Overview of the Collection Creator Title Dates Quantity Collection Number Summary Repository Access Restrictions Languages Sponsor Blonk, Hu Hubert "Hu" Blonk Papers 1930-1995 (inclusive) 1930 1995 1930-1970 (bulk) 1930 1970 2.0 cubic feet SPC 006-0628 (collection) Consists of manuscript material, newspaper clippings, photographs, and ephemera collected or created by central Washington journalist and editor Hubert Blonk. They focus on the development of dams, hydro-electric power, and irrigation in the Pacific Northwest, especially Grand Coulee Dam. Eastern Washington University Archives and Special Collections Archives & Special Collections Eastern Washington University Libraries 100 LIB - 816 "F" Street Cheney, WA 99004-2453 Telephone: 509-359-2475 Fax: 509-359-4840 archives@ewu.edu Collection is available for research. English Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities Biographical Note Hubert C. ("Hu") Blonk was born in Holland on March 7, 1909. His parents emigrated to Canada, and later moved south to the United States, settling in Auburn, Washington. After graduation from high school, Hubert Blonk attended the University of Washington, where he obtained his first experience in journalism. In 1933, at the depth of the Depression, Blonk graduated from the University of Washington. Blonk was employed briefly by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, then took a job with the Grand Coulee Record in the boom town being built to serve the construction of Grand Coulee Dam. The Record was short-lived, and Hubert Blonk moved on to the Wenatchee Daily World. He covered the construction of Grand Coulee Dam for the World, and moved up in the organization, serving as the paper's Managing Editor. In addition to his work for the World, Mr. Blonk also served as a public relations man for several federal dam construction projects in the northwest. http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 1
In 1974 Mr. Blonk retired from the Wenatchee Daily World. He passed away on March 17, 1995 at the age of 86. Content Description The collection consists of manuscript material, newspaper clippings, photographs and research notes created and maintained by Mr. Blonk during his career as a journalist. They focus on the development of dams, hydro-electric generation, and irrigation in the Pacific Northwest, especially Grand Coulee Dam, in central Washington State. His papers and photographs primarily relate to the construction of Grand Coulee Dam and the communities associated with the dam. The digital collection at this time contains photographic materials, but does not contain Mr. Blonk's files on research and writing. Use of the Collection Restrictions on Use Literary property rights transferred to EWU. Use of this collection is subject to the rules concerning access to archival and manuscript collections at Eastern Washington University. For more information, see: http://www.ewu.edu/library/services/ Archives.xml Copyright restrictions may apply. For more information or permission to publish, contact Eastern Washington University Libraries, Archives & Special Collections at (509) 359-2475, or archives@ewu.edu Preferred Citation Hubert "Hu" Blonk Papers; SPC 006-0628; box number; folder number; Archives & Special Collections, Eastern Washington University. Alternative Forms Available Selections from the collection have been digitized and are available as part of the Hubert Blonk Digital Collection. Administrative Information Acquisition Information Gift of Blonk's daughter, Julie Yeager, 2006. Detailed Description of the Collection Minutes - 50th Anniversary Celebration Planning Meeting http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 2
Box1, Folder1 Program Box1, Folder2 Letters Box1, Folder3 Finances Box1, Folder4 Invitations Box1, Folder5 December 3, Meeting Box1, Folder6 Ideas for Ceremonies Box1, Folder7 Grand Coulee Dam Box1, Folder8 Third Powerhouse Invitations Box1, Folder9 Grand Coulee / Third Powerhouse Box1, Folder10 Third Powerhouse / General Box1, Folder11 Committee Box1, Folder12 Laborer (Article) Box1, Folder13 Agendas Box1, Folder14 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 3
Grand Coulee 50th Box1, Folder15 Third Plant Start-Up Box1, Folder16 Miscellaneous [Informational Photocopies] Box1, Folder17 Fight for Dam Box1, Folder18 July 1, Meeting Box1, Folder19 Farm-In-A-Day Box1, Folder20 Board of Directors / Associated Press Managing Editors Association Box1, Folder21 Judges [Correspondence] Box1, Folder22 [Columbia River Treaty] Box1, Folder23 Rock Island Box1, Folder24 Clearing Land, Towns and Indian Graves (Coulee) Box1, Folder25 Coulee Dam (1975) Third Powerhouse Dedication, 1975 Box1, Folder26 Farm-In-A-Day Box1, Folder27 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 4
