Andrae B. Nordskog papers
Finding aid prepared by Water Resources Collections and Archives staff.
Special Collections & University Archives
The UCR Library
P.O. Box 5900
University of California
Riverside, California 92517-5900
Phone: 951-827-3233
Fax: 951-827-4673
Email: specialcollections@ucr.edu
URL: http://library.ucr.edu/libraries/special-collections-university-archives
© 2001
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Andrae B. Nordskog papers
Date (inclusive): 1903-1962
Date (bulk): 1920-1961
Collection Number: WRCA 058
Creator:
Nordskog, Andrae B., 1885-1962
Extent:
0.42 linear feet
(1 box)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Abstract: The collection consists of correspondence, notes, news clippings, etc., related to Nordskog's water interests. Includes materials
related to "water frauds" in the Owens Valley (including notes and an outline for his unpublished manuscript on the Owens
Valley controversy), the Los Angeles Aqueduct, Boulder Dam, San Gabriel Dam, sea water conversion, California water problems,
the Feather River Project, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California,the Colorado River, etc.
Languages: The collection is in English.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives.
Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission
of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable
rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Andrae B. Nordskog papers (WRCA 058). Water Resources Collections and Archives.
Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Mrs. Gertrude Nordskog, 1962.
Processing History
Processed by Water Resources Collections and Archives staff, 2001.
Collection Number
Collection number updated February 2019. Legacy collection number was NORDSKOG. This change was part of a project in 2018/2019
to update the collection numbers for collections in the Water Resources Collections and Archives.
Biographical Note
Andrae B. Nordskog (at first named Arne Andreas Nordskog) was born the son of Norwegian settlers in Story City, Iowa, in 1885.
As a youth, he worked as a reporter for his home town newspaper. He became an expert in telephony and electronics and established
the first two wireless telegraph stations in Iowa when he was 24 years old. He turned his inventive talent to the railroads
moved west to Seattle to work on them, inventing an improved block signal device, which he patented in Washington.
Nordskog was also an accomplished singer. He joined the Seattle Grand Opera Companyin 1914 and two years later was the leading
tenor with the Knickerbocker Light Opera Companyin Los Angeles. In 1921, he became general manager of the recently inaugurated
Hollywood Bowl. He soon allied music with his other interests and, while running a lucrative voice training school, he was
able to buy equipment from a free-lance recorder and start the first phonograph recording factory on the West Coast. He opened
branch offices of Nordskog Recordsin Santa Monica and Los Angeles.
Beginning in the spring of 1922, Nordskog Recordsproduced New Orleans jazz records, which have since become collectors' items,
including early recordings by Edward "Kid" Oryand his band. By 1923, Nordskog's catalogue included names like Cyclonic Eva
Tanguay, Virginia Wald, Abe Lyman, Harry Green,and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Industrial Chorus.
In 1923, Nordskog fell victim to a crooked banker, lost his business, and turned his attention to civic and financial reform.
At first, he wrote articles for community newspapers, while still earning income as a voice instructor. His main targets were
the telephone companies, which were charging unfair rates. In late 1926 he began publishing the Los Angeles
Gridiron, a small weekly newspaper. The first issues focused on such reform efforts as reduction of telephone rates, paving of streets,
installation of storm drains, and development of city parks. He followed this newspaper with the publication of
The New America Magazineand
Our Nation Magazine.
In August 1931, Nordskog was invited by William Hope (Coin) Harveyto attend the formation of the Liberty Party at Monte Ne,
Arkansas, which had for its main plank "honest coinage according to the Constitution." Nordskog was nominated unanimously
as the party's candidate for Vice-President of the United States, and in that capacity he toured the nation giving public
speeches for that party. In 1932, at the convention of six independent political parties which were amalgamated into the Liberty
Party, held in Kansas City, Missouri, Nordskog was again nominated for that party's vice-presidential candidate.
Demands for his writings on the subject of "honest coinage" and "governmental finance" compelled Nordskog to author and self-publish
several books on these subjects, among which were
Spiking the Gold, or, Who Caused the Depression, ... and the Way Out(1932),
Spike the Bonds(1933), and
We Bankers vs. Four Financial Fascists(1936). He was also authorized by the California State Board of Educationto teach the subjects of "The Science of Money" and
"Governmental Finance" to adult classes in all high schools in the state.
In the late 1920s/early 1930s, Nordskog's chief interest was in the area of southwestern water issues. He was president of
the Southwest Water Leagueand conducted public meetings in cities throughout Southern California. In 1927, he became interested
in the escalating dispute between the city of Los Angeles and the residents of the Owens Valley. He began publishing articles
and editorials in the
Gridironchampioning the valley's cause and criticizing the city. He obtained radio time on station KGEF and accused Los Angeles Department
of Water and Powerofficials of corruption and incompetence.
