ELIZABETH M. WINSTON:
An Inventory of Her Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Winston, Elizabeth M., 1905-2000, creator. | |
| Title: | Elizabeth M. Winston papers. | |
| Dates: | 1928-1992 (bulk 1973-1979). | |
| Abstract: | The collection contains personal papers of Elizabeth Melone Winston, including correspondence with various elected officials and government agencies; transcripts of public hearings; newspaper clippings; hydrographic tables, charts, and analyses; and legal documents relating to her work as a founding member of the Lake Superior Shores and Lowlands Defense Fund and their federal court litigation against the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect the water levels of Lake Superior (1973-1979). Also contains personal correspondence and related papers, mostly associated with Winston's husband, Frederick S. Winston, noted attorney and conservationist (1928-1963). | |
| Quantity: | 1.5 cubic feet (4 boxes). | |
| Location: | P1374: See Detailed Description for shelf locations. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Elizabeth Melone was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 13, 1905 to Theodora (Gardiner) and Albert Melone. She graduated from Northrup School in Minneapolis in 1922, and Vassar College in 1926. After receiving her baccalaureate degree, she enrolled at the University of Minnesota and completed pedagogy courses hoping to become an elementary teacher. She then met Frederick S. Winston in early 1927, and married him later that year on September 5. They had three sons: Donald, Frederick, and Neil. Frederick S. Winston became a prominent attorney, championing conservationist causes, including serving on the Quetico-Superior Council in the 1920s and 1930s. He died on February 13, 1964.
Elizabeth Winston became involved in the Great Lakes, and specifically Lake Superior, conservation issues in roughly 1973 when she noted that erosion on her Madeline Island property required massive repairs. After much research, she and others determined the cause of Lake Superior's rise was the regulation of the Great Lakes water levels by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. As she saw it, this was in direct violation of the International Joint Commission Treaty of 1909.
Along with Kenneth Cadotte, Nanette Meech, and Susan Soucheray, Winston organized the Lake Superior Shores and Lowlands Defense Fund on September 20, 1973. Much research and collaboration with other conservation groups ensued. Winston's involvement was abundant and constant; making statements at public hearings, corresponding with elected officials and government agencies, and encouraging others to get involved in their work.
In 1974 the Lake Superior Shores and Lowlands Defense Fund, together with Northern Environmental Council, Inc. (NOREC), joined Phillip and Susan Soucheray in federal court litigation to enjoin the United States Army Corps of Engineers from further regulation of the Great Lakes water levels. The decision in this complaint was ruled in favor of the defendant on November 15, 1979. Winston continued her concern and work for environmental issues after the loss of her case. She died on February 15, 2000.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The collection contains newspaper clippings; correspondence; newsletters; hydrographic tables, charts, and analyses; and legal documentation which detail Winston's conservation work surrounding federal court litigation to protect Lake Superior water levels (1973-1979). Notable correspondents include congressmen John A. Blatnik, Donald Fraser, and James Oberstar, as well as senators Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Gaylord Nelson, and Jennings Randolph (1972-1979). There are additional limited amounts of documents that record her work with general conservation issues outside of the litigation (1975-1992). In total, these records provide a rich look at the development of legal action and "behind the scenes" grassroots organizing and government involvement for environmental issues.
There are also records that demonstrate Winston's husband Frederick's involvement with the Quetico-Superior Council (1928-1934) and his correspondence that includes both business transactions and personal greetings (1954-1963). In addition, Frederick's decree of distribution, as well as other family documents, are included (1970-1979).
ARRANGEMENT
These documents are organized into the following sections:
| Lake Superior Water Levels, 1972-1981 | ||
| Personal Correspondence and Related Papers, undated, 1928-1979 | ||
| General Environmental Activities, undated, 1975-1992 |
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here] Elizabeth M. Winston Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples
Accession Information:
Accession number: 15,826
Processing Information:
Processed by: Ann Mulfort, November 2004
Catalog ID number: 990029656580104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
LAKE SUPERIOR WATER LEVELS, 1972-1981
Included in this series are correspondence, hearing transcripts, newsletters, newspaper clippings, legal documents, charts, graphs, and analyses. Winston's abundant involvement in efforts to stabilize Lake Superior's water levels culminated in litigation against the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which she joined as a member of the Lake Superior Shores and Lowlands Defense Fund. The series comprises two subseries: correspondence with particular individuals, and subject files, although the researcher will find much correspondence in the subject files, as well. All are filed alphabetically.
