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NORMAN B. ADKISON Papers, 1893-1976 MSS 18
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Biographical Note
Norman Brown Adkison, educator and author, was born March 31, 1886, at Grangeville, Idaho. He was the son of pioneer parents, John Riley Adkison and Harriett Brown Adkison. He attended Grangeville High School and graduated with honors from the University of Idaho in 1907. In the years immediately following his graduation, he taught in Denver, Idaho, and at Grangeville High School, also serving as superintendent at Denver and principal at Grangeville.
In 1910 he was invited to become head of the science department at the Idaho Academy in Pocatello. The school was soon renamed the Idaho Technical Institute, and later became Idaho State University. Adkison remained at Idaho Technical Institute during the school’s formative years, until 1923. Besides his teaching duties, he served as dean of men and established the pharmacy department, now the Pharmacy School at I.S.U. While on the faculty of Idaho Technical Institute, he studied during the summers at Columbia University in New York, earning a masters degree in chemistry in 1919.
Adkison left Idaho Technical Institute in 1923 to become secretary to Idaho Governor Charles C. Moore, serving as speechwriter and general political aide. He worked for Governor Moore until 1925, when he became secretary-manager of the Idaho Home Industries Association. In that position he founded and edited the association magazine, “Golden Idaho” through 1934, retaining the position during service in Washington, D.C. (1931-1932) as secretary to U.S. Senator John Thomas.
The activities and publication program of the Idaho Home Industries Association declined during the early 1930s, and Adkison took a position as an educational director with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Idaho. He remained with the C.C.C. until 1936, when President Eugene B. Chaffee of Boise Junior College asked him to head up the education and psychology department at the college. Adkison was a member of the faculty of Boise Junior College until 1940, when, as an officer of the National Guard, he was called to active duty to organize the Idaho Selective Service System. He operated the Idaho Selective Service System throughout the war, and after the war became an administrator with Veterans Administration. He remained with the Veterans Administration until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 1956.
Adkison wrote historical articles for newspapers and magazines and in 1966 published a book, Nez Perce Indian War and Original Stories. In 1967 he published Indian Braves and Battles With More Nez Perce Lore.
Adkison was married twice, first to Della Shaff in 1910, and secondly to Rose Richer Gilgan in 1935. Adkison died November 19, 1978, at a Boise nursing home and was interred at Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise.
Scope and Content
The Norman Brown Adkison collection contains an oral history of Adkison’s life, some of his correspondence, photocopies of his newspaper and magazine articles, and some biographical material on his mother, Harriet Brown Adkison and himself. The oral history is the main item in the collection.
Adkison was a prominent educator at Idaho State University (1910-1923) and later at Boise Junior College (1936-1940), during their formative years. Adkison describes in great detail his career at the two colleges, in his oral history. He also served as secretary to Idaho Governor Charles C. Moore (1923-1925) and U.S. Senator John Thomas (1931-1932). Adkison records his perceptions of these men as he worked with them, as well as other figures such as President Warren G. Harding. Adkison also describes his involvement in the Selective Service System and the Veterans Administration during and after World War II, and recounts in detail his family history, childhood, farm life near Grangeville, Idaho, student days at the University of Idaho, and work with the Idaho Home Industries Association and the Civilian Conservation Corps. The oral history exists in unedited transcript form, and the original tape recordings have been retained.
Many of Adkison’s articles and publications contained in the collection deal with Idaho history around Grangeville. From 1926 to 1934 Adkison was the editor of “Golden Idaho”, a publication which sought to promote home industries in the state. The collection also includes biographical material relating to Adkison’s mother, who took part in the Nez Perce Indian wars of 1877.
Dates of the collection: 1893-1976
Size of the collection: ca. 1 ft.
