Records of the St. Christopher's Mission to the Navajo in Bluff, Utah (1940s-1960s); Liebler's personal papers, including correspondence, writings, and subject files; newspaper clippings concerning Liebler's work; newsletters of St. Christopher's Mission to the Navajo and the Hat Rock Valley Retreat Center (1966-1985); 166 reel to reel tapes of Liebler's radio talks, religious services, and his other works; four 16mm films (silent, ca. 1949, color) about St. Christopher's and Navajo life and customs; Liebler's 1917 diary; and "Brother Juniper's Tales of Navajo land," an account of daily life at the mission with some details of Navajo beliefs, by Charles Hillyer Armour Ford (Brother Juniper).
Repository:
Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Manuscript Collection
Merrill-Cazier Library Utah State University 3000 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322-3000 Phone: 435 797-1663 Fax: 435 797-2880 Email: scweb@usu.edu
Languages:
Collection materials are in English.
Sponsor:
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008
Biographical Note
The Reverend Harold Baxter Liebler established a mission to the Navajo Indians at Bluff, Utah in 1943 named St. Christopher's until his retirement in the middle 1960s. Liebler's mission to the Navajo Indians, however, did not end upon his retirement. Instead, he moved into the Monument Valley area of Arizona and established the Hat Rock Valley Retreat Center and St. Mary's of the Moonlight chapel. He resided here, in Monument Valley, until his death in 1982. Liebler, even though operating this new religious site was still intricately involved at St. Christopher's. He was asked to fill both short term and long term vacancies on many occasions after his so called retirement. The papers in this collection focus primarily upon Liebler's activity among the Navajo Indians from 1943 until his death in 1982. Much of the material, in addition to detailing the above work, reflects his work as an Episcopal priest. The collection also chronicles Liebler's life as an Episcopal priest.
Content Description
The papers have had, to a degree, an imposed order placed upon them due to the condition in which they arrived at Utah State University. The papers upon arrival had virtually no filing order, with the exception of about four feet of the St. Christopher's Mission correspondence file. This file is the first series of the collection and has been left intact. Although called a correspondence file, this name is somewhat of a misnomer, as the file contains more that just correspondence. In this series resides most of the early records of the mission. These records date from the early 1940's into the 1960s and the documents contain the origins of St. Christopher's Mission to the Navajo. Of interest here is a block of material that details the acquisition of land for the mission. This purchase involved considerable negotiation between authorities of the Navajo tribe, the Federal government, and the state of Utah government and most of the correspondence is in the collection. This file also includes material regarding the Southwest Indian Mission corporation, blueprints, personnel material etc. This block of documents ends mostly in the 1960s.
The second series of records in the collection contain subject files relating to Liebler's personal life and interests, as well as the operations of the Hat Rock Valley Retreat center and his continued involvement with St. Christopher's. This material had no discernable order, thus the decision was made to organize them alphabetically by subject. These documents include Liebler's files concerning his religious concerns over the direction of the Episcopal Church in the United states, as well as his budding interests in the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements withing the Christian community of America. The subject files also include his personal files (taxes, insurance, personal belongings etc.), as well as his written work. This section also contains a small file of Hat Rock Valley Retreat Center and a small file of St. Christopher's file. The next series in the collection is a correspondence series. The letters have been arranged into an incoming and outgoing correspondence file. The incoming material has been sorted alphabetically by surname and then filed chronologically by date. Occasionally large blocks of letters from the same individual were found and these have been filed together under that individual's name and then placed into alphabetical order and filed at the end of each four letter set.
