Olga A. Reifschneider (1900-1978)

Olga Reifschneider was born Olga Augusta Wuertz on a farm in Illinois in 1900. She grew up and attended school in St. Louis, Missouri, reaching the eleventh grade. She then married John C. (Jack) Reifschneider, and in 1920 the two moved to Ukiah, California. Nine years later they settled in Reno and opened an auto body shop, which prospered.

Reifschneider took occasional college classes, but did not enroll full-time at UNR until 1944, the year her daughter Nita (Reifschneider) Spangler graduated with a journalism degree. The elder Reifschneider gained a bachelor's degree in botany in 1949, and attended the Yosemite Field School for Ranger Naturalists that same year.

Although occupied as financial manager for her husband's business until his retirement in 1968, Reifschneider maintained a second career as botanist and nature writer until her death in early 1978. Through contact with James R. Henrichs, Agnes (Scott Hume Train) Janssen, and W. Andrew Archer, who worked on the Nevada Indian Medicine Project in the 1930's and 1940's, she developed a lifelong interest in native medicinal plants. Studies under prominent Nevada botanists such as William Dwight Billings, Philip A. Lehenbauer, and Ira La Rivers sparked her interest in the historical and biographical aspects of botany, and eventually resulted in her book, Biographies of Nevada Botanists, published by the University of Nevada Press in 1965. (An informal autobiographical sketch dealing with the development of Reifschneider's intellectural interests is available in two versions in the Special Collections Manuscript Control File).

Reifschneider lectured and wrote articles on wildflowers, desert biology, and the environment, as well as Nevada history, petroglyphs, and Benjamin Franklin. In the field she was an avid plant collector and photographer. One small mimulus she collected near Pyramid Lake in 1956 was indentified as a new species, and given the name "Reifschneiderae".

 

Scope and Content

The Olga Reifschneider Collection covers the years 1862-1978, and was a gift to UNR from Nita (Reifschneider) Spangler, Olga's daughter. The entire collection is divided into three broad sections:

1. The Papers comprise four cubic feet of material in three archive boxes, one 3x5 card file, and one large map folder. One subseries (three folders) has a restriction on use. The Papers and their restriction are described in detail below.

2. The photographic materials include approximately 2000 color slides plus 143 black-and-white prints and negatives, all of which have been tranferred to the photo archives. A summary and partial index are attached.

3. Finally, the following items have been separated from the collection pending final disposition: 32 books, 114 issues of 19 different periodicals, 32 pamphlets, miscellaneous camera and slide projection equipment, and two boxes of three-dimensional memorabilia. These items are inventoried in the Special Collections Manuscript Control File. A summary is attached.

The Papers were collected by Olga Refischneider primarily in her second career as botanist and historian of botany, and date from 1862-1978. The greatest quantity dates from after 1945, when she began a formal study of botany at UNR, and includes research notes, correspondence, drafts for books and articles, clippings, and printed material. There is also a smaller amount of material from 1862-1945, collected by Reifschneider incident to her study of the history of Nevada botany, which is primarily in the form of typescripts and photocopies (based on handwritten originals located elsewhere), plus a few original historical documents.

This historical and biographical information resulted in one published monograph: Biographies of Nevada Botanists, published by the University of Nevada Press in 1965. There is also incomplete material for proposed works on Charles Lewis Anderson, 1827-1910, and Vernon Orlando Bailey, 1864-?. Some of the unpublished research ended up in articles and lectures.

The Anderson series includes three folders of typescripts of Anderson's correspondence, primarily with his wife from 1862-1867, which are restricted: copying is prohibited without written permission from the Bancroft Library, who owns the originals. This subseries is related to similar Anderson papers given to UNR by Reifschneider in 1962 and 1966. The latter are filed in the Special Collections Department as Manuscript Collection NC252.

