Milo Woodbridge Williams Papers, 1910-1997 (SMC 76)

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Extent: 4.4 Linear feet (11 archives boxes), + 3.32 GB of digital files

View OnlineA selection of images from this collection have been digitized.

Papers and photographs created by Milo Woodbridge Williams, who was a graduate student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography from 1947-48 and a professional photographer.

Milo Woodbridge "Woody" Williams (1917-2012) was a professional photographer who attended the Scripps Institution of Oceanography as a graduate student between 1947 and 1948. He developed a lifelong passion for nature and photography at an early age and served as quartermaster and photographer to the 1937 M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition before completing his B.A. in natural sciences at Pomona College in 1940. Between 1940 and 1941 he held a teaching fellowship in zoology at the University of Southern California, before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force where he served from 1941 to 1945. After World War II Williams worked as a freelance photographer, accompanying Karl Kenyon on an American Osprey conservation project in Baja California in 1946.

Williams worked as a laboratory technician and studied marine biology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography from 1947-1948, and went on to pursue his combined interests in nature, journalism and photography with various jobs as a photojournalist for the California Academy of Sciences, the Marin Independent Journal and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). In 1955 he moved to Washington D.C., where he worked for National Geographic as a naturalist, writer and photographer until 1961. He then joined the National Park Service, where he retired as a chief photographer in 1980. He is remembered as a lifelong naturalist and freelance photographer who held a passion for sharing nature with others.

Papers and photographs created by Milo Woodbridge Williams, who was a graduate student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) from 1947-48 and a professional photographer. Subjects of note include the 1937 M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition, the National Aquarium, SIO, Marin County and the Marine Mammal Laboratory on San Miguel Island.

Arranged in two series: 1) PAPERS, and 2) PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES.

Six decomposing nitrate negatives created by Hazel Schreiber were discovered when the collection was processed in 2017. The negatives were scanned and destroyed; the images are available on the UC San Diego Library Digital Collections website.

Container List

PAPERS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 1) PAPERS: Includes biographical material, writings, correspondence and subject files. This series also contains notes, correspondence and promotional material documenting the activities of the National Aquarium Society between 1978 and 1981.

Writings

Box 1 Folder 1
Biographical information and curricula vitae, ca. 1960-1980
Box 1 Folder 2
Report of Semesters Work in Zoology, ca. 1935
Box 1 Folder 3
Stranger in Alaska, ca. 1936
Box 1 Folder 4
Report of My Summer Work in Biology, 1939
Box 1 Folder 5
Suggested Procedure for Processing Collections of the Museum of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. By Sam Hinton, 1947 July
Box 1 Folder 6
The Anthomedusan Genus Cladonema in the Pacific, ca. 1947
Box 1 Folder 7
The Ecology of Zostera Marina, ca. 1948
Box 1 Folder 8
Field Trip!, ca. 1948
Box 1 Folder 9
Battle Against Barnacles, 1955
Box 1 Folder 10
Carnival in Trinidad, 1958

Correspondence

Box 1 Folder 11-37
1940-1973
Box 2 Folder 1-17
1974-1989
Box 3 Folder 1-16
1989-2002, undated

Subject Files

Box 4 Folder 1
Aquarium maintenance, ca. 1946

Notes and illustrations, including paper entitled "Maintenance of Balance Marine Aquaria" by Williams and a comical illustration by Sam Hinton.

Box 4 Folder 2
Chlamydoconcha orcutti clams, undated
Box 4 Folder 3
Cladonematidae hydrozoans, ca. 1947

Notes and sketches on Cladonema species.

Box 4 Folder 4
Lepidopterists' Society, 1957
Box 4 Folder 5
M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition, 1986-1991

Commemorative material from 50th anniversary of cruise that Williams attended as photographer between 1935-1937.

Box 4 Folder 6
National Aquarium, 1978-1981

Notes, correspondence and promotional material detailing the efforts of the National Aquarium Society in preventing the institution from being closed by proposed administration budget cuts. Includes 35mm color slides from the "Save the National Aquarium" demonstration on March 20, 1981.

