State Offices Series: 1961-1984
Linear Feet: 77.5 (134 document cases, 261 rolls microfilm)
Status: A few files are closed but may be opened after review.
Boxes: 1209-1351
In a 1981 interview, Senator Tower stated that his primary purpose in opening his four state offices (Austin, Dallas, Houston and Lubbock) was to help his constituents with problems concerning the federal government. This is reflected in the papers, which are primarily casework files. State office casework involved virtually all departments of the federal government and even Texas agencies. Although the senator had no power to intervene in matters concerning state agencies, his office did contact state agencies on behalf of individuals. Furthermore, Texas state agencies often sought Tower’s help with grant applications or problems with the federal government. Although the majority of the state office casework files was received at Southwestern University with the files of each state office, some of the state office case files were interfiled, possibly in preparation for storage or microfilming, and these have been left as received in the subseries Combined Files.
Ed Munden, a former campaign aide who became Tower’s administrative assistant in Washington, opened Senator Tower’s Austin office in 1961. Although the majority of work done in Austin was casework, this office also sent all letters of condolence to Texas families who lost sons or daughters during the Vietnam War years. The Austin office also specialized in handling Mexican-American affairs and casework concerning the Departments of Labor, Transportation and State. By the later 1970s, the Austin office was receiving more than 3,000 requests each year for assistance with immigration, passports, visas and aid for Americans abroad.
The Dallas office, opened in the 1960s, was managed over the years by Bill Keener, Phil Charles, Linda Caffal and Rafael Joseffy. Specializing in working with the Health, Education and Welfare Department to solve difficulties with social security, FHA loans and public housing, this office handled approximately 2,500 cases each year. Cases related to railroad retirement, black lung benefits, government contracts, military academy appointments, federal employee job difficulties and the Food and Drug Administration were also their responsibility. The Dallas Office subseries, which contains correspondence, office manager and receptionist files, press releases, travel schedules, projects and casework, is the most complete aggregation of office files in the State Office Series.
The Houston office was initially opened January 1968 with Rose Monk serving as manager/ caseworker. The office was closed in mid-1969 and then reopened in October 1976 under the management of Cindi Taylor. Most cases relating to veterans and active military personnel were handled through this office. Staff in Houston also worked with the Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Coast Guard, Texas National Guard, Air National Guard and the Department of the Interior. Houston personnel handled approximately 10,000 cases each year.
The Panhandle, South Plains, Permian Basin and El Paso areas were served by the Lubbock office, which opened in June 1980. Lubbock staff worked on cases dealing with the Department of Commerce, Post Office and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HUD cases were mostly those of Texas communities seeking federal block grants. This small subseries includes three boxes of General Office Files and Casework that were left after a September 1981 fire destroyed the Lubbock office.
| Subseries | Boxes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Combined Files (1963-1983)
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1209-1211
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Austin Office (1961-1984)
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1212-1254
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Dallas Office (1967-1984)
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1255-1337
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Houston Office (1972-1984)
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1338-1343, Microfilm
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Lubbock Office (1979-1984)
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1344-1351, Microfilm |