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Strom Thurmond Collection, Administrative Assistant Series

 Series — Box: 1-27
Identifier: Mss-0100-17

Scope and Content Note

The records of this series contain material primarily from the 1960's and the 1970's which clearly reflects the functions of the administrative assistant. The material generally pertains to office operations and policies, patronage, political campaigns, and some miscellaneous functions. These materials include letters, memoranda, reports, articles from magazines and newspapers, and some speeches. The series is divided into four subseries: Subject File, Becki Edwards Files, Linda Guell Files, and Interns and Pages.

The "Subject Files" subseries (Subseries A, 1936-1989; 9.0 cu. ft.) contains the materials covering the office operations, patronage, political campaigns, and various other topics. This series is arranged alphabetically by folder title and chronologically within each folder. There is information on operational policies and office procedures, descriptions of the office positions, and lists of the senator's staff. In addition, there is some information on the rules, regulations and procedures of the United States Senate. Materials from some committees are also included. Information can be found on some cases and patronage, such as judgeships and U.S. Marshalls. There is correspondence and other materials concerning the Democratic Party, and letters congratulating Thurmond on winning the 1972 Election. Furthermore, there are records on the political campaigns of 1960, 1964 and 1972. This subseries has some White House correspondence, letters on the Vietnam War, and lists of the members of the Thurmond family.

The Subject Files subseries also contains information on the Southern Manifesto and on postal matters in South Carolina during the 1950's. In addition, there are records on the Freedoms Foundation, school desegregation, South Carolina school districts, textiles, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The Becki Edwards Files subseries (Subseries B, 1975-1978; 9.0 cu. ft.) has the material used by Becki Edwards, a secretary who worked on Senator Thurmond's staff from 1976-1980 and assisted the administrative assistant. Most of the records in this subseries concerns general correspondence and wedding invitations. However, there is some material on the 1978 campaign and a biography of Nancy Moore Thurmond.

The Linda Guell Files subseries (Subseries C, 1967-1978; 1.125 cu. ft.) contains the records of another secretary who assisted the administrative assistant and worked the years 1967-1969, 1974, and 1976. The majority of the records in this subseries is correspondence. Some of the correspondence concerns the elections of 1972 and 1978. There are some finanical statements and contributions for the 1972 campaign.

The Interns and Pages subseries (Subseries D, 1966-1988; .675 cu. ft.) has the material pertaining to the interns and pages. Information on the intern programs and their schedules can be found in this subseries. In addition, there are essays written by the interns. There are lists of the interns and pages.

Important South Carolinians in this series include Walter J. Brown ; United States Senators Olin D. Johnston and Ernest F. Hollings; United States Congress-man William J. Bryan Dorn ; Dean Walter Cox of Clemson University; and Judge Clement F. Haynesworth. Other important individuals include President Lyndon B. Johnson; United States Senator Herman Talmadge; and Adlai Stevenson.

Dates

  • 1946-1989

Creator

Historical Note

The Administrative Assistant handled all of the matters connected with the operations of Senator Thurmond's office. This individual was responsible for implementation of and changes in office policy and supervised the office staff. He/she had the overall responsibility for all correspondence except for the senator's personal correspondence. The administrative assistant established and maintained records on personnel, including recommendations of employment, promotion, demotion and discharge. In addition, the Administrative Assistant handled all of the patronage matters which deal with office positions and other government positions and was in charge of the interns and pages. The Administrative Assistant kept the senator informed of all office operations, did special assignments for him, and checked newspapers and publications for stories of importance or interest to the senator. Furthermore, this person checked all drafts of statements, speeches, etc., before they went to the senator. Finally, the administrative assistant helped during political campaigns and was the only staff member allowed by law to do so as part of their normal duties.

The following individuals were administrative assistants for Senator Thurmond:

Roland A. McCullough 1955-1957

Harry S. Dent 1955-1965

J. Fred Buzhardt 1966

Edward B. Kinney 1967-1969

Jack E. Ravan 1969-1970

Daniel J. Carrison 1970-1973

Lewis E. Beasley 1974-1977

G. Anthony Campbell 1977-1979

Edward D. Harrill 1980-1982

Dennis W. Shedd 1982-1984

John R. Steer 1985

Thadeus E. Strom 1986-1988

Auggie Tantillo 1988-1989

Duke Short 1989-2002

Extent

12.15 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Processing Information

The conversion of this finding aid to Encoded Archival Description format was made possible with a grant from the South Carolina State Historical Records Advisory Board in 2009-2010. The finding aid was prepared for encoding by Kristi Roberts.

Creator

Title
Strom Thurmond Collection: Administrative Assistant Series
Status
Completed
Date
2010 July 31
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Repository

Contact:
230 Kappa St.
Clemson SC 29634 U.S.A. US