Manuscripts Collection
Gordon Mikkelson was born August 14, 1914 in Minneapolis (Minn.), attended Macalester College, and graduated from the University of Minnesota. He wrote for newspapers while in school and in 1939 was hired as bureau chief for the Associated Press in Pierre (S.D.). During World War II Mikkelson served with U.S. Army Intelligence in Germany. He was hired by the Minneapolis Star Journal as a feature writer in 1946. In 1951, after a brief period with the U.S. Office of Price Stabilization, Mikkelson became director of publicity and publications for Midland Cooperatives, Inc. He joined WCCO Radio in 1957 and became its director of public relations and special projects in 1971. He retired from WCCO in 1984, but was retained as a consultant.
Mikkelson was elected to the Minneapolis School Board in 1959, was active in promoting Minneapolis as a site for Metropolitan State Junior College, and served as chairman of the Citizens Parkway Committee in Minneapolis.
Mikkelson was involved in the establishment of the Voyageurs National Park and the creation of the Deep Portage Conservation Reserve. He served as director of the State Izaak Walton League, director of the Minnesota Environmental Sciences Foundation, founding director of Turn In Poachers, Inc. (TIP), and director of the Minnesota Para-Rescue Team. He also worked with the 1967 and 1968 Plaisted polar expeditions.
Gordon and Ruth Mikkelson were married in 1939 and had three children: Helen, Ann, and Robert. Gordon Mikkelson died on January 12, 1990.
Biographical data was taken from the collection.
Correspondence, memoranda, photographs, diaries, newspaper clippings, minutes, reports, financial records, maps, interviews, manuscripts, reminiscences, legal documents, speeches, themes, and printed matter related to the life and career of a Minneapolis civic leader, WCCO Radio executive, and conservationist.
The papers document Mikkelson's career as a reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and other newspapers (1935-1950); bureau manager for the Associated Press in Pierre, S.D. (1939); regional information officer for the U.S. Office of Price Stabilization (1951); director of publicity and publications for Midland Cooperatives (1951-1957); and his work in public relations and special projects with WCCO Radio (1957-1988).
The larger portion of the collection documents Mikkelson's participation in several organizations related to civic affairs and conservation, including the Minneapolis School Board (1958-1964); Metropolitan State Junior College (1964-1978, 1986); the Citizens Parkway Committee (1971); the 1200 on the Mall Association (1978-1981); Linden Hills Congregational Church (1955-1957, 1962); the Voyageurs National Park Association (1965-1971, 1979-1989); the Minnesota Environmental Sciences Foundation; the State Izaak Walton League; Turn In Poachers, Inc. (1981-1990); the Minnesota Para-Rescue Team (1972-1978, 1984); and the Deep Portage Conservation Foundation (1972-1989). There is also a group of papers related to Mikkelson's work with the 1967 and 1968 Plaisted Polar Expeditions.
These records are divided into the following five sections:
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should
Accession number: 14,497
Processed by: Frank P. Hennessy, July l99l
PALS number: 09-00022249
Includes correspondence related to Mikkelson's rejection of an offer to work on the Associated Press cable desk in New York and his acceptance of a position with the Minneapolis Star Journal (October-November 1946); a letter to Mitch Miller after Miller's visit to WCCO Radio (June 17, 1959); letters written during vacations to Canada (April 28, 1962 and December 27, 1967), Glacier National Park (1968), and Isle Royal, Michigan (June 1967); a letter to a University of Minnesota regent expressing Mikkelson's opinion on disciplinary action required after student demonstrations (January 17, 1969); and letters related to various family matters.
The school papers consist of high school English themes and papers written for various college courses.
Papers related to Mikkelson's military career include a diary he kept while stationed in France during World War II (Jan. 5-April 20, 1945); forms and correspondence; and printed material related to his work as a public affairs officer with the Army's 1st Support Brigade in Mannheim, Germany (1973), including the promotion of the Albert Schweitzer International Youth Basketball Tournament (April 1973).
A small group of papers which relate to Mikkelson's support of particular political candidates and views on various issues.
Papers connected to Mikkelson's lifelong interest in outdoor recreation include plans, maps, aerial photographs, and correspondence related to the construction and maintenance of a cabin in northern Minnesota; correspondence and interviews regarding a variety of outdoor equipment; diaries from canoe trips taken in Quetico Provincial Park (June 1964 and July 1967) and Alaska (July 1964 and June 25-July 21, 1965); food and equipment lists for the various trips; and slides, equipment list, and correspondence related to Mikkelson's climb up Mount Ranier (August 1970). An outline, manuscript, photographs, and correspondence related to a handbook for outdoorsmen written by Mikkelson are also included.
Includes Mikkelson's reminiscences; genealogical material; various certificates and awards; military records belonging to Mikkelson's son, Robert; and Mikkelson's obituaries.
Papers related to Mikkelson's newspaper career beginning with his earliest writing for the Minneapolis Star Journal in 1935. They include a diary he kept while on the news desk; a piece on unsolved murders in Minneapolis (Nov. 2, 1935); photographs and captions for coverage of Jean Piccard's balloon test flight in Rochester, Minnesota (1937); the Patrick J. Corcoran slaying; a series on Canadian oil fields (1949); and background material on crime in Minneapolis (1947-1950).
