Winter 2008 Issue 7 Societyfor The National Archives A Tribute to Tom Wheeler Photo by Earl McDonald A chance seating next to former ing in 2001, it is not surprising that Foundation president Charles the Archives had considerable appeal to Guggenheim at a December 2001 wed- Tom. A history buff since he was a child ding prompted the initial conversation in Columbus, Ohio, Tom had walked that eventually brought Tom Wheeler the eastern Civil War battlefields with onto the Foundation board. As the his grandfather who would “tell the sto- two men talked of their mutual love of ries,” a concept Tom believes is central history, the National Archives and its to the mission of the Foundation and treasures, and the role of this important the Archives: “making available to the institution in preserving and sharing American people the important national with the American people the story of documents that give voice to the stories our national heritage, Tom was “sold.” of our country’s past.” With his par- A visit to the Archives and the ticular interest in Civil War history, he document vaults reaffirmed Tom’s ini- authored a book in 2000 in which he tial reaction, but it also confirmed his drew on nine lessons from Civil War feeling at the time that the Archives battlefields that have analogies in mod- was, as he says, “the best kept secret ern business leadership. His second book in Washington.” He enthusiasti- in 2006 grew out of his direct associa- cally joined the board determined to tion with the Archives and its docu- help put the Archives at the center of is practiced in getting things done, ments. While taking a potential donor Washington’s map of public institu- Tom knew the measures that needed to through the vaults, he saw a collection tions. Within two years Tom had be taken to make the Archives widely of President Lincoln’s original telegraph become the Foundation’s chairman and appreciated as well as obtain for it the messages and was inspired to research president and was championing the public recognition it deserved. He and write about “Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails.” idea of the National Archives Experience brought in Thora Colot to head the Tom’s professional life has been in – the Public Vaults, theater, learning Foundation staff, led the effort to raise telecommunications where for over three center, traveling exhibitions, and web a capital campaign of over $23 mil- decades he has worked in policy and site – which under his six years of lead- lion for the NAE, worked to expand business development. He is considered ership has become a reality. and enhance the board so that today it to be an expert in that industry in both Although Tom refuses to acknowl- is a notable gathering of talented and of those areas. As an entrepreneur he edge the NAE as “his” legacy – “It dedicated individuals, and created and started or helped start multiple compa- was always a team effort,” he argues – became a strong advocate of an annual nies offering new cable, wireless, and without his enthusiasm, guidance, and Gala with its Records of Achievement video communications services, both persuasive determination, each of the Award, which has galvanized public domestically and internationally. As a NAE programs might not have been focus on the Archives. policy expert he has been intimately made secure for the future. A man who In spite of his serendipitous meet- continued on page 2 2 Conservation Lab Tour an Exclusive Treat for Society Members Photo by Scott Suchman Imagine holding in your hands the members are invited original 1783 Treaty of Paris, the doc- to take a rare glimpse ument that ended the Revolutionary into their world dur- War. Or painstakingly repairing an ing an exclusive Indian treaty or a personal letter tour of the original penned by Abraham Lincoln. Or care- Conservation Laboratory fully flattening a huge cowhide parch- at the National Archives ment with the handwritten text of the Building. earliest laws of our nation. While much of the This is the work of 20 conserva- agency’s conservation tors and conservation technicians work now takes place at responsible for maintaining millions Archives II in Maryland, of cubic feet of records held for the the busy lab in down- American people in the National town Washington, DC, is one of the stored in a pocket or pouch, so many Archives. On December 8, Society oldest, continuously operating con- are extremely fragile. In anticipation servation labs in the nation’s capital, of the 200th anniversary of the war, and it is responsible for stabilizing and conservators hope to preserve as many continued from page 1 Wheeler preserving some of the most impor- as possible. engaged in the development of the gov- tant documents in the Archives. “They will never look beautiful, ernment’s telecommunications policy at Catherine Nicholson, deputy but our goal is to