Henry A. Nordahl Papers, 1904-1918, 1948

Summary

Creators:

Nordahl, Henry A.

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.

Extent:

57 items in 2 boxes + wooden box

Language:

English.

Background

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.

Biographical / historical:

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.

Acquisition information:

Purchased from Nick Ripoly, December 10, 2007.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following order:

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

Rules or conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Other descriptive data:

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.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, Calif., 1906.
Missionaries -- Bolivia.
Diaries -- California -- 20th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 20th century.
Manuals (instructional materials) -- California -- 20th century.

Restrictions:

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

Location of this collection:

Huntington Library, Manuscript Collections

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, CA 91108, US

Contact:

(626) 405-2191

reference@huntington.org

Website