Coulee - Newspaper / Grand Coulee News Box1, Folder28 Coulee - First Powerhouse Box1, Folder29 Coulee Milestones Box1, Folder30 Coulee - Roosevelt Visit Box1, Folder31 Photos - Coulee / Newspaper Clippings Box1, Folder32 Photos - Coulee / Newspaper Clippings Box1, Folder33 Miscellaneous / Rufus Woods Quote and Story of Osborne Brothers Box1, Folder34 [Articles by Hu Blonk - Typescript and Magazines] Box1, Folder35 [Miscellaneous Statistics and Notes] Box1, Folder36 Milestones [in Dam Construction] Box1, Folder37 Concrete - [New World's Record] Box1, Folder38 50th Anniversary Stories Box1, Folder39 50th Anniversary / Newspaper Clippings Box1, Folder40 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 5
50th Anniversary / Newspaper Clippings Box1, Folder41 Miscellaneous Stories Box1, Folder42 News clippings, [1930s] Box1, Folder43 [Miscellaneous] Box1, Folder44 Coulee - Lawyers Box1, Folder45 Newspaper Clippings Box1, Folder46 Coulee Dam Statistics / Comparison with Other Dams Box1, Folder47 Coulee City Articles Box1, Folder48 Two Menus from President's Train trip, 1952 Box1, Folder49 Grand Coulee Days - Clippings Box2, Folder1 President's Trip / Newspaper Clippings, 1950 Box2, Folder2 Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings, 1934-1942 Box2, Folder3 50th Anniversary Newspaper Clippings Box2, Folder4 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 6
Correspondence, 1975 Box2, Folder5 Clippings and Stories Box2, Folder6 Clippings and Stories Box2, Folder7 [Article photocopied from APF Reporter, Vol. 15, No. 4], [1994] Box2, Folder8 [Article on Photographic Techniques] Box2, Folder9 Press Releases Box2, Folder10 [Miscellaneous Notes and Research Materials] Box2, Folder11 Description of the Grand Coulee Dam and It's Construction, November 1952 Box2, Folder12 [Working Draft of Article by Hu Blonk] Box2, Folder13 [Hu "Scoop" Blonk... / Photocopied Article] Box2, Folder14 Eighth Annual Graduation Exercises / Grand Coulee High School, 5/28/1942 Box2, Folder15 [Map] Box2, Folder16 The Story of the Columbia Basin Project [Publication], 1978 Box2, Folder17 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 7
A Curb-side Story of Grand Coulee Dam and A Last Frontier: Slumbering Riches by Fred M. Weil [Publication], 1938 Box2, Folder18 National Irrigation Policy: It's Development and Significance [Publication], 1939 Box2, Folder19 The Columbia Basin Project [Publication], 1967 Box2, Folder20 Settlement of the Columbia Basin Reclamation Project [Publication], 1945 Box2, Folder21 Land and Water Contracts of the Columbia Basin Reclamation Project - Work Copy Box2, Folder22 A Legacy of Greatness: The Washington State History Museum Campaign for Exhibits, 1994 Box2, Folder23 Reclamation ERA / A Water Review Quarterly [Publication], Autumn 1975 Box2, Folder24 Columbia Basin Project / Safety News, Vol. 8, No. 7 [Publication], July 1950 Box2, Folder25 Public Power [Publication], July-August 1983 Box2, Folder26 Grand Coulee Dam [Publication with 3 Photos Attached], October 30, 1973 Box2, Folder27 Grand Coulee from 'Hell to Breakfast' by Fred 0. Jones [Publication], 1947 Box2, Folder28 The 23-Year Battle for Grand Coulee Dam by Rufus Woods Box2, Folder29 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 8
4 Copies History of Grand Coulee Dam Area [Publication], 1958 Box2, Folder30 Evolution: The Threshold to a New Era by Constantinos H. Vlachos [Publication], 1966 Box2, Folder31 Water and Life [Publication], July 16-17, 1983 Box2, Folder32 Grand Coulee Dam [Publication], 1937 Box2, Folder33 Reclamation's Annual Conference, 1951 Box2, Folder34 2 Booklets Report on Public Relations Campaign: Columbia Basin Project, 1946 Box2, Folder35 Report on Information Program / Initial Delivery of Water to Deschutes Project, Oregon, 1946 Box2, Folder36 The Bureau of Reclamation in WWII (First Draft) Part I / Departmental War Records Project Box2, Folder37 The Bureau of Reclamation in WWII (First Draft) Part II - Exhibits / Departmental War Records Project Box2, Folder38 Photograph of Individual Box3, Folder1 11" 14" Certificate (for workers on Grand Coulee Dam Project) http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 9
