Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Ronald Magden "Furusato: Tacoma-Pierce County Japanese" Research Files
Date(s)
Extent
2 boxes and 1 oversized file
(1.4 cubic feet)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Ronald Magden was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, in 1926. (1) He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Washington in 1965 while teaching at Renton Junior-Senior High School. (2) After receiving his Ph.D., Magden started teaching at Tacoma Community College until his retirement in 1983. (2) Magden helped to edit ILWU Local 23’s grant proposal to the Washington Commission for the Humanities in 1977. However, after the hired writers struggled to write Local 23’s history, Magden was asked to take on the project in 1979. This was the beginning of a thirty-year study in Longshore history and the Pacific Coast. (1) He was known as a local historian, researcher, and educator. Magden’s first book, The Working Waterfront, was published in 1982. (2) He wrote eight more books: Pioneer School, Furusato (Going Home), History of Seattle Waterfront Workers, The Working Longshore Men, and Mukashi Mukashi (Long Long Ago). (2) Magden married Joan Lorraine Mulroney on August 9th, 1949, and they had three children together. Magden passed away on December 31st, 2018. (2)
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Includes research, writing drafts, correspondence, and other materials related to Tacoma's Japanese community gathered by Ronald Magden for his book "Furusato: Tacoma-Pierce County Japanese."