Walter Kiener, Papers

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Copyright: To inquire about usage, please contact Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. For more information see the Use Guidelines

Preferred Citation: Walter Kiener, Papers (RG 12-07-16). Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.

Walter Bigler Kiener was born on 18 October 1894, in Bern, Switzerland. He attended school until the age of 15, when he began work as an apprentice to his father, a sausage maker, as a way to help support his family. While working for his father, Kiener attended night classes to make up for the inadequacies in his education. At a young age Kiener discovered that mountain climbing could help him escape from his restlessness and the difficulties with his father that resulted from his lack of interest in the family business. Kiener soon became a master of mountaineering, a skill that fueled his thirst for knowledge.

During World War I, Kiener served in the Swiss Citizen Army and spent considerable time as a frontier guard. In November of 1922, Kiener left Switzerland and his family for America. He moved to New York and worked in a meatpacking house. After seven months in New York, Kiener moved to Denver, where he became a foreman at a small sausage-making plant. Kiener's evenings in Denver were spent taking classes in English and Citizenship and his weekends were spent climbing in the Rocky Mountains, where he soon gained a reputation as an expert climber and guide.

In January of 1925, Kiener and another member of the Colorado Mountain Club, Agnes Vaille, attempted to become the first people to climb the East Face of Longs Peak in winter. They were successful in making it to the top, but, while descending, they were overtaken by a blizzard and by fatigue. Vaille died, and, in his attempt to retrieve help and save her life, Kiener lost parts of all of his fingers except his left forefinger and parts of all of his toes and a part of his left foot. As a result, he was no longer able to work in the sausage making plant. After his recovery, Kiener got a job as a ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park and he worked as a fire spotter on the Twin Sisters lookout overlooking the very location of his climbing tragedy.

While a ranger, Kiener met some students and faculty from the University of Nebraska and chose that institution to pursue a formal education. Kiener entered the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) in the fall of 1925 as an adult special student. He earned his A.B. degree in 1930 and his master's degree in 1931. Not only did he pursue an education, but he also became a United States citizen in 1929. Kiener was elected to Sigma Xi in 1931. His master's thesis was entitled On the Vegetation of an Isolated Peak in the Rocky Mountains. Kiener continued his work at the University of Nebraska and completed his doctoral dissertation, Sociological Studies of the Alpine Vegetation on Longs Peak, in April of 1939. He received his degree in 1940.

After graduating, Kiener was hired by the University of Nebraska where he held the following positions over time: Assistant in Botany (1930-1940); Ecologist, UNL Conservation and Survey Division (1941-1943); and Biologist, State of Nebraska Game, Forestation, and Parks Commission, (1943-1955). He eventually became the Chief Biologist for the Commission and established the Commission's Fisheries Research Department. In 1955 Kiener learned that he had cancer and retired. He devoted his remaining years to the study of botany.

Kiener was a noted writer and lecturer and established an extensive personal herbarium of lichen and bryophyte specimens that eventually numbered well over 50,000. Several species of plants were named after Kiener: Pleuridum kieneri; P. exsertum; Splachnobryum kieneri; and Chara kieneri.

Kiener died alone on 24 August 1959, at Lincoln General Hospital, after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He willed his papers, library, herbarium, and other personal property to long time friend Dr. Samuel Fuenning, Director of Student Health for UNL. Fuenning presented all the items to the University of Nebraska State Museum through the University of Nebraska Foundation in 1961. Today the entire Kiener plant collection is housed within the Charles E. Bessey Herbarium of the University of Nebraska State Museum's Botany Division.

Scope and Content: 

The papers consist of Kiener's personal and professional papers arranged into 11 series and include oversize materials. The series include Personal Effects, Correspondence, Kiener's Writings, Research Files, Maps, Writings about Kiener, Newspapers, Negatives and Photographs, Postcards, and Articles and Reprints. Work on the Kiener papers included the incorporation of three smaller collections into a single collection. Kiener organized his research files alphabetically and this original arrangement was maintained throughout the materials. The final collection consists of materials from the Nebraska State Museum and the Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.

Kiener's personal effects contain journals, diaries, and other more intimate items. The correspondence series documents Kiener's professional and personal life, mostly from the 1920s to the 1950s. Kiener's writings include published and unpublished works and research done for publications. The bulk of the collection is comprised of Kiener's research files. These materials document his extensive lichen and botany research, Nebraska and Colorado wildlife, mountaineering, and his other interests. Kiener also kept a collection of maps from North and South America, Switzerland, and areas of local interest in Nebraska and Colorado. The writings about Kiener include articles published on his research or about plants named after him, newspaper articles about him before and after his death, and a book about the history of Longs Peak that mentions the Agnes Vaille tragedy and his climbing accomplishments. Also included is a short article about him written by Mari Sandoz.

