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JOHN ASPLUND 1913-1994. Papers; 1958-1973. 2.5 cu. ft.
John Asplund was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1913. He graduated from high school in 1932, and took extension courses from the University of Minnesota. From 1933 to 1937, Asplund was the owner and operator of the J. M. Asplund Trucking Co. In 1938, he became the owner of the Arrow Tire Co. Asplund sold that company in 1940 and moved to San Francisco in 1941, where he worked as a manufacturer's representative until 1946. That same year he moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and established the John M. Asplund Co., dealing in maintenance supplies and equipment. In 1953, he served as Chairman of the Greater Anchorage Wholesale Trade Commission. Active in community affairs, Asplund served as director of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce (1954-1957), and as a member and president of the Anchorage Independent School District Board (1960-1963). In 1964, John Asplund was elected chairman of the Greater Anchorage Area Borough, and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1972. John Asplund died in Issaquah, Washington, in 1994.
The collection consists of the papers of Anchorage businessman and city official John Asplund. It is divided into five series. Series one consists of John Asplund's personal papers, and includes correspondence, articles, and speeches. Series two consists of correspondence relating to Asplund's activities on the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. Series three consists of papers concerning the projects and daily business of the Greater Anchorage Area Borough, with emphasis on sewer construction, and include correspondence, minutes, reports, photographs, a color sound film on pollution prevention efforts in Anchorage, newspaper clippings, and publications. Series four consists of correspondence and reports relating to the business activities of John Asplund. Series five consists of four scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings documenting the history of the Greater Anchorage Area Borough from 1958 to 1972, and some miscellaneous publications on Alaska.
The collection was presented to the archives by John Asplund in 1984. A deed of gift was signed in 1984. Additional materials were added in 2006.
HMC-0064
JAS (12/2007)
Inventory:
SERIES LIST
Series I. Personal Papers;
1955-1957, 1963-1973. 2 folders.
The series contains private and personal papers of John Asplund.
They are divided into two sections: correspondence, and articles
and addresses by Mr. Asplund concerning the Greater Anchorage
Area Borough.
Series II. Community Activities
Through 1960. Correspondence; n.d., 1955, 1957, 1960. 1 folder.
The series contains the correspondence of John Asplund while
he served as vice president of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce.
Series III. Greater Anchorage
Area Borough; 1961-1973. 14 folders.
This series contains material concerning the development, daily
business, and projects of the Greater Anchorage Area Borough
with particular emphasis on the sewer construction project.
The series is divided into two sections, arranged by type of
material. Folders 1 to 3 concern the Anchorage Borough Study,
1961-1962, including minutes, committee membership lists, and
reports of the various committees involved in the study. Folders
4 to 14 concern the Greater Anchorage Area Borough includes correspondence,
memos, minutes, resolutions, reports, photographs, a 1970 color
sound film on pollution prevention efforts in Anchorage, newspaper
clippings, and publications relating to the daily business and
projects of the borough.
Series IV. Business Papers;
n.d., 1955, 1958-1960, 1972. 1 folder.
The series contains papers of a business nature and contains
correspondence and reports relating to the activities of John
Asplund as an Alaskan businessman.
Series V. Scrapbooks and Miscellaneous
Publications; 1958-1972. 1 folder, 4 volumes.
The series primarily concerns the history of the Greater Anchorage
Area Borough. It consists of four large scrapbook volumes of
newspaper clippings, compiled by John Asplund, documenting the
history of the borough from 1958 until John Asplund's retirement
as borough chairman in 1972; miscellaneous Alaskan historical
publications; and two bibliographies on metropolitan communities.
BOX AND FOLDER LIST
BOX 1
Series I. Personal Papers;
1955-1957, 1963-1973.
1. Correspondence; 1955-1957,
1963, 1968-1973.
Correspondence between John Asplund and various private individuals;
Letter of recommendation written to Governor Egan by Edward C.
Willis, Borough Assemblyman, concerning John Asplund's qualifications
for appointment to the Federal-State Land Use Planning Commission.
2. Articles and Addresses; 1963-1964.
Article written by John Asplund on a "Brief History of the
Borough," John Asplund's address to the Los Angeles Chamber
of Commerce, and his address to the Anchorage Press Club.
Series II. Community Activities
through 1960. Correspondence; n.d., 1955, 1957, 1960.
1. Correspondence between John Asplund, Vice President of the
Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, and various individuals, and material
on a cruise John Asplund took in 1955 aboard the Navy ship, the
U.S.S. Esperance.
Series III. Greater Anchorage
Area Borough; 1961-1973.
1. Anchorage Borough
Study: Committee minutes; 1961-1962.
Minutes of the Borough Formation Committee, Borough Study Group,
Steering Committee of the Borough Study Group; and the Captain
Cook Borough Steering Committee.
2. Anchorage Borough Study: Committees; 1962.
Lists of committee and sub-committee members.
3. Anchorage Borough Study: Committee Reports; 1962-1963.
Reports from the Roads Committee, Boundary Committee, Borough
Steering Committee, Borough Study Committee, Sub-Committee on
Schools, Chamber of Commerce, Apportionment Committee, Revenue
Committee, Health Committee, Schools Sub-Committee, Powers, Duties
and Executive Structure Committee, Planning and Zoning Sub-Committee,
and the Sub-Committee on Taxation. Also a newsletter on other
Alaska boroughs, and an order and notice of election to determine
whether the Anchorage Borough should be established.