In early 1928, Nordskog went to Washington, D.C. and visited the U.S. Bureau of Reclamationoffices, where he obtained permission
to transcribe documents and correspondence. Nordskog used this material to write a 540-page manuscript entitled
Boulder Dam in the Light of the Owens Valley Fraud, which "linked the then pending construction of Boulder Dam with the Owens River Aqueduct as a seamless conspiratorial plot
dating back to 1904 (Hoffman, 1982)." Nordskog was unable to interest a major publisher in the manuscript and considered publishing
it himself. However, the Great Depression made it unfeasible. Then, in March 1931, a state senate committee began investigating
Los Angeles' role in Inyo County. Nordskog condensed his manuscript into a lengthy letter and submitted it to the committee.
Although it did not influence the committee's recommendations, it did impress the committee sufficiently to be ordered read
into the legislative journal and 1,500 copies printed as a 28-page pamphlet entitled,
Communication to the California Legislature Relating to the Owens Valley Water Situation. In 1955 he reworked the manuscript again, this time calling it
Water is Plentiful. Like its predecessor, this manuscript also was never published.
Andrae Nordskog died in 1962.
Biographical Sources:
Asman, James.
The Remarkable Andrae Nordskog.
Record and Show Mirror (London), April 16, 1960, p. 6.
Bentley, John, and Ralph W. Miller.
Andrae Nordskog.
Jazz Monthly (London), May 1959, p. 8.
Biographical Sketch of Andrae Nordskog. Unpublished manuscript, July 22, 1961.
Hoffman, Abraham.
Andrae Nordskog and the Conspiracy Viewpoint of the Owens Valley-Los Angeles Water Controversy.
Biblio-Cal Notes, Vol. 12, no. 2, whole no. 35 (Summer 1982), p. 5-9.
Hoffman, Abraham.
Vision or Villainy: Origins of the Owens Valley-Los Angeles Water Controversy. College Station, Tex.: Texas A & M University Press, 1981.
Levin, Floyd. Central Avenue Sounds: Jazz in Los Angeles, 1921-1944. http://www.rhino.com/features/liners/75872lin5.html
Collection Scope and Contents
The collection consists of correspondence, notes, news clippings, etc., related to Nordskog's water interests. Includes materials
related to "water frauds" in the Owens Valley (including notes and an outline for his unpublished manuscript on the Owens
Valley controversy), the Los Angeles Aqueduct, Boulder Dam, San Gabriel Dam, sea water conversion, California water problems,
the Feather River Project, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California,the Colorado River, etc.
Collection Arrangement
The collection is arranged into six series as follows:
- Series 1. Water Frauds, 1903-1931
- Series 2. Forks Site Project, San Gabriel River, 1927-1955
- Series 3. Sea Water Conversion, 1948-1961
- Series 4. Feather River Project, 1959-1961
- Series 5. California Water Problems, 1937-1962
- Series 6. Miscellaneous, 1957-1961
Related Collections
Andrae B. Nordskog Papers, 1906-1986. California State University, Northridge. 15 lin. ft. (33 boxes). Summary: Articles, booklets, correspondence, news clippings, statements, speeches, and writings related
to Nordskog's interest and activity on public utilities, music, transportation, California water issues, Federal Reserve Banks,
and electoral college reform.
Andrae B. Nordskog Papers, 1919-1964. Minnesota Historical Society. 1.25 cu. ft. (2 boxes, and 1 v. shelved loose). Summary: Correspondence, clippings, printed items, and miscellany reflecting
Nordskog's varied career and interests, primarily in California. There are data on his career as a concert artist and music
instructor; the operation (1921-1960) of his Nordskog Phonograph Recording Company, Los Angeles; plans to abolish the electoral
college system in electing U.S. presidents (1931-1961); Nordskog's candidacy for U.S. vice-president on the Liberty Party
ticket (1931-1932); banking and monetary reform, especially Nordskog's lawsuit (1933-1934) against the Federal Reserve Bank
of San Francisco to release gold deposited there; telephone rates and franchises in southern California (1925-1958); his service
(1924-1926) as chairman of the Southern California Rate and Traffic Commission; and provisions for an adequate water supply
for Los Angeles (1928-1961) stemming from his presidency of the Southwest Water League. Includes manuscripts
Boulder Dam in the Light of the Owens Valley Fraudand
Water is Plentiful.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Boulder Canyon Project (U.S.)
Feather River Project (Calif.)
Fox, Charles Kirby, 1883-
Jakobsen, B. F. (Bernhard F.)
Los Angeles County Flood Control District (Calif.)
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Calif.)
Southwest Water League
Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)
Los Angeles Aqueduct (Calif.)
Owens Valley (Calif.)
Saline water conversion
San Gabriel Dam (Calif.)
Water resources development -- California, Southern
Water rights -- California -- Owens River Valley
Water-supply -- California -- Los Angeles
Genres and Forms of Materials
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence
Notes
Series 1. Water Frauds
1903-1937
Sub-Series 1.1. Owens Valley
circa 1903-1931
Box 1, Folder 1
Owens Valley correspondence, etc.
1920-1927
Box 1, Folder 2
"Form for The Great Battle for Water,"
1931?
Scope and Contents
Outline with page references, for Nordskog's manuscript on the Owens Valley water controversy.
Box 1, Folder 3
Raw notes and coding system of documentation
1931?