Box 4 Folder 7
Sand flies, 1959
Box 4 Folder 8
Yellowstone antelope, 1955

PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES

Scope and Content of Series

Series 2) PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES: Includes a variety of photographic formats, including prints, black and white negatives, color transparencies, 35mm film strips, slides and digital images created from original nitrate negatives. Arranged in seven subseries: A) SIO, B) San Diego, C) Marin County, D) California Academy of Sciences, E) M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition, F) Photography Assignments and G) Personal Trips and Miscellany.

A) SIO: Includes images of equipment and work at sea, campus scenery and personnel.

B) San Diego: Includes images of the 1916 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park taken by Williams's father, kelp beds, coastal scenery and marine mammal shows at Sea World.

C) Marin County: Includes images of cultural events, ranches and landmarks, activities of the College of the Pacific Marine Station and miscellaneous scenery.

D) California Academy of Sciences: Includes images of the Steinhart Aquarium and CAS scientists.

E) M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition: Images of crew and scenery from an expedition that travelled from Mexico to British Columbia in 1937. Includes images of Alaskan native peoples.

F) Photography Assignments: Assorted images from Williams' contract and freelance work, arranged chronologically between 1941 and 1994. Subjects of note include the American Osprey conservation project in Baja California, the Southwest Research Station, FAO activities in the Middle East, Canyonlands National Park and pinniped conservation work on San Miguel Island.

G) Personal Trips and Miscellany: Miscellaneous images, arranged chronologically between 1936 and 1988. Subjects of note include San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Japan and Rome. Also includes collected images of Hayward and Castro Valley and Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena, California taken by Milo Woodbridge, Sr. circa 1910.

SIO

Equipment and work at sea

Box 4 Folder 9
Guadalupe Island cruise, 1946

35mm color slides.

Box 4 Folder 10
Test dredge on E.W. Scripps , 1946

Includes photographs of Martin Johnson, King Cooper and Williams.

Box 4 Folder 11
Students examine plankton haul on E.W. Scripps , ca. 1947
Box 4 Folder 12
Martin Johnson conducting dredging trip off Pt. Loma, 1948
Box 4 Folder 13
Offshore sand ripple study, 1948
Box 4 Folder 14
Sediment traps, 1948
Box 4 Folder 15
Building fish traps for aquarium, 1949
Box 4 Folder 16
Sam Hinton tests high-speed plankton net, ca. 1949
Box 4 Folder 17
E.W. Scripps collecting plankton samples, 1950
Box 4 Folder 18
Nansen bottle launched from M.S. Horizon , 1950
Box 4 Folder 19
Technician with plankton net on R/V Horizon , 1952
Box 4 Folder 20
Miscellaneous, 1948-1950

Included images of scientific gathering and work at sea, including marine biology field trips, plankton nets, "buoy boat" ocean bottom studies and kelp gathering. Assorted 4x5" b/w negative and color slides.

People

Box 4 Folder 21
Eugene Clark, Carl Hubbs and Betty Kampa on beach, 1946
Box 4 Folder 22
John Laurence and Sam Hinton dress Frank Haymaker for a dive off Guadalupe Island, 1946
Box 4 Folder 23
Brian Boden, 1947
Box 4 Folder 24
Robert Lester Wisner in wetsuit, 1948
Box 4 Folder 25
Sam Hinton, 1948
Box 4 Folder 26
Unidentified man carrying equipment from beach, 1948
Box 4 Folder 27
Martin Johnson with plankton net, ca. 1949
Box 4 Folder 28
Carl Hubbs and Sam Hinton whale-watching, ca. 1950
Box 4 Folder 29
Unidentified SIO scientists examine plankton in jar, ca. 1950
Box 4 Folder 30
Leslie Hinton, Woody Williams and Sam Hinton, 1997
Box 4 Folder 31
Kelp on Scripps Beach, 1937
Box 4 Folder 32
Staff picnic, 1945

Includes images of Peter McHugh, Denis Fox, Carl Hubbs, C. K. Tseng and Sam Hinton.