Box3, Folder2 2 Copies Grand Coulee Dam: The First 50 Years (The Wenatchee World Supplement), 1933-1983 Box3, Folder3 Eighth Wonder of the World (Spokesman-Review Supplement), 1941 Box3, Folder4 Grand Coulee Dam: Eighth Wonder of the World (Spokesman-Review Supplement), 1936 Box3, Folder5 Scrapbook [of Newspaper Clippings] Box3, Folder6 Box3, Folder7 Newspaper Clippings [loose] Box3, Folder8 Newspaper Clippings [loose] Box3, Folder9 Newspaper Clippings [full pages/folded] Box3, Folder10 Newspaper Clippings [loose] Box3, Folder11 Newspaper Clippings [loose] Box3, Folder12 Newspaper Clippings [loose] Box3, Folder13 Newspaper Clippings [full pages/folded] Box3, Folder14 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 10
Newspaper Clippings [loose] Box3, Folder15 Box3, Folder16 Newspaper Clippings [loose] Box3, Folder17 Box3, Folder18 Box3, Folder19 Box3, Folder20 Box3, Folder21 Newspaper Clippings [loose] Box3, Folder22 Box3, Folder23 Box3, Folder24 Newspaper Clippings [full pages/folded] Box3, Folder25 Newspaper Clippings [loose and individual scrapbook pages] Box3, Folder26 Newspaper Clippings [loose] Box3, Folder27 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 11
Box3, Folder28 Box3, Folder29 Box3, Folder30 Box3, Folder31 Framed and Signed Picture [with glass] "To Hu Blonk with sincere regards and the very best of wishes, William E. Warne" Box4, Folder1 Framed and Signed Picture "With Regards to Hubert Blonk from Harry W. Bashore 3/28/44", March 28, 1944 Box4, Folder2 Photographs The photographs in this collection are primarily from two sources: Photography which Mr. Blonk did himself to support his work as a newspaper reporter, and photographs supplied by government agencies documenting projects undertaken for these agencies. Most of the photographs contained in the Blonk papers are either those taken by Hubert Blonk, or supplied by the United State Bureau of Reclamation to document the construction of Grand Coulee Dam. A small number appear to be the work of commercial photographers who were hired to document events associated with the project, mostly Charles Libby & Son, of Spokane, Washington. Container(s) Description Dates Box Folder 5 1 [Ceremonies / Celebrations] 41 Prints 8" 10 5 2 [July 1936 Print] 1 Print 8" 10 July 1936 5 3 [Color Prints of Dam] 4 Color Prints http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 12
Container(s) Description Dates 5 4 [Mrs. Donald Dunn's House] 1 Print 8" 10 5 5 [Yakima Picture] 1 Print 6.5" 8" 5 6 [City of Grand Coulee Pictures] 10 Prints 8" 10" 5 7 [Presidential Trips] 2 Prints 8" 10" 5 8 [Pangborn] 2 prints 6.5" 9.5" 5 9 [Building of the Dam] 17 Prints 8" 10" 5 10 [Pictures of Individuals] 4 Prints 8" 10" 5 11 [People] 43 Prints 5 12 [City of Coulee] 21 Prints 8" 10" 5 13 [Constructing the Dam] 22 Prints 8" 10" 5 14 [Constructing the Dam] 43 Prints 8" 10" 5 15 [Constructing the Dam] 26 Prints 5 16 [3 Framed Pictures] 3 Cardboard-framed Prints 5 17 [Small Snapshots of Construction] 15 Prints 5 18 [Identified Pictures] 24 Prints http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 13
Container(s) Description Dates 5 19 [Construction Pictures] 30 Prints 5 20 [Very Small Snapshots] 58 Prints 5 21 Hu Blonk Photo 2 Prints 5 22 [Coulee Dam Postcards] 6 Cards 5 23 [Postcards] 8 Cards 5 24 [Columbia River] 1 Print 5 25 [Equipment Photo] 1 Print 5 26 [Hu Blonk Humor] 4 Cards 5 27 [City of Coulee Pictures] 21 Prints 5 28 [Construction Pictures] 7 Prints 5 29 [Construction Pictures] 11 Prints 8" 10" 5 30 [Negatives] 6 Envelopes 5 31 [Identified Negatives] 17 Envelopes 5 32 Gilbert G. Stamm / Commissioner 1 Print 6 1 President Roosevelt http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 14
Container(s) Description Dates 6 2 President Truman 6 3 Rocky Reach Dedication 6 4 Hells Canyon Dam 6 5 Hu Blonk Newspaper Stories 6 6 Hu Blonk Newspaper Stories Names and Subjects Subject Terms : Dams--Design and construction Dams--Northwest, Pacific Dams--Washington (State) Electricity--Northwest, Pacific Grand Coulee Dam (Wash.) Grand Coulee Dam (Wash.)--Anniversaries, etc Hydroelectric power plants--design and construction Hydroelectric power plants--washington (State) Hydroelectric power--northwest, Pacific Irrigation--Northwest, Pacific Visits of state--grand Coulee Dam (Wash.) Personal Names : Blonk, Hu--Archives Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945 Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972 Corporate Names : Columbia Basin Project (U.S.) Geographical Names : Coulee Dam (Wash.) Grand Coulee (Wash.) Grant County (Wash.) Mason City (Wash.) Form or Genre Terms : Clippings Photographs Scrapbooks Other Creators : Corporate Names : Charles A. Libby & Son (Spokane, Wash.) (creator) Finding aid prepared by Charles V. Mutschler 2006 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 15
http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv74981 16