Guide to the Walter P. Paepcke Papers 1912-1961 - The University ...

information contained in this series is of a personal nature, though business matters are discussed
in some of the correspondence.
Some of the topics mentioned in Series I include: Walter's wife, Elizabeth (Pussy) Paepcke
and their children, Anina (Nina), Paula, and Antonia (Toni); business colleagues; investments;
relatives in Europe; effects of the Depression as well as WWII on Walter’s business and personal
life; a farm in Sandwich, Illinois, and a dude ranch in Larkspur, Colorado, both of which were
developed to include experimental farming and breeding of animals; the development of Aspen,
Colorado; and the Goethe Festival.
Another interesting topic is the files in Subseries 2, Philanthropic Activities, on Papecke’s
involvement with the Bilderberg Group. This group of slightly more than 100 members includes
some of the most powerful men and women in the world. They came from government,
politics, industry, finance, education, and communications and are chosen on the basis of their
knowledge, standing, and experience. They meet in private for four days every year to discuss
ways in which North American and Western Europe can work more closely together. No records
are kept of the content of the meetings. Walter Paepcke was asked to participate in the meetings
from 1957-1960 but was only able to attend the 1959 meeting.
Series II, Container Corporation of America, and Series IV, Aspen Institute for Humanistic
Studies, are both arranged as subject files. These were files maintained by Walter Paepcke in
his business office and do not constitute the corporate records for these two businesses. The
Container Corporation of America as been bought out several times since Paepcke’s death
in 1960, the last time by Stone Container Corporation in the 1980s. The non-profit Aspen
Institute is still in operation in Aspen, Colorado.
Series V, Financial Records, contains a miscellaneous group of financial ledgers and journals
maintained by both Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke. Series VI, Photographs and Oversized
Documents contains visual materials removed from the other five series and consolidated.
Descriptions have been provided and notations have been made within the inventory where
images were shifted to Series VI.
Related Resources
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/select.html
Subject Headings
• Hutchins, Robert Maynard, 1899-
• Schweitzer, Albert, 1875-1965
• Ortega y Gasset, Jose, 1883-1955
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