Box 1, Folder 4
Copies of letters, etc.
1903-1931?
Scope and Contents
Holograph and typescript copies of letters concerning the U.S. Reclamation Service,Owens Valley, Los Angeles, and all the
people involved.
Sub-Series 1.2. Boulder Dam
1927
Box 1, Folder 5
Boulder Dam
1927
Scope and Contents
Correspondence from E. C. LaRue,hydraulic engineer, and news clipping.
Sub-Series 1.3. Land and Water Frauds
1930-1949
Box 1, Folder 6
Land and water frauds
1930
Scope and Contents
Correspondence with Williamson S. Summers,etc.
Box 1, Folder 7
Southwest Water Leagueminutes
1931 October 6
Scope and Contents
Includes discussion of Fred C. Finkle'sreport on the H. A. Van Norman-Edison Companyconspiracy.
Box 1, Folder 8
Water frauds
1935
Scope and Contents
Correspondence with Koebig and Koebig, Consulting Engineers,transcripts of the Los Angeles County Grand Jury,etc.
Box 1, Folder 9
Millard F. Peytonvs. City of Los Angeles,et al.
1937
Scope and Contents
Re water rates fixed by the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power.
Box 1, Folder 10
Water taxes
1938
Scope and Contents
Fragment of a letter to Everett James,February 15, 1938.
Series 2. Forks Site Project, San Gabriel River
1927-1955
Sub-Series 2.1. San Gabriel Dam
1931-1940
Box 1, Folder 12
San Gabriel Dam
1938
Scope and Contents
Correspondence and Nordskog's testimony before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Box 1, Folder 13
J. C. Williamson, Carl A. Shorb,and E. D. Martindalevs. Los Angeles County Flood Control District,
1931-1938
Scope and Contents
Legal documents, transcripts, correspondence, etc.
Box 1, Folder 14
Los Angeles County Flood Control Districtvs. Fisher, et al.
1936-1940
Scope and Contents
Legal documents, transcripts, correspondence, etc.
Sub-Series 2.2. Bernhard F. Jakobsen
1927-1955
Box 1, Folder 16
B. F. Jakobsen
1927-1955
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, letters to the editor, articles, plays, etc., related to the expulsion of B. F. Jakobsenfrom the American
Society of Civil Engineersover his role in the San Gabriel Dam scandal. Includes a copy of Jakobsen's
Ethics and the American Society of Civil Engineers(Los Angeles, April 1955).
Series 3. Sea Water Conversion
1948-1961
Box 1, Folder 18
Sea water conversion
1948-1961
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, clippings, articles, radio addresses, etc. Includes materials related to Raymond V. Darbyand Maxim Silencer
Companyof Hartford, Conn.
Box 1, Folder 19
Reclamation of used water
1961
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, clippings, etc.
Series 4. Feather River Project
1959-1961
Box 1, Folder 20
Feather River Project
1959-1961
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, etc., related to the Feather River Project,particularly related to the role of the Metropolitan Water District
of Southern California.
Series 5. California Water Problems
1937-1962
Box 1, Folder 21
County-of-origin
1959-1961
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, etc., related to the "county-of-origin problem" and other various California water problems. Includes discussion
of Nordskog's "open letter" to William E. Warne,Director of the Dept. of Water Resources.
Box 1, Folder 22
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Colorado River
1937-1961
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, etc., related to the Colorado River Aqueduct, costs of Colorado River water, etc.
Box 1, Folder 23
Four-year terms for MWD directors
1961
Scope and Contents
Correspondence related to Assembly Bill 1586, which would provide for a limit of 4 years for terms of directors of the Metropolitan
Water District of California.
Box 1, Folder 24
Charles Kirby Fox and the Colorado Delta
1959-1962
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, news clipping, etc., related to the proposed publication of a book by Fox entitled "The Colorado River and
Southwestern Water Studies". Includes a synopsis of the manuscript.
Series 6. Miscellaneous
1957-1961
Box 1, Folder 25
"Land, Wood, Water" by Sen. Robert S. Kerr
1961
Scope and Contents
Letters to Ruth (Maxwell) Dennyand Sen. Kerr, in which Nordskog details his involvement in the Owens Valley controversy and
discusses his efforts to publish his manuscript.
Box 1, Folder 26
Santee County Water District
1961
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, news clippings, etc.
Box 1, Folder 27
William Mulholland
1961
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, chiefly with William E. Warne,Director of the Dept. of Water Resources,regarding Mulholland's status as "one
of the world's greatest engineers."
Box 1, Folder 28
Biographical
1959-1961
Scope and Contents
Miscellaneous correspondence, etc. Includes "Biographical Sketch of Andrae Nordskog", which Nordskog compiled and sent to
William E. Warne.See also the WRCA Biography File on Nordskog.
Box 1, Folder 29
Miscellaneous
1960-1961
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, news clippings, etc. Includes some non-water topics.
Box 1, Folder 30
News clippings
1957-1961
Scope and Contents
Miscellaneous clippings, many related to topics represented above (sea water conversion, water taxes, etc.).
