Inventory of the Ravi D. Goel Collection of John R. Neetzel Papers, 1920 – 1948

 

Descriptive Summary

Abstract: John R. Neetzel (1906-1971) began his research career with the U.S. Forest Service in 1931, and served at branch stations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula until 1943. He moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1947 where he held a joint appointment with the North Central Forest Experiment Station and the University of Minnesota’s College of Forestry. He retired from the Forest Service in 1965 and remained a Research Associate at Minnesota’s College of Forestry until his death in 1971.

This collection contains papers primarily related to John Neetzel’s time working with the U.S. Forest Service, including correspondence, reports, publications, maps, and more. A significant amount of the materials concern his work at the Upper Peninsula Experimental Forest in Michigan. Other materials relate to the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin. Also included are signed letters from Raphael Zon and Henry S. Graves, and a poem sent from Bob Marshall to Zon.

Title: Ravi D. Goel Collection of John R. Neetzel Papers, 1920 – 1948

Creator: Neetzel, John R., 1906-1971

Repository: Forest History Society Library and Archives

Call Number: 2019-001

Language of Material: Material in English

Extent: 0.5 linear feet (1 archival box)

Biographical Note

John R. Neetzel was born in Blue Earth, Minnesota, on July 7, 1906. He attended grade school in Blue Earth and enrolled at the University of Minnesota in September 1925. During college he spent one summer working on the Selway National Forest in Idaho, and another summer working at the Cloquet Forestry Center in Cloquet, Minnesota. Neetzel graduated with a B.S. degree in forestry from the University of Minnesota in 1929. This was followed by a M.S. degree in forestry from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1930. Neetzel began his permanent research career with the U.S. Forest Service in 1931, and served at branch stations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula until 1943. During World War II he worked to promote efficient logging practices to aid the U.S. war effort. He moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1947 where he held a joint appointment with the Forest Service’s North Central Forest Experiment Station and the University of Minnesota College of Forestry. He retired from the Forest Service in 1965, but remained a full-time Research Associate in the College of Forestry at the University of Minnesota until his death on February 7, 1971.

Collection Overview

This collection contains papers primarily related to John Neetzel’s time working with the U.S. Forest Service, including correspondence, reports, publications, maps, and more. A significant amount of the materials concern his work at the Upper Peninsula Experimental Forest in Dukes, Michigan. Other materials relate to the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin. Also included are signed letters from Raphael Zon and Henry S. Graves, and a poem sent from Bob Marshall to Zon. All collection materials were donated by Ravi D. Goel.

Collection Arrangement

The records are arranged in seven series:

  1. Upper Peninsula (Dukes) Experimental Forest
  2. U.S. Forest Service – Other
  3. Reports/Publications
  4. Correspondence
  5. Menominee Indian Reservation
  6. Other Organizations
  7. Miscellaneous

Subject Headings

  • Experimental forests — Michigan — Upper Peninsula
  • Experimental forests
  • Forests and forestry
  • Michigan — Upper Peninsula
  • United States. Forest Service
  • United States. Forest Service–Officials and employees

