ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

WYNONA H. WILKINS PAPERS

COLLECTION: OGL#1296

DATES: 1956-1994

SIZE: .5 linear ft.

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION:The Wynona H. Wilkins Papers were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Wynona Wilkins on October 15, 1994 (Acc. #94-1979) and by her husband, Robert Wilkins, on October 18, 1991 (Acc.#94-2003).

ACCESS: Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Wynona Huchette Wilkins, a native of western Pennsylvania, attended West Virginia University, and holds a M.A. degree in history from Indiana University. She taught at the University of Oklahoma from 1962-1963, and in the Tunisian program of the United States Peace Corps in 1963. From 1964-1967 she taught French and European history at the Ironton Center of Ohio University. In 1967, she became a member of the UND Language Department and taught French.

Wynona and her husband, Dr. Robert Wilkins, professor emeritus of history, co-authored God Giveth the Increase: The History of the Episcopal Church in North Dakota (1959) and North Dakota: A Bicentennial History (1977). She has also written several articles, including "The Idea of North Dakota" (contained in this collection), which appeared in 1971 in the North Dakota Quarterly, a journal which she helped her husband edit.

Wynona Wilkins retired from the University of North Dakota on May 15, 1987.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Wynona H. Wilkins Papers consist mainly of newspaper clippings dating from 1956-1994. These along with magazine articles, postcards, greeting cards and letters are arranged alphabetically by topic. The majority of the material dates from the 1970's.

Wilkins initially gathered items to illustrate the thesis of her article "The Idea of North Dakota", that is, people viewed North Dakota negatively because they were not familiar with the state. Wilkin's project started almost by accident. She was in Oklahoma City, Okla., in a card shop. She picked up a greeting card that read "Hi there! I just arrived here in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and that's a bit of a blow 'cause I'm supposed to be in Furdsville, North Dakota. Oh well, see you soon!" She bought it, the first entry in her collection.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1

Folder 1. Biographical Materials

       2. "The Idea of North Dakota" by Wynona Wilkins; North Dakota Quarterly, 
          Winter, 1971.

       3. Material used for Article

       4. "Some Perceptions of North Dakota" by Wynona Wilkins; speech given at the 
          FLAND banquet, April 9, 1976.

       5. "The Image of North Dakota in Recent American Travel Literature" by Ann 
          Rathke; North Dakota Quarterly, Fall, 1988.

       6. "The Mind and Spirit of North Dakota Part II"

       7. DAKOTA SKETCHES, School of the Air History Series No. 5-8

       8. Buffalo

       9. Comic Strips

      10. Correspondence (1981-1993)

      11. Drake, ND Book Burning (1973-1983)

      12. Economy (1969-1981)

      13. Ethnic (1971-1988)

      14. Greeting Cards

      15. Humanities

      16. Magazine Articles

      17. Misspelling

      18. Missiles (1969-1982)

      19. Music (1971-1989)

      20. Names; Newspaper Clippings (1969-1989)

      21. Other States' Images (1968-1983)

      22. Perception

      23. Population:  1970 Census of Population:  Number of Inhabitants:  North 
          Dakota

      24. Population; Clippings (1956-1986)

      25. Schools in North Dakota

      26. Weather; Newspaper Clippings (1966-1983)

      27. Weather; Magazine Articles and Postcard (1966-1980)

      28. Zap, ND (1969-1989); Zip to Zap

      29. Miscellaneous

SEPARATIONS RECORD

Six photographs have been separated and placed in the Orin G. Libby Photograph Collection.

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