assure that they both the legislative and regulatory levels. director of the National Archives’ are readable,” Nicholson said. “Every Tom, the co-founder of SmartBrief and Conservation Division, admits the work single name is important to someone.” currently a managing director at Core can, at times, require a great deal of It is possible visitors will see items Capital Partners, is a member of the patience. “You have to be the type of planned for the National Archives Wireless Industry Hall of Fame and has person who is willing to clean an entire Experience’s “Discovering the Civil been chosen by Cablevision magazine as wall with a cotton swab,” she joked. War” exhibit, scheduled to open in the one of the twenty most influential indi- It also can be extremely reward- Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery in 2010, viduals in that industry’s history. ing, she said, to pore over frail docu- or the “BIG!” exhibit, which opens In stepping down as president of ments and treat them in an effort early next year. They will certainly see the Foundation, Tom is hardly retiring to preserve the stories they tell. And Civil War widows’ pension claims, from active public service. He has been there is no overestimating the thrill of and possibly treaties from the Lincoln asked to use his considerable experience opening an old box or binder, unfold- administration, which are in the pro- and skills in the service of the nation as ing an ancient map or unrolling a cess of being digitized. a part of the incoming administration’s scroll, and literally holding history in “While the task of meticulously transition team in the position of Agency one’s hands, Nicholson said. preserving papers may seem repeti- Working Group leader for the Science, “One of the things people on the tious, the conservator has to be con- Technology, Space and the Arts Group. tour will see is the work we are doing on stantly alert, constantly watching, Tom says he feels “incredibly privi- our earliest laws, which are on full ani- constantly asking, ‘Is this working?’” leged to have been able to be the voice mal skins – parchments that can measure Nicholson said. “What’s interesting to of the Foundation for the past six years.” about 30 by 36 inches,” she said. me about being a conservator is that The Foundation board shares that senti- Society members also may get it is a bit of detective work to find ment. We, too, have been incredibly a look at muster rolls from the War clues to determine what chemical or privileged to have Tom be our voice. n of 1812. The rolls, which list every physical processes are causing damage. soldier in a particular unit, were Every single item is different and every unfolded repeatedly for roll call, then single item is challenging.” n 3 Fall 2008: A Season of History, Discussion and Celebration

One autumn evening each year, Society Weinstein joined Foundation President winning novelist E.L. Doctorow and members and other distinguished guests Tom Wheeler in welcoming guests at with political commentators E.J. Dionne celebrate at the Foundation for the the formal program in the McGowan of The Washington Post, David Brooks of Theater, which featured The New York Times and The Newshour a film tribute to James with Jim Lehrer, and Rice University McPherson, the 2008 recip- Professor Douglas Brinkley, all of ient of the Foundation’s whom participated in the “American Records of Achievement Conversation” series with the Archivist. Award. The renowned Other major events included a historian and Pulitzer Prize- reception and screening of Charles winning author thanked Guggenheim’s 1968 Academy Award- the National Archives for winning film Robert F. Kennedy protecting and preserving Remembered, and the opening of the the historical record and National Archives Experience’s latest exhibi- improving history and civics tion, “1783: Subject or Citizen? ” n education nationwide. Society and Foundation board member Jane Fawcett-Hoover and Photos by Margot Schulman husband Bill Hoover visit with The Atlantic president and publisher John The event, generously Fox Sullivan, left, and Society member Raymond Garcia, center. sponsored by The Boeing Company and chaired by National Archives’ gala. The annual Board and Society Member Pat Butler black-tie evening is a premier gathering and his wife Donna, also included a for Society members and has become a preview by Wheeler of the planned “can’t miss” event on Washington’s fall “Discovering the Civil War” exhibit, social calendar. scheduled to open in 2010. Guests began this Following the pro- year’s event on September gram, guests were treated to an Honoree James McPherson, Board President Tom 16 at a cocktail recep- elegant dinner in the National Wheeler and Archivist Allen Weinstein tion in the Archivist’s Archives Rotunda Galleries Reception Room, then and concluded the evening on toured the National