MTR.2009.9 Charles D. Hessey, Jr. Papers

Owned by Lowell Skoog
Last updated: May 03, 2015

Mountaineers catalog number: MTR.2009.9

These notes are by Lowell Skoog. Also see the following collections: Hessey photographs and Hessey movies.

Box 1

Folder - Deed of Gift

Gift to The Mountaineers of films, photos and papers, signed by Walter J. (Jim) Cowan, executor of Marion Hessey estate, 4/8/2008.

Folder - Cascadian Conservation

  • Correspondence on behalf of the Cascadians as Conservation Committee chairman (1960s). Topics include:
  • Wilderness Bill
  • Stehekin and Glacier Peak wilderness
  • North Cascades National Park
  • Goat Rocks, White Pass ski area boundary
  • Bumping Lake enlargement
  • Cougar Lakes wilderness

Folder - N3C Conservation

  • Correspondence with or on behalf of North Cascades Conservation Council board members, including:
  • North Cascades National Park - general topics, hunting, public access
  • Outdoors Unlimited
  • Helicopter skiing (1984 letter from Pat Goldsworthy)

Folder - Conservation, Misc

  • Correspondence as an individual citizen, including:
  • Incomplete paper on the value of the Wilderness Bill
  • Letter to North Cascades Study Team
  • 1966 Anderson Lake fire
  • Damage caused by horses, sheep
  • Misc letters about wilderness and conservation issues

Folder - Crest Trail Study

Discussion of trail plans in newly established North Cascades National Park.

Folder - Movie Scripts

  • "Crystal Mountain and You" - script for a promotional movie
  • "East to west in the North Cascade wilderness area"
  • "Mountain Goats along the Cascade Trail" (Exploration Northwest show)
  • List of scenes, Goat and Crest Trail film
  • Information on commentary for Goat and Crest Trail film
  • "Skiing Cascade Wilderness"
  • "A North Cascade National Park? Affirmatives, Edition One"
  • List of scenes, North Cascade Affirmatives
  • Partial drafts, North Cascade Affirmatives
  • "Glacier Peak Holiday" - several complete and partial drafts
  • Text of opening remarks for a showing of Glacier Peak film

Folder - Misc Topics

  • Brief overview of the North Cascades (3pp)
  • "Mountaineering in Washington" - prepared for 1962 Seattle World's Fair
  • "Snow is not only white" - essay on skiing and safety
  • "Avalanche!" - safety advice
  • What did the Hesseys do in 1958?
  • Report from Hoot Owl Canyon (1959 Hessey activities)
  • Compensation for 1959 Hessey film about Crystal Mtn ski area
  • "Thunder and lightning" (story)
  • Comments on proposed Sol Duc ski area (Olympics)
  • How large should Yakima be?
  • Thoughts on current social problems (1960s)
  • More...

Folder - Cabins

Correspondence regarding Gold Hill and Hessey cabins.

Folder - White Pass

Correspondence regarding stock purchase, 1960s.

Folder - Identity Correspondence

This is a thick folder of correspondence on religious subjects, written mostly in the 1970s and 1980s. In a 1978 letter to Dr. H.M.S. Richards, Charles Hessey writes that he started studying the Bible about 10 years earlier. The unifying theme of his writings seems to be that America is Zion, the Kingdom of God. This is explained in a 14-page essay, "Food For Wondering Minds." Other frequent themes include criticism of fundamentalist churches and denial of the World War II Holocaust, including 1982 letters to the editor of the Yakima Herald-Republic on this subject.