Milo Woodbridge Williams Papers

Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Copyright 2017
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
spcoll@ucsd.edu


Descriptive Summary

Languages: English
Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Milo Woodbridge Williams Papers
Creator: Williams, Milo Woodbridge, 1917-2012
Creator: Schreiber, Hazel Snell, -1957
Identifier/Call Number: SMC 0076
Physical Description: 4.4 Linear feet (11 archives boxes and digital files)
Physical Description: 3.32 Gigabytes
Date (inclusive): 1910-1997
Abstract: Papers and photographs created by Milo Woodbridge Williams, who was a graduate student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography from 1947-48 and a professional photographer.

Scope and Content of Collection

Papers and photographs created by Milo Woodbridge Williams, who was a graduate student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) from 1947-48 and a professional photographer. Subjects of note include the 1937 M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition, the National Aquarium, SIO, Marin County and the Marine Mammal Laboratory on San Miguel Island.
Arranged in two series: 1) PAPERS and 2) PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES.
Series 1) PAPERS: Includes biographical material, writings, correspondence and subject files. This series also contains notes, correspondence and promotional material documenting the activities of the National Aquarium Society between 1978 and 1981.
Series 2) PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES: Includes a variety of photographic formats, including prints, black and white negatives, color transparencies, 35mm film strips, slides and digital images. Arranged in seven subseries: A) SIO, B) San Diego, C) Marin County, D) California Academy of Sciences, E) M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition, F) Photography Assignments and G) Personal Trips and Miscellany.

Biography

Milo Woodbridge "Woody" Williams (1917-2012) was a professional photographer who attended the Scripps Institution of Oceanography as a graduate student between 1947 and 1948. He developed a lifelong passion for nature and photography at an early age and served as quartermaster and photographer to the 1937 M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition before completing his B.A. in natural sciences at Pomona College in 1940. Between 1940 and 1941 he held a teaching fellowship in zoology at the University of Southern California, before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force where he served from 1941 to 1945. After World War II Williams worked as a freelance photographer, accompanying Karl Kenyon on an American Osprey conservation project in Baja California in 1946.
Williams worked as a laboratory technician and studied marine biology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography from 1947-1948, and went on to pursue his combined interests in nature, journalism and photography with various jobs as a photojournalist for the California Academy of Sciences, the Marin Independent Journal and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). In 1955 he moved to Washington D.C., where he worked for National Geographic as a naturalist, writer and photographer until 1961. He then joined the National Park Service, where he retired as a chief photographer in 1980. He is remembered as a lifelong naturalist and freelance photographer who held a passion for sharing nature with others.

Preferred Citation

Milo Woodbridge Williams Papers. SMC 76. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.

Acquisition Information

Acquired 1994.

OFF-SITE STORAGE

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.

Publication Rights

Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.

Digital Content

A selection of images from this collection have been digitized.

Processing Information

Six decomposing nitrate negatives created by Hazel Schreiber were discovered when the collection was processed in 2017. The negatives were scanned and destroyed; the images are available on the UC San Diego Library Digital Collections website.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Marin County (Calif.) -- Pictorial works
Photographs
Williams, Milo Woodbridge, 1917-2012 -- Archives
Scripps Institution of Oceanography -- Pictorial works
Stranger Sea Scout Expedition (1937)

 

PAPERS

 

Writings

Box 1, Folder 1

Biographical information and curricula vitae ca. 1960-1980

Box 1, Folder 2

Report of Semesters Work in Zoology ca. 1935

Box 1, Folder 3

Stranger in Alaska ca. 1936

Box 1, Folder 4

Report of My Summer Work in Biology 1939

Box 1, Folder 5

Suggested Procedure for Processing Collections of the Museum of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. By Sam Hinton 1947 July

Box 1, Folder 6

The Anthomedusan Genus Cladonema in the Pacific ca. 1947

Box 1, Folder 7

The Ecology of Zostera Marina ca. 1948

Box 1, Folder 8

Field Trip! ca. 1948

Box 1, Folder 9

Battle Against Barnacles 1955

Box 1, Folder 10

Carnival in Trinidad 1958

 

Correspondence

Box 1, Folder 11-37

1940-1973

Box 2, Folder 1-17

1974-1989

Box 3, Folder 1-16

1989-2002, undated

 

