Alvin Peterson

Murphy’s Area Research Center (ARC)
> Location: Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin La Crosse
> Citation: Peterson, Alvin. Manuscripts. La Crosse Area Research Center, Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Collection Summary
Alvin M. Peterson was an amateur naturalist from La Crosse County who lived from 1884 to 1977. He wrote nature articles for newspapers and school papers, and kept detailed records of the plant and bird species he saw on his own land, as well as other areas throughout Western Wisconsin. In addition to nature writing, Peterson also wrote various children’s stories, many of which he never published. The collection also has articles from his days as a small-town principal, various anti-war articles and letters (not all written by Peterson), and a journal he kept during the time of the Korean War. Almost everything in this collection is typed.
Collection Description
Boxes 1-7
Boxes 1-7 contain Alvin Peterson’s published, self-published, and unpublished writing. Peterson wrote for children’s magazines, as well as nature journals, such as Field and Stream. Most of the writing in these boxes consists of articles that he cut out and pasted into blank books. The dates range from the 1920s into the 1970s. Box 2 contains a published travel book about our area called Palisades and Coulees, and box 3 (folder 8) lists all the plants he found on his Onalaska property, including some very nicely done leaf drawings.
Box 8
Box 8 contains more articles written by Peterson, however folders 4 and 5 also contain various newspaper clippings that he found of interest, including newspaper articles and drafts of letters about the Vietnam War. The box also contains information about comedian and Civil Rights activist, Dick Gregory’s appearance at UWL.
Box 9
Box 9 has 38 folders in it. Each folder holds an article of Peterson’s in draft form. His editing marks are all in pencil.
Box 10
Box 10 also has many folders in it. Folder 33 holds a notebook where Peterson wrote down his thoughts, drafted articles, and made “To Do” lists. It also includes newspaper articles he found interesting. Folder 37 has a ballot with Joe McCarthy on it.
Boxes 11-16
Boxes 11-16 contain more examples of Peterson’s writing. Box 14 (folder 22) contains a scrapbook with various newspaper articles. Box 14 (folder 11) is a journal kept during the Korean War. At the back of the journal is a 1971 letter that Peterson wrote to Gaylord Nelson concerning overpopulation.
Box 17
Box 17 is bigger than all the other boxes. It is filled with scrapbooks of Peterson’s writing, but also included in folders 1 and 5 are newspaper articles Peterson wrote and collected while he was a principal in the 1910s. Some of the articles discuss WWI, including one by Theodore Roosevelt.
Box 18-20
Box 18-20 contains Peterson’s “Outdoor Journals.” They began in 1948 and continued to 1961. Peterson discussed a number of nature issues throughout the journals, and recorded plant, bird, and animal sightings along with the dates when each was first seen. There are many leaf drawings and prints. Each journal is indexed. Some of the boxes also contain bird census work, such as Christmas and May Day bird counts, as well as counting Peterson did for the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Box 21
Box 21 contains more articles and self-published books.
Edited by: Patricia Stovey and Kaley Brown
See also
Vertical File: This file is not listed in the official finding aid, however it is available in the ARC. It contains various newspaper articles about Alvin Peterson, including he and his wife’s obituaries, and articles about how his collection was donated to La Crosse.
Photos: The photos are also not listed in the official finding aid, but again, are available in the ARC. The box contains pictures of Peterson, his wife, their children, their house, and various outdoor shots.