Archives and Special Collections
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Archives and Special Collections Dickinson College Carlisle, PA COLLECTION REGISTER Name: Hess, Beverly TMI-Hess Material: Papers (1979-1990) Volume: 9 linear feet (7 Document Boxes, 1 Cassette Box, 2 Photo Folders, 65 Books) Donation: Gift of Beverly Hess, 1987 and 1990 Usage: These materials have been donated without restrictions on usage. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Beverly Hess was a resident of Lancaster County prior to the accident at Three Mile Island, Unit 2. After the accident, Beverly Hess became heavily involved in the local anti- nuclear movement. She was a founding member of the Susquehanna Valley Alliance, and the Public Interest and Resource Center. As the first president of the Public Interest and Resource Center, Hess helped to coordinate the efforts of the multiple anti-nuclear groups formed in the Susquehanna River Valley after the TMI-2 Accident. Beverly Hess actively participated in all areas of citizen protest against Three Mile Island. She led fund-raisers, gave speeches, recruited new members, wrote letters to politicians and the press, planned and participated in protests against both TMI and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and read and gathered a great deal of material on nuclear power and the effects of radiation. Her activities with regard to TMI apparently waned in the late 1980’s due to the failing health of her husband. COLLECTION DESCRIPTION The Beverly Hess Collection consists of the various papers, newspaper clippings, books, audiotapes, and photographs collected by Hess during her most active period of involvement with local anti-nuclear groups. The collection is divided into 22 series, and an appendix of books is attached. The majority of the series deal with papers from the various organizations with which Hess had contact. Series 1 – General Correspondence contains Beverly Hess’s personal correspondence as well as copies of correspondence unconnected with a particular organization. Series 2 – Personal Papers contains materials of Beverly Hess unrelated to her work with any particular organization. Series 3 through Series 14 contain the materials relating to individual organizations involved in the nuclear power controversy. The first two organizations are the two with which Beverly Hess was personally connected. The remainder of the organizations follow in alphabetical order. Series 15 – Miscellaneous Organizations contains the papers of multiple organizations which have been organized together due to size. Series 16 – Legal/Judicial Papers contains documents relating to acts of legislature, and court cases not involving any organizations represented in the rest of the collection. Any legal/judicial papers belonging to a represented organization can be found with the organization’s papers. Series 17 – Scholarly Papers and Official Studies, Series 18 – Journal and Magazine Articles, Series 19 – Miscellaneous Printed Materials, and Series 20 – Newspaper Articles contain various printed items collected by Beverly Hess. Series 21 – Audio Cassettes contains recorded commercials and television programs as well as interviews, lectures, and speeches. Series 22 – Photographs contains all the photographs, negatives, and slides from the collection with notations on the documents to which they were originally connected. An Appendix has been attached which lists the books belonging to the Beverly Hess Collection. These are listed alphabetically by author with the catalog numbers included. The books are alternately available through the Dickinson College Library. More detailed series descriptions appear before each series inventory. COLLECTION INVENTORY SERIES 1 – GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE The General Correspondence series contains letters written by and to multiple persons. This series is divided into Personal and General. Personal Correspondence contains the letters of Beverly Hess. General Correspondence contains the letters of other people unconnected with the organizations represented within the Hess Collection. Included under General are the letters of Charles Leising, and letters to and from political figures concerning Three Mile Island. All letters are organized by the last name of the important party, then into letters sent and letters received by date with undated letters coming first. Any correspondence pertaining to an organization is listed under that organization’s series. For more correspondence by Beverly Hess, please see the Correspondence sub-series under both the Susquehanna Valley Alliance (SVA) and the Public Information and Resource Center (PIRC) series. SERIES INVENTORY BOX 1 – TMI-Hess GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE Personal Folder 01) Hess, Beverly: Letters sent – 1979-1983 Letters received – 1979-1984 General Folder 02) Carter, James - 1979-1980 Goodling, William - 1983 Leising, Charles - 1980-1985 Thornburg, Richard - 1979-1984 Miscellaneous - 1980-1984 SERIES 2 – PERSONAL PAPERS The Personal Papers series consists solely of the papers of Beverly Hess that can not be placed with a particular organization. This series is further divided into 4 sub-series: Ephemera, Notebooks, Speeches, and Conferences. Ephemera contains some personal information as well as papers relating to Hess’s personal protest against Pennsylvania Power & Light (PP&L) for the building of a new nuclear plant on the Susquehanna River. Notebooks contains day planners, address/telephone books, and a notebook used in a Grantmanship Training Program. Speeches contains notes, typed or written, for unidentified speeches. Conferences contains papers relating to a conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in which Beverly Hess participated in a panel discussion as a private citizen, rather than as a representative of any particular organization. SERIES INVENTORY BOX 1 – TMI-Hess (cont.) PERSONAL PAPERS Ephemera Folder 03) Personal protest against PP&L Miscellaneous Notebooks Folder 04) Day planners Address/telephone books Notebook from Grantsmanship Training Program Speeches Folder 05) Notes for various speeches, undated Conferences Folder 06) MIT Forum. “TMI: the Public Risks and Technical Decisions.” May 1979 SERIES 3 – SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY ALLIANCE The Susquehanna Valley Alliance, or SVA, was established shortly after the incident at TMI in March 1979. The group membership was comprised of area citizens who were concerned about the psychological, physical, and economic ramifications that the incident, and subsequent restart of the unaffected reactor, would have on them and their families. SVA became one of many local grassroots organizations to take part in the Public Information Resource Center (PIRC). Beverly Hess was one of the founding members of SVA, serving as its president before becoming heavily involved with PIRC. The SVA papers are dated from 1979 until 1985, and are organized into four sub-series: Correspondence, General Papers, Printed Materials, and Legal Papers. The Correspondence is further divided into letters sent and received as well as mailing lists used by the group. The General Papers contains miscellaneous general business materials such as meeting minutes, organizational history data, and materials relating to affiliations with religious organizations. The Printed materials sub-series includes the SVA newsletter, press releases and statements, as well as publications produced by the group for informative and fundraising purposes. Finally, the Legal Papers sub-series contains materials relating to the various lawsuits in which SVA was involved, including case transcripts and correspondence with the group’s legal team. SERIES INVENTORY BOX 1 – TMI-Hess (cont.) SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY ALLIANCE Correspondence Folder 07) Letters sent and received – 1979-1985 Folder 08) Mailing lists – undated General Papers Folder 09) Minutes – 1979-1980 Organizational History – undated Religious outreach program – 1979-1982 Printed Materials Folder 10) Drawing for SVA by Bruce Holland and related materials Fact sheets Newsletters Folder 11) House Meeting newsletter – June-Aug. 1979 Nuclear Power Reade/No Nuclear Power Reader – no date Folder 12) SVA Newsletter – 1979-1981 Folder 13) SVA Newsletter – 1982-1986 Folder 14) “NRC’s Environmental Assessment Use of EPICOR-II at TMI unit 2, with comments and rebuttal by SVA” – 1979 “Outline for talk about TMI” – c1985 Folder 15) Press releases – 1979-1985 Statements – 1979-1982 Folder 16) “Tim the Tragic Dragon” by Bruce Molholt – 1981 Folder 17) “There is a choice” (SVA fundraiser calendar) – 1981 Miscellaneous materials Legal Papers Folder 18) Correspondence: Letters sent and received – 1979-1980 Folder 19) General Papers – 1980 and undated Fundraising materials – 1979 and undated Proposals – undated Financial records – 1979-1980 Folder 20) Court cases: Civil Action No. 79-658, SVA v. TMI, et al. – 1979-1982 No. 79-2446, SVA v. TMI, et al. – 1979 (appeal of 79-658 in 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals) No. 80-382, GPU, et al., v. SVA – 1980-1981 (U.S. Supreme Court) SERIES 4 – PUBLIC INFORMATION RESOURCE CENTER The Public Information Resource Center, or PIRC, was established as a liaison group between the major anti-nuclear groups formed in Central Pennsylvania. Their goal was to coordinate all efforts against TMI: legal actions, protests, and financial actions. Member organizations contributed funding and personnel, while receiving information and coordination services. This was to promote the strength of greater numbers, and to stop harmful overlapping of individual and group efforts. Beverly Hess served as President of PIRC during its early years, while maintaining