Subject Files

Box 4, Folder 1

Aquarium maintenance ca. 1946

General note

Notes and illustrations, including paper entitled "Maintenance of Balance Marine Aquaria" by Williams and a comical illustration by Sam Hinton.
Box 4, Folder 2

Chlamydoconcha orcutti clams undated

Box 4, Folder 3

Cladonematidae hydrozoans ca. 1947

General note

Notes and sketches on Cladonema species.
Box 4, Folder 4

Lepidopterists' Society 1957

Box 4, Folder 5

M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition 1986-1991

General note

Commemorative material from 50th anniversary of cruise that Williams attended as photographer between 1935-1937.
Box 4, Folder 6

National Aquarium 1978-1981

General note

Notes, correspondence and promotional material detailing the efforts of the National Aquarium Society in preventing the institution from being closed by proposed administration budget cuts. Includes 35mm color slides from the "Save the National Aquarium" demonstration on March 20, 1981.
Box 4, Folder 7

Sand flies 1959

Box 4, Folder 8

Yellowstone antelope 1955

 

PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES

Scope and Content of Series

Series 2) PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES: Includes a variety of photographic formats, including prints, black and white negatives, color transparencies, 35mm film strips, slides and digital images created from original nitrate negatives. Arranged in seven subseries: A) SIO, B) San Diego, C) Marin County, D) California Academy of Sciences, E) M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition, F) Photography Assignments and G) Personal Trips and Miscellany.
A) SIO: Includes images of equipment and work at sea, campus scenery and personnel.
B) San Diego: Includes images of the 1916 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park taken by Williams's father, kelp beds, coastal scenery and marine mammal shows at Sea World.
C) Marin County: Includes images of cultural events, ranches and landmarks, activities of the College of the Pacific Marine Station and miscellaneous scenery.
D) California Academy of Sciences: Includes images of the Steinhart Aquarium and CAS scientists.
E) M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition: Images of crew and scenery from an expedition that travelled from Mexico to British Columbia in 1937. Includes images of Alaskan native peoples.
F) Photography Assignments: Assorted images from Williams' contract and freelance work, arranged chronologically between 1941 and 1994. Subjects of note include the American Osprey conservation project in Baja California, the Southwest Research Station, FAO activities in the Middle East, Canyonlands National Park and pinniped conservation work on San Miguel Island.
G) Personal Trips and Miscellany: Miscellaneous images, arranged chronologically between 1936 and 1988. Subjects of note include San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Japan and Rome. Also includes collected images of Hayward and Castro Valley and Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena, California taken by Milo Woodbridge, Sr. circa 1910.
 

SIO

 

Equipment and work at sea

Box 4, Folder 9

Guadalupe Island cruise 1946

General note

35mm color slides.
Box 4, Folder 10

Test dredge on E.W. Scripps 1946

General note

Includes photographs of Martin Johnson, King Cooper and Williams.
Box 4, Folder 11

Students examine plankton haul on E.W. Scripps ca. 1947

Box 4, Folder 12

Martin Johnson conducting dredging trip off Pt. Loma 1948

Box 4, Folder 13

Offshore sand ripple study 1948

Box 4, Folder 14

Sediment traps 1948

Box 4, Folder 15

Building fish traps for aquarium 1949

Box 4, Folder 16

Sam Hinton tests high-speed plankton net ca. 1949

Box 4, Folder 17

E.W. Scripps collecting plankton samples 1950

Box 4, Folder 18

Nansen bottle launched from M.S. Horizon 1950

Box 4, Folder 19

Technician with plankton net on R/V Horizon 1952

Box 4, Folder 20

Miscellaneous 1948-1950

General note

Included images of scientific gathering and work at sea, including marine biology field trips, plankton nets, "buoy boat" ocean bottom studies and kelp gathering. Assorted 4x5" b/w negative and color slides.
 