4. Greater Anchorage Area Borough: Correspondence; 1963-1972.
Correspondence to Borough Chairman, John Asplund, from various
Borough officers, private individuals, and businessmen concerning
various Borough projects, particularly the sewer construction
project. Correspondence concerning John Asplund's retirement
as Borough Chairman, and correspondence between Borough Mayor,
Jack Roderick, and various private businessmen.
5. Greater Anchorage Area Borough: Memos; n.d., 1964-1966.
Memos between various Borough officers concerning Borough functions
and Borough projects, particularly the sewer construction project,
and memos from the Borough Chairman to the Borough Assembly concerning
Borough capital improvement estimates and Borough service areas.
6. Greater Anchorage Area Borough: Minutes; 1965.
Minutes of the first Greater Anchorage Area Borough Sewerage
Study Advisory Board, and minutes of a meeting with local authorities
concerning the sewer/water situation.
7. Greater Anchorage Area Borough: Resolutions and Agreements;
1964, 1966.
Resolution number 12 adopting rules of procedure for the Borough
Assembly, Resolution number 20 approving a petition to the local
affairs agency concerning exercise of sewer powers, and a proposed
agreement between the City of Anchorage and the Greater Anchorage
Area Borough concerning fire service in Spenard.
8. Greater Anchorage Area Borough: Reports; n.d., 1964,
1966.
Estimated costs for sewer facilities along Campbell Creek, a
Borough overview, a public notice concerning an army permit to
build a sewer outfall into Knik Arm, and a rough draft of a report
on estimated expenses for Borough programs.
9. Greater Anchorage Area Borough: Petition; 1964.
Petition by Anchorage citizens against House Bill 298.
10. Greater Anchorage Area Borough: Photographs; 1964,
1967, 1973 (9 b&w prints).
1-7. Malfunctioning sewer manhole on beach adjacent to
Fifth Avenue at Elderberry Park; Sep. 23, 1967 (7 prints, 8 X
10 inch).
8. Headline of Anchorage Daily Times of Mar. 29,
1964 after earthquake; 1964 (1 print, 5 X 7 inch).
9. Newspaper photo with caption of John Asplund and Borough
Mayor Jack Roderick prior to National Association of Counties
convention; ca.1973 (1 print, 5 X 7 inch).
11. Greater Anchorage Area Borough: Pollution Prevention
Film; 1970 (16mm color motion picture film, optical sound, 750
feet, 20.5 minutes; VHS cassette reference tape; MiniDV master
tape)(Film located on top of Series V. Scrapbooks).
Borough produced film on efforts to prevent pollution in the
Anchorage area. The film features four main borough officials:
John Asplund, chairman; Bob Pavitt, planning director; Bob Morriss,
public works director; and Cliff Judkins, environmental health
director. Topics covered: water quality problems including Campbell
Creek as a wild salmon stream, sewer systems at Lake Hood and
Lake Hood, and the upcoming completion of the waste water treatment
plant at Point Woronzof in two years; the borough's environmental
hotline; solid waste problems including junked cars; and air
pollution problems including temperature inversions and dust,
and the need for uniform standards in the three boroughs of the
Cook Inlet Basin. The film shows various locations in and around
Anchorage.
BOX 2
12. Greater Anchorage Area Borough: Newspaper Clippings; n.d., 1958,
1966.
Clippings from various newspapers on John Asplund and the Anchorage
Borough. Campaign ads for John Asplund.
13. Greater Anchorage Area Borough: Publications; n.d.,
1962-1973.
Publications written by or about the Greater Anchorage Area Borough
and its projects, including the Borough Act of 1961, a report
on Knik Arm pollution, a report on the economic base of the Anchorage
area, an article on Alaska by Time Magazine, and a Greater Anchorage
Area Borough Annual Report for 1970-1971.
14. Anchorage Sewer Project - Reallocated Funding Request to the Environmental Protection Agency; 1971 (contains 5 exhibits and 9 color photographs, 8 X 10 inch).
Series IV. Business Papers;
n.d., 1955, 1958-1960, 1972.
Includes correspondence between John Asplund and various individuals
and businesses, a report on the economic outlook for Alaska,
and a 1972 Annual Report for the Lost River Mining Corporation.
Series V. Scrapbooks and Miscellaneous
Publications; 1958-1972.
Four Scrapbooks of newspaper clippings documenting the history
of the Greater Anchorage Area Borough from its inception in 1958,
to 1972 (Wrapped individually and stored flat on shelves).
1. Volume I, 1958-1966.
2. Volume II, 1967-1969.
3. Volume III, 1970-1971.
4. Volume IV, 1971-1972.
5. Miscellaneous Publications, n.d., 1958, 1964.
These are: a booklet on Alaska, a pamphlet on the proposed constitution
for Alaska, an edition of the Anchorage Daily News published
just after the 1964 Earthquake, and a copy of the Daily News
Earthquake Pictoral, and two bibliographies on metropolitan communities
prepared by the Government Affairs Foundation, Inc.