Wherever possible Reifschneider's own grouping of individual items has been followed. For example, packets of letters which she had stapled together because they bear on a single subject have been left clipped together, even when that arrangement produces a minor irregularity in chronology. The Papers have been divided into seven broad categories (called subgroups) based on aspects of the author's life. Each of the first six subgroups is further divided alphabetically by subject area (called series). Each series of correspondence is arranged chronologically.

Processed by: Jack Shipley
Date: January, 1988.NC528

The Olga Reifschneider Papers have been arranged into the following subgroups:

Subgroup I. Addresses, Essays.

Subgroup II. Biographical Research.

Subgroup III. Biographies of Nevada Botanists.

Subgroup IV. Botany.

Subgroup V. Environment.

Subgroup VI. Personal.

Subgroup VII. Maps and Oversize - housed separately.

Subgroup VIII. Photographic Materials - housed separately.

Subgroup IX. Three-dimensional Materials - housed separately.

 

Subgroup I Addresses, Essays. 1942-1977, n.d.

Includes drafts of articles by Reifschneider intended for publication in various periodicals, as well as speeches, notes and related information. Among the subjects are medicinal uses of native plants, wildflowers, desert biology, petroglyphs, Nevada history, Benjamin Franklin, and birds.

Box 1

Folder No.

1. Conservation education/Sessions Wheeler, 1957-70, n.d.
2. Indian medicine project, 1975-77, n.d.
3. Inland Stage Line, 1942-1976, n.d.
4. Misc. articles (includes complete Nevada Highways and Parks, 1957/2; Toiyabe Tattler, 10/67, and 4/68. Each has a botany article by Reifschneider).
5. Notes for speeches.
6. Women in professions.

 

Subgroup II Biographical Research.

Contains primarily research notes, correspondence, and printed material about Nevada botanists. A few non-botanists are included, such as Eliza Cook and George Washington. Extensive material on Charles Lewis Anderson includes his correspondence, 1862-1866, which cannot be copied without permission of the Bancroft Library. (See also Anderson's Papers, NC252, for related material). Vernon Orlando Bailey material includes typed copies of several handwritten autobiographical essays. William Dwight Billings' folder includes a copy of his Plants and the Ecosystem, 1964, inscribed to Reifschneider. Eliza Cook's folder contains two original articles on women's suffrage from the Sierra Valley Leader, 1/4/1895; and an unknown paper, 1/9/1896, and Real West magazine, 6/1972, with an article about Cook. Arranged alphabetically by subject name.

Box 1

Folder no.

7. Alexander, Annie Montague, 1867-1950.
8-10. Anderson, Charles Lewis, 1827-1910.
Correspondence about, 1955-1967.
11-13. Anderson, Charles Lewis, 1827-1910.
Correspondence of, 1862-1866, n.d.
14. Anderson, Charles Lewis, 1827-1910. Historic Material.
15-16. Anderson, Charles Lewis, 1827-1910. Notes about.
17. Archer, William Andrew, 1894-1973.
18-19. Bailey, Vernon Orlando, 1864-?. Autobiographical Notes.
20. Bailey, Vernon Orlando, 1864-?.
Correspondence about, 1967-1968.
21. Bailey, Vernon Orlando, 1864-?. Notes about.
22. Billings, William Dwight, 1910-.
23. Carlson, Norman K., 1912-.
24. Clokey, Ira Waddell, 1878-1950.
25. Constance, Lincoln, 1909-.
26. Cook, Eliza, 1865-1947.
27. Eastwood, Alice, 1859-1953.
28. Engelmann, George, 1809-1884.
29. Fleming, Charles, E., 1889-1968.
30. Frandsen, Peter, 1876-.
31. Fremont, John Charles, 1813-1890.
32. Galway, Desma (Hall), 1917-.
33. Goodding, Leslie Newton, 1880-.
34. Greene, Edward Lee, 1843-1915.
35. Headley, Frank Burdett, 1878-1957.
36. Heller, Amos Arthur, 1867-1944.
37. Henrichs, James Rutherford, 1910-1943.
38. Herre, Albert William Christian Theodore, 1868-1962.
39. Hillman, Fred Hebard, 1863-1954.
40. Holmgren, Arthur H. 1912-.
41. Howell, John Thomas, 1903-.
42. Jaeger, Edmund Carroll, 1887-.
43. Jones, Marcus Eugene, 1852-1934.
44. Kellogg, Louise, 1879-.