Box 4 Folder 33-34
Miscellaneous photographs of SIO campus, pier and people, ca. 1935-1950
Box 5 Folder 1
Miscellaneous photographs of Scripps Aquarium-Museum, 1948-1951
Box 5 Folder 2-3
Miscellaneous - People, scenery and activities (35mm b/w negative slide strips), ca. 1945-1950

San Diego

Box 5 Folder 4
Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park, 1916

Images of people and scenery in Balboa Park, taken by Milo Woodbridge, Sr. Original b/w negatives and prints.

Box 5 Folder 5
Kelco kelp cutter, ca. 1947
Box 5 Folder 6
Kelp beds off La Jolla, 1948
Box 5 Folder 7
La Jolla and Torrey Pines beaches, 1948-1950
Box 5 Folder 8
La Jolla tide pools, 1967
Box 5 Folder 9
Marine mammal shows at Sea World, 1967

Includes images of dolphins, orcas and porpoises in their enclosures.

Marin County

Events

Box 5 Folder 10
Inverness fair and barbecue, 1949
Box 5 Folder 11
Inverness Yacht Club rededication, 1950 July
Box 5 Folder 12
Drakes Bay commemorative site dedication, ca. 1950
Box 5 Folder 13
Drakes Bay salvage cruise, 1951 September

Drakes Navigators Guild employed The Salvager to search for small vessel rumored to have been left by Francis Drake in 1579.

Box 5 Folder 14
Tomales Bay Fourth of July sailboat race, ca. 1951
Box 5 Folder 15
Inverness Volunteer Fire Department annual carnival, ca. 1953
Box 5 Folder 16
Permanente wheel chair folk dancers performing in Inverness, ca. 1954
Box 5 Folder 17
Fourth of July races on the Sir Francis Drake Highway through Inverness, ca. 1950
Box 5 Folder 18
Inverness Volunteer Fire Department attends school in San Francisco, ca. 1950
Box 5 Folder 19
Miscellaneous photographs of Inverness Elementary School events, ca. 1950

Includes images of America Sings choir, maypole festival and nativity play.

Ranches and Landmarks

Box 5 Folder 20
Barboni Ranch, 1950
Box 5 Folder 21
Deep Ravine Beach Camp, 1950
Box 5 Folder 22
Grossi Dairy Ranch, 1950
Box 6 Folder 1
Morelli Ranch, 1950
Box 6 Folder 2
Grandi Ranch dairy, Point Reyes Station, ca. 1950
Box 6 Folder 3
The McClure Brothers at the Pierce Point Dairy Ranch, ca. 1950
Box 6 Folder 4
Sheep rancher Roy Parks and sons, Sonoma County, ca. 1950
Box 6 Folder 5
Point Reyes Lighthouse, ca. 1950
Box 6 Folder 6
Point Reyes National Seashore, ca. 1950

Miscellaneous images of coastal landscape, scenery and activities.

Box 6 Folder 7
Tomales Bay Bishop pines, ca. 1950
Box 6 Folder 8
Monarch butterflies at Stinson Beach, ca. 1950
Box 6 Folder 9
Shell Beach, Tomales Bay, ca. 1950

Miscellaneous

Box 6 Folder 10
Oyster harvesting in Drakes Bay, 1949-1950

Images of Tomales Bay Oyster Co. "Oyster Jack" at work.

Box 6 Folder 11
Hazel Snell Schreiber at "The Gables" home in Inverness, ca. 1950
Box 6 Folder 12
College of the Pacific Marine Station, ca. 1950

Miscellaneous images of students and staff conducting work at sea and on Dillons Beach. People include Raymond Osborne, Robert Menzies and Joel Hedgepeth.

Box 6 Folder 13
Frank della Rosa with 1920s Ford truck, ca. 1950

Former maitre d'hotel for Roberts at the Beach.

Box 6 Folder 14
Rite Price Market in Inverness, ca. 1950

Includes images of store opening and aftermath of fire that destroyed it.

