Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Miles Jamison Willard collection, 1920-2000
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Willard, Miles Jamison, 1924-2004
- Title
- Miles Jamison Willard collection
- Dates
- 1920-2000 (inclusive)19202000
- Quantity
- 4 linear feet
- Collection Number
- MG 533
- Summary
- Family photographs, photographs from food science work including of potato flakes, scrapbooks, professional notes, awards, and correspondence.
- Repository
-
University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Miles J. Willard was a prominent engineer and scientist in Idaho notable for being involved with the invention of potato flakes. Materials in the collection include family photographs, photographs from food science work including of potato flakes, scrapbooks, professional notes, and correspondence. The correspondence primarily involves Willard's time in the military during World War II where he was involved in the Manhattan Project. He received many awards from the state of Idaho and from the University of Idaho which are also reflected in the collection. Other materials document Willard's interest in genealogy, photography, and music.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Miles Jamison Willard was born on June 10, 1924 to Miles Jamison and Ethel Stevens Willard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Early on it was evident that Willard had two great passions in life: music and chemistry.
His enthusiasm for chemistry led to a path of higher education at Drexel Institute (now Drexel University). Willard studied chemical engineering until the United State's involvement in World War II. He was drafted into the U.S. Army, and saw much of the fighting overseas, including the Battle of the Bulge. The Army eventually assigned Willard to study engineering at Rutgers University. Afterwards he was transferred Los Alamos, New Mexico where his duties included working on valves and pressure gauges for a military project. Later he learned the work he had done in New Mexico was for the atomic bomb. After World War II, Willard returned to Drexel and completed his chemical engineering degree in 1949.
Willard's career in food technology began at his employment at the Eastern Regional Research Laboratory of the USDA in Philadelphia. Here, he and a colleague developed a new drying process for the manufacture of instant mashed potato flakes. In 1955 his career path took him to Idaho, where he designed and operated the world's first commercial potato flake plant for the Rogers Brothers Company. He worked as the Director of Research for about nine years.
In 1973, Willard established the Miles Willard Company, which later became Miles Willard Technologies and is currently located in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He ran the company until his retirement in 1998. Miles Jamison Willard passed away on November 26, 2004 at 80 years old.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Author, Description or "Title" of item, date. Collection name, collection number, box, folder. University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives, Moscow, ID.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series I. PapersReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
Correspondence |
1956-1958 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | Topic: Personal |
1956-1958 |
| 1 | 2 | Topic: Potato Flakes Research |
1957; 1970 |
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 3 | Disston School, District No. 10 - Grade Reports |
1933-1936 |
| 1 | 4 | Drexel Institute of Technology (Drexel University) - Grade Reports |
1942-1944 |
European Potato Chip Association Convention |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 5 | 12 Steps from Research to Production of a New Snack |
undated |
| 1 | 6 | Fabricated Potato Snacks And Their Structures by Miles J. Willard |
1974 |
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 7 | Federal Employment |
1948 |
| 1 | 8 | Frankford High School - Grade Reports |
1940-1942 |
| 1 | 9 | Governor's Awards in the Arts |
1994-1996 |
Grand Teton Music Festival |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 10 | Correspondence |
|
| 1 | 11 | Festival Information |
|
| 1 | 12 | Newspaper Clippings |
|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 13 | Harding Junior High, District No. 8 - Grade Reports |
1939 |
| 1 | 14 | Idaho Potato Hall of Fame programs |
1998-2000 |
| 1 | 15 | Materials on Julian Jaynes Miles J. Willard met with Julian Jaynes (1920-1997), an American researcher in psychology at Yale and Princeton for nearly 25 years and best known for his 1976 book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mindfamed American.
|
|
| 1 | 16 | Personal Notebook |
|
| 1 | 17 | Project Summaries |
circa. 1960s-1970s |
| 1 | 18 | Ridgemont House Recitals |
|
Rotary Club |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 19 | Fabricated Foods |
August 1973 |
| 1 | 20 | Introduction for Virginia and Miles Willard |
6 October 1971 |
| 1 | 21 | The Idaho Russet - Baked, Processed, and Overlooked by The Idaho Centennial |
16 March 1988 |
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 22 | The Alumni Digest of Drexel University, vol. 4, no. 1 |
1992 |
University of Idaho |
|||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 23 | College of Agriculture Commencement |
1996 |
| 1 | 24 | Correspondence |
|
Series II. MilitaryReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 25 | Correspondence Personal correspondence between Miles Jamison Willard and family.
