Title: John Wesley White Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1933-1981

Creator:

• White, John Wesley, 1909-

Call Number: Stevens Point Mss AN; Tape 1079A; PH 3789

Quantity: 1.4 c.f. (4 archives boxes), 1 tape recording, and 85 photographs

Repository:

Housed at the Nelis R. Kampenga University Archives & Area Research Center, Learning Resources Center, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Stevens Point Library / Stevens Point Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Research files and reminiscences compiled by John “Wes” White about the Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the Nicolet National Forest in northeastern Wisconsin. White worked for the Forest Service most of his life and his research stresses the years 1934 to 1942. Files concern the CCC camps in the Nicolet National Forest, establishment and history of the forest, Imogene and Kentuk transient camps, Jones Dam N.I.R.A. camp, Trees for Tomorrow training school, Emergency Comservation Work Pioneers, Hugo Sauer Nursery, Kentucky emigrants, the murder of Ranger Roy Nettleton, “Margy's Place” (an establishment with “fine young women” and beer), timber making techniques, histories of the Military Road and Lake Superior Trail, woodticks, lumberman Anson Eldred, miscellaneous papers on land acquisition, and a report on the history of logging and logging camps in the Washburn District of the Chequamegon National Forest. Individual reminiscences files contain correspondence, photographs, and clippings by and about individuals who worked in the Forest Service and/or the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-stpt00an

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John Wesley (Wes) White was born June 21, 1909, in Rockton, Wisconsin. In 1934, he began his career in the U.S. Forest Service as a compassman for land surveyors at the Nicolet National Forest in northeastern Wisconsin. Subsequently, White became a surveyor and later a land acquisition agent for the Nicolet National Forest and the Superior National Forest In Duluth, Minnesota. During World War II White worked with land engineers on various projects. In 1945, he returned to his career in the Forest Service and was employed at the Superior National Forest until his retirement in 1965. In 1975 White began to write and collect reminiscences about the CCC and the Forest Service work from 1934 to 1942 in the Nicolet National Forest.

The Nicolet National Forest had its beginnings in 1928 when the Wisconsin Commercial Forestry Conference endorsed a national forest in Wisconsin. On December 12, 1928, the National Forest Reservation Commission approved the Oneida Purchase Unit which consisted of 151,680 acres In Oneida., Forest, and Vilas counties. A major part of the land was purchased under the Week's Law of 1911 which enabled the government to purchase lands necessary for protecting the flow of navigable streams. A Forest Service office was established at Park Falls in 1929. An addition of 68,000 acres was approved by the National Forest Reservation Commission on March 10, 1932, and at the same time the Oconto, Mondeaux, and Chequamegon Units were established.

On March 2, 1933, a proclamation changed the name of the Oneida Purchase Unit to Argonne and designated the acreage Nicolet National Forest for French explorer Jean Nicolet. The Nicolet National Forest was dedicated June 11, 1933, and in November 1933, the Argonne, Oconto, and Mondeaux Units officially became the Nicolet National Forest. The Chequamegon National Forest, with the units of Flambeau and Mogauh, was established at the same time in northwestern Wisconsin. In 1934 the Mondeaux (later called Medford) Unit was transferred to the Chequamegon. The Nicolet National Forest later assumed additional acres and the units of Florence, Phelps, and Peshtigo.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), an unemployment relief program established in 1933 by the 73rd Congress during the “100 days” of New Deal legislation, was instrumental in the development of the Nicolet National Forest. The camps were supervised by the Forest Service; their organization consisted of a camp superintendent, foresters, construction foremen, technical advisors, surveyors, and compassmen. The CCC workers in the Nicolet National Forest performed a wide variety of tasks. Generally, their work included roadside cleanup, stream improvement, truck trail surveys, acquisition surveys, hazard reduction, nursery development and maintenance, landscaping, recreational developments, forest planting and seeding, fish and wildlife habitat improvement, and construction of roads, ranger stations, lookout towers, telephone lines, and the Mondeaux Dam. The camps were abolished in 1942.

Elliot, Kennell M., History of the Nicolet National Forest  (Forest Service, U.S.D.A., and Forest History Association of Wisconsin, Inc., 1977)

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.

Acquisition Information

Presented by John Wesley White, Eagle River, Wisconsin, 1975-1982. Accession Number: M75-524, M81-484, M82-233

Processing Information

Processed by Debbie Anderson and Joanne Hohler, 1984; and Cindy Kurek, 1988.