Box 7 Folder 1-3
Miscellaneous photographs of Marin County, 1945-1956

Assorted images of Marin County landscape, scenery, and people, including shots of Tomales Bay, Inverness and Drakes Bay.

Box 7 Folder 4
Miscellaneous photographs of Inverness, 1950-1953

Includes photographs of Inverness Lodge and Inverness Park.

Box 7 Folder 5
Miscellaneous photographs of St. Columba's Episcopal Church, ca. 1950

Includes photographs of church services and confirmations.

California Academy of Sciences

Box 7 Folder 6
Steinhart Aquarium, 1948-1953
Box 7 Folder 7
Cecil Tose creating exhibits for African Hall, ca. 1948
Box 7 Folder 8
Edward Ross mounting butterflies, ca. 1948
Box 7 Folder 9
Edwin Van Dyke in his study, ca. 1949
Box 7 Folder 10
Robert Orr and Mary Lou Perry examine beached Beaked whale on beach, 1950
Box 7 Folder 11
Alice Eastwood and Tom Howell in the botany department, ca. 1950
Box 7 Folder 12
Alice Eastwood leads botany trip to Pt. Reyes, ca. 1950
Box 7 Folder 13
Construction of planetarium, ca. 1950

M.S. Stranger Sea Scout Expedition

Box 7 Folder 14
Miscellaneous photos of crew, 1937
Box 7 Folder 15
Miscellaneous photos of crew and scenery, 1937

Includes photographs of Alaskan natives and scenery.

Box 7 Folder 16
Mexico, 1937 February-April
Box 7 Folder 17
Galapagos Islands, 1937 March
Box 8 Folder 1
Gulf of California, 1937 April
Box 8 Folder 2
Baja California, 1937 April
Box 8 Folder 3
Cape Flattery, Washington, 1937 June
Box 8 Folder 4
Alaska, 1937 June-August
Box 8 Folder 5
British Columbia, 1937 September
Box 8 Folder 6-7
Miscellaneous slide strips, 1937

Miscellaneous images from cruise. Original b/w negative slide strips.

Photography Assignments

Box 8 Folder 8
Stillman Berry at home in Redlands, California, 1941
Box 8 Folder 9
Velero IV dredging and coring off Catalina Island, 1941
Box 8 Folder 10
American Osprey conservation project in Baja California with Karl Kenyon aboard Seven Seas , 1946

35mm color slides.

Box 8 Folder 11
Stillman Berry with Bayard McConnaughey and Edmund C. Jaeger at Berry's home, 1946
Box 8 Folder 12
Philip R. Park Inc. kelp-cutting operation in San Pedro, California, 1947

35mm color slides.

Box 8 Folder 13
Portraits of Karl Kenyon, 1947, 1982
Box 8 Folder 14
Entymologist Monte Cazier at the Southwest Research Station, 1948

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) trips

Box 8 Folder 15-18
Afghanistan, 1952

Miscellaneous photographs of local people and scenery, including photos of FAO personnel assisting with agriculture extension services and "Children's Day."

Box 9 Folder 1-2
Ceylon (Sri Lanka), 1952

Miscellaneous photographs of local people and scenery, including religious monuments and villages.

Box 9 Folder 3-5
Pakistan, 1952

Miscellaneous photographs of local people and scenery, including city scenes in Karachi.

Box 9 Folder 6
William Beebe Tropical Research Station, ca. 1953

Photographs of William Beebe at work, wildlife and scenery.

Box 9 Folder 7
Bates Wilson in Canyonlands National Park, 1961-1962

Bates Wilson served as the first superintendent of Canyonlands National Park.

Box 9 Folder 8
Southwestern Research Station, American Museum of Natural History, 1952
Box 9 Folder 9
Spike Jones at Calneva Resort in Lake Tahoe, 1952

Photographs of American musician and bandleader Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones performing and socializing in resort dining room.

Box 9 Folder 10
Street parade for General James Van Fleet, 1953

General Van Fleet commanded the 8th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. 2x2" color slides.