the portico where they enjoyed Archives Experience’s champagne and dessert. award-winning Public Society members Save the Date! Vaults exhibit. Society members also were invited to exclusive Event: Conservation Lab Tour and Archivist Allen David and Carolyn Stump receptions this fall with award- Society Dinner When: Monday, December 8 Society Members on the Web Where: National Archives Many of the National Archives’ exciting Business Leadership,” and featuring Event: An American Conversation: programs are now on-line, showcas- Foundation Board and Society member Daniel Schorr and Private Reception ing the many ways in which Society Fruzsina Harsanyi, is now on the Web, members and other Archives support- as is the July 4th celebration, featur- When: Thursday, December 11 ers contribute to the National Archives ing Board and Society member Riley Where: Archivist’s Reception Experience. Temple in a ceremonial reading of the Room and McGowan Theater The programs are available at: http:// Declaration of Independence. American Please contact Caneil McDonald, Manager of www.archives.gov/nae/news/featured- Conversations with Board and Society Special Events and Sponsor Relations, at (202) 357-7361 or [email protected] with programs/. members Cokie Roberts and Ken Burns any questions or to RSVP to an event. “Citizens by Choice: Women in also can be found on the Web. n 4 Society Donations Help Boeing Learning Center The Boeing Learning Center, D.C. headquarters for the Photo by Earl McDonald National Archives’ educational outreach, has had a busy sum- mer and fall, welcoming nearly 7,500 visitors from all 50 states and 42 foreign countries in its ReSource Room from June through September. Thanks to the generous financial donations of Society members and other Archives supporters, the Learning Center team also conducted:

n 45 workshops for nearly 1,000 educators from all 50 states. Included were the Center’s flagship “Primarily Teaching” summer institute for teachers and a three- day joint National Archives/Smithsonian American Art Museum workshop called “Teaching with Documents and Works of Art: An Integrated Approach.” used at the National Archives – students mine primary sources for historical examples of checks and balances and n 35 videoconferences for 875 educators and students in separation of powers, gaining a greater understanding of California, Massachusetts, Maine, Nebraska, New York, the Constitution. Pre- and post-field trip classroom lessons Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. reinforce the learning experience.

n 22 “Constitution-in-Action” Labs for 421 educators and “This was a great summer of non-stop activity in the students. The labs allow middle school students to take on Boeing Learning Center,” said Lee Ann Potter, director of the roles of archivists and researchers to complete a mock Education and Volunteer Programs at the National Archives. assignment: providing the President of the United States “My team and I had the pleasure of working with hundreds with real-life examples of our Constitution in action for a of K-16 educators from all over the country and we are confi- new public information campaign. Using the “stacks” and dent that they will be sharing much of what they learned with “reading room” – replicas of the actual research facilities thousands of students this school year.” n

Members of the Society for the National Archives Bess and Tyler Abell * Brian P. Lamb Brooke Shearer and Strobe Talbott * Honey and Lamar Alexander * Ken and Pat Lore * Albert and Shirley Small * Michael and Afsaneh Beschloss * Peri Marek David and Carolyn Stump Miguel and Jacklyn Bezos David McCullough Riley Temple * Tom Brokaw Cappy and Jane McGarr * Gary and Susanne Tobey A’Lelia Bundles * David and Kathleen McKean * John “Jack” Todd, Ken and Julie Burns * Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. McLarty III in Memory of Lawrence F. O’Brien Patrick and Donna Butler * Prof. James McPherson Prof. Allen Weinstein, Eugene Eidenberg and Anna Chavez * The Merrill Family Foundation Inc. Archivist of the United States * Richard Eliasberg * David Mesker * Marvin Weissberg and Judith Morris * Jane Fawcett-Hoover * The Lawrence F. O’Brien Family * Tom and Carol Wheeler * Jerry and Nanette Finger Foundation * Joel I. and Joan Picket * John and Diana Zentay * Nancy Folger and Sidney Werkman * Robert and Wendy Riggs Anonymous Dr. John Hope Franklin Henry and Bernadette Rivera * Cynthia and Ben Guill Cokie and Steven Roberts * William and Mary Love Harman * Anna Eleanor Roosevelt * * First name denotes a member Fruzsina Harsanyi and Raymond Garcia * Patti and Ronald Rosenfeld * of the Board of Directors Marilynn and John Hill * Philip Rosenfeld Mary D. Janney Howard J. Rubenstein Honorary members in italics Frank and Cathy Keating * Deborah and Michael Salzberg * Mary Lynn and Nicholas Kotz * Theodore D. Segal *