Robert J. (Bob) McCaig was born September 8, 1907 in Seattle, Washington. Jesse McCaig, his father, suffered from silicosis, a lung disease common among mine workers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Believing fresh air would promote better health for Jesse, the family lived in tents year-round during much of Bob's youth. They moved frequently to find appropriate conditions and support from extended family. For short periods the McCaig family lived near Bering, Alaska, St. Ignatius, Montana, and Edmonton, Alberta. When Bob was six years old his father found steady work in Great Falls, Montana, and the family moved from Alberta to be with him in 1915. Jesse McCaig died less than a year later. Mrs. McCaig decided to keep the family in Great Falls.
McCaig attended summer school classes in order to graduate early and help support the family through a full-time job. In 1923, at the age of fifteen, McCaig graduated from Great Falls High School and began working as a shipping and receiving clerk for the Paris of Montana, a large Great Falls department store. When he turned eighteen McCaig left the Paris for a meter reader position with the Montana Power Company. Bob McCaig was a devout Catholic and was quite active in the St. Gerard Parish of Great Falls. He married Edith Engren in 1953. McCaig worked his way up through the Montana Power Company until he became Great Falls Division Chief Accountant, the position he held until retirement in 1972.
McCaig began writing in his spare time during the 1940s and sold his first short story in 1948. He sold his first western novella, "Toll Mountain," in 1952. Over the next three decades McCaig wrote twenty-one books, twelve of which were published by national companies. His writing career was most successful between 1954 and 1964, having nine western novels, one non-fiction book, and two pieces of juvenile fiction accepted for publication. Included among his novels was a western romance co-authored with his wife and published under her maiden name to satisfy the publisher's marketing plans. Robert McCaig was known for meticulous research in preparing historical fiction narratives. He served on the Board of Directors for the Cascade County Historical Society as an outgrowth of his writing activities. His writing career also led to a long-term involvement with the Western Writers of America (WWA), an association originally founded by small-market Western fiction writers. Over the course of his involvement with the WWA McCaig served as President and on the Board of Directors. McCaig helped lead an effort to expand the organization's membership and mission towards promoting all forms of Western literature. McCaig died April 28, 1982 in Great Falls.
This collection includes biographical information on Robert J. McCaig and his family, professional and personal correspondence, research materials McCaig collected for his writing projects, records and correspondence from his involvement with the Western Writers of America, a small set of family photographs, and a selection of McCaig's novel and short story manuscripts. Biographical materials include the annotator's biographical sketch of Bob McCaig, newspaper articles about McCaig family members, pamphlets on the McCaig family name, and legal paperwork for Bob and Edith McCaig as well as the Engren Family (McCaig's in-laws).
Correspondence covers an array of source materials including publishing industry contacts, personal exchanges, family business matters, and community projects. Subject files contain materials Robert McCaig collected as research references for his writing projects, articles he wrote on the craft of writing, as well as all materials related to his involvement with the Western Writers of America. This collection also includes the small portion of family photographs submitted with the original donations.
In addition, the collection includes original manuscripts for two novels and eight short stories. The two novel manuscripts are:
The collection is divided into five series:
Series I: Biographical, 0.25 linear feet, 1904-1981
Series II: Correspondence, 2.25 linear feet, 1944-1982
Series III: Subject Files, 1.5 linear feet and one oversize box, 1910-1982
Series IV: Photographs, 0.25 linear feet, 1934-1980
Series V: Manuscripts, 1.0 linear feet, 1947-1965
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and the University of Montana--Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.
[Name of document or photograph number], Robert J. McCaig Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
Series I through IV of this collection remained in the possession of Edith McCaig, the author's widow, until donation to the K. Ross Toole Archives. McCaig incrementally donated the materials in Series V, Manuscripts, to the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming in the late 1970s through 1980. In 2003, the American Heritage Center transferred ownership of these materials to the K. Ross Toole Archives.
Gift of Mrs. Robert McCaig, 1983 and American Heritage Center, 2003.
The collection was originally processed as two separate collections (LC 115 and LC 117) by LeRoy Stahl (1908-1987), a freelance public relations consultant and annotator from Great Falls, Montana. Mr. Stahl was a formally trained actor and published two non-fiction books of his own. His notes state that he made some adjustments to the overall structure of the McCaig papers when he began working on the collection but made very few decisions to move individual documents within folders. Stahl did not provide details as to how he reorganized the overall structure of the collection. His notes also indicate the presence of a few manuscript carbon copies among McCaig's papers; however, no such materials were donated to the archives. He did provide extensive annotative and editorial comments on the collected materials. In 2003, the K. Ross Toole Archives staff combined LC 115 and LC 117 into one collection (Mss 115), defined series to aid organization, reorganized folder contents for consistency, and re-described collection materials. Mr. Stahl's annotative and editorial notes were retained with each folder in the collection. For instances in which materials were relocated within the collection, archive staff added location references to Mr. Stahl's notes.