People

Box 4, Folder 21

Eugene Clark, Carl Hubbs and Betty Kampa on beach 1946

Box 4, Folder 22

John Laurence and Sam Hinton dress Frank Haymaker for a dive off Guadalupe Island 1946

Box 4, Folder 23

Brian Boden 1947

Box 4, Folder 24

Robert Lester Wisner in wetsuit 1948

Box 4, Folder 25

Sam Hinton 1948

Box 4, Folder 26

Unidentified man carrying equipment from beach 1948

Box 4, Folder 27

Martin Johnson with plankton net ca. 1949

Box 4, Folder 28

Carl Hubbs and Sam Hinton whale-watching ca. 1950

Box 4, Folder 29

Unidentified SIO scientists examine plankton in jar ca. 1950

Box 4, Folder 30

Leslie Hinton, Woody Williams and Sam Hinton 1997

Box 4, Folder 31

Kelp on Scripps Beach 1937

Box 4, Folder 32

Staff picnic 1945

General note

Includes images of Peter McHugh, Denis Fox, Carl Hubbs, C. K. Tseng and Sam Hinton.
Box 4, Folder 33-34

Miscellaneous photographs of SIO campus, pier and scenery 1945-1950

Box 5, Folder 1

Miscellaneous photographs of Scripps Aquarium-Museum 1948-1951

Box 5, Folder 2-3

Miscellaneous ca. 1945-1950

General note

Miscellaneous images of people, scenery and activities. 35mm b/w negative slide strips.
 

San Diego

Box 5, Folder 4

Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park 1916

General note

Images of people and scenery in Balboa Park, taken by Milo Woodbridge, Sr. Original b/w negatives and prints.
Box 5, Folder 5

Kelco kelp cutter ca. 1947

Box 5, Folder 6

Kelp beds off La Jolla 1948

Box 5, Folder 7

La Jolla and Torrey Pines beaches 1948-1950

Box 5, Folder 8

La Jolla tide pools 1967

Box 5, Folder 9

Marine mammal shows at Sea World 1967

General note

Includes images of dolphins, orcas and porpoises in their enclosures.
 

Marin County

 

Events

 

Drakes Bay annual picnic gatherings 1914-1916

Drake's Landing commemorative cross at Drakes Bay, California: between 1914 and 1919
First annual picnic of the English-Speaking Union at Drakes Bay: 1914 September 1
Second annual picnic of the English-Speaking Union at Drakes Bay: 1915 June 23
Second annual picnic of the English-Speaking Union at Drakes Bay: 1915 June 23
Third annual picnic of the English-Speaking Union at Drakes Bay: 1916 June 25
Third annual picnic of the English-Speaking Union at Drakes Bay: 1916 June 25

General note

Group photographs of clergy and attendees, given to Williams by Inverness neighbor Hazel Snell Schreiber (b. 1886). Original b/w nitrate negatives were scanned for preservation.
Box 5, Folder 10

Inverness fair and barbecue 1949

Box 5, Folder 11

Inverness Yacht Club rededication 1950 July

Box 5, Folder 12

Drakes Bay commemorative site dedication ca. 1950

Box 5, Folder 13

Drakes Bay salvage cruise 1951 September

General note

Drakes Navigators Guild employed The Salvager to search for small vessel rumored to have been left by Francis Drake in 1579.
Box 5, Folder 14

Tomales Bay Fourth of July sailboat race ca. 1951

Box 5, Folder 15

Inverness Volunteer Fire Department annual carnival ca. 1953

Box 5, Folder 16

Permanente wheel chair folk dancers performing in Inverness ca. 1954

Box 5, Folder 17

Fourth of July races on the Sir Francis Drake Highway through Inverness ca. 1950

Box 5, Folder 18

Inverness Volunteer Fire Department attends school in San Francisco ca. 1950

Box 5, Folder 19

Miscellaneous photographs of Inverness Elementary School events ca. 1950

General note

Includes images of America Sings choir, maypole festival and nativity play.
 

Ranches and Landmarks

Box 5, Folder 20

Barboni Ranch 1950

Box 5, Folder 21

Deep Ravine Beach Camp 1950

Box 5, Folder 22

Grossi Dairy Ranch 1950

Box 6, Folder 1

Morelli Ranch 1950

Box 6, Folder 2

Grandi Ranch dairy, Point Reyes Station ca. 1950

Box 6, Folder 3

The McClure Brothers at the Pierce Point Dairy Ranch ca. 1950

Box 6, Folder 4

Sheep rancher Roy Parks and sons, Sonoma County ca. 1950

Box 6, Folder 5

Point Reyes Lighthouse ca. 1950

Box 6, Folder 6

Point Reyes National Seashore ca. 1950

General note

Miscellaneous images of coastal landscape, scenery and activities.
Box 6, Folder 7

Tomales Bay Bishop pines ca. 1950

Box 6, Folder 8

Monarch butterflies at Stinson Beach ca. 1950

Box 6, Folder 9

Shell Beach, Tomales Bay ca. 1950

 

