Sessions S. "Buck" Wheeler

Sessions Samuel "Buck" Wheeler was born April 27, 1911 on a ranch near Fernley, Nevada, to Lister and Lythia Wheeler. In 1915 the family moved to Reno, where Buck attended Reno grammar schools and graduated from Reno High School. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1934 and a Master of Science degree in 1935, both from the University of Nevada, Reno. He was married twice: once to Marge (divorced just prior to January 31, 1941) and to Nevada Hazel Pedroli in April, 1948. They had no children; Nevada died November 19, 1996, and Sessions passed away on August 25, 1998.

Wheeler's love of the Nevada desert and countryside developed early and was further enhanced by his experience as a young man working for a survey crew for the U.S. General Land Office. His unfinished autobiography details a part of that experience. He taught biology at Reno High School for thirty years and summer classes in conservation at his alma mater, spent three years as the first director of the Nevada Fish and Game Commission (1947-1950), and was an avid fisherman. He co-authored two text books on conservation and integrated conservation into his class curriculum. He and close friends such as Craig Sheppard and Kenneth Carpenter made many trips to the Black Rock Desert, studying, observing, painting, and photographing the desert landscape. His desert experiences and extensive research were compiled into several books.

Buck met Major Max C. Fleischmann in 1939 while golfing at Glenbrook, Lake Tahoe. Both shared sports interests, a concern for and love of the outdoors, and fishing. Wheeler's biography of Fleischmann focuses on those interests and is as much about himself as it is about the Major. Their mutual respect lead to Wheeler's appointment as a trustee of the Fleischmann Foundation after the Major's death in 1951, a position Buck filled until the foundation was dissolved in 1980.

Wheeler also served on the board of the Nevada State Museum. He received the Conservationist of the Year award, Outstanding Biology Teacher award, and the Distinguished Nevadan Award from the University of Nevada in 1963. He was listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.

In addition to his two text books on conservation, Wheeler and William O. Bay co-authored a column for the Reno Evening Gazette called "Nevada Sage & Stream. Wheeler also wrote the following:

• Poplar and Willow Canker: A Serious Disease of Shade Trees in Nevada. Master's thesis, University of Nevada, Reno. 1935.
• Paiute. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1965. Reprinted several times.
• The Nevada Desert. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1971.
• Nevada's Black Rock Desert, illustrated by J. Craig Sheppard. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1978.
• The Black Rock Desert, illustrated by J. Craig Sheppard. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1978.
• Nevada Desert Sheepman by Reginald Meaker as told to Sessions S. Wheeler and Gerald Meaker. Sparks, Nevada: Western Printing and Publishing Company, 1981.
• Gentleman in the Outdoors: A Portrait of Max C. Fleischmann. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1985.
• The Desert Lake: The Story of Nevada's Pyramid Lake. (Revised ed). Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1987.
• Tahoe Heritage: The Bliss Family of Glenbrook, Nevada by Sessions S. Wheeler with William W. Bliss. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1992.
• "Sagebrush, Pine Trees and Youth." Unpublished, incomplete autobiography.

 

Scope and Content

The Sessions S. Wheeler Papers were given to the Special Collections Department in 1998 in accordance with Wheeler's will. The collection dates from 1849-1992 and consists of five and one-half cubic feet of material; there are no restrictions on its use.

These papers consist entirely of materials related to Wheeler's published writings: manuscripts in draft and edited formats, research notes and tapes, original papers and records of Max C. Fleischmann, photographs, and newspaper clippings. Mr. Wheeler's personal papers were inherited by his family members.

The bulk of the collection consists of manuscripts of Wheeler's published books, plus his unfinished autobiography, "Sagebrush, Pine Trees and Youth." The manuscripts include prospectus for "The Indian War of Nevada's Black Rock Desert During the Years 1865 and 1866," and "The black Rock-Smoke Desert. The Story of Nevada's Historic Desert Playa;" and clean and marked-up manuscript typescripts of Wheeler's other books. This collection does not include manuscripts for Wheeler's University of Nevada thesis (which is available in University Archives, thesis no. 50), Nevada's Black Rock Desert, his conservation text-books, or any of his newspaper columns.

Supplementing these manuscripts are research notes, clippings and other materials used as sources for Wheeler's non-fiction materials. There is an extensive amount of original Fleischmann papers and records, evidently given to Wheeler by Sarah Fleischmann after her husband's death. The Fleischmann materials relate primarily to the Major's outdoor activities, interests, and scientific expeditions and include an extensive number of photographs, some of which were used in Wheeler's biography of the Major.

