Guide to the Kari Koester Papers

This finding aid describes the Kari Koester Papers, part of the NPS History Collection. To search this guide for names, places, key words, or phrases enter Ctrl F on your keyboard (command key + F key on a Mac). Request an in-person research appointment or get more information by contacting the archivist.

Kari Koester, NPS History Collection (HFCA 3641)

Collection Overview

Collection Number: HFCA 3641
Accession Number: HFCA-01828
Creator: Koester, Karlota Marie (1938-2019)
Title: Kari Koester Papers
Dates: 1968-1973
Extent: 0.1 LF
Language of Materials: English

Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized.

Conditions Governing Access: This collection is open to research use.
Conditions Governing Use: Some of the reports and other reference materials in this collection were not produced by the NPS. See https://rightsstatements.org/page/CNE/1.0/?language=en. See also the NPS general archives copyright & restrictions information.
Provenance: Donated to the NPS History Collection by Nancy Waldo in 2019.
Processing Note: This collection was processed by Mikaela Wilson in May 2026.

Rights Statements for Archival Description: This guide is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation: Kari Koester Papers (HFCA 3641), NPS History Collection
Location of Repository: NPS History Collection, Harpers Ferry Center, PO Box 50, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

Related Materials:

• Assembled Historic Records of the NPS (HFCA 1645), NPS History Collection
• National Park Service Oral History Collection (HFCA 1817), NPS History Collection

• Polly Welts Kaufman Papers (HFCA 1980), NPS History Collection

Biographical Note

Karlota “Kari” Marie Koester was born on February 11, 1938, in Washington, DC, to Karl and Emma Koester. She graduated from George Washington University in 1960, majoring in speech and drama.

Koester’s National Park Service (NPS) career began as a secretary for David Karraker, Environmental Awareness Coordinator for the National Capital Parks (NCP), before transferring in 1969 to work for Wes Wolfe, Chief of Interpretations Management, at the Department of the Interior building. Directly after this transfer, she joined the staff of NCP – North News Courier newsletter and became an editor. This newsletter was for NPS employees and often made articles on new workers, events they hosted, and political news such as environmental teach-ins and environmental awareness. In December 1970 Koester left the NCP – North News Courier after being promoted to a new position.

Along with her involvement in the NCP – North News Courier, she also served as secretary for the NPS Women’s Organization in 1973. Additionally, she worked on the NPS Cultural Resource Management (CRM) magazine as an assistant editor before being promoted to production manager. By 1995 her title was technical editor. She also worked part-time at Shenandoah National Park and in Washington, DC, for CRM before her retirement in 1998.

Koester died June 27, 2019, aged 81 years old.

Sources

The Bradley Funeral Home. “Karlota Koester Obituary.” Accessed May 2026. https://www.thebradleyfuneralhome.com/obituary/Karlota-Koester.

Kari Koester Papers (HFCA 3641), NPS History Collection.

“With Appreciation,” Cultural Resource Management (CRM) volume 21, no. 1 (1998): 2. https://npshistory.com/newsletters/crm/crm-v21n1.pdf.

Scope and Content Note

Incomplete run of volume II (1970) of NCP – North News Courier newsletters (missing numbers 2 and 9). Clippings include those from the NPS Newsletter and others that mention Koester or which she clipped and saved for other reasons. Programs and committee files related to her work for the NPS Women’s Organization, as well as the retirement program for NCR Regional Director T. Sutton Jett, and a Summer in the Parks program for the 1968 opening of Meridian Hill Park. A WASO telephone directory is also present. Topics discussed include environmental activism, NPS employees, and NPS programs and events. Photographs of Koester, other NPS employees, and Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, taken by NPS photographers such as Jack Rottier, are also included. Autographed documents by Priscilla Baker, T. Sutton Jett, Nash Castro, Stewart Udall, and George B. Hartzog Jr. are present.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Container List

BOX 01
Folder 01: Clippings, 1968-1973
Folder 02: North NCP News Courier, 1970
Folder 03: Photographs, 1969-1970
Folder 04: Programs and Committees, 1968-1978
Folder 05: General File, 1968, undated
Folder 06: Telephone Directory, 1973

Explore More!

Looking for something else? Our NPS History Collection finding aids are available to help with your research.

Tags: national capital parks-east , nps history collection, nps history, hfc, museum collection, archives finding aid, archives, nps womens history