Miscellaneous

Box 6, Folder 10

Oyster harvesting in Drakes Bay 1949-1950

General note

Images of Tomales Bay Oyster Co. "Oyster Jack" at work.
Box 6, Folder 11

Hazel Snell Schreiber at "The Gables" home in Inverness ca. 1950

Box 6, Folder 12

College of the Pacific Marine Station ca. 1950

General note

Miscellaneous images of students and staff conducting work at sea and on Dillons Beach. People include Raymond Osborne, Robert Menzies and Joel Hedgepeth.
Box 6, Folder 13

Frank della Rosa with 1920s Ford truck ca. 1950

General note

Former maitre d'hotel for Roberts at the Beach.
Box 6, Folder 14

Rite Price Market in Inverness ca. 1950

General note

Includes images of store opening and aftermath of fire that destroyed it.
Box 7, Folder 1-3

Miscellaneous photographs of Marin County 1945-1956

General note

Assorted images of Marin County landscape, scenery, and people, including shots of Tomales Bay, Inverness and Drakes Bay.
Box 7, Folder 4

Miscellaneous photographs of Inverness 1950-1953

General note

Includes photographs of Inverness Lodge and Inverness Park.
Box 7, Folder 5

Miscellaneous photographs of St. Columba's Episcopal Church ca. 1950

General note

Includes photographs of church services and confirmations.
 

California Academy of Sciences

Box 7, Folder 6

Steinhart Aquarium 1948-1953

Box 7, Folder 7

Cecil Tose creating exhibits for African Hall ca. 1948

Box 7, Folder 8

Edward Ross mounting butterflies ca. 1948

Box 7, Folder 9

Edwin Van Dyke in his study ca. 1949

Box 7, Folder 10

Robert Orr and Mary Lou Perry examine beached Beaked whale on beach 1950

Box 7, Folder 11

Alice Eastwood and Tom Howell in the botany department ca. 1950

Box 7, Folder 12

Alice Eastwood leads botany trip to Pt. Reyes ca. 1950

Box 7, Folder 13

Construction of planetarium ca. 1950

 

M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition

Box 7, Folder 14

Miscellaneous photos of crew 1937

Box 7, Folder 15

Miscellaneous photos of crew and scenery 1937

General note

Includes photographs of Alaskan natives and scenery.
Box 7, Folder 16

Mexico 1937 February-April

Box 7, Folder 17

Galapagos Islands 1937 March

Box 8, Folder 1

Gulf of California 1937 April

Box 8, Folder 2

Baja California 1937 April

Box 8, Folder 3

Cape Flattery, Washington 1937 June

Box 8, Folder 4

Alaska 1937 June-August

Box 8, Folder 5

British Columbia 1937 September

Box 8, Folder 6-7

Miscellaneous slide strips 1937

General note

Miscellaneous images from cruise. Original b/w negative slide strips.
 

Photography Assignments

Box 8, Folder 8

Stillman Berry at home in Redlands, California 1941

Box 8, Folder 9

Velero IV dredging and coring off Catalina Island 1941

Box 8, Folder 10

American Osprey conservation project in Baja California with Karl Kenyon aboard Seven Seas 1946

General note

35mm color slides.
Box 8, Folder 11

Stillman Berry with Bayard McConnaughey and Edmund C. Jaeger at Berry's home 1946

Box 8, Folder 12

Philip R. Park Inc. kelp-cutting operation in San Pedro, California 1947

General note

35mm color slides.
Box 8, Folder 13

Portraits of Karl Kenyon 1947, 1982

Box 8, Folder 14

Entymologist Monte Cazier at the Southwest Research Station 1948

 

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) trips

Box 8, Folder 15-18

Afghanistan 1952

General note

Miscellaneous photographs of local people and scenery, including photos of FAO personnel assisting with agriculture extension services and "Children's Day."
Box 9, Folder 1-2

Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1952

General note

Miscellaneous photographs of local people and scenery, including religious monuments and villages.
Box 9, Folder 3-5

Pakistan 1952

General note

Miscellaneous photographs of local people and scenery, including city scenes in Karachi.
Box 9, Folder 6

William Beebe Tropical Research Station ca. 1953

General note

Photographs of William Beebe at work, wildlife and scenery.
Box 9, Folder 7

Bates Wilson in Canyonlands National Park 1961-1962

General note

Bates Wilson served as the first superintendent of Canyonlands National Park.
Box 9, Folder 8

