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Ruby El Hult Papers, 1899-1994

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Hult, Ruby El, 1912-2008.
Title
Ruby El Hult Papers
Dates
1899-1994 (inclusive)
Quantity
25 Linear Feet of Shelf Space, (45 boxes)
Collection Number
Cage 47 (collection)
Summary
Washington author Ruby El Hult (1912-2008) was born in Belgrove, Idaho, graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, and was a student at the University of Washington. In the early 1950s, Hult began a freelancing writing career that continued for decades, publishing articles and opinion pieces concerning Pacific Northwest historical and conservation issues. She also began to publish a number of books on the Pacific Northwest, beginning with "Steamboats in the Timber" in 1952. The Ruby El Hult Papers consist chiefly of original manuscripts, notes, photos, correspondence and other materials related to Hult's writing career. Also included is personal correspondence to family and friends.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open and available for research use.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Washington author Ruby El Hult (1912-2008) was born in Belgrove, Idaho, to John Adolf and Carolina (Pearson) Hult. She graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane in 1932, and was a student at the University of Washington during 1945-46. After holding various secretarial positions between 1942 and 1949, she served as assistant editor of the Washington State Journal of Nursing in Seattle from 1949 to 1952. During this time, she completed a number of short stories for writing classes she took between 1924 and 1953.

In the early 1950s, Hult began a freelancing writing career that continued for decades, publishing articles and opinion pieces concerning Pacific Northwest historical and conservation issues. She also began to publish a number of books on the Pacific Northwest, beginning with Steamboats in the Timber in 1952 (a second edition was published in 1968). That was followed by Untamed Olympics in 1954 (a second edition was published in 1971), and Lost Mines and Treasures of the Pacific Northwest in 1957. A sequel to that book, Treasure Hunting Northwest, was published in 1971. In 1960, both Northwest Disaster: Avalanche and Fire and Guns of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (an expanded version of the June 6, 1955 article in Guns Magazine, "The Arms that Won an Empire") were published. The second edition of her last book, Herb Crisler in the Olympic Mountain Wilds (originally published in 1977), was published in 1992.

During this time, Hult maintained ties with a small group of Pacific Northwest women writers, historians and book lovers, some of whom she had met in the late 1930s. Up through 1980s and 1990s, Hult regularly corresponded with these women, who were both friends and professional colleagues. These included Hazel Corbeill, Eleanor Garst, Martha Livingston and Elizabeth Marion Saunders. In 1980, Hult and Saunders published their correspondence over the years in a compendium called The Cockalorum Chronicles: New Words Between Old Friends: Correspondence of Elizabeth Marion Saunders and Ruby El Hult.

Ruby El Hult was married first to S. John Sether, who died in 1959. She married her second husband, Raymond L. McAndrew, in 1961. He died in 1978.

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Content Description

The Ruby El Hult Papers consist chiefly of original manuscripts, notes, photos, correspondence and other materials related to Hult's writing career. Also included is personal correspondence to family and friends. Most material is typewritten, although much personal correspondence is handwritten.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions apply.

Preferred Citation

[Item Description] Ruby El Hult papers, 1899-1994

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

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The papers retain Hult's original order.There are eleven series, organized alphabetically (except the Oversize materials). Within each series, the contents are arranged by the type of material, such as notes, correspondence, clippings, etc.

Series 1: Articles, Short Stories, and other Writings. Concerns both published and unpublished writings not directly related to her books.

Series 2: Editing Work. Relates mostly to her work as assistant editor at the Washington State Journal of Nursing.

Series 3: Lost Mines and Treasures. Includes materials related both to the original book and to its sequel, Treasure Hunting Northwest.

Series 4: Miscellaneous Matters. Contains clippings, correspondence and source materials not directly related to Hult's books or personal life.

Series 5: Northwest Disaster. Contains materials related to this book.

Series 6: Personal and Family Matters. Mostly letters from friends and family with whom Hult regularly corresponded over the years. These papers are then divided alphabetically by name.

Series 7: Photographs. Contains photos and negatives dating back to the late 1800s. These mostly were gathered for use in her books, but some personal photos are included as well.

Series 8: Political Materials. Includes historical materials, clippings and correspondence related to Hult's involvement in campaigns for various causes. Also included are publications of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions Santa Barbara, CA, where Hult served as mail supervisor from 1965-66.

Series 9: Steamboats in the Timber. Contains materials related to this book.

Series 10: Untamed Olympics. Includes materials related to this book.

Series 11: Oversize Materials. Contains mostly large scrapbooks with reviews and other clippings, as well as correspondence related to the publication of Hult's books.

Acquisition Information

Ruby El Hult donated her papers to the Washington State University Libraries in several installments between 1959 and 2001. Her manuscripts, correspondence and other materials span more than six decades.

Processing Note

This collection was processed by Kevlin Haire in 2002; in 2007 Lynette Scriver performed additional preservation and processing.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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Subject Terms

  • Historiography -- Northwest, Pacific -- Women authors.
  • Logging -- Idaho -- History -- Photographs.
  • Mines and mineral resources -- Idaho -- Photographs.
  • Steamboats -- Idaho -- Photographs.

Personal Names

  • Hult, Ruby El, 1912-2008 -- Archives.
  • Hult, Ruby El, 1912-2008 -- Correspondence.

Geographical Names

  • Coeur d'Alene Lake (Idaho) -- History -- Photographs.
  • Fort Sherman (Idaho) -- History -- Photographs.
  • Idaho -- History -- Archives.
  • Washington (State) -- History -- Archives.

Finding aid prepared by Kevlin Haire
2016

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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