Correspondence, memoranda, notes, and minutes dealing with internal operations.
A group of papers connected with the promotion of "Operation Army Worm," a special report on the fight against an army worm infestation in Minnesota, broadcast on WCCO Radio and sponsored by Midland Cooperatives (Sept. 10, 1954) is among the papers from the period when Mikkelson served as director of publicity and publications at Midland (1951-1957). Other papers from this period include materials prepared by the publicity department and used in a national advertising campaign for Midland; an excerpt from the Congressional Record (June 28, 1957) containing a reprint of an article ("Big Rain") that Mikkelson wrote for the Midland Cooperator describing flood damage in southwestern Minnesota; miscellaneous correspondence; memoranda; newspaper clippings; photographs; and notes.
Correspondence, memoranda, and scripts from various programs including a Cedric Adams report on the dedication of the Baudette-Rainy River international bridge; an interview with Alaska Governor William Egan on the "Open Mike" broadcast (May 8, 1964); and scripts from the "Good Morning Show" during the time that Mikkelson sat in as host (May 10-15, 1971).
The special projects documented in the papers include WCCO Fans in the Stands tours (1963, 1970-1973); the publication of a WCCO almanac (1958) and other books; coverage and participation by WCCO in a three-man snowmobile expedition to Hudson's Bay (January-March 1971); a case before the Federal Communications Commission in which WCCO challenged the right of WNYC, a New York station, to broadcast at night; ascertainment of community problems; and WCCO's sponsorship of the "Rurbania Symposium" at Gustavus Adolphus College (1988).
In 1966 Mikkelson and Larry Haeg, WCCO general manager, traveled to Russia with the intention of working out a WCCO Good Neighbor Tour. Papers related to this trip include documents, photographs, a diary, notes, an itinerary, and an interview with Haeg upon their return. Mikkelson participated in the Good Neighbor Tour in 1967 and the trip's itinerary, a WCCO booklet of travel tips and notes, correspondence, and map of the tour are included.
As a consultant for WCCO Mikkelson's largest project was the construction of a new Franklin antenna. The papers related to this project include correspondence; memoranda, including one to the Federal Aeronautics Administration (FAA) from the Metropolitan Council stating its objection to the tower as a hazard to air navigation; Metropolitan Council minutes; FAA forms; maps; photographs; a petition to the FAA by WCCO's aeronautical consultant (March 26, 1980); permits; a development contract between WCCO and Medina, Minnesota (September 20, 1982); and an activities schedule (August 12, 1985). The papers document the numerous problems WCCO confronted in its attempt to find a suitable site, concluding with a letter from the Metropolitan Council (January 14, 1987) indicating its recommendation that WCCO's latest proposed location be withdrawn.
Proposal for a new antenna for radio station WMIN in Woodbury, Minnesota (1984).
The largest series in the collection documents Mikkelson's years of service in numerous civic and private organizations concerned with education and the environment. The papers related to these organizations consist of articles of incorporation, bylaws, reports, minutes, financial records, correspondence, speeches, photographs, and printed material.
The bulk of this material is related to the Deep Portage Conservation Reserve in Cass County, Minnesota. Mikkelson's involvement as a creator of the project grew out of his work with the Izaak Walton League and the Minnesota Environmental Sciences Foundation. The Deep Portage papers document the organization's fund raising activities, development of its physical plant, and various research and education programs.
Other environmentally-oriented organizations represented include TIP, a group that encourages citizens to turn in poachers; the Citizens Parkway Committee, which studied and made recommendations for the design and location of parkways in Minneapolis (1971); the 1200 on the Mall Association, which fought for the restriction of commercial and retail space in the Loring Park Development area in downtown Minneapolis; and the Minnesota Para-Rescue Team, a group dedicated to providing rescue assistance and rescue training to state and local authorities.
Mikkelson's interest in education is documented in papers related to his membership in the Citizens Committee on Public Education, his election to the Minneapolis School Board, and his membership on the Minneapolis Junior College Committee. There is also a small group of papers related to Mikkelson's service on the Linden Hills Congregational Church council.
A planning study prepared for the commissioners and residents of Cass County, Minnesota by the Environmental Science Foundation.
Contains speeches and course outlines primarily focused on public relations training for organizations and professional groups.
Mikkelson was associated with the 1967 and 1968 Plaisted Polar Expeditions in the areas of snowmobiling and base camp logistics. The papers related to the expeditions include a photocopy of an untitled manuscript describing the 1968 expedition; a photocopy of Ralph Plaisted's diary from the 1968 expedition; correspondence related to the planning and acquisition of sponsors and equipment for the 1967 expedition; photographs; a copy of an article entitled, "Anywhere You Go is South," written by expedition member Andrew Horton; and articles related to the controversy centered on Robert Peary's expedition and Plaisted's claim to be the first overland expedition to the North Pole.
Also included in the Plaisted papers is a photocopy of the transcript of a diary and notes Mrs. Plaisted kept during the Plaisteds' stay in the wilderness of northern Saskatchewan (November 5, 1969-May 14, 1972); and correspondence, an interview, and equipment list related to a parachute jump Mikkelson and his son made to visit the Plaisteds' camp in August 1971.