A Guide to the Norfleet Giddings Bone Papers, 1917-1980 (bulk 1920-1945)

Biographical Note

Norfleet Giddings Bone was born in Gainesville, Texas in 1892 to Mr. and Mrs. Edward E. Bone, and had three sisters: Minnie Lou, Betty and Elizabeth. He was married to Ruby Lee and with her had two children, William and Bobbie Dawn. Bone received his first BS degree, in civil engineering, in 1915 from New Mexico A&M College (now New Mexico State University). He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917, was ranked 2nd Lieutenant of the Air Service in 1918, and served with the First Aero Squadron until 1920. While serving with the First Aero Squadron (1918-1919) he was stationed in England, France and Germany after World War I. Upon returning to the United States from Europe, Bone was ordered to spend time in the hospital for a nervous condition and received a medical discharge in 1920. After recuperating from his illness, Bone returned to school, this time earning a BS in Landscape Architecture from Texas A&M College (1923).

After receiving his second degree, Bone spent time in Dallas working as a landscape designer and engineer with the firm of McGinnis and McGinnis Landscape Architects (1923-1927). While he was working in Dallas, Bone attended an advanced landscape design course at the University of California in the summer of 1925. In 1927, he reapplied for military service and was accepted. Bone spent one year with the Army Air Corps as part of a tactical unit stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas and received his rating as "Airplane Pilot" in April, 1928. At the end of 1928, Bone was called to extended active duty by the War Department as assistant to the Chief Quartermaster. He served as the Supervising Landscape Architect and Landscape Engineer for Randolph Air Force Base (San Antonio, Texas), which was created as a training base for pilots and was dubbed the "West Point of the Air." During this time (1929-1933), he also supervised the landscape design at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana.

At the end of 1932, Bone was discharged from his service as a landscape architect for the military with the rank of Captain. He went on to work as a landscape architect for the National Park Service (1933-1941), with headquarters based in Austin, Texas. While with the National Park Service, Bone was assigned to the park at Balmorea, Texas and was later named acting superintendent of Bastrop State Park (1936).

Bone worked for the Army Corps of Engineers in their San Antonio District Office during World War II. While with the Army Corps of Engineers, Bone was responsible for maintaining the landscaping and grassing of the flying fields at bases around Texas. After World War II, Bone moved back to Austin and worked with the Texas State Parks Board until his retirement in 1963, serving at different times as the division supervisor for the Gainesville area, the Dallas area and the Austin area. He died in 1978.

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Scope and Content Note

The Norfleet Giddings Bone Papers contain correspondence, photographs, reports, specifications, maps, drawings, newsclippings, plant lists, and blueprints that document the life and work of a twentieth century landscape architect and civil engineer. The papers focus on his work as landscape architect during the construction of Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana (1929-1933). The collection dates from 1917 to 1980 and is divided into four series: Personal, Military Career and Interests, Landscaping Projects, and World War II Projects.

The Personal series (1920-1940) includes biographical materials, photographs, and correspondence. Bone's biographical materials include college, work and military documents, his pilot's license, and newsclippings about him. Of special note is his Texas A&M College file including correspondence, grades, and a graduation program. Family materials, while scant within the collection, include correspondence with his sisters and a file about an automobile accident and its consequent issues, involving his father, Edward E. Bone. Most illustrative is the correspondence between Bone and various individuals and organizations that exemplify his activities, relationships, interests, and his employment with the National Park Service.

The Military Career and Interests series includes correspondence, notes from Bone's early military training, maps, pilot's books, and photographs. Correspondence (1917-1941) includes documents about Bone's military duty, disability after WWI, benefits claims, and retirement. The early military training materials include notes on photography, meteorology, maps, reconnaissance, and nomenclature. The pilot's books document his early flights and training, and there are maps of France and Germany from his tour of duty during WWI. Periodicals, printed materials and WWI ephemera round out the series as further evidence of his activities and interests throughout and after his military career.

The Landscaping Projects series documents the planning and execution of landscape design at Barksdale Field (1931-1933) and Randolph Field (1927-1934). Bone supervised the Barksdale Field landscaping between 1931 and 1933 while also working on the Randolph Field project. Barksdale Field was located in Shreveport Louisiana, and there is interesting correspondence between Bone and Hugh K. Harris, the Landscape Horticulturist for the Barksdale project. The correspondence runs the term of the project and includes details and reports of the work at Barksdale. Other materials in this file include blueprints, correspondence, newsclippings, photographs, plant lists, and work plans.

The World War II Projects series (1941-1944) provides insight into Bone's work with the Army Corps of Engineers, San Antonio District Office. Administrative documents, such as correspondence, time reports, manuals, inspection trip reports, soil reports and weather reports describe the particulars of maintaining the grass and sod at air fields in Texas. A large portion of these materials also relate to specific air fields throughout the state of Texas. The documents associated with the fields consist of notes, reports, blueprints (most often in the form of maps) and United States Government-issued specifications for each field.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

This collection is housed at UTSA's HemisFair Park Campus and must be accessed via the Institute of Texan Cultures Special Collections reading room. To request access, please use our Collections Request Form.

Use Restrictions

Please contact University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections for further information about copyright issues and permission to publish items from this collection.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Norfleet Giddings Bone Papers, 1917-1980, MS 141, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.

Acquisition Information

The collection was transferred from the History Office of the Randolph Air Force base, December 2001 (Acc. 2001-050).

Processing Information

Processed by Traci JoLeigh Drummond, Archivist, August 2006.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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