Gibson H. Gile Papers, 1943

Collection

Identifier: MS 126

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The papers are comprised of typescripts of 164 letters written by Mr. Gile to his family in 1943 while he worked as a bookkeeper and timekeeper in the Yukon for the E. G. Elliot Company, one of several contractors building the Alcan. The letters reflect the routine of being a general worker on the project, but also mirror the concerns of a person far from home in a rugged wilderness during World War II. The papers also include typescripts of his journal, with short daily notations, and 31 copyprints of snapshots taken at the camps.

Dates

1943

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is unrestricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection must be discussed with the Librarian. Photocopying does not constitute permission to publish.

Biographical / Historical

Gibson H. Gile was born December 4, 1914, in Merrillan, Wisconsin. After graduating from high school in 1932, he went to work for his father, owner of the Gile Publishing Company and the Gile Insurance Agency. He was an accountant for the Federal Land Bank in Chippewa Fall, Wisconsin, in 1936 when he married Eleanor Austin. They had two daughters before World War II, and a son in 1952. In 1943, he worked as a bookkeeper and time keeper for E.G. Elliot Company, one of the companies building the Alaska-Canadian Highway (or Alcan). During the spring and summer of 1943 he was based at Kluane Lake in the Yukon, where he wrote 164 letters home. He served in the Army in the later part of the war, returning to Wisconsin to continue in the family business. Gibson Gile died September 24, 1972.

Extent

0.3 Linear Feet (1 box) : Typescripts of 164 letters, typescripts of journal, 31 copyprints of snapshots

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Gile Papers were purchased from Mrs. Gibson H. Gile by the Library in May 1992. (Accession #1992-009).

Processing Information

The papers are typescripts and photocopies of letters received from Mr. Gile; the order in which they were received has been maintained.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title: Finding Aid for the Gibson H. Gile Papers, 1943
Status: In Progress
Author: Processed by: Kathryn H. Shelton, May 1992 ; ArchivesSpace Finding Aid by: Jacki Swearingen
Date: 2019 June
Description rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description: Undetermined
Script of description: Code for undetermined script
Language of description note: English