View XML QR Code

National Smokejumper Association collection, 1919-2022

Overview of the Collection

Creator
National Smokejumper Association
Title
National Smokejumper Association collection
Dates
1919-2022 (inclusive)
Quantity
17.05 linear feet and 16 Megabytes
Collection Number
Mss 620
Summary
The National Smokejumper Association is an organization dedicated to the preservation of the history of aerial fire management and wildland firefighting. This collection contains reports, correspondence, interviews, personal papers, photographs, films, and publications related to the development of aerial fire management and the activities of smokejumpers.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

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.

Languages
English.
Return to Top

Historical Note

The National Smokejumper Association (NSA) is an organization which preserves and shares the history of aerial fire management and provides a forum for those associated with wildland firefighting. Founded in 1992, the NSA maintains a roster of current and former smokejumpers and actively collects the histories of individuals and organizations associated with the development of smokejumping and aerial fire management.

In addition to furthering the legacy of smokejumping, the NSA works to support current and former smokejumpers as well as the forests and rangelands they protect. The organization offers support to smokejumpers and their families through a scholarship program and a "Good Samaritan Fund," offering financial support to those in need. Additionally, the Trails Restoration and Maintenance Projects, organized by NSA members and staffed by volunteers, clears trails in wilderness areas using volunteer teams. Established in 1999 by Jon McBride and Art Jukkala, the program utilizes the NSA's network of former smokejumpers to clear trails of debris, build fences, and restore structures in national forests and parks.

Return to Top

Content Description

The collection contains reports, correspondence, rosters, personal papers, oral histories, photographs, and moving images documenting the history of aerial fire management. The material in the collection was created by the association itself, by former smokejumpers, or by the U.S. Forest Service. The earliest materials include documentation of the development of parachute jumping during the F Studies – Aerial Control Parachute Jumping experiments of the late 1930s and early 1940s by the U.S. Forest Service. The collection also contains: fire reports from various years including the investigation report for the Mann Gulch fire in Montana (1949); newsletters and magazines published by the National Smokejumper Association; collected interviews, obituaries, and profiles of former and/or pioneer smokejumpers; and numerous magazine and newspaper articles related to the development and history of smokejumping and aerial fire management.

This collection also includes extensive moving image materials. The bulk of these materials are from the documentary Smokejumpers: Firefighters from the Sky (also called The History of Smokejumping: Firefighters from the Sky), produced by Stevan Smith for the National Smokejumper Association. These moving image materials are housed on 8mm, betacam, Mini-DV, VHS, and DVD; they include interviews with smokejumpers and both contemporary and historic footage of fires and training exercises. Additional oral histories conducted by the NSA with current and former smokejumpers are also available in the collection on DVD and many include complete transcripts. Finally, personal papers of individual smokejumpers contribute correspondence, photographs, newsclippings, and the personal journals. Collections related to individual smokejumpers are predominantly from smokejumpers who lived and/or trained in Missoula, Montana.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright of some materials transferred to The University of Montana-Missoula. Please contact Archives and Special Collections for details.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number], National Smokejumper Association Records, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana--Missoula.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

This collection has been divided into seven series:

Series I: National Smokejumper Association Records, 1978-2022, 1.35 linear foot

Subseries 1: Operational Materials, 1978-2010, 0.1 linear feet

Subseries 2: Publications, 1993-2023, 1.25 linear feet

Series II: Smokejumping History, 1919-2009, 2.4 linear feet

Subseries 1: Reports/Handbooks/Manuals, 1940-1994, 0.5 linear feet

Subseries 2: United States Forest Service, 1939-1999, 0.6 linear feet

Subseries 3: General, 1919-2005, 1.3 linear feet

Series III: Smokejumpers, 1938–2005, 0.8 linear feet

Subseries 1: Personal Narratives and Interviews, 1940-2004, 0.3 linear feet

Subseries 2: Collections of Personal Stories, 1990-1995, 0.2 linear feet

Subseries 3: Obituaries, Biographies, and General Information, 1940-2003, 0.2 linear feet

Subseries 4: Photographs, 1949-2005, 0.1 linear feet

Series IV: Miscellaneous Audiovisual, 1939–1940, 1976, 2004, 0.8 linear feet

Series V: Smokejumpers: Firefighters from the Sky Documentary, 1983-2003 and undated, 10.2 linear feet

Subseries 1: Video Log Books, undated, 1.0 linear foot

Subseries 2: Field Tapes and File Tapes, Betacam SP S and L, Corresponding VHS Dubs with Window Code and Rough Edit Tapes, 2000 and undated, 6.0 linear feet

Subseries 3: Other Source Video, DVD, Mini-DV, Betacam SP S, Betacam SP L, and VHS, 1988-2003, 3.3 linear feet

Subseries 4: Video Not Used, 2000, 4 items

Series VI: There I Was! the Smokejumper Storyteller Project Interviews, 2014, 1.0 linear feet

Series VII: Personal Papers of Smokejumpers, 1938-2016, 0.5 linear feet

Subseries 1: Ball, Herman, 1950s, 0.1 linear feet

Subseries 2: Brennan, Robert "Bob," 1938-1942, 0.2 linear feet

Subseries 3: Grenager, Lyle, 1951-1953, 0.1 linear feet

Subseries 4: Kurowski, Ed J., 2016, 0.1 linear feet and 16 Megabytes

Subseries 5: Mathews, Jack, 1986-2001, 0.1 linear feet

Subseries 6: Pickard, Lloyd A. "Chuck," 1946-2005, 0.2 linear feet

Series VIII: Accession 2018-066, 1947-2017, 0.4 linear feet

Custodial History

Prior to the materials coming to Archives and Special Collections, the collection was in the possession of the National Smokejumper Association. Personal papers of smokejumpers arrived as donations from their individual creators or from friends and family of the creator designated for this collection. Video and video logs in Series V, Smokejumpers: Firefighters from the Sky were held by Stevan Smith until their delivery to the Archives in June 2011. Interviews conducted by John Driscoll for the storytelling series There I Was! were donated by the creator in 2014. Richard Wilson donated Mann Gulch fire photographs in 2016 via National Smokejumper Association Historian Charles Palmer.

Acquisition Information

Initial donation was a gift of the National Smokejumper Association Board in 2003.

Future Additions

Additions to this collection are ongoing and will be added by the organization and individual donors.

Processing Note

This collection was originally minimally processed with limited description and rearrangement. In 2016, the majority of the collection was rearranged and redescribed to ease use and access. Copies of the original guide are available at Archives and Special Collections upon request but current folder titles may not reflect the original description. All materials were maintained except oral history transcripts that are already held by the Mansfield Library in OH 133. Photographs were also removed from Bob Brennan's photo album and put in four folders in their original order for preservation purposes.

Related Materials

Eastern Washington University holds meeting minutes and other records of the National Smokejumper Association. Two oral history collections held at the University of Montana's Archives and Special Collections contain approximately 150 oral history interviews with smokejumpers: OH 133, Smokejumper Oral History Project, and OH 163, Civilian Public Service Smokejumpers Oral History Project.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Aeronautics in forest fire control--United States--History
  • Mann Gulch Fire, Mont., 1949
  • Parachuting--United States--History
  • Smokejumpers--United States
  • Smokejumping--United States--History

Corporate Names

  • United States. Forest Service

Finding aid prepared by Jennifer Tuleja and Teresa Hamann
2005

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

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

Loading...
Loading...