OUTDOOR WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA RECORDS

The Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) records are comprised of the files of J. Hammond Brown, E. Budd Marter, III, and C.E. Gilham. Brown served as editor of the association’s publication, Outdoors Unlimited, prior to becoming Executive Director in 1941. Marter followed him in that position in 1955. The Brown and Marter files include correspondence, conference agendas and manuscripts. The general correspondence covers a wide range of subjects related to the business of the organization, including: membership applications, legislative efforts, the submission of information to be included in Outdoors Unlimited, and the work of its members. The manuscripts were published in Outdoors Unlimited from 1941 to 1963.

C.E. Gilham was the general manager of the Outdoor Writers Projects, Inc., a non-profit corporation that produced sport shows, sponsored by the OWAA, to showcase the outdoor resources of many states. His files contain correspondence relating to the 1946 show.

The files are organized according to the following topics: awards; committees and projects; conventions; Executive Directors correspondence and general correspondence; financial and legal information; Outdoor Writers Association of America membership, activities and publications. The correspondence is organized first by year then by author (for items sent to Brown or Marter) or recipient (items sent by Brown or Marter). These records, together with the manuscripts provide insight into the prevailing views on hunting and fishing practices, migratory waterfowl legislation, and conservation practices of the 1950s and 1960s.

In 2001, the Outdoor Writers Association of America donated their special library, their records, and a large number of their photographs to the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library at the University of Montana.

Series 1 contains the administrative documents of the Outdoor Writers Association of America. They include their awards and correspondence of their committees, projects, and conventions. They also include legal and financial information, membership material, planning documents for the OWAA activities and correspondence and manuscripts related to their publication Outdoors Unlimited.

The sound recordings forming the series were generated at the June 1955 annual meeting in Rangely, Maine. The tapes were made from wire recordings