There is also a series which contains speeches and scripts for slide shows which Wheeler gave about conservation and the Black Rock Desert.

The last series also contains research materials related to one or more of the topics on which Wheeler wrote, but of a such a general nature that they could not be filed with a particular manuscript. The topics of this series are arranged alphabetically. Of note in the "Individuals" section is a biographical essay by Monique Laxalt Urza on Craig and Yolanda Sheppard and their family.

All photographs in the collection have been transferred to the Special Collections Department photographic archives and are filed as collection P99-06.

Two Wheeler items were donated to the Special Collections a number of years ago. The first is the original manuscript for Wheelers fiction book, Paiute; it was cataloged as manuscript collection NC05. The second manuscript item, collection 83-13, is an interview of Sessions Wheeler conducted by Allen V. Mundt in 1973. In this interview, Wheeler discussed the history of environmental education in Nevada, the development of curriculum materials for the teaching of environmental science, his teaching career, and the Nevada State Fish and Game Commission.

Processed by: Susan Searcy
Date: March 17, 1999

 

The papers of Sessions S. Wheeler are organized into the following series and subseries:

1. Manuscripts and Related Research Files
   1. Paiute
   2. The Nevada Desert
   3. The Black Rock Desert
   4. Nevada's Desert Sheepman
   5. Gentleman in the Outdoors
   6. The Desert Lake
   7. Tahoe Heritage
   8. Sagebrush, Pine Trees and Youth
2. Speeches and Scripts for Slide Shows
3. Research Notes
   1. Black Rock Desert
   2. Indians
   3. Individuals
   4. Miscellaneous
   5. Pyramid Lake

 

Series I. Manuscripts and Related Research Files. 1849 - 1992. 4.25 cu. ft.

This series includes Wheeler's manuscripts in pre-publication stages, from book proposals to final corrected versions, plus research notes and materials directly related to and used in these manuscripts. The resource materials include interviews in both audio tape and written formats; research notes; and primary source materials.

The material which Wheeler collected for his book, Gentleman in the Outdoors : A Portrait of Max C. Fleischmann is particularly rich and complete; Mrs. Max Fleischmann gave Wheeler several boxes of her husband's files and photographs related to his outdoor activities such as fishing, hunting, sailing, and scientific expeditions. In addition, the Fleischmann materials included a thick binder, the contents of which Wheeler used extensively in his book. The binder included some material duplicated in the other Fleischmann files as well as correspondence between Wheeler and Fleischmann.

Buck Wheeler began a manuscript account of his own life in his later years but set it aside to write Tahoe Heritage: The Bliss Family of Glenbrook, Nevada. Unfortunately this autobiography was never finished. Entitled "Sagebrush, Pine Trees and Youth," the manuscript describes Wheeler's introduction to the world of outdoor Nevada, beginning in high school and ending at the point in which he describes his first days as a surveyor. Two versions are included - one more polished than the first draft.

The overall arrangement of this series is by manuscript title, arranged chronologically by publication date. Wheeler's unpublished autobiography follows his published titles. Each subseries is further divided into sub-sub-series which consist of research notes or audio tapes pertaining to that title. The Fleischmann materials have yet a third grouping - in addition to those materials used directly by Wheeler (which he originally placed in a binder) there are subsequent original materials loosely grouped into those about Fleischmann family members and company, the Major's scientific expeditions and fishing trips, and files entitled "Fishing and Hunting Data."

The series originally included hundreds of photographs but they have all been transferred to the photographic archives of the Special Collections Department and accessed as photo collection P99-06.

Box 1

I/1/1 Paiute manuscripts. [Note: a copy of Wheeler's original manuscript and press notices were accessioned into the Special Collections manuscript collection as NC05]. 1965.

I/1/1/1-3 Paiute manuscript. Carbon, some corrections.

I/1/1/4-5 Paiute manuscript. Carbon, heavy corrections.

I/1/2/1-2 Research notes for Paiute.

I/2 The Nevada Desert manuscripts. 1971; 1981.

I/1/2/1-4 Typescript, printers corrections.

I/1/2/5 Photos and new text for 1981 edition.

I/1/2/6 Clean typescript with publisher's comments.

I/3/1 The Black Rock Desert manuscripts. 1978.