Numerous manuscript materials were received from the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming. Approximately half of the manuscript materials remained unprocessed while housed at the University of Wyoming. In 2003 these materials were fully processed by K. Ross Toole Archives staff. Some organization anomalies were identified, addressed, and described in the manuscript series notes. Most of the manuscript materials included correspondence and research material directly related to each writing project. In consideration of direct page references in the correspondence and Mr. McCaig's decision to donate such materials with the manuscripts, these correspondence documents were processed within the manuscript series. However, all such materials were separated from the original manuscripts and placed in folders within the sequence.
Materials received from the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming included three autographed paperback McCaig novels:
This series consists of biographical materials on Robert J. McCaig and his extended family. Materials include the annotator's collection overviews and biographical synopsis. Most of the items in this series are materials McCaig collected and were originally filed with family correspondence, though the items were not attached to specific correspondence. These relocated materials include newspaper articles about McCaig family members, pamphlets on the McCaig family name, and legal paperwork for Bob and Edith McCaig as well as the Engren Family (McCaig's in-laws). This series includes one of McCaig's World War II ration books. The ration book is in fragile condition.
This series includes correspondence and a few short narrative samples directly related to on-going correspondence with business associates. The series has been separated into three subseries according to distinct content. Subseries 1 contains correspondence directly related to McCaig's involvement with the publishing industry. Contents include correspondence with contracted and potential book agents, manuscript proposals, book sale receipts, royalty payment receipts, editorial exchanges regarding manuscripts accepted for publication, and McCaig's marketing suggestions for sold manuscripts. These materials include both carbon copies and original documents, including a few handwritten letters. Additional correspondence directly related to the manuscripts in Series V is located in that series-in a separate folder associated with each manuscript.
Subseries 2 contains personal correspondence with family and friends. Family correspondence is separated from other personal letters as a reflection of the original annotators organization. The family correspondence folders contain some materials of a biographical nature that were attached to family letters, including a few weathered letters, receipts, and newspaper articles. Subseries 3 includes correspondence relating to McCaig's involvement with civic organizations, church groups, and small-scale business partners. Correspondence with business partners includes a few short samples of narrative Mr. McCaig wrote for use in product catalogues as part of his business relationship with William Ukrainitz. This subseries also includes correspondence with manufactures regarding items purchased by the McCaig family and service requests. For correspondence from and about the Western Writers of America, please see Series III, subseries 2.
The series is arranged in three subseries.
This series contains materials Robert McCaig collected as research references for his writing projects, articles he wrote on the craft of writing, as well as all materials related to his involvement with the Western Writers of America. Some of the research subject files include correspondence from McCaig requesting articles, brochures, or general source materials from businesses and institutions. Most of the folders in this series include documents and newspapers in fragile condition. When logical and feasible, these materials were transferred to archival paper; however, numerous items were retained in original format for historical or practical purposes. The "Lewis and Clark and the Great Falls" oversize folder contains a portion of an undated quadrant map for the Great Falls of the Missouri River. This map is in fragile condition. The "Montana Power Company-Research and Writing" folder contains a copper plated pamphlet produced by the International Association of Electrical Inspectors regarding the 1940 annual meeting in Great Falls.
The series has been separated into two subseries according to conceptual categories: Writing Research and Western Writers of America.
This series includes a small portion of family photographs submitted with the original donations. When dates could be established for photographs, such is noted in the content description. The series includes several photographs previously mounted on paper with annotative notes by LeRoy Stahl. During reprocessing in 2003 these photographs were separated from non-archival paper and, when possible, the adhesive was removed. The series also includes loose photographs of McCaig, his mother and sister, and locations where the family lived. Most of the loose photographs are undated or were inscribed with speculative dates prior to donation. The series also includes numerous photographs McCaig collected during his research for writing projects. These photographs include images of the Great Falls of the Missouri River prior to hydroelectric dam construction, canoeing techniques and designs, as well as World War II U.S. Army Air Corps aircraft and bases. Last, the series includes two undated flexible photograph negatives of the Great Falls of the Missouri River. These negatives are not duplicates of collection prints.
This series contains original manuscripts for two novels and eight short stories. The two novel manuscripts are:
During 2003 processing archives staff identified some organization anomalies among these materials.