Special Collections Department
403 Parks Library
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2140

RS 21/7/59
Henry (1882-1971) and Ann (1884-1970) Brunnier
Papers, 1909-2001, n.d.

Descriptive summary

creator:	Brunnier, Henry (1882-1971) and Ann (1884-1970)
title:	Papers
dates:	1909-2001, n.d.
extent:	7.65 linear ft. (11 document boxes, 1 half-document box, and 2 oversized boxes)
collection number:	RS 21/7/59
repository:	University Archives, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.

Administrative information

access:	Open for research
publication rights:	Consult Head, Special Collections Department
preferred citation:	Henry and Ann Brunnier Papers, RS 21/7/59, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.

Biographical note

Henry John "Bru" Brunnier was born near Manning, Iowa on November 26, 1882. He received his B.S. (1904) in civil engineering from Iowa State College (University). After graduating from college Brunnier worked for the American Bridge Company (1904-1905) of Pittsburgh and then was hired by the New York Edison Company (1905-1906), New York City. Brunnier's next job was with Ford, Bacon and Davis Engineering Company (1906-1908) of New York City. He was sent to San Francisco as Structural Engineer to survey and lead reconstruction efforts for the company's railroad properties that had been damaged by the San Francisco earthquake.

After fulfilling his obligations with the engineering firm, Brunnier went into private practice as a consulting structural engineer (1908-1971). Brunnier quickly became a leader in earthquake-resistant structural design. He was responsible for the structural design of numerous large buildings and bridges along the west coast of the United States. One of his greatest honors was when he was appointed as one of five members of the Consulting Engineers' Board to engineer and approve structural designs for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge that opened in 1936.

Throughout his career, Brunnier was very active in a number of professional engineering organizations. He served as President of the California State Board of Registration for Civil Engineers (1929-1933), President of the Structural Engineers' Association of Northern California, President of the Pacific Association of Consulting Engineers, and was a member of several other professional organizations. Brunnier's related interest in highway engineering resulted in his service as Director (1928-1929) and Treasurer (1940-1944) of the California State Automobile Association (1928), Member of the Streets and Highway Committee of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and Director of the American Automobile Association (1945-1947).

Brunnier also spent considerable time in the service of Rotary International. In 1908, he was a charter member of the San Francisco Rotary Club, only the second Rotary club established worldwide. Brunnier served as Vice-President, District Governor, and President (1952-1953) of Rotary International as well as on numerous committees throughout his lifetime.

Ann Weideman was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1884 and she married Henry Brunnier in 1905. As one of the first women to attend Rotary conventions with her husband, she earned the nickname "Rotary Ann," a name that soon became synonymous with Rotary members' spouses. The Brunniers became interested in art and acquired many pieces of ceramic, glassware, enamelware, jade and ivory throughout their travels overseas. Ann also collected rare dolls from every country they visited. She was a member of the Golden Gate Collectors Club, the San Francisco Doll Club, the Stanford Art Society, and the Metropolitan Art Museum. In 1963, the Brunniers donated their art collection to Iowa State University. Their donation is now part of the permanent collection of the Brunnier Art Museum at Iowa State University.

Ann Brunnier died February 20, 1970 and Henry passed away December 10, 1971. They had been married 63 years. The Brunniers had only one son, Henry, Jr., who died in 1935 at the age of 28.

Collection description

This collection (1909-2001, n.d.) documents the lives of Henry and Ann Brunnier and includes biographical materials, correspondence, news clippings, photographs, published articles, and scrapbooks. The collection contains a large amount of information related to Mr. Brunnier's involvement in Rotary International.

The papers also include more personal materials, such as holiday cards sent from Henry to Ann as well as a set of calendar diaries chronicling Mr. Brunnier's activities.

Organization

The collection is organized into two series:

Series 1, Biographical and Personal Materials (arranged alphabetically)
Series 2, Rotary International (arranged alphabetically)

Description of series

Series 1	Biographical and Personal Materials	1909-2001 n.d.
extent:	3.15 linear ft. (7.5 document boxes)
description:	This series contains biographical information about Henry and Ann Brunnier. Included are correspondence, news clippings, and published articles documenting Mr. Brunnier's life and work as a consulting structural engineer. There are also materials related to their travels and Ann's hobby of collecting dolls. A set of calendar diaries chronicles Brunnier's business and personal activities.

