Nordhoff and Dunnam Families Collection

The Nordhoff and Dunnam Families Collection contains papers, photographs, and assorted ephemera spanning 1916-2012 and relating to Arthur Nordhoff (World War I pilot); his wife, Thelma Miller Nordhoff (Signal Corps); their daughter, Nancy Nordhoff Dunnam (WASP); and her husband James Joseph Dunnam (World War II Battalion Commander). The collection is organized by family member.

The Arthur Nordhoff series of the collection consists of three black-and-white photographs of Arthur in uniform and with his military unit. Two of the three photographs have no annotations, but one is labeled "At M.I.T. 1916."

The Thelma Miller Nordhoff series consists of two black-and-white photographs of Thelma in her Signal Corps uniform and one black-and-white photograph of Thelma in uniform with a cousin who was serving in the Navy (also in uniform).

The James Dunnam series consists of a black-and-white photograph of James in uniform at his desk, his flight class yearbook, and diplomas for Army training courses he completed. Also filed in this series are items relating to Bellevue Airfield. There are two business cards citing Dunnam as president, a survey prepared for "A.A. Nordhoff," and one black-and-white aerial photograph.

The Nancy Nordhoff Dunnam series is the largest series in the collection and concerns her work as a WASP during World War II. It includes black-and-white and color photographs of Dunnam in uniform, posing with aircraft, and from the WASP Congressional Medal Ceremony. There are also official military paperwork, newspaper clippings, and a roster of women who served as WASPs. The roster includes Nancy's annotations (such as address changes for friends), and pieces of ephemera found loose in the roster include correspondence, an obituary, and more address changes. There are two short snorters that were removed from a wallet containing Nancy's ID cards. These short snorters belonged to her brother, Arthur E. Nordhoff, but have been left with the other wallet items to preserve context.

Digitized Materials: Selections from all four series have been digitized. Several objects have also been digitized, including items related to Nancy Nordhoff Dunnam's WASP career, an identification bracelet owned by Thelma Miller Nordhoff, and some commemorative items related to the Apollo missions.

Please note that materials on TMOF: Digital Collections are presented as historical objects and are unaltered and uncensored. See our Disclaimers and Policies page for more information.