I/3/1/1-4 Typescript with printer's corrections; photographs in situ.

I/3/1/5 Typescript. Clean copy, photocopies of photographs.

 

Box 2

I/3/2 The Black Rock Desert research materials and prospectus.

I/3/2/1 Interview with D. Fred Parrish on modern rock hunting. Audio cassette tape.

I/3/2/2 Prospectus: "The Indian War of Nevada's Black Rock Desert During the Years 1865 and 1866." Illustrated with the paintings of Craig J. Sheppard, text and photographs by Sessions S. Wheeler. n.d. [Note: although the title suggests that this prospectus pertains to the book Paiute, internal contents suggests that it became The Black Rock Desert.] Hand lettered by Wheeler.

I/3/2/3 Prospectus: "The Black Rock-Smoke Desert. The Story of Nevada's Historic Desert Playa" by Sessions S. Wheeler and Nevada's Desert Artist, Craig J. Sheppard. Hand lettered by Wheeler.

I/4/1 Nevada's Desert Sheepman by Reginald Meaker as told to Sessions S. Wheeler and Gerald Meaker. Manuscripts. 1981. [Note: the original folders were labeled "Nevada Desert Sheepman;" that information was transferred to new acid-free folders into which the contents were transferred.]

I/4/1/1 Typescript manuscript, nearly clean copy (corrections by Wheeler), photocopies of photographs.

I/4/1/2 Galley proof with corrections.

I/4/1/3 Typescript manuscript, clean copy for printer. Title: "Recollections of a Nevada Sheep Rancher: The Life of Reginald Meaker."

I/4/1/4 Manuscript, chapter 7, hand-written by Wheeler, plus typescript.

I/4/2 Research notes and interviews for Nevada's Desert Sheepman.

I/4/2/1 Correspondence.

I/4/2/2 "Reginald Meaker Story additional information to S.S. Wheeler." Cassette tape recording.

I/4/2/3 Wheeler's notes on interviews of Reginald Meaker and Paul Flanigan, Carmen Taylor Mayes, and Hugh Taylor.

I/4/2/4 "The Story of the Big Horn Sheep in Central Nevada" by Merlin A. McColm, Sierra District, Nevada Fish and Game Commission. 1963.

I/4/2/5 "A Range History of Nevada" by Ben Hazeltine, Charles Saulisberry, and Harry Taylor. [ca 1959-1960].

I/4/2/6 Ranching notes.

I/4/2/7 Research and interview tapes:
I/4/2/7a John G. Taylor by Reginald Meaker and Paul Flanigan to S.S. Wheeler.
I/4/2/7b John G. Taylor by nephew Hugh Taylor and C. Young to Sessions S. Wheeler.
I/4/2/7c John G. Taylor by granddaughter Carmen Taylor Mayes; also Jeanette Cloud, daughter, to Wheeler.

I/4/2/8 Research and interview tapes, con't.
I/4/2/8a Side 1: Jeanette Taylor Cloud interview, con't.;

I/4/2/8a Side 2: Interview with Avery Stitser (first 1/4 of tape); interview of Mona Toogood, 90+ years old, once married to Charles Lake, son of the Lake of Lake's Crossing in Reno (last 3/4 of tape).
I/4/2/8b Ranching history, Black Rock Desert, related by Ralph G. Parman to S. Wheeler. 1974.
I/4/2/8c Side 1: Continuation of Parman interview.
Side 2: Mitchell Bidhart, Leonard Creek Ranch, Black Rock Desert, Aug. 31, 1975; Sheep on Black Rock ranches by Ralph G. Parman, 1975.

I/4/2/9 Interview and research tapes, con't.
I/4/2/9a Ranching history of Black Rock Desert, Smoke Creek Desert, related by Ralph G. Parman to S. Wheeler. July 5, 1975.
I/4/2/9b Side 1: P. Lassen [diary] in the California Room of the California State Library [read by Sessions S. Wheeler].
Side 2: Mr. Lay, Jackson Creek Ranch, Black Rock Desert.

I/4/2/10 Interview and research tapes, con't.
I/4/2/10 John G. Taylor tape recorded interviews (reel to reel tape).

I/4/2/11 Interview and research tapes, con't. Tapes of 19th century diaries held at Bancroft Library, read into tape recorder by S.S. Wheeler.
I/4/2/11a Tipton Lindsey. "The Plains and Deserts of North America." 1849.
I/4/2/11b Francis Sawyer. Original diary, notes kept on journey across the Plains. 1852.

