William S. Junkin Papers, 1906-1960

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Junkin, William Sumner, 1880-1971.
Title
William S. Junkin Papers
Dates
1906-1960 (inclusive)
1913 (bulk)
Quantity
1 document case and 1 oversize folder, (1.5 linear ft.)
Collection Number
Coll 29
Summary
Papers of a Portland, Oregon, communications worker who was active in local and regional affairs of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

William Sumner Junkin (1880-1971), a native of Umatilla County, was graduated from Oregon Agricultural College (Oregon State University) in 1901 with an engineering degree and spent his working life as a telephone lineman and electrician, mostly in Portland, Oregon. He helped to install and maintain the telephones at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition at Portland in 1905. In 1922, he moved to Tigard, Oregon, joined the Portland Fire Bureau in 1927, and retired in 1947. During that period, he installed fire call boxes and World War II air raid sirens .

Junkin first joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local No. 125 at Portland in 1903 and received 50-year honors in 1960. He was elected secretary-treasurer of Pacific District Council No. 1, headquartered in San Francisco, California, in 1912. During his service, he coordinated reporting for a major strike in 1913 against Pacific Gas and Electric Company. He served as secretary-treasurer of Local No. 125 and later on the District 4 executive board. In that capacity, he was a signatory on a district-wide agreement with Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company in 1917.

In 1904, Junkin married Minnie Wyatt, a native of Corvallis, Oregon, and classmate at Oregon Agricultural College. After his retirement, he co-authored, with his wife, a massive genealogy of her ancestors, the Henckel Family, which was published in 1965. The couple had two daughters and lived at Tigard much of their married life.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The bulk of the collection is composed of correspondence and reports from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union locals in California, which were sent to William S. Junkin, secretary-treasurer of Pacific District Council No. 1, during the 1913 strike against Pacific Gas and Electric Company. This series also includes a small quantity of his outgoing correspondence from that period, agreements between the union and the electric and telephone companies, and later correspondence from the district council to Junkin in Portland. A smaller series documents his activities with IBEW union locals and District 4 in the Portland area.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

William S. Junkin Papers, Coll 29, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is organized into the following series:

  • Series A: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Pacific District Council No. 1, 1912-1917
  • Series B: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Portland Locals, 1906-1960

Acquisition Information

Gift of J. Richard Noakes, 1972 (Accession no. 12455)

Separated Materials

Some newspaper clippings were separated to the Political Collection (Mss 1513) in 1973.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series A:  International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Pacific District Council No. 1, 1911-1917Return to Top

The series includes records of William S. Junkin's participation in district council affairs. It is composed of convention minutes, agreements with employers, a certificate of election, correspondence, and reports, which generally are arranged chronologically.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1
Convention minutes (San Francisco, California)
1911 November
1/2
Agreements with employers
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 1912 March Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, 1913 January and 1917 November
1912, 1913, 1917
1/3
Certificate of election for Junkins as secretary-treasurer
1912 October 26
Correspondence
Correspondence with representatives of IBEW California locals: No. 36 (Sacramento, and Chico sub-local), No. 151 (San Francisco), No. 180 (Vallejo), No. 207 (Stockton), No. 250 (Stockton, and San Jose sub-local), No. 283 (Oakland), No. 537 (San Francisco), and No. 594 (Santa Rosa, and Petaluma sub-local); Gas Workers Union No. 12,369 (Sacramento); Stationary Firemen's Union Local No. 86; and Pacific Gas and Electric Joint Strike Committee (Sacramento)
Box/Folder
1/4
Incoming
1913 May
1/5
Incoming
1913 June
1/6
Incoming
1913 July
1/7
Outgoing
1913 May-June
1/8
Outgoing—form letters
1913
Box/Folder
1/9
Strike reports
Most are entered on Strike Committee Report forms with additional narrative information on reverse.
1913 May-July
1/10, Over A/1
Ephemera
  • California act regulating electric poles, 1911
  • Flyer (oversize)—"A Few Facts Not Found in the Press," 1913
  • Strike ballot, 1913
  • Application blank for electric service, Great Western Power Company, Sacrament, California, undated
1911-1913, undated
1/11
Fourth District (Portland, Oregon)—correspondence
Includes W. S. Junkin's service on the Fourth District executive board, 1916-1917. Correspondents: Charles P. Ford, George L. Kelley, John Morgenthaler, C. D. Mull, Edward P. E. Troy, and John S. Wilson.
1914-1917

Series B:  International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Portland Locals, 1906-1960Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/12
Local No. 48—American Federation of Labor (AFL) convention dinner program
Folder featuring tipped-in photogravure of the Labor Temple, which was constructed by unions affiliated with the AFL, corner of Fourth Avenue and Jefferson Street, Portland, in 1920. The dinner featured speeches by national officers of AFL-affiliated unions, including the IBEW.
1923 October 3
1/13
Local No. 125—correspondence and ephemera
  • Membership card, W. S. Junkin, 1906
  • Withdrawal card, Carl Ehelebe (signed by W. S. Junkin, secretary), 1907 October 14
  • Circular letter to "Users of Home Phones," 1913 June 18
  • Typewritten note to W. S. Junkin from "C", 1913 October 11
  • Souvenir program (including brief history of the local), 1917 February 17
  • Withdrawal letter and card, W. S. Junkin, 1918 October 1
  • Person letter, ? Bennett to W. S. Junkin, Corvallis, Oregon, 1919 July 18
  • Dues receipts, W. S. Junkin, 1919
  • Attendance card, W.S. Junkin, undated
  • Application for Membership form (blank), undated
  • Clippings and poems, undated
1906-1919, undated
1/14
Local No. 125—receipts
From the period when W. S. Junkin served as secretary-treasurer of the local.
1908
1/15
Local No. 125—50-year certificate, card, and letter, W. S. Junkin
1960
1/16
Telephone Workers Local No. 42-A-77—convention ribbon
undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Collective labor agreements.
  • Labor unions--California.
  • Labor unions--Portland (Or.).
  • Strikes and lockouts.

Personal Names

  • Junkin, William Sumner, 1880-1971.

Corporate Names

  • International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Third District. Pacific District Council No. 1.
  • International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Local No. 125 (Portland, Or.).
  • Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
  • Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company.

Geographical Names

  • California--History--1850-1950.
  • Portland (Or.)--History--20th century.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Correspondence
  • Ephemera