The remainder of the collection consists of newsletters, newspaper clippings, oversized material and reel t reel tape recordings. The newsletters were published by St. Christopher's mission and by the Hat Rock Valley Retreat Center. The St. Christopher's newsletters begin in 1944 and run through 1974, and the Hat Rock Valley Retreat Center newsletters, called messages, run from 1966 through 1985. Finally, the collection has a large block of newspaper clippings about Liebler's work with the Navajo and about pertinent news items to the Navajo or the Episcopal church. These have been filed chronologically by date. The oversized material has been cross referenced to its proper place in the collection. A list of Liebler's reel to reel tapes finishes the register. These tapes cover topics such as Liebler's radio talks, religious services, and historical information about his work. In addition, the collection has one 16mm movie produced in 1949 about St. Christopher's. The film is a silent color movie.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access : Restrictions
Open to public research.
Restrictions on Use : Copyright
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.
Preferred Citation :
H. Baxter Liebler papers, 1910-1982. (CAINE COLL MSS 11). Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Department.
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Arranged in numeric sequence according to box and folder.
Acquisition Information :
This collection was purchased from Joan Liebler in 1986 with funds from the Marie-Eccles-Caine Foundation.
Related Materials :
Father Liebler/Brother Juniper Photograph Collection (P0103)
Detailed Description of the Collection
St. Christopher Mission Files
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
1
1
Correspondence - A
1
2
Adoption
1
3
Aneth
1
4
Angelus
1
5
Annual Report
1961.
1
6
Applicants - Summer Worker,
1959.
1
7
Applicants - Summer Workers,
1969.
1
8
Association for Indian Affairs
1
9
Correspondence - B
1
10
Bacon, Esther (Personnel file)
1
11
Bates, Jack
See also box 25, folder 1.
1
12
Bishop Bayne's meditations
1
13
Belco Products
1
14
Bills
1
15
Books
1
16
Bothello, Eugene
See also box 25, fds 6-8.
2
1
Brown Russell
See also box 6, folder 9 and box 25, folder 11.
2
2
Building
2
3-7
Correspondence - C
2
8
Cameron, Madeline
2
9
Carson, Xanthus
2
10
Corporation
2
11
Correspondence - D
2
12
Death - Las will of Harold Baxter Liebler
2
13
Diocese of Utah
2
14
Dragon Lady - Dorothy Faber
2
15
Correspondence - E
2
16
Ecumenism and Reunion
2
17
Education
2
18
Elwell, Edward
2
19
Exam Chaplains
3
1
Correspondence - F
3
2
Fellowship of Concerned Churchman
3
3
Financial
3
4
Findley, David and Lenore
3
5
Fisher, Reginald
3
6
Correspondence - G
3
7
General Convention
3
8
Grafath, Milton Jr.
(Personnel file, sensitive).
3
9
Correspondence - H
3
10
Harris, Ethel
3
11
Horse Sales
3
12
Indian Newsletter
3
13
Insurance
3
14
Intermountain Indian School
3
15
Correspondence - J
3
16
Correspondence - K
3
17
Correspondence - L
4
1
Land - general
4
2-7
Land - A-G
4
8-12
Land - H-N
5
1-3
Land - O-S
5
4-6
Land - T-Z
5
7
Lyle Adjustment Company
5
8
Montezuma Creek
5
9
Monument Valley Mission and Hospital - Seventh Day Adventists
5
10
Music
5
11
Nashotah House
5
12
National Council - Committee on the Ministry and Mission to the American Indians
5
13
Newsletter Correspondence
See also boxes 33 and 35.
5
14
Correspondence - O
5
15
Correspondence - P
5
16
Parochial Reports
1956.
6
1
Peyote
6
2
Photographs of Liebler
6
3
Pittsburgh trip
6
4
Power Plant
6
5
Recommendations - Assessment of St. Christopher's future to the Right Reverend Richard Watson
6
6
St. Christopher's goals in
1972.
6
7-8
St. Christopher's questionnaires and general information
6
9
Southwest Indian Mission incorporated
See also box 2, folder 1 and box 25, folder 1.
6
10
Tape Recorder
6
11
Thompson, George and Marian Talmidge
6
12
Tuck, Ralph Michael
6
13
Correspondence - W
6
14
Water
6
15-16
Walsingham - Pamphlets about "Our Lady of Walsingham."
