Chalmers P. Wylie Collection RG: 57/g: Preliminary Inventory Introduction The Chalmers P. Wylie Papers consist of 252 cubic feet of materials dating from 1953 to 1992, though the bulk of the collection dates from 1967 to 1992. The collection documents the public service career of Chalmers P. Wylie (R-Worthington) as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 15th Ohio Congressional District. First elected in November 1966, Wylie served 26 years in Congress until his retirement in January 1993. Although a few records date from Wylie’s terms in the Ohio General Assembly, the vast majority of the collection consists of the records compiled by the Washington, D.C. and district offices of Congressman Wylie. Provenance: The Ohio Congressional Archives obtained the Chalmers P. Wylie Papers in November 2016 as part of a transfer agreement with the Ohio History Connection. Access: The Chalmers P. Wylie Papers are open to public research under the rules and regulations of The Ohio State University Libraries. Researchers requesting to use records within the District Affairs Series must first sign a confidentiality agreement. Copyrights: Congressman Wylie dedicated such copyrights as he possessed in the Chalmers P. Wylie Papers to the public. Consideration of all other copyrights is the responsibility of the author and the publisher. Arrangement: Arrangement of the records within the Chalmers P. Wylie Papers consist of the following six series. 1. Personal/Political Papers 2. Legislative 3. Media Relations 4. District Affairs 5. Campaigns 6. Audiovisual Materials Processing Note: Staff members of the Ohio History Connection processed and arranged the bulk of the collection prior to the collection’s transfer to the Ohio Congressional Archives in 2016. Jeffrey W. Thomas completed further processing work in 2017. Staff working on the collection made a careful effort during processing to preserve whenever possible the original order and filing systems found within each series. Many files, especially within series containing correspondence and legislative records, originally arrived in oversized file folders. Staff divided these large files into smaller folders for preservation and descriptive purposes. 1 Biographical Sketch Chalmers Pangburn Wylie served as the United States Congressman representing the 15th Ohio Congressional District from 1967 to 1993. Born on November 23, 1920 in Norwich, Ohio, Wylie grew up in Pataskala, Ohio. He attended both Otterbein College and The Ohio State University, and in 1948 graduated from the Harvard University Law School. During World War II, Wylie enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private in 1943. He served with the 30th Infantry Division in France, Belgium, and Germany rising in rank to first lieutenant by the end of the war. After the war, he stayed in the Army Reserves, eventually retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Wylie earned the Purple Heart for wounds sustained while rescuing fallen comrades in Germany and the Silver Star for helping evacuate wounded men from a minefield under enemy fire near the Rhine River in 1945. He also received the Presidential Unit Citation with two oak-leaf clusters, the Bronze Star, the French Croix de Guerre, and Belgian Fourragere. Wylie married Marjorie Ann Siebold and had two children, Jacquelyn and Bradley. Prior to his election to the U.S. Congress, Wylie practiced law, served as Assistant Attorney General of Ohio (1951-1954), City Attorney of Columbus (1953-1956), and was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives for the 25th district from 1961 to 1967. As a U.S. Congressman, Wylie became a strong advocate of veterans’ benefits, supported defense spending, introduced legislation against flag desecration, and was a noted champion of school prayer. As a member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, he worked at improving veteran access to medical care in Columbus, Ohio through the establishment of the Veterans’ Affairs Outpatient Clinic. He was a banking expert and served as the ranking Republican on the House Banking Committee. He became closely involved with the bailout of the savings and loan industry in 1989. Wylie and another Republican on the Banking Committee, Jim Leach, helped to win initial financing for the bailout and renewed financing for several more years. He was a believer in the cooperative form of business enterprise and played a large role in marshalling bipartisan support to pass legislation creating the National Cooperative Bank (NCB) to finance and assist in building consumer cooperatives. Wylie led opposition to providing federal money for the Library of Congress to produce a Braille edition of Playboy magazine in 1984. Wylie’s reelection campaigns usually resulted in landslide victories, except in 1990, when he won 59 percent of the vote against an unknown opponent. In 1992, disclosure that Wylie was one of over 350 representatives who had overdrawn their House Bank accounts on numerous occasions tarnished his political standing. Although the deposits of other members covered all overdrafts and there was no loss of taxpayer money, public surveys showed that many people believed that members had bounced checks. After retiring from Congress in January 1993, Wylie practiced law in Columbus, Ohio until his death on August 14, 1998 at the age of 77. He is buried at Saint Joseph Cemetery in Lockbourne, Franklin County, Ohio. 2 References: “Former Ohio Congressman Chalmers Wylie, 77, Dies.” Washingtonpost.com. Associated Press August 15, 1998, page C06. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- srv/politics/campaigns/junkie/links/wylie.htm. Accessed on May 3, 2014. “Chalmers P. Wylie (1920-1998)”. Cooperative Hall of Fame. March 9, 1990. http://heroes.coop/archives/chalmers-p-wylie/ Accessed on May 3, 2014. Introduction of Legislation Naming the “Chalmers P. Wylie Veterans Outpatient Clinic”. Congressional Record Volume 144, no. 125 Friday September 18, 1998 page E 1757. From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov . Accessed April 9, 2014. “Chalmers Wylie, G.O.P. Stalwart in House, Is Dead at 77”. The New York Times Archives. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/15/us/chalmers-wylie-gop-stalwart-in-house-is-dead-at- 77.html Accessed 5/8/2014 3 Series and Sub-series Listing Series 1: Personal and Political Papers (Boxes 1-17) Sub-series 1: Correspondence (Boxes 1-4) Sub-series 2: Office Administration (Boxes 5-6) Sub-series 3: Ohio Republican Delegation (Boxes 6-9) Sub-series 4: Republican Party (Boxes 9-11) Sub-series 5: Schedule Books, Calendars and Guest Books (Boxes 11-16) Sub-series 6: Office Notes and Chalmers P. Wylie’s Lists, “Things to Do.” (Box 16) Sub-series 7: Awards and Certificates (Box 17) Series 2: Legislative (Boxes 18-100) Sub-series 1: House Banking Committee (Boxes 18-59) Sub-series 2: Joint Economic Committee (Boxes 59-62) Sub-series 3: Veterans Affairs Committee (Boxes 62-64) Sub-series 4: International Monetary Fund Meetings and Miscellaneous Trips (Boxes 64-65) Sub-series 5: Gold Commission (Boxes 66-67) Sub-series 6: Bills Sponsored and Co-sponsored (Boxes 68-71) Sub-series 7: Voting Record (Boxes 71-74) Sub-series 8: Congressional Record Remarks (Boxes 74-77) Sub-series 9: General Legislation (Boxes 78-96) Sub-series 10: Significant Legislation Sponsored by Chalmers P. Wylie (Boxes 97-100) Series 3: Media Relations (Boxes 101-122) Sub-series 1: Press Releases and News Clippings (Boxes 101-105) Sub-series 2: Radio Scripts and Television Programs (Boxes 102; 106-107) Sub-series 3: Newsletter to Constituents, “Washington Memo” (Box 107) Sub-series 4: Newspaper Column, “Washington Memo” (Box 108) Sub-series 5: Speeches (Boxes 109-122) Series 4: District Affairs (Boxes 123-236) Sub-series 1: District Projects (Boxes 123-130) Sub-series 2: Grants (Boxes 130-134) Sub-series 3: Cross Reference Files to Correspondence (Boxes 135-172) Sub-series 4: Constituent Correspondence on Banking Issues (Boxes 173-182) Sub-series 5: Sampled Constituent Correspondence (Boxes 183-236) Series 5: Campaigns (Boxes 237-249) Series 6: Audiovisual Materials (Boxes 250-252) 4 Box Folder Description Series 1: Personal and Political Papers Sub-series 1: Correspondence Series 1: Personal and Political Papers; Sub-series 1: Correspondence 1 1 Dear Colleague Letters. 1971 2 Dear Colleague Letters. 1973 3 Dear Colleague Letters. 1975 4 Dear Colleague Letters. 1977-1978 5 Dear Colleague Letters. 1979-1980 6 Dear Colleague Letters. 1981 7 Dear Colleague Letters. 1982 8 Dear Colleague Letters. 1983 9 Dear Colleague Letters. 1984 10 Dear Colleague Letters. 1985 11 Dear Colleague Letters. 1986 12 Dear Colleague Letters. 1987 13 Dear Colleague Letters. 1988 14 Dear Colleague Letters. 1989 15 Dear Colleague Letters. 1990 16 Dear Colleague Letters. 1991 17 Dear Colleague Letters. 1992 18 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1974 19 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1975 20 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1976 21 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1977 22 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1978 23 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1979 24 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1980 25 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1981 26 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1982 27 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1983 28 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1984 2 1 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1985 2 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1986 3 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1987 4 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1988 5 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1989 6 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1990 7 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1991 8 Thank you letters from colleagues. 1992 9 Political invitations accepted. 1969 10 Political invitations accepted. 1970 11 Political invitations accepted. 1971 12 Political invitations accepted. 1972 5 Box Folder Description Series 1: Personal and Political Papers Sub-series 1: Correspondence 2 13 Political invitations accepted. 1973 14 Political invitations accepted. 1974 15 Congressional Clubs. 90th Club, letters and background materials.