|
1944-1956 |
| 1 | 26 | Miscellaneous |
|
| 1 | 27 | Photographs |
|
| 1 | 28 | Service Pins and Tags Includes Miles Jamison Willard's Army issued dog tag.
|
circa 1940s |
| 1 | 29 | Special Engineer Detachment 55th Year Reunion |
1998 |
| 1 | 30 | USS Long Beach (CGN 9) guided missile cruise schedule |
1980 |
Series III. Printed Photographs and SlidesReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 31 | Aisla (?) Hoop Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 32 | Bibby Straws from Flakes Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 33 | Bibby Straws from Potatoes Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 34 | Chipnic Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 35 | Chipos Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 36 | Chipsters Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 37 | Frito Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 38 | Grand Teton Music Festival |
|
| 1 | 39 | Honorary Degree ceremony at the University of Idaho, College of Agriculture |
|
| 1 | 40 | Joey Chips Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 41 | Miles Jamison Willard at Drexel University graduation |
|
| 1 | 42 | Miscellaneous |
|
| 1 | 43 | Munchos Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 44 | Nalley's Plant - Tacoma, WA Slides.
|
|
| 1 | 45 | Nibbit Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 46 | Nibbit Pizza Spinner (?) Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 47 | Pizza Puff Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 48 | Potato Chip Blanching Slides.
|
|
| 1 | 49 | Potato Chip - 'N' Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 50 | Potato Flakes Demonstration |
|
| 1 | 51 | Potato Puff Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
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| 1 | 52 | Potato Shoestring Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
|
| 1 | 53 | Pringles Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
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| 1 | 54 | Quaver Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
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| 1 | 55 | Ruscott Potato Chip Machine Installed in Foods Chip Plant in Detroit, Michigan.
|
13 February 1957 |
| 1 | 56 | Snack Products Slides.
|
|
| 1 | 57 | Tom's French Fries Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
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| 1 | 58 | Unknown Food Processing Plants Photographs and slides.
|
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| 1 | 59 | Viro (?) Chip Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
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| 1 | 60 | W6-426 G (unknown snack) Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
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| 1 | 61 | W6-451 A1 (unknown snack) Microscopic analysis photograph.
|
Series IV. Awards and Certificates, 1993-1996Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 62 | Doctor of Science degree - Drexel Univresity |
19 June 1994 |
| object | |||
| 2 | 001 | Idaho Potato Hall of Fame Idaho Potato Hall of Fame induction award presented to Miles Willard for his outstanding contributions to the Idaho Potato Industry. Presented by the Idaho Potato Expo.
|
21 January 1998 |
| 2 | 002 | University of Idaho Foundation Membership election award presented to Miles J. Willard from the University of Idaho Foundation.
|
1996 |
| Folder | |||
| 2 | 63 | University of Idaho Honorary Degree Honorary degree of Doctor of Administrative Science presented to Miles Willard from the University of Idaho.
|
18 May 1996 |
| object | |||
| 2 | 003 | University of Idaho Honorary Degree plaque Miles Willard's Honorary Degree Recipient award from the University of Idaho College of Agriculture.
|
1996 |
| 2 | 004 | University of Idaho Leadership Circle Leadership Circle kaleidoscope award given to Miles and Virginia W. Willard from the University of Idaho.
|
1993 |
Series V. TextilesReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description |
|---|---|
| Box | |
| 3 | Doctorial Graduation Honor Robes 2 robes.
|
Series VI. ScrapbooksReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Box | object | |
| 4 | 005 | Family Scrapbook |
| 4 | 006 | Family Scrapbook |
| 4 | 007 | Military Scrapbook |
| 4 | 008 | Military Scrapbook |
| Folder | ||
| 4 | 64 | Scrapbook Loose-leaf pages of unknown scrapbook.
|
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Correspondence
- Inventions
- Potato flakes
Finding aid prepared by Sara Szobody.
2022
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
