Henry A. Nordahl Papers: Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Eric Steiger, July 8, 2009.

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

Manuscripts Department

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, California 91108

Phone: (626) 405-2129

Email: reference@huntington.org

URL: http://www.huntington.org

Overview of the Collection

Title: Henry A. Nordahl Papers

Dates (inclusive): 1904-1918, 1948

Collection Number: mssHM 71650-71681

Creator: Nordahl, Henry A.

Extent: 57 items in 2 boxes + wooden box

Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, California 91108

Phone: (626) 405-2129

Email: reference@huntington.org

URL: http://www.huntington.org

Abstract: This collection includes college diaries and three annotated college handbooks from University of Southern California students Henry A. Nordahl (1884-1975) and Ruth Iliff Nordahl (1888-1971), as well as correspondence from their courtship and from friends and relatives during their time overseas.

Language: English.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. Henry A. Nordahl Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Purchased from Nick Ripoly, December 10, 2007.

Biographical Note

Henry A. Nordahl (1884-1975), born in Nebraska on April 6, 1884, was a student and track athlete at the University of Southern California in the first decade of the twentieth century. He and Ruth Margaret Iliff (1888-1971) were married in 1911 or 1912. Ruth filed her Master’s thesis at USC in May 1912, after which the couple traveled to Bolivia to do missionary work for the Methodist Episcopal missionary agency. They eventually settled in the Los Angeles area, where Henry worked as a high school Spanish teacher and Ruth remained involved in church-related activities.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of diaries from the Nordahls’ college years, correspondence from their courtship, and correspondence from friends and relatives during their time overseas. There are three university student handbooks - one from the University of California and two from USC. Each of these includes handwritten notes as well as printed rules and expectations for incoming and continuing students. There is also a Boy Scout Diary from 1918, which includes a printed scouting handbook and handwritten notes. Ephemera materials include an Epworth League University M.E. Church program from January-June, 1909, a 1910 Underscored Edition Gospel of John, a 1914 USC joint reception booklet, receipts for dues paid to the Modern Woodmen of America, calling cards, and a single receipt dated 1948. Subjects include the Boy Scouts of America, the China Inland Mission, the Pacific Improvement Company, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the YMCA, the YWCA, and the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. In most cases, these subjects are mentioned only briefly in letters or diaries, though Boy Scouts of America, the YMCA, and the YWCA are more thoroughly discussed in the printed sections of the Boy Scout diary and student handbooks.

Arrangement

Arranged in the following order:

Box 1: Diaries and Handbooks
Box 2: Handbooks, Correspondence, and Ephemera
Carved wooden box

Indexing: Subjects

Boy Scouts of America

Subject in Boy Scout Diary (1918). HM 71656.

China Inland Mission

Subject in Ruth Nordahl letter (1911, July 11) to Henry A. Nordahl. HM 71668.

Pacific Improvement Company

Subject in Mercy Webster letter (1912, Apr. 28) to Ruth Nordahl. HM 71680.

San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, Calif., 1906

Subject in Henry A. Nordahl, Student Handbook, University of California (1905-1906). HM 71652.

Woman's Christian Temperance Union

Subject in Marietta E. Miner letter (1915, Dec. 12) to Ruth Nordahl. HM 71662.

Young Men’s Christian Association

Subject in Henry A. Nordahl, Student Handbook, University of California (1905-1906). HM 71652.
Subject in [Ruth Nordahl], Student Handbook, University of Southern California (1906- 1907). HM 71657.
Subject in Ruth Nordahl, Student Handbook, University of Southern California (1911- 1912). HM 71658.

Young Women’s Christian Association

Subject in Henry A. Nordahl, Student Handbook, University of California (1905-1906). HM 71652.
Subject in Ruth Nordahl, Student Handbook, University of Southern California (1911- 1912). HM 71658.
Subject in Mercy Webster letter (1912, Apr. 28) to Ruth Nordahl. HM 71680.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.

Subjects

Nordahl, Henry A.

China Inland Mission.

Methodist Episcopal Church -- California.

Pacific Improvement Company.

Woman's Christian Temperance Union.

YMCA of the USA.

Young Women's Christian Association of the U.S.A.

San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, Calif., 1906.

Missionaries -- Bolivia.

California -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.

Los Angeles (Calif.)

Forms/Genres

Diaries -- California -- 20th century.

Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 20th century.

Manuals (instructional materials) -- California -- 20th century.

Additional Contributors

Nordahl, Ruth.

Boy Scouts of America.

University of Southern California.

Diaries, Handbooks, Correspondence, and Ephemera

Box 1

Diaries and Handbooks

Nordahl, Henry A. Diary (1904). HM 71650

Nordahl, Henry A. Diary (1905). HM 71651

Nordahl, Henry A. Student Handbook, University of California (1905-1906). HM 71652

Nordahl, Henry A. Diary (1906). HM 71653

Nordahl, Henry A. Diary (1907). HM 71654

Nordahl, Henry A. Diary (1908). HM 71655

[Nordahl, Henry A.] Boy Scout Diary (1918). HM 71656

Box 2

Handbooks, Correspondence, and Ephemera

[Nordahl, Ruth.] Student Handbook, University of Southern California (1906-1907). HM 71657

[Nordahl, Ruth.] Student Handbook, University of Southern California (1911-1912). HM 71658

Ford, Lelah and Don Ford. 1 letter (1913, June 19) to Ruth Nordahl and Henry A. Nordahl. HM 71659

Hanson, Ida L. 1 letter (1914, June 9) to Ruth Nordahl and Henry A. Nordahl. HM 71660

McCombs, Eva N. 1 letter (1912, Nov. 10) to Ruth Nordahl. HM 71661

Miner, Marietta E. 1 letter (1915, Dec. 12) to Ruth Nordahl. HM 71662

Myrick, Margaret “Peggy.” 1 letter (1913, July 12) to Ruth Nordahl. HM 71663

Narragansett Machine Co. 1 letter (1913, Sep. 19) to Henry A. Nordahl. HM 71664

Nordahl, Alice and Oscar Nordahl. 1 letter (1914, May 11) to Henry A. Nordahl and Ruth Nordahl. HM 71665

Nordahl, A. W. 1 letter (1913, July 16) to Henry A. Nordahl and Ruth Nordahl. HM 71666

Nordahl, Josie. 1 letter (1914, Aug. 29) to Henry A. Nordahl and Ruth Nordahl. HM 71667

Nordahl, Ruth. 9 letters (1911-1912) to Henry A. Nordahl. HM 71668-71676

Smith, Will. 1 letter (1913, May 21) to Henry A. Nordahl. HM 71677

Tobey, Frances. 1 letter (1917, Mar. 2) to Ruth Nordahl and Henry A. Nordahl. HM 71678

Tobey, Frances and Don Tobey. 1 letter (1914, Mar. 21) to Ruth Nordahl and Henry A. Nordahl. HM 71679

Webster, Mercy. 1 letter (1912, Apr. 28) to Ruth Nordahl. HM 71680

Whitely, J. H. 1 letter (1919, Aug. 29) to Henry A. Nordahl. HM 71681

Ephemera (1909-1914, 1948). 26 items.

Carved wooden box

Physical Description: 32 x 11 x 9 cm.