Anthropology 60 American Indian Notes 1 item 13 176 History 144 Reading Notes 1 item Literature: 13 177 57 Notes 1 item 13 178 106 British Literature Notes 1 item 13 179 164 American Literature Notes 1 item 13 180 171 Shakespeare 1 item 13 181 Lord Byron and his Contemporary Critics 1 item 13 182 Philosophy Notes, Untitled Paper 2 13 183 The Steptoe Campaign of 1858 1 item Alice Kiser Blackburn Papers Literature 1941 13 184 162 The Culmination of Individualism in American Democracy 1 item 13 185 174 Hard Times: An Attack on Utilitarianism 1 item 177: 13 186 Michael: The Conflict Between Woodsworth's Purpose and Art 1 item 13 187 Robert Burns: Prophet of an Unborn World 1 item 13 188 Librarianship 196 The Land Lies South 1942 1 item Undated Material: 13 189 History 182 Reading Reports 1 item Literature: 13 190 104 The Social Significance of Nana 1 item 13 191 162 Emerson's ""Individualism"" in his Times 1 item 13 192 164 The Mysterious Stranger 1 item 13 193 175 The Poet's Diary 1 item 13 194 Three Modern Poets and the Modern Ego 1 item 13 195 University of Washington Commencement Program 1941 1 item. Yale University: 13 196 American Studies Notes 1947 1 item. History 180 1947-1948 13 197 Literature of American History 2 13 198 Political and Constitutional History 20 13 199 Literature 160 Twentieth Century 1947 1 item. American Studies 1948-1949 13 200 102 Repeal: Diminishing of the Theocracy 1 item 13 201 151 Term Paper Outlines 1 item 13 202 Art 61a Notes 1948-1949 1 item. 13 203 English 160 Various Papers and Testes 1948 5 items. Government 152 1948-1949 13 204 Notes 1 item 13 205 Papers 8 History: 13 206 31a, b Notes 1948-1949 1 item 13 207 31b Notes 1948 1 item 13 208 180 James Ford Rhodes: Man in the Web of Time 1948 1 item 13 209 Sociology 114a 1948 1 item. American Studies 1949 14 210 151 Notes 1 item 14 211 Notes 1 item 14 212 Civil War Notes 1949 1 item. History 31 1949 14 213 American Thought and Civilization 1 item 14 214 Notes and Tests 1 item Sociology 1949 14 215 115b Legal Realism: The Pragmatic Spirit in Law 1 item 14 216 Notes 1 item Undated Materials: 14 217 All the King's Men 1 item 14 218 The American Creed in the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut 1 item 14 219 Literary America 1790-1826 1 item 14 220 Parrington as an Economic Determinist 1 item 14 221 Various Papers 10 Dissertation: 14 222 Copy 1952 1 item 14 223-224 Research Materials undated 101 14 225 European Trip Memorabilia 1971 50 items. 14 226 Family History undated 1 item. General Correspondence: 14 227 Columbia University (AKB) 1970-1971 50 items. 14 228 Correspondence with Publishers 1938-1946 30 items. 14 229 Veterans Administration 1946-1948 40 items. 14 230 Washington State University and Yale 1951-1957 60 items. Yale: 14 231 Association of Yale Alumni 1969-1975 50 items. 14 232 Correspondence 1974-1975 15 items. 14 233 Graduate School 1946-1948 60 items. Job Hunting: 14 234-236 English Department, Washington State University and Job Applications 1961-1968 140 items. 14 237-238 General Applications 1959-1964 75 items. 15 239-241 Yale and Job Hunting 1949-1951 1959 150 items. 15 242 Memorabilia 1938-1956 50 items. 15 243 Newspaper Clippings 1949 7 items. 15 244 Photographs 1934 1942 undated 3 items. 15 245 Programs 1965-1975 50 items. John P. Sebree: 15 246 College Yearbook and Church Directory 1907 1970 3 items. 15 247-249 Correspondence 1902-1975 120 items. 15 250-251 Medical Records 1971-1975 130 items. 15 252 Memorials 1939-1975 7 items. 15 253 Will and Declaration of Trust 1970 2 items. 15 254 Short Stories undated 7 items. 15 255 Speeches 1961-1967 17 items. 15 256 Summer Theatre 1966-1969 50 items. Tekoa High School Reunion: 15 257 Correspondence 1953-1954 75 items. 15 258 News of Old Friends 1954 1 item. University of Washington: 15 259 Clippings on Communist Investigations 1949 25 items. 15 260 Survey of Scholarship at UW 1946 1 item. Washington State University: 15 261 American Studies 1964-1973 35 items. 15 262 Correspondence New York City Sabatical 1970-1971 30 items. 16 263-266 English Department 1966-1976 237 items. 16 267 Faculty Evaluations 1972-1976 25 items. 16 268 Forms, Salary and Rank Information 1958-1975 40 items. 16 269 French 525 1974 10 items. 16 270 Graduate Examination Handbook 1972 1 item. 16 271 Lectures - Civil Religion and Prophetic Faith 1976 7 items. 16 272 Promotion and Tenure Statements 1965-1969 25 items. 16 273 Senate Review 1974-1975 6 items. 16 274 Student Strike and R.I.S. 1969-1970 45 items. 17 275 Notecards for Dissertation undated 4500 items.