I/5/1 A Gentleman in the Outdoors: A Portrait of Max C. Fleischmann. Manuscripts. 1985.

I/5/1/1-3 Edited manuscript with editor's notations.

 

Box 3

I/5/2 A Gentleman in the Outdoors research materials.

I/5/2/1-10 Material from binder of research materials assembled by Wheeler: notes on specific topics, Nevada Wheeler diary notes, letters from Max and Sarah Fleischmann to S. Wheeler; also taped interviews.

I/5/2/1 Manuscript outline, Nevada Wheeler's diary notes of Fleischmann's last fishing trip to Alaska, 1951; brochures about the yacht "Haida."

I/5/2/2 "Research through interviews."

I/5/2/3 Military research.

I/5/2/4 Newspaper research.

I/5/2/5 Research: Julius Bergen "Fleischmann from Hungary," libraries and museums.

I/5/2/6 Conservation, trap-shooting, other activities and recreation.

I/5/2/7 Fleischmann expeditions.

I/5/2/8 Personal reminiscences, letters, obituaries, "Who Was Who."

I/5/2/9 Personal letters from Max and Sarah Fleischmann to Sessions Wheeler.

I/5/2/10 Taped interviews of Morley Griswold and Jules Bergen.

I/5/3 Research materials from other sources and original manuscript materials from Fleischmann's original papers and records.

I/5/3/1 Historical notes on Fleischmann and the Fleischmann family from the Standard Brands Library. May 16, 1935.

I/5/3/2 Charles Fleischmann birth centennial clippings. 1934.

I/5/3/3 Charles Fleischmann materials.

I/5/3/4 15 cent bank note [originally in the possession of Charles Fleischmann]. Stored in vault.

I/5/3/5 Misc. Fleischmann family materials.

I/5/3/6 Presentation album/book of appreciation to Max C. Fleischmann from "The Men of Fleischmann." n.d. [ca 1925-1926?]. Stored in Box 6.

I/5/3/6a Certificates.

I/5/3/7 Major Fleischmann, World War I, World War II.

I/5/3/8 Medal presented to Fleischmann: "Champion" [for shooting?]. n.d.

I/5/3/9 Scrapbook of clippings about death of Max C. Fleischmann. 1951.

I/5/3/10 Museum Talk magazine published by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Summer 1952. Article: "Haida Art in Slate" [about MCF's gift to the museum].

I/5/3/11 MCF's ship "Haida" to U.S. Navy. 1941.

I/5/3/12 MCF's certificates of appointment as Deputy Sheriff and Special Deputy U.S. Marshal. 1948-1950.

I/5/3/13-14 Fleischmann's journal of a shooting trip to Indo-China. 1928.

I/5/3/15 "Suggested Notes for Visiting Sportsmen for a Trip to French Indo-China" by MCF. [1928].

I/5/3/16 Album: Major and Mrs. Fleischmann and their guests, Jack & Betty Wilborn, aboard the Fleischmann yacht, The Haida, on a Mexican fishing cruise. 1934. Typed narrative, list of fish caught, snapshots (which have been transferred to photo archives). Stored in Box 6.

I/5/3/17-18 Correspondence related to the 1936 scientific expedition to Indo-China. 1935-1946.

I/5/3/19 Manuscript "Fleischmann-Clark Indo-China Expedition 1936" by Max C. Fleischmann.

I/5/3/20 Original proposal and correspondence for Fleischmann-Clark Indo-China expedition. 1934.

I/5/3/21 Marine fisheries book correspondence. 1934-1935.

I/5/3/22-26 Fleischmann's records for the scientific expedition of the Haida on behalf of the book, Marine Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast from Alaska to the Equator by Lionel A. Wolford, University of California Press, 1937. 1935-1937.

 

Box 4

I/5/3/27 Mexican cruise. 1936-1937.

I/5/3/28 Mexican trips. 1936-1948.

I/5/3/29 Mexican trip. 1938.

I/5/3/30-37 Fishing and hunting data and properties. 1934-1949.

I/5/3/38 Fish and game associations.

I/6/ The Desert Lake: The Story of Nevada's Pyramid Lake. 1987. Manuscripts.

I/6/1-3 Manuscript with editor's corrections and photographs.

I/6/4 Corrected proofs for second printing.

I/7/1 Tahoe Heritage: The Bliss Family of Glenbrook, Nevada. 1992. Manuscripts.