Detailed Description of the Collection

1. Upper Peninsula (Dukes) Experimental Forest, 1931-1941.
  • Folder 1.1: Maps
    • U.P. Experimental Forest maps, 1933
  • Folder 1.2: U.P. Experimental Forest – General
    • “The Upper Peninsula Forest Experiment Station, Dukes, Michigan,” February 10, 1932 (Notation: “Written for annual report, but not used for that purpose due to it being similar to the Report – JN”).
    • “Forest Experiment Station at Dukes Reopened,” May 6, 1932 (Notation: “Printed in D.M. Journal”).
  • Folder 1.3: Speeches/Events
    • Talk given before the Rotary Club, Munising, Michigan, regarding Upper Peninsula Experimental Forest at Dukes, Michigan, August 11, 1936.
    • Talk given at Marquette, 1936.
    • Talk given at Marquette with slide notations, 1936.
    • “Intelligent and Profitable Use of Land is Upper Peninsula Problem” 1936 editorial.
    • Land Use Conference invitation to Neetzel.
    • Program for Land Use Conference in Marquette, Michigan, October 1, 1936.
    • Copy of paper presented at afternoon meeting of land conference, October 2, 1936.
    • Speech to Marquette Rotary Club, December 1939.
  • Folder 1.4: Selective Logging
    • Selective Logging at the Upper Peninsula Station, August 22, 1933.
    • Selective Cutting in Northern Hardwoods, Upper Peninsula Experimental Forest (data from 1926-1934).
    • Field Studies in Selective Logging, Upper Peninsula Experimental Forest, Dukes Michigan, October 2, 1936.
    • Progress in the Field of Selective Logging, November 11, 1936.
    • Permanent Sample Plots Versus a 100 Percent Cruise for Computing Growth of Selectively Logged Hardwood Stands, February 1, 1938.
    • “What is the Best Season of the Year to Log Northern hardwoods?” February 10, 1938.
    • Outline Used in Leading Discussion of Selective Logging at Camp Pori, May 8, 1941.
    • Selective Logging on Section 10-48-48.
  • Folder 1.5: Memoranda/Reports
    • Memorandum of Discussion of U.P. Station Work with Mr. Kittredge, December 3-4, 1931.
    • Taken from the Minutes of the January 21, 1935, Meeting of the National Forest Reservation Commission.
    • January 21, 1935, telegram regarding approval of land addition to Dukes Forest Experiment Station.
    • Letter from Paul A. Wohlen regarding small shingle mills, March 30, 1937.
    • “Financial and Labor Aspects of Establishing a Shingle Mill on the Upper Peninsula Experimental Forest.”
    • Memorandum regarding Cliff Dow Chemical Plant at Marquette, Michigan, April 21, 1937.
    • Memorandum regarding logging on Cutting Unit No. 12, March 10, 1938.
    • Appraisal Report – Proposed Laughing Whitefish Hemlock Sale, February 11, 1938.
    • Letter from Paul A. Wohlen regarding CCC use of Dukes Side Camp, July 16, 1938.
    • Letter from Neetzel to Lt. Carl W. Johnson discussing Christmas leave for Norman Heyd, December 15, 1938.
    • “Timber Stand Improvement in Second-Growth Northern Hardwoods,” by J.R. Neetzel, January 24, 1939.
    • “Small Timber Sales Benefit the Local Community,”
    • Appraisal for proposed sale of timber. SE ¼ Section 23, T46W, R23W.
    • Other memoranda and notes to Neetzel.
2. U.S. Forest Service – Other, 1923-1948.
  • Folder 2.1: Civil Service Exam

