Hardie, George, 1912-2001.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are access restrictions on boxes 18 and 37. Consult an archivist for details.

There are no access restrictions on the rest of the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

SCOPE AND CONTENT: This collection has been divided into nine series, with the folders listed alphabetically within each series. The series are: George Hardie's Personal Papers, 1896-1999, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), 1903-1989, American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS), 1956-1996, General William "Billy" Mitchell, 1880-1999, Tape Recorded Interviews, 1945-1997, Alfred Lawson, 1908-2001, Wisconsin Aviation, 1912-1997,  Negatives, 1919-1989 and Aviation Drawings and Blueprints, 1911-1990.

Series One: George Hardie's Personal Papers, 1896-1999. This series contains the personal papers of George Hardie which consist mostly of his correspondence with other aviation enthusiasts, as well as prominent figures in aviation, including John Kaminski, early Wisconsin aviator, who at the age of nineteen became the youngest man in America to earn his pilots license (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 146). Also included within this series are a significant number of photographs that document all areas of aviation history. The majority of the photographs are of many different types of aircrafts, but also include aviation facilities and personalities, including Amelia Earhart, Chuck Yeager, and a particularly interesting shot of Charles Lindbergh in Milwaukee during his tour of America after his flight to Paris.

Series Two: Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), 1903-1989. This series contains Hardie’s files relating to his affiliation with the EAA. These include records related to the organization of the EAA in Milwaukee in 1953, correspondence with board members, and materials on the construction of the different EAA facilities in both Illinois and Wisconsin, including the current museum in Oshkosh. Also included are records and photos related to anniversaries of significant events including the Wright Brothers and Lindbergh flights, and the organizational efforts to construct replicas of these aircraft for display in their museum. The balance of the materials include newsletters, pamphlets/brochures, and materials related to the annual Fly-In event.

Series Three: American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS), 1956-1996. This series contains materials related to Hardie’s involvement with the AAHS, which includes primarily correspondence with members, minutes of board meetings, organizational papers, and membership information. Also included is an extensive run of AAHS newsletters from 1967 to1996.

Series Four: General William "Billy" Mitchell, 1880-1999. The series contains materials related to the life and military career of military aviation pioneer General William "Billy" Mitchell. This collection is comprised primarily of photographs of Mitchell, his aviation, military and business associates, aircraft, and most notably, a series of photos documenting his successful demonstration to the U.S. military of the merits of aerial bombardment of German Battleship Ostfriesland. Also included are over 40 watercolors painted by Mitchell, reflecting scenes throughout his career.  The balance of the collection includes copies of newspaper and magazine articles about Mitchell, his aggressive advocacy of air power, his censure by the military, and his eventual court martial. Ironically, many of the tactics of air power for which he lobbied in the 1920s that are documented here were developed for use during the Second World War. Also included is a 1941 Congressional Resolution posthumously reinstating Mitchell into the Army at his former rank of general.

Series Five: Tape Recorded Interviews, 1945-1997. This series is comprised of 66 audio cassette and reel recordings, primarily interviews that Hardie conducted with figures prominent in early Wisconsin aviation. These include John Kaminski, associates of Billy Mitchell, and several engineers, designers, and employees of Hamilton Standard Propeller Company and the Lawson Airline Company. The balance of these tapes include recordings of AAHS meetings and interviews of Hardie discussing his role in the EAA and AAHS.

Series Six: Alfred Lawson, 1908-2001. This series contains materials related to Alfred Lawson and the Lawson Airline Company. They include company records, Lawson writings, correspondence, blueprints, and designs for several of his aircraft, and a large number of photographs of Lawson, his aircraft, and the company facilities and employees. Most notable are the photographs of the L-4 Liner which crashed south of Milwaukee on its maiden voyage. The company went out of business shortly afterward. There is also a limited amount of material on Lawson’s development of the philosophical thought known as Lawsonomy and the university that he founded to teach that concept. Also in this series is a draft of a history of Alfred Lawson and the Lawson Airliner Company written by Hardie.

