Series I. Biographical material, 1951 - 1992

This series is made up of chronologically arranged, free form journal entries written by Peterson during his time in the Navy dating from March 1953 to December 1954, newspaper clippings about Peterson, schoolwork consisting of educational materials and tests from his studies at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Iowa, and autobiographical articles he wrote. The first of the autobiographical articles is a self-descriptive sketch he penned for a newspaper story about his time in the Navy entitled "Hit the Silk." It also contains a brief history of his paternal ancestry and traces his lineage from Norway to the United States. Peterson's schoolwork is undated, so there is no way to distinguish whether it is from his undergraduate or graduate studies.