    • Position advertisement for Junior Forester and Junior Range Examiner (1929).
    • Neetzel’s application for examination.
    • List of questions for Civil Service Examination (Forest Assistant 1922-23).
  • Folder 2.2: Lake States Experiment Station
    • Report to the Advisory Committee on the Work Done in 1931 and the Plans for 1932.
    • Steps Toward a Coordinated Research Program of the Station and Region, April 8, 1936.
    • Instructions for the establishment of Sample Plots in Connection with Extensive Silviculture Operations, April 20, 1933.
    • “The Approach of Northern Hardwood Stands to Normality,” by S.R. Gevorkiantz, December 18, 1936.
    • Slash Disposal in Northern Hardwoods, March 15, 1937.
  • Folder 2.3: Maps/Charts
    • Map of U.S. Forest Service Research Centers and Field Stations, January 1, 1938.
    • Forest Service organizational chart.
    • Map of Ottowa National Forest, 1936.
    • Map of the Shelterbelt Zone, February 1935.
  • Folder 2.4: F.A. Silcox speech
    • “Science in the Service of Society,” speech by F.A. Silcox, delivered at the Semi-Centennial Celebration of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, June 15, 1935.
  • Folder 2.5: Fire Suppression
    • Letter from Vernon V. Harpham to Neetzel, February 25, 1929, regarding fire suppression work.
    • “Fighting Fire with Machinery at Night,” by F.H. Brundage, 1929.
    • Another experience in the Snow Mt. disaster by V.V. Harpham.
    • Memo for 6-26, Winter Fire Fighting by Hugh Rhea (1928?).
  • Folder 2.6: Memoranda/Reports
    • Personnel Relations Policy and Procedures, USDA, May 4, 1938.
    • “Wild Cherry and Ironwood for an Experimental Plantation,” 1937.
    • “Black Locust, Pines, and Sassafras as Builders of Forest Soil,” by John T. Auten, May 1, 1941.
    • “Sprout Development on Once-Burned and Repeatedly-Burned Areas in the Southern Appalachians,” by John J. Keetch, July 15, 1944.
    • Preliminary Report of the Study of the Plantations Made on the Hiawatha National Forest, 1928-1933 (July 30, 1934).
    • Memorandum regarding timber appraisal from H. Basil Wales, April 1, 1935.
    • Memorandum regarding logging by Thunder Lake Lumber Company, Rhinelander, Wisconsin, November 17, 1936.
    • Cost data on J.R. Andrews Sale, Hiawatha National Forest, March 1, 1938.
  • Folder 2.7: Publications
    • Service Bulletin, August 13, 1934.
    • Plan of Management: Superior Roadless Area. Superior National Forest. 1948.
    • The Treatment of Income from Farm Woodlands Under the Revenue Act of 1943.
3. Reports/Publications, 1920-1945.
  • Folder 3.1: Reports/Publications (non-Forest Service)
    • Tentative Rules for Grading Veneer Logs (Forest Products Laboratory), November 27, 1920.
    • General Rules for Measuring and Grading Northern Hardwood Logs: As Adopted by Northern Logging Congress, September 8, 1922.
    • Comparison of Forest Character on Three Soils Represented in 1929 Cutting, as indicated by Cruise & Cutting Statistics.
    • Official Manufacturing Specifications of the Northern White Cedar Association, February 1932.
    • Official Manufacturing Specifications of the Western Red Cedar Association, Northern White Cedar Association, Consolidated, September 1933.
    • Forest Survey Log Grading Rules (Hardwood Only), 1934.
    • Lumber Code Authority Bulletin, May 29, 1934.
    • Lumber Code Authority Bulletin, October 31, 1934.
    • US Dept Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry: Prevention of Diseases of Conifers in Nurseries and Plantations, 1935.
    • Some Notes on Chemical Bolt Production Based on Data and Experience of the 1940 Season.
    • “Time and Cost Studies of Logging in Northern Michigan,” by W.S. Bromley, September 1941.
    • “Borderland of the Wisconsin Driftless Area,” by L.H. Halverson, 1942.
    • Forestry and Jobs, 1945.
    • “Soil Conservation Service. Windbreak Survey, Sherburne County, Minnesota,” by Stanley S. Locke, 1945.
4. Correspondence, 1929-1938.
  • Folder 4.1: Correspondence
    • January 22, 1929 letter from C.H. Guise to Neetzel.
    • March 19, 1929 letter from C.H. Guise to Neetzel.
    • Assistantships in Department of Forestry, New York State College of Agriculture, Cornell University.
    • January 10, 1929 letter from Neetzel to Henry S. Graves.
    • January 14, 1929 letter from Henry S. Graves to Neetzel. [digital item]
    • March 7, 1929 letter from Yale registrar to Neetzel.
    • March 6, 1929 letter from Walter Mulford to Neetzel. [digital item]
    • March 20, 1929 letter from Walter Mulford to Neetzel.
    • March 11, 1929 letter from R.D. Forbes to Neetzel.
    • February 15, 1929 letter from William L. Barker, Jr. to Neetzel.
    • March 10, 1931 letter from E. Morgan Pryse to Neetzel regarding membership in the Society of American Foresters.
    • October 3, 1934 letter addressed to graduated of Univ of Minn school of forestry regarding a fund towards creating a Henry Schmitz Arboretum.
  • Folder 4.2: Raphael Zon
    • April 4, 1929 letter from Raphael Zon to Neetzel. [digital item]
    • “Back of It All – Forest Recreation,” by Raphael Zon.
    • Poem written to Zon by Bob Marshall, August 24, 1935. [digital item]
    • Copy of September 7, 1937 letter from M.L. Wilson to Zon. [digital item]
    • Memorandum for Mr. Zon suggesting certain changes in the cultural work on the Hiawatha National Forest, September 19, 1934.
    • Memorandum for Neetzel mentioning Zon, June 7, 1938.
5. Menominee Indian Reservation, 1934-1938.
  • Folder 5.1: Menominee Reservation materials, 1934-1938
    • Correspondence and reports concerning logging and marking timber on the Menominee Reservation.
    • 2 maps of Menominee Indian reservation (undated, and 1938).
6. Other Organizations.
  • Folder 6.1: Minnesota Forestry Association, etc.
    • Minnesota Forestry Association By-Laws.
    • Constitution of the Minnesota Forestry Association.
    • By-Laws – Minnesota Section of the Society of American Foresters, April 1937.
    • Rules Governing Elections, The Honor Society of Agriculture, Gamma Sigma Delta.
7. Miscellaneous.
  • Folder 7.1: Scraps and Shavings
    • Collection of notes and clippings; top page marked “Scraps and Shavings – Forestry.”
  • Folder 7.2: Miscellaneous
    • Notes on important dates from forest history.
    • “Make Every Week Forest Protection Week” (Minnesota Forest Service).
    • Diagramatic illustration of the virgin stand and selective cutting.
    • “Our Forest Lands,” poem by William Fawcett.
    • The Use of Statistics in Forest Investigations.
    • List of questions.
    • Forest-Rail-Stump.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Ravi D. Goel Collection of John R. Neetzel Papers, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, NC, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Dr. Ravi D. Goel in December 2018

Processing Information

Processed by Eben Lehman, May 2019

Encoded by Eben Lehman, May 2019

Support for digitization and outreach provided by the Alvin J. Huss Endowment.

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