Collection 12 Page 1
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COLLECTION 12 PAGE 1 Collection 12 Fletcher, Joel Lafayette, Jr. (1897-1972). Papers, 1862-1979 21 feet Joel L. Fletcher, Jr. was an educator in Louisiana for over forty years. Almost all of his career was at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (Southwestern Louisiana Institute) - twenty years teaching agriculture and twenty-five years as President. This collection reflects his long and distinguished career as a leader in Louisiana education. It also shows his keen interest in the past, the present, and the future of the state. He collected a large amount of secondary and primary material on the history of Louisiana. The primary material includes copies of items related to Acadian vigilante committees and the business records of William Wyatt of Vernon, Louisiana. Much of the secondary material was removed from the collection since it duplicated items already cataloged in the Louisiana Room. (A list of the removed items is appended to the inventory.) Fletcher gathered much information on agriculture and industrial development while preparing speeches on these subjects. He gave frequent speeches especially after World War II through the 1950s urging the people of Louisiana to invest in education as the best means to insure the future greatness of their state. The collection also reflects the close relationship between Fletcher, his wife, and their children: Ellen, Florence, Lorraine and Joel, III. The family correspondence contains frequent letters from Fletcher summarizing the events of the week for the benefit of the children who had all left the area. There is also a large number of letters to the parents including letters from Joel, III sent from Europe and the Far East where he served in the U. S. Navy and from Europe where he worked during the 1960s. Included are accounts of the Florence flood of 1966 since Joel lived there when it occurred. Another large portion of the collection illustrates Fletcher's service in civic and religious organizations. He held leadership positions at several levels in groups such as the American Red Cross, Rotary International, and the Federal Reserve Board. He was active at different times in the Lafayette Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church of the Ascension; and served on the board of trustees for regional colleges of both denominations. The breadth of the collection reflects the catholic interests of Fletcher. Included in the papers are materials which essentially are official records of the College of Agriculture while Fletcher served as the first dean after it was organized in 1938. In addition to his official correspondence as Dean, the collection contains the correspondence of other faculty in the college. The collection also contains the records of The Southwestern Agriculturist and the Mid-Winter Fair, both of which were pet Fletcher projects. During the New Deal Fletcher served as director of SLI's student employment program, and the papers reflect local involvement in such programs as the ERA, the NYA and the WPA. Among Fletcher's correspondents were Cardinal John A. Cody, Bishop Jules Jeanmard, Senator Styles Bridges, Senator Robert Kerr, Congressman Edwin Willis, Governor Earl K. Long, Governor John McKeithen, Ambassador Jefferson Caffery, and Caroline Dormon. This collection was donated by Joel Lafayette Fletcher, Jr. SERIES A. Louisiana Collection 1. History a. General 1-01 through 1-07 p.2 b. Southeastern Louisiana 1-08 through 1-13 p.3 c. Acadians and Acadiana Parishes 1. General 1-14 through 1-17 p.3 2. Lafayette and Lafayette Parish 1-18 through 2-02 p.3 3. Acadiana Parishes 2-03 through 2-21 p.4 d. North Louisiana 3-01 through 3-14 p.4 COLLECTION 12 PAGE 2 e. New Orleans 3-15 through 3-18 p.5 f. Folklore and Literature 4-01 through 4-04 p.5 g. Other Places 4-05 and 4-06 p.5 h. Miscellaneous Primary Material 4-07 and 4-08 p.6 i. Miscellaneous 4-09 p.6 2. Biography 4-10 through 4-25 p.6 3. Education a. History 5-01 through 5-10 p.7 b. Higher Education - Louisiana 5-11 through 5-18 p.8 c. USL History 6-01 through 6-08 p.8 d. Higher Education - Miscellaneous 6-09 through 6-14 p.8 4. Agriculture and Economics a. Agriculture 6-15 through 7-20 p.9 b. Economics 8-01 through 9-21 p.12 5. Politics 9-22 through 9-26 p.14 B. Correspondence 1. General 10-01 through 16-09 p.14 2. Family 16-10 through 19-08 p.17 3. Organizational Correspondence and Records a. Rotary International 19-09 through 23-12 p.18 b. Presbyterian Church 23-13 through 24-05 p.20 c. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors 24-06 through 24-10 p.20 d. American Red Cross 24-11 and 24-12 p.20 e. Sons of Confederate Veterans 24-13 p.21 f. Other 24-14 through 24-16 p.21 C. Biographical and Family Material 25-01 through 28-07 p.21 D. Speeches and Articles 1. Economy 29-01 through 29-12 p.23 2. USL 29-13 through 29-20 p.24 3. Education Box 30; Box 31; 32-01 through 32-04 p.26 4. Miscellaneous 32-05 through 32-12 p.29 E. College of Agriculture Records 1. General Correspondence 33-01 through 38-06 p.31 2. Miscellaneous Records a. Financial 38-07 through 38-17 p.33 b. Other 39-01 through 39-14 p.33 c. Animals, Dairy and Pasture Programs 39-15 through 40-17 p.34 d. New Deal Programs 40-18 through 41-15 p.35 e. Southwestern Agriculturist 41-16 through 42-10 p.35 f. Mid-Winter Fair 43-01 through 43-10 p.36 g. Miscellaneous 43-11 through 44-02 p.36 F. Photographs 44-03 through 44-06 p.37 G. Artifacts Box 45 p.37 INVENTORY A. Louisiana Collection 1. History a. General 1-01 "Louisiana - An Outline for Study," History 412, J. W. Sanders, 1944 1-02 Roy, Louis-Philippe, "Avec la Liaison Française en Louisiane," 1955, 48 pp. 1-03 Clippings COLLECTION 12 PAGE 3 Foley, Ellen, "Louisiana's 12 Counties," The Times-Picayune New Orleans State Magazine, 7/242/1949 "Louisiana Voter Registration by Parishes," New Orleans State Times and Item, 29 Aug. 1959 1-04 Hibernia National Bank, Louisiana Cities: Their Origin, History, Advantages and Achievements, 1942 1-05 Material on Louisiana Purchase DeVoto, Bernard, "Louisiana Purchase," reprint from Collier's Magazine, 1953, 17 pp. Chase, John, Louisiana Purchase: An American Told In...The Comic Strip, 1954, 82 pp. 1-06 Louisiana Federation of Women's Clubs, Golden Jubilee, 1899-1949, 1949, 154 pp. 1-07 Louisiana Historical Association, An Invitation to Join the Louisiana Historical Association, 1958, 27 pp. A. Louisiana Collection 1. History b. Southeast Louisiana 1-08 Miscellaneous articles and clippings on Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River problems 1-09 Miscellaneous material on Southeastern Louisiana clippings: Ile Jean Charles boat trip from Houma to Barataria Bay notes: Lower LaFourche 1-10 Miscellaneous material on Grand Isle clippings; notes 1-11 Dupont, Clemet, St. Elizabeth Church: Centenary Notes, 1840-1940 (Paincourtville, n.d.), 16 pp. 1-12 Melancon, Lucille, "Lockport, Louisiana; A Bayou Town Looks Back One Hundred and Twenty-Five Years," for Sociology 371, May 1960, 50 pp. 1-13 Baudier, Roger, St. Gabriel of Iberville, 1773-1953, 1953, 55 pp. A. Louisiana Collection 1. History c. Acadians and Acadiana 1. General 1-14 Dominion Atlantic Railway, Old Acadia in Nova Scotia (7thedition, 1946) 1-15 JLF writings "The Acadians in Louisiana Today," 1947, several copies notes for speech (?) on tourism in Acadiana letter to Hodding Carter re. French citizens in Louisiana, n.d. 1-16 Jones, Sam H., "The Land in Which We Live," speech, 1954 1-17 Articles "The Acadian Story: 1955, reprint of Harry L. Griffin, A Brief History of the Acadians Kelly, Minnie, "Acadian South Louisiana," reprint from Journal of Geography, v. 33, # 3, March 1934 A. Louisiana Collection 1. History c. Acadians and Acadiana 2. Lafayette and Lafayette Parish 1-18 Lafayette Daily Advertiser, Progress Edition, 1949(?), 3 sections 1-19 Mouton, Jerome, "History of Lafayette, speech, c.1917, copy 1-20 Miscellaneous clippings on Lafayette 1-21 Anders, Quintilla Morgan, "History of the Presbyterian Church, Lafayette, Louisiana, 1875-1950," n.d., 167 pp. 1-22 Lafayette Presbyterian Church, miscellaneous records, 1940s Church Roll: 14 June 1943; 19 Aug. 1943; June 1949 COLLECTION 12 PAGE 4 Building Fund contributors as of 28 Aug. 1945 See Map Case 16-01 for blueprint of 1940 plat of church See 23-15 and 23-16 for other material on Lafayette Presbyterian Church 1-23 Protestant Episcopal Church of the Ascension, Lafayette, miscellaneous records, 1956-1965 scattered material on building fund; scattered treasurer reports; report of the women, 1961; scattered parish notes 1-24 Protestant Episcopal Church of the Ascension Day School, booklets, 1961-1962 2-01 Let the Records Speak - Lafayette Rotary Club, 1920-1955: A History, 1955?, 8 pp. See 19-09 through 23-12 for other materials on Rotary Club 2-02 Voorhies, Bennett J., "The Lafayette Bar Association and Early History of Lafayette Parish," 1950, 14 pp., signed copy A. Louisiana Collection 1. History c. Acadians and Acadiana 3. Acadiana Parishes 2-03 Steckler, Edith, "St. Martin Parish With a Past: Colorful - Troubled - Romantic; A Present: Quaint - Active - Progressive; A Future: Promising," n.d. 5 pp, mimeographed 2-04 Teche News, 17 Aug. 1961, Section 5 2-05 Clippings on St. Martin Parish and St. Martinville 2-06 Abbeville Meridional, Supplement, 15 Oct.