New Discoveries in the Gasque Papers

“The next time you hear anybody say a Congressman does not have anything to do, you can just deny that fact. It is the hardest work I have undertook.” --Allard H. Gasque, March 14, 1924

Check out an updated finding aid for the Gasque Papers that includes added material and highlights documents and subject areas previously unknown to even the archivists here at SCPC.

Gasque represented SC’s 6th Congressional District. His collection is dominated by constituent correspondence from 1923 to his death in 1938. These letters provide insight into issues such as patronage, veteran’s affairs, and post office politics. The patronage letters take up the most space and show the sacristy of jobs from 1923-1938.

Much of Gasque’s mail concerns the selection of local post masters. He could select from among the three individuals scoring highest on a federal exam to fill any openings for these desirable, remunerative, and hotly contested positions. Letters of recommendations from locals highlight the political ramifications of an appointment and the political battles that waged between potential appointees. Gasque fumed over the local corruption and was frustrated by his inability to influence patronage.

Veterans, their widows and families held a special place in Gasque’s heart. Correspondence poured in from Civil War widows and from veterans of the Mexican American, Indian, Spanish American, and First World wars. Gasque supported a number of pieces of legislation to aid widows and families, as well as assisting veterans with pension claims.

Gasque suffered from heart troubles and illness throughout his career. Get well letters poured in after he suffered a major heart attack in 1935. He lost his battle with heart disease just hours after the close of the 75th Congress in 1938. His wife served his remaining term and his long time secretary, John Lanneau McMillan, was elected to Gasque's former seat and served through 1972. McMillan's papers are also held by SCPC.

--contributed by Debbie Davendonis Todd

New finding aid for the Hollings Papers

The finding aid for the General and Admin files of the Ernest F. Hollings Collection is now on SCPC's website. Check it out!

The Administrative files include:

• Invitations that Hollings accepted to various events, like the one pictured above.
  
  
• Press office files that document operations of the press office -- files about the drafting of the Senator's book, The Case Against Hunger (1970), are in the Personal series AND all other documents created by the press office are in the Press and Media series.
  
  
• Files about Hollings' state visits, town hall meetings, and other functions
  
  
• Office files that document the management of Hollings' Senate office
  
  
• Schedules for the Senator
  
  
• and more...
  

The General files consist almost entirely of correspondence from his entire Senate career. Here, you'll find letters of a general nature from colleagues about service in the Senate, letters in which constituents broach multiple subjects, and letters on unusual subjects that, quite frankly, don't fit elsewhere!

SCPC Holiday Schedule

SCPC will be closed on Monday, September 7th, which is of course Labor Day. We will reopen for research at 8:30 on Tuesday the 8th.

We hope all who have a long weekend will enjoy it!

SAA Annual Meeting

Several SCPC staff members will be in Austin this week for the Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists. Kate will be holding down the Pearl Warehouse fort, though. Don't worry!

Herb is teaching a pre-conference workshop, “Raising Private Monies to Support Archival Programs .”

Dorothy will have numerous duties as a member of the Program Committee.

This Saturday (8am!), I am speaking on a panel, “MPLP Revisited: Choosing the Right Processing Strategy for Your Repository.”

Look out Austin! The archivists are coming.

Farewell Julie and Katie!

Last week, SCPC said good-bye to two outstanding students -- Julie Milo, a graduate student assistant, and Katie Thompson, our summer intern.

Hailing from Florida, Julie joined us in August, 2008. She graduates this month with her Master of Library and Information Science and is settling with her fiance in the Jacksonville area as we speak. Congratulations, Julie! While at SCPC, Julie did a superb job processing a number of collections, including the Lester Bates Papers and Charles Cecil Wyche Papers. Above, Julie poses with her friend and office-mate, Debbie, in their workspace at the Pearl Warehouse, SCPC's pristine (and soon-to-be old) home. At left is Julie with other SCPC staff at the Sept. 18, 2008, naming ceremony for the Hollings Library (opening in 2010!).

Katie joined us for the summer from Long Island University's Palmer School of Library and Information Science. During her brief but productive time here, she inventoried and processed much of the Mary Kelly Papers. This was her first effort at processing personal papers, if memory serves, and she did a fantastic job. For those who don't know, Mary Kelly was an influential member of the League of Women Voters and other organizations and dedicated much time to environmental and energy-related causes.

We were lucky to have both Julie and Katie with us. We wish them the best in their future library and archival endeavors! We also thank them for their good sense of humor. We threw them a patriotic farewell party, complete with costumes. Here we are that day. Standing with Lori, Mai, Debbie, and Dorothy, the two honorees are easy to pick out!