Processed by: Brian Brown and Alan Virta, Spring 1988
Box and Folder list
Box 1 Biographical Material
Folder 1 Norman Brown Adkison
2 Harriett Brown Adkison
3 Other Family Members
4 Correspondence 1937-1970
Box 1: Oral History: Transcripts of Tape Recordings, 1974
Folder 5 Pages 1-35 Reel 1-4
6 Pages 36-87
Reel 5-8
7 Pages 88-144
Reel 9-12
8 Pages 145-196 Reel
13-16
9 Pages 197-246 Reel 17-20
10 Pages 247-300 Reel 21-24
11 Pages 301-355 Reel
25-28
12 Pages 356-403 Reel
29-32
13 Pages 404-450 Reel 33-36
14 Pages 451-500 Reel
37-40
15 Pages 501-547 Reel 41-44
Box 1: Writings (chiefly photocopies)
Folder 16 Golden Idaho 1926-1934
17 Letters to the Editor 1932-1976
18 Newspaper Articles 1957-1964
Box 2: Other Papers
Folder 1
Miscellaneous Articles 1937-1962
2
A Century of Strength (Harriet Brown Adkison)
3
Books 1952-1967
4 Certificates 1947-1958
5
Transcripts and Report Cards 1893-1919
6 Class Reunions: University of Idaho 1957-1963
7
Scholarship File: B.S.U. 1962-1974
8 Dedication pages from The Wickiup- Idaho Technical Institute
yearbook
1923
9 Photos (Portrait snapshot, 1974; banquet, University of
Idaho Class of 1907; 2 photos of
University of Idaho Administration Building,
before and after the Fire of 1906)
10 Citation for Army Commendation ribbon (Selective Service System)
Box 3: Oral history interview audio tapes
Tape 1 Reel 1-4
Tape 2 Reel 5-8
Tape 3 Reel 9-12
Tape 4 Reel 13-16
Tape 5 Reel 17-20
Tape 6 Reel 21-24
Tape 7 Reel 25-28
Tape 8 Reel 29-32
Tape 9 Reel 33-36
Tape 10 Reel 37-40
Tape 11 Reel 41-44
Outline of the Oral history transcript
I. Family history, Childhood near Grangeville....Page 1
Nez Perce War, 1877…..Page 9; see also page 96
Farming methods…..Page 19
Medical treatments…..Page 42
Early schooling…..Page 79
Chinese…..Page 99
High school…..Page 104
II. University of Idaho student days, 1903-1907…..Page 119
See also page 205
Fire of 1906…..Page 142
III. Teaching at Denver, Idaho, 1907-1908…..Page 153
IV. Teaching at Grangeville, Idaho, 1908-1910…..Page 162
V. Idaho Technical Institute, 1910-1923…..Page 170
See also page 278
Summer study at Columbia University…..Pages 173, 203, 244
Establishing pharmacy school…..Pages 212, 249
World War I—National Guard…..Page 215
Influenza epidemic…..Page 219
Assessment of Miles F. Reed…..Page 223
VI. Secretary to Governor Charles C. Moore, 1923-1925…..Page 253
Miss Church…..Pages 256, 305
Meeting with President Harding…..Pages 259, 280
Election of 1924…..Page 273
Lyda Southard case…..Page 281
Tribute to Governor Moore…..Page 298
VII. Idaho Home Industries Association…..Page 306
See earlier introduction on page 297
VIII. Aide to U.S. Senator John Thomas, 1931-1933…..Page 334
Election of 1932…..Page 381
Assessment of Senator Thomas…..Page 390
IX. Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1936…..Page 392
Camps at Twin Springs (Boise River); Big Smoky Creek (South Fork,Boise River); Pollock;
Horseshoe Bend
X. Divorce and remarriage, 1934-1935…..Page 433
XI. Boise Junior College, 1936-1940…..Page 448
XII. Selective Service, World War II…..Page 462
XIII. U.S. Veterans Administration, 1946-1956…..Page 506
XIV. Miscellaneous…..Page 510
Includes information on personal life and family