Series Seven: Wisconsin Aviation, 1912-1997. This series contains materials related to both general and commercial aviation in Wisconsin, with a particular focus on the history and development of airports. A large amount of the material focuses specifically on Milwaukee County Airport, and its development into what is now Mitchell International Airport. Also included are news articles, correspondence, photographs of people and places related to Wisconsin aviation. These most notably include early Wisconsin aviation pioneers John Kaminski, Lester Maitland, the Crites Brothers, and aerial photography pioneer Albert F. Toepfer.

Series Eight: Negatives, 1919-1989. This series is restricted. Consult an archivist for details.  The negatives in box 18 are glass negatives and contain images of balloon races, Butler airport, aerial photos taken by Alfred Toepfer.  The negatives in box 37 are primarily of various models of airplanes, including general aviation and military aircraft, and of Mitchell Field, but also include other miscellaneous negatives.

Series Nine: Aviation Drawings and Blueprints, 1911-1990.  This series contains drawings and blueprints of both full-sized and scale model aircraft.  All major aircraft designers and manufacturers are represented including Boeing, Consolidated, Curtiss, Douglass, Fokker, Grumman, Ryan, Stinson, Stearman and Waco, among others.  Also included are blueprints and floor plans of airports, airfields, and related buildings, including an original design by George Hardie for a portion of the first Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Museum located in Hales Corners, Wisconsin.  Of special  interest is a group of drawings dating from 1939 to 1941 from the Flakartillerieschule IV (German Anti-Aircraft Artillery School, Number 4).  These drawings are multiple angle silhouettes of both Axis and Allied aircraft, which were used by German soldiers in anti-aircraft gunnery training at the beginning of World War Two.

ARRANGEMENT: The files are organized alphabetically within each series by personal name, name of office, or by subject, then chronologically. Photographs in this collection are stored with the collection. Anyone wishing to use the negatives in boxes 18 or 37 should contact an archivist for details.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: George Hardie was born in Rockford, Illinois in 1912. When he was a young boy his passion for aviation began with airplane model building and collecting. When he was older, he attempted to graduate to actual flying, but was denied training due to his poor eyesight, so he continued to fill his need for flying through advanced modeling, historical research, study, and writing. In 1954, he received an award from the Milwaukee County Historical Society for an exhibit of Billy Mitchell that he designed and installed at what was then called Mitchell Air Field (now Mitchell International Airport). He has also received many awards for his work in the early history of Wisconsin aviation.

During this time, Hardie also became involved in the development of a new organization dedicated to the field of experimental aviation which became known as the Experimental Air Association (EAA). Along with his responsibilities as a founding member, he also was the editor of their monthly newsletter Sport Aviation from 1958 to 1960 and was the organization's official historian.  He resumed his participation in the EAA from 1973 to1983 as display designer and historian.

Hardie also was a board member of the American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS) and served as president from 1961 to 1963. Although always active in aviation circles, Hardie bowed out of many of the administrative duties of these organizations to pursue his real passion of researching aviation history. He published articles in dozens of periodicals on many subjects related to Wisconsin aviation and became such a powerful influence in the field that in 1984 he was made a charter member of the Mitchell Gallery of Flight organization, where he served as secretary, exhibit designer, historian, and editor of their newsletter Flightlines. His highest accolade however was to come in 1991, when he was, by unanimous vote, inducted into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame. After that, due to some health concerns, Hardie relegated his activities to research and collection, an area in which he remained active until his death in the summer of 2001.

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

Hardie, George, 1913-2001. Papers, 1880-2001. University Manuscript Collection 65. University Manuscript Collection. Archives. UWM Libraries. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Kaminski, John G., 1893-1960. Papers, 1912-1960. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 146)

The George Hardie Aviation and Aerospace History Collection in Special Collections documents the development of modern aviation and aircraft, especially as it relates to contemporary society and popular imagination, through primary printed sources published from the 1890s to the mid-1960s. Currently, there are over 425 titles in Special Collections, and another 1160-plus titles in the library's general circulating collection.  Areas of focus in the collection include military, commercial, instructional, and hobbyist aspects of aviation. The book collection is developed through gift and non-state funds.