Southwestern Research Station, American Museum of Natural History 1952

Box 9, Folder 9

Spike Jones at Calneva Resort in Lake Tahoe 1952

General note

Photographs of American musician and bandleader Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones performing and socializing in resort dining room.
Box 9, Folder 10

Street parade for General James Van Fleet 1953

General note

General Van Fleet commanded the 8th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. 2x2" color slides.
Box 9, Folder 11

New Method Fur Dressing Company ca. 1954

Box 9, Folder 12

American arachnologist Willis John Gertsch at the American Museum of Natural History 1958

Box 9, Folder 13

Samuel Stillman Berry visits the National Museum of Natural History ca. 1958

General note

Photographs of American marine zoologist S. Stillman Berry interacting with museum personnel. Folder includes 35 mm b/w negative slides.
Box 9, Folder 14

Southwestern Research Station, American Museum of Natural History 1961

General note

Includes photographs from "entomological trek" through the Chiricahua Mountains. 4x5" b/w negative and color slides.
Box 10, Folder 1-5

San Miguel Island, Channel Islands National Park 1984, 1994

General note

Miscellaneous images of scenery, wildlife (including Catalina Island Fox) and personnel from pinniped conservation projects and energetics studies conducted by the Marine Mammal Laboratory on San Miguel Island. Includes many images of fur seals and sea lions in Adams Cove, project personnel tagging animals and conducting fieldwork and pinniped pups. Also includes images of project participant and conservationist Karl Walton Kenyon.
 

Personal Trips and Miscellany

Box 10, Folder 6

Hayward and Castro Valley, California ca. 1910

General note

Assorted photographs of city and country scenery mounted on scrapbook paper. Photographer unknown.
Box 10, Folder 7

Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena, California 1916

General note

Images of visitors and their vehicles, taken by Milo Woodbridge, Sr.
Box 10, Folder 8

Death Valley 1936

General note

Images of Williams' Pomona College classmates Jack Ford and Sid Arnold on spring break.
Box 10, Folder 9

Flood at Pomona College, Claremont 1938

Box 10, Folder 10

San Francisco 1948-1953

General note

Miscellaneous photographs, including shots of city life, Carquinez Strait, San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Benecia ferry.
Box 10, Folder 11

San Francisco (cont.) 1948-1953

Box 10, Folder 12

Sonoma County 1950

General note

Includes photographs of Fort Ross and Bodega Bay. 4x5" b/w slide negatives.
Box 10, Folder 13

Angel Island, San Francisco Bay ca. 1950

Box 10, Folder 14

Highway bridge entering Sacramento ca. 1950

Box 10, Folder 15

Benecia, California 1953

General note

Photographs of old railroad station and old state house. 4x5" b/w slide negatives.
Box 10, Folder 16

Lake Tahoe 1953

Box 10, Folder 17

Martinez-Benicia Ferry, San Francisco 1953

Box 10, Folder 18

Rockefeller Center ca. 1954

Box 11, Folder 1

Yosemite Falls, California ca. 1960-1970

Box 11, Folder 2

Anhinga in water with bream fish impaled on beak 1968

Box 11, Folder 3

Crater Lake 1968

Box 11, Folder 4

Skipjack boats in Annapolis harbor for Chesapeake Bay Appreciation Day 1968

Box 11, Folder 5

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, North Carolina ca. 1969

Box 11, Folder 6

Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park ("City of Refuge"), Hawaii 1972

General note

Photographs by Jerry Shimals.
Box 11, Folder 7-8

Japan 1979 December -1980 January

General note

Includes images of Atsuta Shrine, New Year's celebration in Nagoya, Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto and Mt. Nachisan area.
Box 11, Folder 9

Yosemite National Park ca. 1980-1990

Box 11, Folder 10

Edinburgh Castle construction 1989

General note

35mm b/w negative slide strips.
Box 11, Folder 11

Oyster, Virginia ca. 1990

General note

35mm b/w negative slide strips.
Box 11, Folder 12

Unidentified trip ca. 1990

General note

35mm b/w negative slide strips.
Box 11, Folder 13

Yellowstone National Park 1993

General note

Photographs of the Minerva Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs.
Box 11, Folder 14

Trip to Rome undated

Box 11, Folder 15-17

Miscellaneous ca. 1952-1988

General note

Locations include Egypt, Sugar Loaf Mountain in Maryland, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Mount Rushmore and Washington D.C.