Container list

Box	Folder	Title	Dates
14	1	Art Collection – Catalog Listing for a 5-Piece Garniture Set	1953
14	2	Art Collection – Museum Guides and Catalogs	1922-1953
1	1	Biographical Information (photographs: 2 5x7 b/w)	1916-2001, n.d.
1	2	Biographical Information – Articles	1928-1983
1	3	Biographical Information – News Clippings	1929-1982
1	4	Brunnier Art Gallery	1975-1983, n.d.
1	5	Calendar Diary	1909
1	6	Calendar Diary	1910
1	7	Calendar Diary	1911
1	8	Calendar Diary	1912
1	9	Calendar Diary	1913
1	10	Calendar Diary	1914
1	11	Calendar Diary	1915
1	12	Calendar Diary	1916
1	13	Calendar Diary	1917
1	14	Calendar Diary	1918
2	1	Calendar Diary	1919
2	2	Calendar Diary	1920
2	3	Calendar Diary	1921
2	4	Calendar Diary	1922
2	5	Calendar Diary	1923
2	6	Calendar Diary	1924
2	7	Calendar Diary	1925
2	8	Calendar Diary	1926
2	9	Calendar Diary	1927
2	10	Calendar Diary	1928
2	11	Calendar Diary	1929
2	12	Calendar Diary	1930
3	1	Calendar Diary	1931
3	2	Calendar Diary	1932
3	3	Calendar Diary	1933
3	4	Calendar Diary	1934
3	5	Calendar Diary	1935
3	6	Calendar Diary	1936
3	7	Calendar Diary	1937
3	8	Calendar Diary	1938
3	9	Calendar Diary	1939
4	1	Calendar Diary	1940
4	2	Calendar Diary	1941
4	3	Calendar Diary	1942
4	4	Calendar Diary	1943
4	5	Calendar Diary	1944
4	6	Calendar Diary	1945
4	7	Calendar Diary	1946
4	8	Calendar Diary	1947
4	9	Calendar Diary	1948
4	10	Calendar Diary	1949
5	1	Calendar Diary	1950
5	2	Calendar Diary	1951
5	3	Calendar Diary	1952
5	4	Calendar Diary	1953
5	5	Calendar Diary	1954
5	6	Calendar Diary	1955
5	7	Calendar Diary	1955
5	8	Calendar Diary	1956
5	9	Calendar Diary	1957
6	1	Calendar Diary	1958
6	2	Calendar Diary	1959
6	3	Calendar Diary	1960
6	4	Calendar Diary	1961
6	5	Calendar Diary	1962
6	6	Calendar Diary	1963
6	7	Calendar Diary	1964
6	8	Calendar Diary	1965
6	9	Calendar Diary	1966
6	10	Calendar Diary	1967
7	1	Calendar Diary	1968
7	2	Calendar Diary	1969
7	3	Calendar Diary	1970
7	4	Cards – Christmas	1934-1967, n.d.
7	5	Cards – Valentine's Day	1945-1968
7	6	Cards – Valentine's Day	n.d.
7	7	Cards – Valentine's Day	n.d.
7	8	Color Dictionary	1931
7	9	Correspondence – General	1914-1982
7	10	Dolls – Books and Articles	1950-1963, n.d.
12		Dolls – "Hats and Headdress Through the Ages" Oakland Bay Area Unit of the United Federation of Doll Clubs – Illustrations	n.d.
7	11	Dolls – Notes	n.d.
8	1	Honors and Awards	1941-1965
8	2	Language Notebook – French	n.d.
8	3	Language Notebook – Spanish	n.d.
8	4	Language Notebook – Spanish	n.d.
8	5	Notes – AAA and Rotary	1928-1948, n.d.
8	6	Notes – China	n.d.
12		Photograph Book of a Japanese Residence	n.d.
8	7	San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge – Articles and Postcards	1936, n.d.
8	8	South America Travel Photos (photographs: 23 4x5 b/w)	n.d.
8	9	Technical-Economic Conference of Washington	1945

