The collection was created by John “Wes” White to provide historical information about the Forest Service and the Nicolet National Forest. Various statements In the collection indicate White was at one time considering publishing histories of the CCC and of the Nicolet National Forest and the Forest Service for the bicentennial observance. The collection consists of White's reminiscences and collected research files including reminiscences of other individuals who worked at the Nicolet National Forest from approximately 1933 to 1942, or who were involved with the CCC camps. The collection is organized into four series: Nicolet National Forest, the CCC, general files, and individual reminiscences. Photocopies have been made of some documents and the originals returned to the donor. Photographs from within the collection have photocopy replacements and the originals are in PH 3789.
The NICOLET NATIONAL FOREST files contain information on the establishment and history of the forest. There are folders on the Imogene and Kentuk Transient Camps, the Jones Dam N.I.R.A. Camp, the Mondeaux Unit, personnel, White's reminiscences of the forest, and the R-9 training school (Virgin Lake training school) for Trees for Tomorrow. Also included are historical summaries of land adjustment and classification published by the Forest Service, photographs, and miscellaneous materials such as brochures, maps., newspaper clippings, correspondence, and White's research notes pertaining to the Nicolet.
The CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS files contain White's research on the CCC camps in the Nicolet National Forest. There are folders on 24 of the 27 CCC camps that were created within the forest, a strength and station report of the CCC published by the U.S. War Department in 1936, papers on the National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni (NACCCA), an account by White on his CCC experiences, and a large general file covering all aspects of the CCC and its history. Each camp folder typically contains notes by White, statistics on the camp, clippings from the Nicolet Forum (a publication of the Forest Service), newspaper clippings, photos, rosters, and correspondence from men who were associated with the camp. (See also the Individual Reminiscences files described below.)
The GENERAL FILES include histories, reminiscences, and correspondence concerning the Emergency Conservation Work Pioneers, the Hugo Sauer Nursery, emigrants from Kentucky, “Margy's Place,” Thunder Lake Lumber Co., timber making techniques, woodticks, and the Military Road and Lake Superior Trail. Also included is a “Report on the History of Logging and Logging Camps In the Washburn District of the Chequamegon National Forest,” a reminiscence by White entitled “Nostalgia,” a file on lumberman Anson Eldred containing correspondence from the 1800s and a history by his grandson, Eldred Klauser, and a folder of land grants, patents, and correspondence relating to land transactions from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s.
The INDIVIDUAL REMINISCENCES files are reminiscences by men, a majority of whom were with the Forest Service at the CCC camps in the Nicolet National Forest. White gathered the reminiscences of these men by corresponding with them. The files typically include letters written to White, photographs, White's manuscript notes, newspaper clippings, and clippings from the Nicolet Forum. Each file focuses on the life and career of White's correspondent. However, most of the files contain numerous references and reminiscences about other men who worked in the Nicolet. The amount of material in each file varies from one item to many pages. The distinction between the materials in the “individual reminiscences” and the personal narratives and correspondence in the CCC camp folders, is that the papers in the camp folders pertain only to that one camp, whereas in the individual reminiscence folders, the materials span several camps or cover the CCC in general.