Box 2

Folder no.

1. Kennedy, Patrick Beveridge, 1874-1930.
2. La Rivers, Ira John, 1915-1977.
3. Lehenbauer, Philip A., 1881-1968.
4. Lemmon, John Fill, 1832-1908.
5. Maguire, Bassett, 1904-.
6. Mason, Herbert Louis, 1896-.
7. Miller, Walter McNab, 1862-1942.
8. Murphey, Edith Van Allen, 1879-1968.
9. Munz, Philip Alexander, 1892-.
10. Nelson, Aven, 1859-1952/Miller, Neva (Nelson).
11. Petersen, Niels Frederick, 1877-1940.
12. Robertson, Joseph Henry, 1906-.
13. Rothrock, Joseph Trimble, 1839-1922.
14. Sampson, Harry C. 1890-1975.
15. Sonne, Charles Frederick, 1845-1913.
16. Tidestrom, Ivar, 1865-1956.
17. Train, Percy, 1876-1942.
18. Washington, George, 1732-1799.
19. Watson, Sereno, 1826-1892.

 

Subgroup III Biographies of Nevada Botanists, 1956-1977, n.d.

Material related to Olga Reifschneider's published monograph is collected in this subgroup. Included is correspondence with the R.M.M. Hunt Botanical Library about botanists' portraits, and letters from several notable biologists, eg: Joseph Ewan, Dwight Billings, Edna Miner, William Andrew Archer, and Edmund Carroll Jaeger.

Box 2

Folder no.

20. Clippings, reviews.
21-23. Correspondence about, 1956-1977, n.d.
24. Press releases, publication announcements.
25. Proposed plates.
26. Research notes.
27-30. Typescripts of Biographies of Nevada Botanists, 1961-1965.

 

Subgroup IV Botany, 1943-1976, n.d.

This subgroup includes notes, correspondence, and printed material relating to Reifschneider's botanical studies. Emphases include medicinal plants, desert plants, and taxonomy.

Box 2

Folder no.

31. Clippings.
32. Correspondence, 1948-1976.
33. Crop Plants.
34. Darlingtonia.
35. Desert Research Institute/Dr. Fritz Went/UNR Botanic Garden (Includes Desert Magazine, July 1958: article on Mobile Desert Lab).
36. Edible and nedicinal plants. Hallucinogens/Charles L. Tranter.
37. Edible and medicinal plants. Miscellaneous.
38. Endangered plants.
39. Ephedra.
40. Gingseng.
41. Larrea.
42. Printed Material.

Box 3

Folder No.

1. Reprints - Misc.
Galway, Desma, H., "The North American Species of Smilacina" 1945 (inscribed); M.D. (magazine) "Queen of the Garden" 1968 (roses); Kennedy, P. Beveridge, "Botanical Features Around Reno," 1907 (reprint 1977); Chabot, Brian F. & Billings, Wm. Dwight, "Origins and Ecology of the Sierran Alpine Flora...", 1972 (inscribed); Hersey, Jean, "Womens Day Guide to Wild Flowers," n.d.; Hepson, Willis, "Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers of the Redwood Region', n.d.; Leaflets of Western Botany, 4/24/57 (inscribed announcement of Mimulus Reifschneiderae; La Rivers, Ira "A Preliminary Listing of the Agae of Nevada", 1965 (inscribed).
2. Research notes.
3. Taxonomy and plant lists.
4. Wildflowers/Mildred Pressell.

 

Subgroup V Environment. 1943-1977, n.d.

Includes notes clippings and other printed material on the environment, collected primarily for personal interest.

Box 3

Folder no.