Description of series

Series 2	Rotary International	1914-1974 n.d.
extent:	4.29 linear ft. (3.5 document boxes, 2 oversize boxes)
description:	This series contains material related to Henry Brunnier's involvement in Rotary International including correspondence, speeches, photographs, and published articles. There are also three scrapbooks containing news clippings and photographs documenting Henry Brunnier's year as president of Rotary International.

Container list

Box	Folder	Title	Dates
8	10	Articles by Brunnier	1934-1952
14	3	Book – Rotary in the Tavern of the Seas: A Short History of the Rotary Club of Cape Town	1953
8	11	Club Meeting Materials	1916-1922
8	12	Club Service	1954
8	13	Community Service	1947-1954
8	14	Convention Program	1953
8	15	Convention, S. S. Caronia Social	1921
8	16	Correspondence	1918
8	17	Correspondence	1918-1920
9	1	Correspondence	1923-1924
9	2	Correspondence	1923-1924
9	3	Correspondence	1943-1968
9	4	Correspondence – Europe	1921-1922
9	5	Correspondence – Hodel, F.	1952
9	6	Correspondence – Mulholland, Frank L.	1914-1915
9	7	Correspondence – Perry, Chesley R.	1918-1920
9	8	Correspondence – Perry, Chesley R.	1921-1922
9	9	Correspondence – San Francisco Club	1921-1922
9	10	District 104	1939-1946
9	11	History	1914-1965
9	12	History	1951-1964
10	1	Literature and Speeches	1918
10	2	Manning, Iowa, Rotary Club Charter Night (photographs: 3 5x7 b/w, 3 8x10 b/w)	1952
10	3	Notes by Brunnier	1946-1953
10	4	Photographs (photographs: 2 2x3 color, 3 3.5x5 color)	1951-1964, n.d.
10	5	Photographs (photographs: 6 3.5x5 b/w, 22 8x10 b/w, 1 2x3 b/w)	1937-1971, n.d.
10	6	Plenary Address, Rotary International Assembly	1953
10	7	Proposed Legislation	1921
10	8	Ribbon, Past Vice-President	n.d.
10	9	Rotary Ann	1963-1974
10	10	Scrapbook – Hyderabad, India Trip (photographs: 16 5x7 b/w)	1952
12		Scrapbook of Brunnier's Rotary International presidency: trips to New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, India, and Japan (photographs: 6 4x5 b/w, 27 5x7 b/w, 20 8x10 b/w, 3 4x5 color, 2 5x7 color)	1952-1953
13		Scrapbook of Brunnier's Rotary International presidency: trips in United States and to Canada (photographs: 39 4x5 b/w, 21 5x7 b/w, 24 8x10 b/w, 1 4x5 color)	1952-1953
13		Scrapbook of Brunnier's Rotary International presidency: trips to Great Britain, Ireland, France, and Germany (photographs: 20 4x5 b/w, 17 5x7 b/w, 24 8x10 b/w, 1 8x10 color)	1952-1953
13		Scrapbook, Visit to Singapore (photographs: 19 3.5x5.5 b/w, 1 5x5 b/w, 10 8x6 b/w, 6 3.5x5.5 color)	1952
10	11	Second Pacific Rotary Conference	1928
10	12	Service	1949-1951
11	1	Speech – District Meeting, part 1 (1 reel-to-reel audiotape)	ca. 1954
11	2	Speech – District Meeting, part 2 (1 reel-to-reel audiotape)	ca. 1954
11	3	Speech Data	1950-1952
11	4	Speeches	1935-1953
11	5	Speeches	1939-1953
11	6	Speeches and Writings	1952-1953, n.d.
11	7	Travel Diary	1950s
11	8	Travel Diary	1950s
11	9	Travel Diary	1952-1953
11	10	Vocational Service	1944-1960, n.d.