This collection covers a variety of subjects and is divided into three series: COLLEGE SCRAPBOOKS, WORLD WAR II DIARY AND LETTERS, and GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN. The SCRAPBOOKS document the college years of William and Elizabeth from 1934 to 1941. The WORLD WAR II DIARY AND LETTERS consist of a diary kept by William during 1943 and letters between William, Elizabeth, and friends and family during the war. The GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN materials consist of correspondence, campaign brochures, speeches, newspaper clippings and information on issues in which Upham was interested.
The COLLEGE SCRAPBOOKS have been photocopied and partially disassembled to preserve their content. Each scrapbook has been foldered individually and the scrapbooks are arranged in chronological order. The first scrapbook in the series, although undated, covers a wide period of time and contains artwork by William Upham when he was a child, clippings about Upham's father, his mother's remarriage after his father's death and William and Elizabeth's wedding. This scrapbook was first maintained by William's mother and then by Elizabeth. The remaining scrapbooks were all compiled by Elizabeth. These scrapbooks, with the exception of the 1934-1935 scrapbook (compiled before the Uphams met), reflect the interests of Elizabeth and William and contain greeting cards, correspondence, and souvenirs from vacations and events. The scrapbooks offer a picture of student life in the late 1930s at the University of Wisconsin and assist in defining the character and interests of the Uphams. Of particular interest in this series is the large number of wedding announcements and invitations showing the popularity of the couple, as well as many award announcements attesting to the scholastic achievements of the Uphams.
The WORLD WAR II DIARY AND LETTERS make up the bulk of the collection. The diary contains a record of William Upham's daily activities in the service in 1943. During this time, Upham was stationed in Iceland and in England as an officer's aide. The letters are grouped by writer and recipient and arranged chronologically. The first letters in the series are those written by Elizabeth to William from 1941 to 1945. Elizabeth numbered all of her letters, starting at #1 in 1941. Some missing numbers indicate that some letters have been lost. In addition, William often wrote replies to Elizabeth on the backs of her letters and sent them back. These letters are kept with those written by Elizabeth. Following Elizabeth's letters are the letters written by William from 1941 to 1946. Rounding out this series are letters to William from other family members and friends and letters Bill wrote to other family members and friends during the war. These letters offer a rare view into both sides of the war effort during World War II. The struggles of war can be seen not only in William's war letters, but also in Elizabeth's letters from the home front which reflect the hardships of rationing, the nervousness for loved ones and the hardship of raising children alone. This two-sided perspective of war is unusual and well portrayed in these letters.
The GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN materials offer an interesting contrast to the rest of the collection. William Upham ran for Governor of Wisconsin in 1974 on the American Party ticket. The bulk of the material from his campaign is correspondence which is arranged by subject matter and chronologically thereunder. The correspondence is related to campaign funding and election ethics and includes correspondence from fellow American Party members and letters of support from the general public. This series also includes ballot petitions, campaign finance reports, campaign brochures for Upham and other American Party candidates, campaign posters, media coverage, newspaper clippings about Upham and the American Party and information on mental health laws especially pertaining to the case of Hazel Lentz. This series illustrates how a small political campaign was conducted in the 1970s. The American Party has gone relatively unnoticed in Wisconsin, and this series offers a rare view into the party's views and how they found a place in Wisconsin and influenced its political system. A photograph of Upham as a child is included with campaign related photographs.