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 1 | Individual Correspondents, 1972-1981: | |||||||||||
| The four folders that comprise the "EMW Letters" file is a good place to start to understand the progression of the work Winston performed with regard to Lake Superior. It is therefore filed first. | |||||||||||||
| EMW letters and related papers, 1973-1980. 4 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Bruce Blackburn and Grant Merritt correspondence, 1978-1979. | |||||||||||||
| Bruce Blackburn Northwoods Environmental Institute, 1974-1979. | |||||||||||||
| Congressman John A. Blatnik, 1973-1974. | |||||||||||||
| Bob Finnman, 1974-1977. | |||||||||||||
| Congressman Donald Fraser, 1975-1976. | |||||||||||||
| Governors' letters, 1975-1976. | |||||||||||||
| Senator Hubert Humphrey, 1973-1976. | |||||||||||||
| Senator Walter Mondale, 1973-1979. | |||||||||||||
| Senator Gaylord Nelson, 1972-1979. | |||||||||||||
| Congressman James Oberstar, 1975-1979. | |||||||||||||
| Walter Pomeroy, 1973-1981. | |||||||||||||
| Governor Albert Quie, 1978-1979. | |||||||||||||
| Senator Jennings Randolph, 1975-1979. | |||||||||||||
| Dan Reed, 1976-1980. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 2 | Subject Files, undated, 1973-1980: | |||||||||||
| Affidavits on damages, undated, 1973-1978. | |||||||||||||
| Army Corps of Engineers, undated, 1973-1979. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 3 | Court decision, November 15, 1979. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 2 | Environmental agencies private and government, 1973-1979. | |||||||||||
| Great Lakes Basin Commission, 1976-1980. | |||||||||||||
| Great Lakes Power Corp. redevelopment, 1978. | |||||||||||||
| Great Lakes precipitation report: 1900-1977, 1979. | |||||||||||||
| Great Lakes [St. Lawrence] Seaway navigation season extension, undated, 1978. | |||||||||||||
| International Joint Commission, undated, 1973-1979. | |||||||||||||
| International Joint Commission Plan 1977: January 1979 briefing, 1978-1979. | |||||||||||||
| International Joint Commission public hearing, June 18, 1973. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 3 | International Joint Commission public hearing, November 8, 1974. 4 folders. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 2 | International Joint Commission public hearing, December 12, 1978. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 3 | Lake Superior complaint and interrogatories, 1975-1978. | |||||||||||
| Memoranda of Law, undated, 1979. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 2 | Minnesota Historical Society, undated, 1974-1978. | |||||||||||
| NOREC [Northern Environmental Council] newsletters, 1973-1977. | |||||||||||||
| NOREC Workshop, October 29, 1974. | |||||||||||||
| Plan 1977 Amendment to 1914 Orders of Approval, 1978-1979. | |||||||||||||
| Proposals for L.W.V. [League of Women Voters], 1979. | |||||||||||||
| State Department, 1976-1979. | |||||||||||||
| Statements on damages, 1973-1978. | |||||||||||||
| Work conference on lawsuit, March 3, 1978. | |||||||||||||
PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE AND RELATED PAPERS, UNDATED, 1928-1979
This series contains legal documentation and correspondence, primarily dealing with Winston family issues and with Frederick S. Winston, specifically.
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 3 | Articles of Limited Partnership: Winston Partners, Ltd., [circa 1976]. | |||||||||||
| Francisca S. Winston Trust correspondence, 1963-1979. | |||||||||||||
| Frederick S. Winston correspondence, undated, 1954-1963. | |||||||||||||
| Includes both business-related and personal correspondence. | |||||||||||||
| Frederick S. Winston Decree of Distribution, 1970. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 4 | Greetings to Frederick S. Winston, 1963. | |||||||||||
| Frederick S. Winston received many letters and greeting cards during his illness from Elizabeth Winston, his sons, sister-in-law, and others, while he was living in Arizona and California. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 3 | Hilight Production Corporation bylaws, undated. | |||||||||||
| Quetico-Superior Council, 1928-1934. | |||||||||||||
GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES, UNDATED, 1975-1992
Included in this series are correspondence, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and reports that document Winston's continued involvement in environmental issues relating to the Great Lakes and to Lake Superior in particular. The items in these files are outside the scope of the major issue that is documented in the first series.
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1374 | 4 | Great Lakes levels and qualities, undated, 1980-1989. | |||||||||||
| International Great Lakes Levels Advisory Board, 1979-1982. | |||||||||||||
| Lake Superior water quality and levels, 1981-1985. | |||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous correspondence, 1980-1981. | |||||||||||||
| Save Lake Superior Association correspondence and newsletters, 1975-1992. | |||||||||||||
| Tordon 10K, 1981. | |||||||||||||
| Winter navigation, 1980-1981. | |||||||||||||
RELATED MATERIALS
CATALOG HEADINGS
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 search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Soil erosion -- Lake Superior.
- Summer resorts -- Wisconsin.
- Water levels -- Great Lakes.
- Water-supply engineering -- Great Lakes Region.
- Persons:
- Blatnik, John A., 1911-1991.
- Fraser, Donald M. (Donald MacKay), 1924-2019.
- Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978.
- Mondale, Walter F., 1928-2021.
- Nelson, Gaylord, 1916-.
- Oberholtzer, Ernest C. (Ernest Carl), 1884-1977.
- Oberstar, James L. (James Louis), 1934-.
- Randolph, Jennings, 1902-.
- Winston, Frederick S., 1892-1964.
- Organizations:
- International Joint Commission.
- Northern Environmental Council.
- Quetico-Superior Council.
- United States. Army. Corps of Engineers -- Trials, litigation, etc.
- Places:
- Great Lakes Region -- Regulation.
- Superior, Lake -- Regulation.
- Document Types:
- Hearings.
- Litigation.
- Technical reports.
- Transcripts.
- Occupations:
- Environmentalists -- Minnesota.
- Titles:
- Lake Superior news.
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