ACQUISITION: George Hardie donated the collection to the Archives in 1994 (accession number 1994-032). Additional material, including World War I and II airplane photographs, clipping albums of airplane data, and artwork, was donated in 1996 (accession number 1996-020). In 1999 and 2000 four accessions of Hardie materials were made (accession numbers 1999-060, 2000-002, 2000-021, and 2000-036). The balance of the collection was donated in August of 2001, after George Hardie's death (accession number 2001-004).

PROCESSING: Thomas Steman processed the original collection (accession number 1994-032) at the Archives in January through August 1996. The second accession (accession number 1996-020) was processed by Ellen Engseth and Kathy Koch at the Archives in January and February 1997. The photograph database was created by Sarah Cervinski, Ellen Engseth, and Kathy Koch in November 1996, and January and February 1997. Series Six was processed by Nick Weber in March 2000 (accession number 1999-060), at which time substantial additions to, and modifications of, the photograph database were also completed. Additions were added (accession numbers 2001-004, 2001-021, and 2001-036) by Emily Castle in 2002. The collection was reprocessed by Bob Carter and Emily Castle in 2002. At this time, Aviation Periodicals were sent to Acquisitions (accession number 1996-020).  In May of 2004, several dozen aviation blueprints and drawings were discovered in a remote storage area.  These were processed by Ismoon Hunter-Morton in July 2004.  Christel Maass added a folder of Wright flyer blueprints (accession 2005-009) to the collection in August 2005. Nancy Thomadsen modified the collection in March through July 2006.

MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:

• Aeronautics.
• Aeronautics--Military--United States--History.
• Aircraft industry--United States--Military aspects.
• Airplanes.
• Airplanes, home built.
• Airplanes, Military--United States.
• Airplanes, models.
• Airports.
• American Aviation Historical Society.
• Aviation.
• Boeing Airplane Company.
• Curtiss aircraft--photographs.
• Douglas Aircraft Company.
• Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937.
• Experimental Aircraft Association.
• Ford, Henry, 1863-1947.
• General Mitchell International Airport.
• Kaminski, John, 1893-1960.
• Lawson Airline Company.
• Lawson, Alfred W. (Alfred William), 1869-1954.
• Lawsonomy.
• Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1902-1974.
• Lockheed aircraft--History.
• Midwest Aero Historian.
• Milwaukee (Wis.)--Airports.
• Milwaukee (Wis.)--History--Sources.
• Mitchell, William, 1879-1936.
• Wisconsin--History--Sources.
• World War, 1914-1918--Aerial operations.
• Wright, Orville, 1871-1948.

UWM MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION 65. Series 3. American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS), 1956-1996.	BOX	FOLDER
Administrative Memos, 1961-1968	5	3
Administrative Program, 1961-1962	5	4
American Aviation Historical Society, Administrative Files, 1961	35	8
American Aviation Historical Society, Journal, 1956-1962	35	9-10
American Aviation Historical Society, Newsletter, 1967-1996	26	1-6
Andrews, Hal, Correspondence, 1960-1962	5	5
Besecker, Roger, Correspondence, 1962	5	6
Bliss, Roland, Correspondence, 1961-1962	5	7
Board of Directors, Minutes, 1959-1968	5	8
Bueschel, Dick, Correspondence, 1961	5	9
Correspondence, Miscellaneous,1956-1971	5	10
Durand, James, Correspondence, 1962-1963	5	11
Fenn, Russ, Correspondence, 1961-1962	5	12
Gann, Harry, Correspondence, 1957-1961	5	13
Higham, Robin, Correspondence, 1963-1964	5	14
Hood, Frank, Correspondence, 1961-1962	5	15
Information Pamphlets, undated	5	16
Information Survey, undated	5	17
Larkins, Williams, Correspondence, 1956-1962	5	18
Morgan, Len, Correspondence, 1961-1963	5	20
Nye, Willis, Correspondence, 1962-1966	5	19
Rae, John, Correspondence, 1963-1964	5	21
Riley, Bill, Correspondence, 1959-1966	5	22
Rust, Ken, Correspondence, 1963-1964	5	23
Shipp, Warren, Correspondence, 1961-1962	5	24
Sloan, James, Correspondence, 1957-1971	5	25-26
Smith, Richard, Correspondence, 1962-1963, 1968	6	1
Wheeler, Gerald, Correspondence, 1959-1966	6	2