Stevens Point Mss AN	Series: Nicolet National Forest
Box   1 Folder   1	Historical Summary of Land Adjustment and Classification, 1925-1962
Box   1 Folder   2	Historical Summary of Land Adjustment and Classification, Region 9, 1929-1962
Box   1 Folder   3	Imogene and Kentuk Transient Camps, 1936-1978
Box   1 Folder   4	Jones Dam N.I.R.A. Camp
Box   1 Folder   5	Miscellaneous, 1933-1974
Box   1 Folder   6	Mondeaux Unit, 1972-1976
Box   1 Folder   7	Nicolet Forum, April 1935-February 1937 Note: Photocopies of front covers.
Box   1 Folder   8	Personnel, 1935-1981
Box   1 Folder   9	Photographs, n.d.
Box   1 Folder   10	Purchase Units and Land Acquisition, 1937, 1979-1980
Box   1 Folder   11	R-9 Training School (Virgin lake Training School - Trees for Tomorrow), 1935-1981
Box   1 Folder   12	Reminiscences by John W. White, 1980
	Series: Civilian Conservation Corps	⇧
Box   1 Folder   13	CCC Experiences of John W. White, 1981
Box   1 Folder   14	General CCC Notes, 1933-1979
Box   1 Folder   15	Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings
Box   1 Folder   16	NACCCA (National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni) Materials, 1978-1981
Box   2 Folder   1	Station and Strength Report of the CCC by the U.S. War Department, 1936
Box   2 Folder   2	Alvin CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   3	Blackwell CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   4	Boot Lake CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   5	Cavour CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   6	Double Bend CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   7	Dream CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   8	Himley Lake CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   9	Jump River CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   10	Lily Pad CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   11	Long Lake CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   12	Mondeaux River CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   13	Mountain CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   14	Newland CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   15	Nine Mile CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   16	Perkinstown CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   17	Phelps CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   18	Pine River CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   19	Rainbow CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   20	Scott Lake CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   21	Section 11 CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   22	Townsend CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   23	Trump Lake CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   24	Virgin Lake CCC Camp
Box   2 Folder   25	Wolf River CCC Camp
	Series: General Files	⇧
Box   3 Folder   1	Eldred, Anson, 1867-1936
Box   3 Folder   2	Emergency Conservation Work Pioneers, 1980
Box   3 Folder   3	Hugo Sauer Nursery, 1980-1981
Box   3 Folder   4	“Kentuks” (emigrants from Kentucky) and Murder of Roy M. Nettleton - Reminiscences by John W. White, 1980
Box   3 Folder   5	“Margy's Place” - Reminiscences by John W. White, 1980
Box   3 Folder   6	Military Road, Lake Superior Trail, etc., 1863-1979
Box   3 Folder   7	Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings, 1939-1981
Box   3 Folder   8	Miscellaneous papers on Land Acquisition, 1856-1934 Note: Includes correspondence and deeds of: Chas. Arnold, Brown Brothers Lumber Company, Holt Lumber Company, and Frederick Steckle.
Box   3 Folder   9	“Nostalgia” - Reminiscences by John W. White, 1965
Box   3 Folder   10	Report on the History of Logging and Logging Camps in the Washburn District of the Chequamegon National Forest
Box   3 Folder   11	Thunder Lake Lumber Company, 1977
Box   3 Folder   12	Timber Making Techniques - Reminiscences by John W. White, 1980
Box   3 Folder   13	“Woodticks” - Reminiscences by John W. White, 1980
PH 3789	Photographs
Stevens Point Mss AN	Series: Individual Reminiscences	⇧
Box   4 Folder   1	Alusic, John, 1974-1978
Box   4 Folder   2	Anderson, Simeon Duval, 1965, 1979
Box   4 Folder   3	Anselment, Larry A., 1973
Box   4 Folder   4	Ball, Don, 1930, 1975
Box   4 Folder   5	Barton, Henry Allen, 1974-1977
Box   4 Folder   6	Bulfer, Dan, 1935, 1975
Box   4 Folder   7	Burkett, Luther B., 1976
Box   4 Folder   8	Calhoun, Roy, 1936, 1975, 1977
Box   4 Folder   9	Corey, James, 1935
Box   4 Folder   10	Elliott, Ken M., 1979
Box   4 Folder   11	Emerson, William (Bill) J., 1935, 1975-1976
Box   4 Folder   12	Fixmer, Frank N., 1934, 1936, 1975-1978
Tape 1079A	Tape recorded letter from Fixmer to White, July 29, 1978 Note: An edited transcription is in the Fixmer folder.
Stevens Point Mss AN Box   4 Folder   13	Grosbeck, Byron L., 1976
Box   4 Folder   14	Heim, P. Freeman, 1936, 1975
Box   4 Folder   15	Iverson, Ray C., 1935-1937
Box   4 Folder   16	Jackson, J. Allen, 1935, 1975
Box   4 Folder   17	Jay, James W., 1975-1978
Box   4 Folder   18	Jenkens, Louis F., 1980
Box   4 Folder   19	Kelsey, Don, 1935-1936, 1970
Box   4 Folder   20	Kische, Joseph C., 1933-1979
Box   4 Folder   21	Kolbe, Robert M., 1979
Box   4 Folder   22	Kuczynski, Paul (Paul Kay), 1933-1976
Box   4 Folder   23	La Rocque, Rene, 1935-1936, 1970
Box   4 Folder   24	Lee, Edward N., 1935-1979
Box   4 Folder   25	Lindh, Axel G., 1936-1937, 1970-1974
Box   4 Folder   26	Livens, Warren, 1974
Box   4 Folder   27	MacDonald, Ken M., 1975-1976
Box   4 Folder   28	Mattison, Clyde T., 1979
Box   4 Folder   29	Nixon, Jorace O., 1936, 1975-1979
Box   4 Folder   30	Paradise, Frank J., 1935, 1975
Box   4 Folder   31	Poland, Edward W., 1975
Box   4 Folder   32	Pomeroy, Kenneth B., 1935, 1968-1976
Box   4 Folder   33	Riss, John S., 1935-1936, 1975-1977
Box   4 Folder   34	Sheffield, Vernon C., 1980
Box   4 Folder   35	Smith, R. W. (Dick), 1976
Box   4 Folder   36	Stoddard, Charles H., 1975
Box   4 Folder   37	Strickler, Bruce, 1936-1937, 1975-1976
Box   4 Folder   38	Sump, Al, 1935, 1975-1980
Box   4 Folder   39	Thomas, Danford, 1974-1975
Box   4 Folder   40	Toole, Arlie, 1975
Box   4 Folder   41	Van Giesen., Chester L., 1976-1980
Box   4 Folder   42	Vaughan, Coleman, 1936, 1951, 1975
Box   4 Folder   13	Wernham, John O., 1973
Box   4 Folder   44	Wohlen, Paul A., 1935
Box   4 Folder   45	Zimmerman, Eliot W., 1979-1980