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As a life-long resident of Schenectady County, Vincent Schaefer was very vocal about preserving the purity of the land and water of the Great Flats Aquifer which provided the drinking water for the majority of the county and once served as very fertile farmland.

This subseries includes files documenting Vincent Schaefer's varied environmental and outdoor activities that are not associated with a particular organization, such as the Huyck Preserve or Mohonk, or a specific legal effort like the fight to preserve the Great Flats Aquifer. Materials include maps, correspondence, photographs, draft manuscripts, and news clippings. Of interest are folders devoted to the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club, which Schaefer helped found, and his vision for the Long Path, which he saw as a trail for hikers stretching from northern New Jersey through the Adirondacks passing landmarks along the way. Schaefer published articles in this subseries as an individual who loved, studied and appreciated nature, and not as a scientist for General Electric, Munitalp, or the ASRC. Therefore articles in this series span his lifetime. Researchers should note his "Five Rivers Rambles" ongoing series for the Knickerbocker News, written during the early 1970s. In his column, Schaefer explored timely topics, such as air pollution, but also area locations of natural beauty and wonder, including Gore Mountain, the Helderbergs, and Pine Plains.

The photographs in this subseries date from Schaefer's teenage years all the way through his retirement after he left the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center. Having a love and deep respect for the outdoors from a young age, Schaefer participated in organized activities like the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club, but he also incorporated spontaneous outdoor adventures into his busy schedule whenever he could. Sometimes this meant a day or afternoon exploring areas in and around the Capital Region; other times it meant taking time to explore while he was away on business. His work for General Electric, Munitalp, and the State University at Albany/ASRC (not to mention his extensive consulting) offered ample opportunities to venture into mountain ranges, deserts, plains, valleys, and forests to pursue environmental studies that were of interest to him.

These letters were not previously sorted out by Schaefer before he donated them to the archive, and like the correspondence in subseries #1, they span many years and have their source in many of Schaefer's professional and personal activities. To expedite progress for researchers, the materials have been organized by year.

The items in this subseries were foldered by specific subject in some cases, or simply by a letter (ex. "M"). The latter would have a mix of persons, places, and topics identified within. This system could be a legacy from Alice Klopfer, the secretary who handled Schaefer's administrative needs for his consulting work.

The Vincent Schaefer personal subseries comprises material spanning his life and career and pertains only to personal interests outside the realms of his atmospheric and prescribed research ventures. This subseries contains his schedules and itineraries, along with Schaefer's personal logs from 1947 through 1993. Along with Schaefer's own autobiography Twenty Years at Langmuir University there are timelines, resumes, and lists of works published, all created by Schaefer.

This subseries documents Vincent Schaefer's interests in the construction, history and preservation of Dutch barns. Although the majority of the records are from Schaefer's retirement during the late 1980s and early 1990s when he had significant time to devote to this pursuit, researching and surveying Dutch barns was a lifelong hobby. For example, there are images of barns from the 1930s and a newspaper clipping discussing a planned lecture by Schaefer on Dutch barns from January 1939. Schaefer was very active in the Dutch Barn Preservation Society and received a Preservation League of New York State Award in 1991 for restoration and protection of the Greater Wemp Barn. This multi-year effort to save and ultimately relocate the Greater Wemp Barn is well-documented in this subseries. Other materials of interest are several volumes of Dutch Barn Research Miscellany, a publication edited by Schaefer, articles on barns written by Schaefer, background information on barns in New York compiled by Schaefer, especially those in the Capital District, and numerous slides and photographs.

This subseries features materials related to history in New York, especially near the Capital District, and archeological research, two of Vincent Schaefer's important personal interests. Schaefer was a vice president and trustee of the Schenectady County Historical Society and wrote for the organization's Milestone newsletter. He also helped found the Van Epps-Hartley chapter of the New York State Archeological Association, which was formally organized in 1931, and later served as chapter president. There is significant correspondence about the chapter's founding and several articles authored by Schaefer about archeological sites and artifacts in this subseries. There also is correspondence between Schaefer and New York State Archeologist Arthur C. Parker, then museum director at the City of Rochester, New York's Municipal Museum.