5. Animals 1943-1975.
6. Bibliographies, 1949, n.d.
7. Birds, 1951-1975, n.d.
8. Clippings-misc., 1950-1977, n.d.
9. Geology and geothermal, 1948-1973, n.d.
10. Health, 1964-1976, n.d.
11. "Nature Notebook" clippings - most undated (1960's). Four were authored by Reifschneider.
12. Population, 1961-1977.
13. Reprints - misc.
Darling, Jay N., "Poverty or Conservation - Your National Problem," n.d. [1940's]; Millers, W.W., "Soil Moisture Availability and Movement", n.d.; U.S.F. & W.S. "E.I.A. on Boating at Ruby Lake N.W.F..." (summary 1976); Miller, Loye, "Why Biology?" 1949; Taylor, W.P., "Outline for Studies of Mammalian Life Histories", 1930; Russell, Carl P., "Museums of the Outdoors", 1947; Mann, Roberts, "The Conservation Conscience" 1947.

 

Subgroup VI Personal. 1946-1978, n.d.

This subgroup is a catch-all for various items of personal interest. The bulk of it is comprised of materials gathered from Reifschneider's membership in various organizations and attendance at UNR. Represented are correspondence, clippings, travel information, etc. on a variety of subjects.

Box 3

Folder no.

14. Book catalogs.
15. Correspondence, 1971-1976, n.d.
16-21. Class notes, UNR, 1946-1952 (Botany, life sciences, Ecology).
22. Class notes, UNR, 1975-76 (journalism).
23. Clippings - misc. 1969-1978, n.d.
24. Foresta Institute.
25. Hawaii vacations, 1966-1977, n.d.
26. History.
27. National Wildlife Federation.
28. Nevada Historical Society.
29. Northern Nevada Native Plant Society.
30. Organizations - misc.
31. Westerners International.

Box 4

Folder no.

1. Class notes, reference.
Set of 3x5 cards divided into three alphabetical sections:
1. Nevada-History. Botany-History.
2. Plants, including medicianl value, by genus.
3. Bibliography - Life Sciences.

 

Subgroup VII Maps and Oversize.

The following oversize items have been placed in a separate map drawer:
1. Map. "Nevada Plant Geographical Areas" (original, for book).
2. Map. "State of Nevada-Botanical Collection Areas" (original plus copy, for book).
3. Map. "Victoria Falls and Environs" (printed).
4. Map. "A Tourist Map of Rhodesia" (printed).
5. Poster. "Zambia-Victoria Falls" (printed).
6. Five, 2-page plates (one is a duplicate) reprinted from Nevada Highways and Parks, V.17, no.2, 1957 containing a wildlower article by Ms. Reifschneider and photo of Pyramid Lake.
7. Photograph. Ms. Reifschneider in the desert? Hand- colored.
8. Page from Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, (mounted).
9. Oil painting. Olga Reifschneider, by R. DeMorest.

 

Subgroup VIII Photographic Materials. 1860's-1970's.

Botanist Portraits. 1860's-1960's.

142 portraits of botanists and related subjects, mostly of Nevada, collected primarily for use in Reifschneider's book. Includes black-and-white prints and negatives, mostly copies. Transferred to the photo archives.

Botanical Slides. 1940's-1970's.

Includes approximately 1580 color slides plus a few prints and negatives, mostly original, in two subseries:
a. An indexed, numbered, and labelled collection of 850 slides of plants suitable for scientific study and classroom use. Housed in the photo archives. Index attached.
b. Approximately 730 slides, prints and negatives of Nevada plants and plant associations. These are partially labelled but not indexed, and housed in the photo archives.

Personal Slides. 1940's-1970's.

Approximately 435 original color slides, plus a few black-and-white prints, mostly labelled. Includes historic architecture, scenes of western Nevada, and personal miscellany. Housed in the photo archives.

Photographic Reprints. 1860's-1960's.

Unlike the first three series, all photographic copies of maps, sketches and documents have been integrated into the main collection, distributed by subject.

Manuscripts | Special Collections

Please direct questions to Jacquelyn Sundstrand
Updated August 12, 2008