Series 4

This series consists chiefly of newspaper articles and columns written by Ted Trueblood, as well as commerical pamphlets and brochures to which he contributed short pieces. The writings in this series represent only a small percentage of his literary output; the bulk of his published work is found in Periodicals (page 50). However, this series contains some of Trueblood’s earliest published work, illustrating clearly the development of his writing talent.

The earliest outlets for Ted Trueblood’s writing were his by-line columns in Idaho newspapers. Contained in folders 1-4 are these fine journalistic efforts; the columns’ time span is 1938-1952. “Angles on Angling,” published in the Boise Capital News (1938) displayed detailed drawings of fly-tying techniques and proffered other valuable advice to local fishermen. The “Campfire Talks” column (ca. 1938) appeared in the Parma Review and Kamiah Progress, sometimes under the pen name “Jim Wintring.” Trueblood’s developing style shows up in this column: “Pull up your camp stools . . . prop yourselves up comfortable against your bedrolls because we’re goin’ to talk fishin’, campin’, guns, tackle and cameras until the campfire dies down . . .”

In 1937 and 1938 Trueblood used a second pen name in his columns for the Deseret News, Swen Teresed---the name of the newspaper spelled backwards. “Swen Says” and “Dictated but not Read” gave opinions and impressions on a variety of topics, not necessarily about the outdoors. From 1947 to 1952 his column “Outdoors by Ted Trueblood” appeared in the now-defunct Boise weekly paper, Statewide.

These columns contain political opinions about conservation and preservation issues. Additional samples of Ted Trueblood’s newspaper columns are found in his Scrapbook (see folder 10).

Trueblood worked as a regular news reporter for several newspapers in his early career. Examples of his news and feature articles can be found in folders 5-9. Here are articles and photos (photocopied) from The Boise Capital News (1937), The Deseret News (1938), and the Raleigh News and Observer (1941-42). A feature about fishing in tropical waters appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune in 1965: “Explore [the] Mystique of the Islands” (see folder 9).

Folder 10 holds photocopies of newspaper articles from a scrapbook. The original scrapbook is stored in Box 17 (oversize). Included here are more examples of Trueblood’s columns “Angles on Angling,” “Dictated But Not Read,” “Swen Says,” and “Campfire Talks.”

A few magazine articles that do not appear elsewhere in the collection have been added to this series in folders 11-16. Also included is an issue of Idaho Outdoor Recreation that contains photos by Ted Trueblood (folder 17) and one article by another author (folder 18).

The last sixteen folders (19-34) of this collection contain commercial material the author wrote for a variety of outdoor-equipment companies and oil companies’ outdoor-sports promotion booklets. Most are undated. Folder 13 has an article entitled “Finding Fish” which appeared on an Osborne Company calendar. Other pamphlets promote fish locators, Coleman stoves, sportsmen’s shoes, handguns, equipment outlet stores, flyrods, and so on.

This box holds a variety of oversize memorabilia from the collection. The tear sheet from the Idaho Press Tribune’s death memorial (September 1982) is included here.

An oversize cartoon, “Tightlines,” was used as a farewell card when Trueblood departed a newspaper job. Additionally there is an original cartoon panel, “The Adventures of Bruce Lyle in: Chamberlain Basin Blues.” The 1949 and 1951 Osborne Company calendars have articles by the author, “Mule Deer Hunting” and “Finding Fish.”

The scrapbook mentioned in conjunction with folder 10, Box 16, is stored here as are extra copies of his “Outdoor” column from folder 4, Box 16.

Box 16: Newspaper Articles and Commercial Publications

       Folder   1            Angles on Angling, 1938
                      2            Campfire Talks, 1938
                      3            Swen Says, 1937-1938
                      4            Outdoors by Ted Trueblood, 1947-1952
                      5            Boise Capital News, 1937
                      6            Deseret News, 1938
                      7            News and Observer articles and photos, 1941-1942
                      8            Johnston Munitions Explosions (News and Observer), 1942
                      9            Explore [the] Mystique of the Islands, 1965
                    10            Scrapbook (Photocopies) 1937-1938
                    11            Beginners Luck by Mary Ransom as told to Ted Trueblood, 1945
                    12            The Biggest Ripoff, 1982
                    13            Finding Fish, 1951
                    14            Fly Fishing for Trout
                    15            The Pot that Does it All, 1986
                    16            They’re Fixin’ to Steal Your Land, 1979
                    17            Idaho Outdoor Recreation (magazine), 1978
                    18            A Strange and Fairly Disgusting Fish Story by Clive Gammon, 1982
                    19            The Complete Fish Lo-K-Tor Operations Manual
                    20            Easy Way to Prepare Good, Hot, Wholesome Meals on Outing Trips
                    21            Fishing Hints ( 3 years’ editions)
                    22            Fly Rods for Western Fishing
                    23            Handguns for Sport
                    24            How to Persuade a Bass
                    25            Hunting Hints
                    26            One Stop Shopping at KVP Sutherland
                    27            Phillips 66 Fishing Guide for 1964
                    28            Shoes for Sportsmen
                    29            The Spinning Reel on a Fly Rod
                    30            Those Were the Days
                    31            Trout Fishing in Depth
                    32            Wake ‘Em Up
                    33            When You Head West
                    34            Whopper Stopper Fishing Guide