Wallace Eugene ("Gene") Manis was born in Lewiston, Montana on May 20, 1913. He attributed his interest in international travel to the stamp collection hobby that his stepfather, Carl E. Magni, shared with him. He became interested in a career in science by volunteering at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton. He studied horticulture at the University of Montana, earning an AB degree in 1935 and completing a Master's (AM) degree at the University of Michigan in 1936. Manis was working in the doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin School of Forestry when Firestone Plantations Co. offered him a position in November 1939. He accepted the position of Rubber Planter in the Research Department of Firestone Plantations Co. and traveled to Monrovia, Liberia on a freighter in December 1939. He returned to the US in November 1941.
From the description of W.E. Manis Collection, 1939-1941. (University of Florida). WorldCat record id: 174053018
