Guide to the Howard L. and Willoughby Filer papers
1937-1985
Collection number: HMC-0476.
Creator:
Filer, Howard L.
Filer, Willoughby.
Title: Howard L. and Willoughby Filer papers.
Dates: 1937-1985 [bulk: 1937-1941.]
Volume of collection: 0.1 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are in English.
Collection summary: Letters and photographs from a U.S. Army construction worker and his wife stationed in Alaska.
Biographical note:
Howard and Willoughby Filer arrived in Alaska in August of 1940. He spent the following year working for the Property Division in the Quartermaster’s Department of the United States Army. Filer assisted in the construction of military bases and airstrips in the Anchorage and Seward areas, mostly at Fort Richardson. They left Alaska in 1941.
Collection description:
This collection contains correspondence relating to the Filers’ time in Alaska and traveling in Europe, photographs of Anchorage and surrounding areas, buttons, and a videotaped interview with Howard Filer. The correspondence is between Howard and Willoughby Filer and several people including Howard’s mother, aunt, and Harry T. Miller. The majority of the letters are from Howard to his aunt Clara Pierce. Most of the letters were written by Howard and Willoughby from Anchorage, Alaska. These describe their trip from Seattle to Anchorage and life in Alaska. They discuss their domestic and social life, recreational activities, friends, neighbors, work, and the city of Anchorage.
Arrangement: Collection contents are grouped by document type, mostly chronological within those groups.
Digitized copies: Two letters from the collection have been digitized and transcribed and placed on Alaska’s Digital Archives (also linked in container list below). For information about obtaining other digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Archives and Special Collections holds the copyright to materials created by the Filers.
Preferred citation: Howard L. and Willoughby Filer papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Acquisition note: The collection was given to the Archives by Katheryn J. Peters, Howard Filer’s niece, in 1998.
Processing information: This collection was originally arranged and described by Kathleen Hertel in 1998. The collection guide was reformatted to current standards by Arlene Schmuland in 2015.
Container list:
| Item | Description | Dates |
| 1 | Letter: Howard Filer (London), to his mother | undated |
| 2 | Letter: Howard Filer (Switzerland), to Harry T. Miller | 1937 May 20 |
| 3 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1940 August 10 |
| 4 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce [transcript] | 1940 August 14 |
| 5 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1940 August 27 |
| 6 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1940 September 4 |
| 7 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1940 September 16 |
| 8 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Mrs. Talbot E. Pierce | 1940 October 6 |
| 9 | Letter: Willoughby Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1940 October 21 |
| 10 | Letter: Willoughby Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Mrs. Talbot E. Pierce | 1940 November 25 |
| 11 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1940 December 7 |
| 12 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1940 December 24 |
| 13 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1941 January 4 |
| 14 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1941 January 10 |
| 15 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce [transcript] | 1941 January 24 |
| 16 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1941 February 9 |
| 17 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1941 March 4 |
| 18 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1941 March 15 |
| 19 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1941 March 30 |
| 20 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1941 April 19 |
| 21 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1941 April 21 |
| 22 | Letter: Howard Filer (Anchorage, AK), to Clara Pierce | 1941 April 21 |
| 23 | Photograph: Miss Halycon Whitford, “Chuck” Smith, Louie Grammar, Howard Filer, Anchorage, AK | 1941 January 15 |
| 24 | Photograph: Miss Halycon Whitford, “Chuck” Smith, Louie Grammar, Howard Filer, Anchorage, AK | 1941 January 17 |
| 25 | Photograph: Howard Filer, unidentified group of skiers, Alaska | 1941? |
| 26 | Photograph: Unidentified woman on skis, Anchorage, AK | 1941? |
| 27 | Photograph: Winter scene, buildings, Alaska | 1941? |
| 28 | Photograph: Downtown Anchorage, AK (postcard) | 1940 |
| 29 | Photograph: Howard Filer, kissing Blarney Stone, Ireland | 1956 |
| 30 | Button: front: “11, U. S. Army Engineers, Ft. Richardson,” back: “Howard Filer, August 1940 to 1941” | 1940-1941 |
| 31 | Button: front: “Alaska Dog Derby and Ice Carnival, Fairbanks,” back: “March 5, 1941, Howard Filer” | 1941 March 5 |
| 32 | VHS taped reminiscence by Howard Filer | 1985 |