Ralph Waldo Emerson Hasenwinkle was in the Spanish American War, Philippines, 1898-1899. He graduated from Yale University in 1904, and then married Miss Edna Earle Pugh, originally from St. Louis, July 5, 1906. He came from a prominent family that owned a grain business. He lived in Chicago for a time but his family lived in Bloomington and is originally from St. Paul, Minnesota.

This collection consists of personal correspondence with a few photographs and clippings. While the dates of this collection range almost 80 years there is a large gap between when Ralph and Edna got married and when they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.