Pittsburg State University Pittsburg State University Digital Commons Finding Aids Special Collections & University Archives 3-2012 Saia, David Joseph (1904-1990), Papers, 1938-1990 Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/fa Recommended Citation Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library, "Saia, David Joseph (1904-1990), Papers, 1938-1990" (2012). Finding Aids. 71. https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/fa/71 This Finding Aid is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections & University Archives at Pittsburg State University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Finding Aids by an authorized administrator of Pittsburg State University Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. 72 Saia, David Joseph (1904-1990), Papers, 1938-1990 2.5 linear feet 1 INTRODUCTION Personal and professional correspondence, organizational newsletters, legal documents, and other items collected by David J. “Papa Joe” Saia during his tenure as Crawford County Commissioner and chairman of the Crawford County Democratic Party. DONOR INFORMATION The David Joseph Saia Papers were donated to Pittsburg State University by Mr. Saia on 28 July 1975. Materials in the collection dated after 1975 were compiled by curator Eugene DeGruson. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH David Joseph “Papa Joe” Saia was a long-time resident of Frontenac, Kansas and one of the most prominent figures in the Kansas Democratic Party. Saia was born on 2 May 1904 in Chicopee, Kansas and began working in the coal fields of Crawford County at age thirteen. His political career began at the same time as a member of the United Mine Workers “pit committee,” a group which carried grievances to the pit bosses in the mines.