Kiener was an accomplished amateur photographer. The photograph collection includes photographs and negatives of his lichen and botany research, the Rocky Mountains, Nebraska and Colorado wildlife and vegetation, and friends and family.

Subjects: 

Elias, M.K.

Kiener, Walter Bigler, 1894-1959

Sayre, Geneva

Vaille, Agnes

Alpine vegetation

Botany

Fisheries

Forests and Forestry -- Colorado

Lichens

Mountaineering

Mountain plants -- Colorado -- Longs Peak

Mountains

Natural history -- Colorado

Plant communities -- Colorado -- Longs Peak

Riccia

Swiss Colony

Vegetation classification -- Rocky Mountains Region

Colorado

Longs Peak (Colo.)

Nebraska

Rocky Mountain National Park

Switzerland

Twin Sisters (Colo.)

Nebraska Game, Forestation, and Parks Commission

Swiss Alpine Club

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Kiener's personal effects contain journals, diaries and field notes, academic materials compiled during his time at the University of Nebraska, his father's will, Swiss military documents, his certification as a meat butcher, awards and honors, the disposition of his estate, and other personal items.

The correspondence consists of personal and professional letters in English and German. The bulk of the correspondence is dated between 1925-1955. Kiener's personal correspondence consists of letters from acquaintances made while a ranger and mountain guide on the Longs Peak and Twin Sisters mountain ranges, holiday greetings, evidence of a romance with a woman named Margaret(?) and of its ultimate demise (Personal 1934-1935), and letters from family and friends. His professional correspondence covers his lichen studies, alpine vegetation, Colorado vegetation, and Nebraska vegetation, as well as his memberships in professional organizations. Both the personal and professional correspondence is arranged by year, then alphabetically by last name, and then alphabetically by topic.

The articles and publications are those created by Kiener. The publications illustrate his research and include drafts and the final version of his Ph.D. dissertation and various topics, such as lichen, mountain climbing, birds, Longs Peak, botanical explorations, and the Nebraska landscape.

Kiener's research files make up the bulk of the collection and are representative of his work on lichen studies, alpine vegetation studies, mountaineering, Colorado, the Nebraska State Game, Forestation and Parks Commission, Nebraska fisheries and lakes; Nebraska counties, and Switzerland. The files also include research conducted for his thesis and dissertation. Some of the folder titles include a notation, "from binder, " which means that the folder title is taken directly from the information on a binder that originally housed the material.

The map collection contains regular and over-sized maps of Colorado, Nebraska, the United States, Europe, and Switzerland. They are arranged by place names in North America and then place names in Europe.

The writings about Kiener consist of journal and newspaper articles on his scientific studies, lichen research, mountaineering, and the Agnes Vaille tragedy. Included is a short article written by Mari Sandoz, entitled, "Climber of Longs Peak."

The newspaper series contains clippings and excerpts from newspapers collected by Kiener.

The negatives include contain cellulose and glass plate negatives, mostly of scientific and professional subject matter. Their are cellulose negatives, glass plate negatives, and lantern slides. The photo indexes included have numbers and information on some of the photos in the collection. Among the photographs in the collection are images of Jules Sandoz in the Nebraska Sandhills. The photographs are not numbered, but but they do correspond with some photos in the Sandhills index. There are several photograph albums and formal portraits in this series. The subjects of the negatives and photograph collection are Colorado mountains and vegetation, Nebraska wildlife and vegetation, lichens and other botanical specimens, the University of Nebraska, Switzerland, and family and friends. Kiener kept many of his photographs in alphabetical order and that system has been maintained. Some photographs in the collection are stamped with "photo by Walter Kiener" on the back. Photographs taken by other individuals are marked as such, including photos of plant fossils taken by M.K. Elias. Many of the photographs do not provide photographer or date information but may be attributed to Keiner. Kiener kept many photographic prints with the original negative.

The postcards are those collected by Keiner. The subjects include Switzerland, Colorado, Twin Sisters Lookout, the University of Nebraska Botany Department, mountains, religion, wildlife, and selected photo postcards of friends and family.

The articles and reprints are those collected by Keiner. They are arranged by author last name and document the subjects Keiner focused on in his research.

The Oversize series consists of maps, publications, and prints or pictures collected by Kiener.