I/7/1 Original typescript manuscript.

 

Box 5

I/7/2 Corrected draft manuscript.

I/7/3 Chapter summary.

I/7/4 Clean draft typescript of "To the Reader," Chapters 3 (partial), 4 and 7.

I/7/5 Clean draft typescript, Chapters 8 and 9.

I/7/6 Clean draft typescript, Chapter 13.

I/7/7 Clean draft typescript, Chapter 16.

I/7/8 Clean draft typescript, Epilogue.

I/8 Manuscript autobiography of Wheeler, "Sagebrush, Pine Trees, and Youth." n.d. Incomplete.

 

Series II. Speeches and Scripts for Slide Shows. n.d. .25 cu. ft.

Sessions Wheeler was often asked to give speeches and slide shows about those topics he loved and knew best - the Black Desert and conservation of natural resources. This series contains full typescripts, outlines, narratives, and note cards for those oral presentations. This series was accompanied by slides which have been left in Wheeler's original order but transferred to the Special Collections Department's photographic archives. None of these materials appear to be dated.

Box 5

II/1 Slide show narratives and lectures: radio interview, "Last Black Rock Indian Battle," "The Nevada Desert," and "Conservation Education and Fisheries' Management.

II/2 Lectures: "The Black Rock Desert;" lecture on writing books, for reporters and other staff of the Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper; "Interdependence of Natural Resources and Conservation Problems Which Can be Solved Only Through Conservation Education."

II/3 Slide lecture: "The Black Rock Desert."

II/4 Lecture/article: "Conserving Nevada's Fish and Wildlife."

 

Series III. Research Notes. 1850-1992. .5 cu. ft.

This series contains research notes and materials which were too general in nature to be definitively associated with any particular one of Wheeler books. The sources include newspaper clippings; government documents; archaeological reports; correspondence; articles from historical journals; and essays by other writers, such as the biographical sketch of the Craig Sheppard family by Monique Laxalt Urza. General topics, which are arranged alphabetically, are the Black Rock Desert, Indians, Individuals, Miscellaneous, and Pyramid Lake.

Box 5

III/1 The Black Rock Desert.

III/1/1 Research sources on the Black Rock Desert and related areas. 1969-1976.

III/1/2 Black Rock Desert preservation.

III/2 Indians.

III/2/1 Prehistory.

III/2/2 Indians.

III/2/3 Indians.

III/2/4 [Copy of] the first American hunting license, sent to Wheeler by Curtis L. Crum. 1965.

III/2/5 Indian war newspaper research from historic Nevada and California newspapers.

III/2/6 "From Pottage to Pottage: A Perspective on Aboriginal Horse Use in the Northern Great Basin Prior to 1850" by Thomas N. Layton. n.d. [197?].

III/2/7 Indians.

III/2/8 "Massacre: What Massacre? An Inquiry into the Massacre of 1850" by Thomas N. Layton. n.d. [197?].

III/3 Individuals.

III/3/1 Atkinson, W.G. "Old Tennessee Letters." 1857.

III/3/2 Lassen, Peter.

III/3/3 Sheppard, Craig. "The Sheppard Family: Nevada's Quiet Jewel" by Monique Laxalt Urza. [1992].

III/3/4 Smith, Jedediah. Remarks by Robert E. Stewart to the Jedediah Smith Society, Grass Valley, California, Sept. 13, 1975.

III/3/5 Wasson, Warren.

III/3/6 Wingfield, George. Getchell Mine and Wingfield.

III/4 Miscellaneous.

III/4/1 Military records. ca 1863.

III/4/2 Mining.

III/4/3 Nevada misc.

III/4/4 Press/printing.

III/4/5 Research correspondence.

III/4/6-7 Roads and trails.

III/5 Pyramid Lake.

III/5/1 Research sources, Pyramid Lake water. 1986.

III/5/2 Pyramid Lake history.

Album: Major and Mrs. Fleischmann and their guests, Jack & Betty Wilborn, aboard the Fleischmann yacht, The Haida, on a Mexican fishing cruise. 1934. Typed narrative, list of fish caught, snapshots (which have been transferred to photo archives).

Presentation album/book of appreciation to Max C. Fleischmann from "The Men of Fleischmann." n.d. [ca 1925-1926?].

Manuscripts | Special Collections

Please direct questions to Jacquelyn Sundstrand
Updated August 11, 2008