Box 9 Folder 11
New Method Fur Dressing Company, ca. 1954
Box 9 Folder 12
American arachnologist Willis John Gertsch at the American Museum of Natural History, 1958
Box 9 Folder 13
Samuel Stillman Berry visits the National Museum of Natural History, ca. 1958

Photographs of American marine zoologist S. Stillman Berry interacting with museum personnel. Folder includes 35 mm b/w negative slides.

Box 9 Folder 14
Southwestern Research Station, American Museum of Natural History, 1961

Includes photographs from "entomological trek" through the Chiricahua Mountains. 4x5" b/w negative and color slides.

Box 10 Folder 1-5
San Miguel Island, Channel Islands National Park, 1984, 1994

Miscellaneous images of scenery, wildlife (including Catalina Island Fox) and personnel from pinniped conservation projects and energetics studies conducted by the Marine Mammal Laboratory on San Miguel Island. Includes many images of fur seals and sea lions in Adams Cove, project personnel tagging animals and conducting fieldwork and pinniped pups. Also includes images of project participant and conservationist Karl Walton Kenyon.

Personal Trips and Miscellany

Box 10 Folder 6
Hayward and Castro Valley, California, ca. 1910

Assorted photographs of city and country scenery mounted on scrapbook paper. Photographer unknown.

Box 10 Folder 7
Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena, California, 1916

Images of visitors and their vehicles, taken by Milo Woodbridge, Sr.

Box 10 Folder 8
Death Valley, 1936

Images of Williams' Pomona College classmates Jack Ford and Sid Arnold on spring break.

Box 10 Folder 9
Flood at Pomona College, Claremont, 1938
Box 10 Folder 10
San Francisco, 1948-1953

Miscellaneous photographs, including shots of city life, Carquinez Strait, San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Benecia ferry.

Box 10 Folder 11
San Francisco (cont.), 1948-1953
Box 10 Folder 12
Sonoma County, 1950

Includes photographs of Fort Ross and Bodega Bay. 4x5" b/w slide negatives.

Box 10 Folder 13
Angel Island, San Francisco Bay, ca. 1950
Box 10 Folder 14
Highway bridge entering Sacramento, ca. 1950
Box 10 Folder 15
Benecia, California, 1953

Photographs of old railroad station and old state house. 4x5" b/w slide negatives.

Box 10 Folder 16
Lake Tahoe, 1953
Box 10 Folder 17
Martinez-Benicia Ferry, San Francisco, 1953
Box 10 Folder 18
Rockefeller Center, ca. 1954
Box 11 Folder 1
Yosemite Falls, California, ca. 1960-1970
Box 11 Folder 2
Anhinga in water with bream fish impaled on beak, 1968
Box 11 Folder 3
Crater Lake, 1968
Box 11 Folder 4
Skipjack boats in Annapolis harbor for Chesapeake Bay Appreciation Day, 1968
Box 11 Folder 5
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, North Carolina, ca. 1969
Box 11 Folder 6
Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park ("City of Refuge"), Hawaii, 1972

Photographs by Jerry Shimals.

Box 11 Folder 7-8
Japan, 1979 December -1980 January

Includes images of Atsuta Shrine, New Year's celebration in Nagoya, Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto and Mt. Nachisan area.

Box 11 Folder 9
Yosemite National Park, ca. 1980-1990
Box 11 Folder 10
Edinburgh Castle construction, 1989

35mm b/w negative slide strips.

Box 11 Folder 11
Oyster, Virginia, ca. 1990

35mm b/w negative slide strips.

Box 11 Folder 12
Unidentified trip, ca. 1990

35mm b/w negative slide strips.

Box 11 Folder 13
Yellowstone National Park, 1993

Photographs of the Minerva Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Box 11 Folder 14
Trip to Rome, undated
Box 11 Folder 15-17
Miscellaneous, ca. 1952-1988

Locations include Egypt, Sugar Loaf Mountain in Maryland, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Mount Rushmore and Washington D.C.