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Lois Crisler papers, 1940-1973

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Crisler, Lois
Title
Lois Crisler papers
Dates
1940-1973 (inclusive)
Quantity
3.09 cubic feet (12 boxes plus 3 items)
Collection Number
2060
Summary
Papers of a naturalist and author who wrote about the wildlife in the Olympic mountains and the Arctic
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.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Lois Eula Brown Crisler, born in Hillyard, Washington on August 8, 1896, and raised in Spokane. She became an English teacher and taught at the University of Washington. She met Herbert B. Crisler and they were married on December 7, 1941. The Crislers made their home in the Olympic Mountains, and during World War II, they volunteered to occupy the Hurricane Hill lookout to watch for enemy aircraft. In June 1949, Lois began writing a weekly column for the Port Angeles Evening News, titled Olympic Trail Talk, which ran through the spring of 1951. Her column detailed life in the mountains, her observations on wildlife, the history of the Olympic Peninsula, and the Crislers' lecture tours, which resulted from Herb's filming of wildlife. Herb Crisler became associated with the Disney Studios in 1950 to film the elk herds of the Olympic Mountains; in 1951, the Disney Studios sent the Crislers to Colorado to film bighorn sheep and in the fall of 1952, they continued on to Denali National Park in Alaska to film grizzly and brown bears. The Crislers moved on to the Brooks Range within the Arctic Circle in April 1953 for 18 months, where Herb filmed the caribou and Lois kept journals of her observations of the wildlife and her surroundings. These observation resulted in her book, Arctic Wild (1958). In 1962, Lois received a one year Guggenheim Fellowship to study the wilderness behavior of certain North American mammals. The Crislers relocated to the Tarryall Mountains near Lake George, Colorado, where they continued to care for the wolves they had raised. Lois' book Captive Wild (1968) relates the story of her relationship with the wolves. The strain of protecting the wolves took a toll on their marriage, and the couple subsequently divorced. Lois died in Seattle, King County, Washington on June 3, 1971.

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Content Description

Correspondence, writings, list, clippings, snapshot negatives, photographs, literary manuscripts, notes, budgets, and a scrapbook.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Organized into 4 accessions:

  • Accession No. 2060-001, Lois Crisler papers, 1941-1958
  • Accession No. 2060-002, Lois Crisler papers, circa 1955-1961
  • Accession No. 2060-003, Lois Crisler papers, 1940-1973
  • Accession No. 2060-004, Lois Crisler papers, 1948-1972

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 


2007 (Last modified: 9/29/2020)

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