The papers of John Lee Franson are arranged in two series: Personal Papers and Subject Files. The PERSONAL PAPERS consist of Franson's desk and appointment calendars for scattered years from 1963 to 1972, which detail his wide involvement in various conservation groups by noting meeting times, appointments, and travels; two “Chronicles;” and correspondence. The first of the two chronicles is an account of a field trip Franson took on the Marengo River, near Mellon, Wisconsin, into the Gogebic Iron Range in Michigan in 1963. The other is a record of travels and meetings in the course of his work in conservation in January-February 1964. This record mentions Owen Gromme, Walter Scott, and Aldo Leopold, Wisconsin conservationists. Franson's personal correspondence consists of only a few letters. One, a letter Franson wrote in reply to the Fond du Lac Junior Chamber of Commerce's questionnaire when he was nominated for the Jaycee's 1964 Distinguished Service Award, lists his accomplishments and goals.
The SUBJECT FILES, which comprise the majority of the papers, are divided into four subseries, each pertaining to one of Franson's various conservation group affiliations: the Fond du Lac County Conservation Alliance (FCCA), 1962-1968; the Wisconsin Resource Conservation Council (WRCC), 1963-1968; the Badger Sportsmen newspaper, 1963-1968; and the National Audubon Society, 1968-1975.
Franson served the Fond du Lac County Conservation Alliance and the Wisconsin Resource Conservation Council concurrently. The papers relating to each of these groups are arranged alphabetically by subject under the name of the organization. The files contain correspondence, mailings, publications, statements, newsletters, and printed studies over a period of years, concerning the various projects each organization was supporting or opposing on a local or statewide basis. The Badger Sportsmen subseries contains manuscripts of articles and editorials Franson wrote for the newspaper, and correspondence from his years as a resource editor, including letters exchanged by Franson with the Goose Haven Gun Club and with the Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club.
Franson's National Audubon Society files, 1968-1975, cover the period he served as the Central Midwest representative. These files contain the same type of material as the FCCA files, arranged alphabetically by subject. An interesting item, which Franson had kept together in a large loose-leaf notebook entitled “Citizens Committee on Natural Resources - Conservation Legislative Service,” is an extensive listing of the status of pending conservation legislation on the national level. Listed here are bills, votes taken, and legislators' voting records for 1971-1972. The notebook's pages have been removed from the binder and filed alphabetically in three folders in boxes 5 and 6.
All four subseries contained extensive clippings and printed material which have not been retained. Most of the clippings were from: The Milwaukee Journal, The Milwaukee Sentinel, The Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, and the Badger Sportsmen, all of which are on microfilm in the Historical Society Library. The researcher should also be aware of the records of the Fond du Lac County Conservation Alliance (Oshkosh Mss BE) and of the Wisconsin Resource Conservation Council (M65-413; M66-465; M68-207), held by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
