Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Arlyne Reichert papers, 1965-1990
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Reichert, Arlyne, 1926- . creator
- Title
- Arlyne Reichert papers
- Dates
- 1965-1990 (inclusive)19651990
1971-1980 (bulk)19711980 - Quantity
- 4.0 linear feet of shelf space
- Collection Number
- MC 450
- Summary
- Arlyne Reichert was a 1972 Constitutional Convention delegate from Cascade County. Reichert served on the Legislative Committee and worked to gain support for a unicameral legislature. She served as a legislator in the 46th Montana Legislative Assembly from 1979 to 1981. The collection (1971-1980) consists primarily of correspondences to and from her constituents during the Convention and her legislative term, subject files, clippings, and print material on topics important to her.
- Repository
-
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Arlyne Estelle Cohn was born on January 14, 1926 in Buffalo, New York to Charles and Anne Cohn. Her interest in politics began early in life, and she aspired to one day run for U.S. Congress but then realized she would have to mortgage her house to finance a campaign. While attending the University of Buffalo’s Cadet Nurses Training program, Arlyne met her future husband Harold “Rick” Reichert, on December 25, 1942. They married in 1945 after he returned from serving overseas in the U.S. military. The couple moved to Great Falls and had five children: Cheryl, Greg, Robert, Claire, and Roger. Reichert did not continue her nursing training because at that time married women were not accepted for training at either hospital in Great Falls.
In 1967, Reichert began working at the McLaughlin Research Institute with Dr. Jack Stimpfling as the executive secretary and technical editor of the Transplantation Journal. Reichert’s involvement in local government began after she moved to Great Falls and served as a Library Trustee and President of the Friends of the Great Falls Public Library. She was also a member of the League of Women Voters, serving on both the Local and State Boards.
In 1970, Reichert ran for the Montana state legislature and lost, but the following year, was elected as a 1972 Constitutional Convention delegate. She served on the Legislative Committee and pushed for a unicameral legislature, although Montana voters decided against it when the new Constitution was ratified.
After the Convention, Reichert remained active in Great Falls local government. She participated in getting the local government structure changed from a mayor-alderman form to commission-manager system. In 1974, she was elected to the Cascade County Study Commission. She also served as a legislative analyst for television news and Regional Vice President of the National Municipal League.
In 1979, Reichert was elected to the Montana State House of Representatives and served one term. During that time, she worked on the topics of a unicameral legislature and separation of powers. Reichert retired as Assistant Director of the McLaughlin Institute in 1989. Arlyne Reichert remains active in local politics and historic preservation efforts, including preservation of the Great Falls 10th Street Bridge. Her efforts to save the bridge led her to establish Preservation Cascade, Inc., which she serves on as secretary-treasurer. She also served as a National Civic League council member and on the Montana Capitol Restoration Committee.
Her husband passed away from cancer in 1968.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Arlyne Reichert papers are arranged in nine series: correspondence (1969-1988), organizational records (1971-1989), writings (1971-1973), news releases (1972), printed materials (1967-1989), speeches (1971-1982), subject files (1965-1990), news clippings (1971-1984), and miscellany (1990). Correspondence related to Reichert’s time as a Constitutional Convention delegate, state legislator, and member of the Constitutional Society—the organization created by the former Convention delegates to stay in touch and meet once a year—make up the bulk of the collection. Some of the correspondence relates to Reichert’s involvement in the Montana Constitutional Society, but most of it is constituent correspondence from Reichert’s term as a Convention delegate and a state legislator. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by topic. The organizational records, printed materials, and writings pertain to the Constitutional Convention and Constitutional Society, and the speeches, news releases, and miscellany series each contain only a few items. Subject files and news clippings consist mostly of information related to the Constitutional Convention, separation of powers, and legislative organization, particularly the topic of a unicameral legislature.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
[item description and date]. Arlyne Reichert papers. MC 450. [box and folder number]. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Archives. Helena, Montana.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The creator’s original order was maintained for most of the correspondence, but the rest of the collection materials were reorganized by topic and materials type.
Acquisition Information
Acquisition information available upon request.
Processing Note
Collection came in a single accession. Most duplicates were weeded from the collection.
Separated Materials
Photographs were transferred to the Photo Archives.
Related Materials
Several other collections about the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention are held at the Montana Historical Society including: the Dorothy Eck papers(MC 448), Carmen Louise Cross papers (MC 449),Montana Constitutional Convention Records (RS 22), and Montana Constitutional Convention Commission Records (RS 21).
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Correspondence: Con Con, 1971-1973Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1 / 1 | Bill of Rights |
1972 |
| 1 / 2 | Education / Church and State |
1972 |
| 1 / 3 | Environmental / Land Use |
1972 |
| 1 / 4 | Firearms |
1972 |
| 1 / 5 | Gambling |
1972 |
| 1 / 6 | General |
1972 |
| 1 / 7 | Interoffice |
1972 |
| 1 / 8 | Labor / Right to Work |
1972 |
| 1 / 9 | Local Government |
1971-1972 |
| 1 / 10 | Post-Convention |
1972-1973 |
| 1 / 11 | Pre-Convention |
1971 |
| 1 / 12 | Revenue and Finance |
1972 |
Correspondence: Legislative, 1978-1982Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1 / 13 | Abortion HJR 15
|
1979 |
| 1 / 14 | Accessibility Services SB 278
|
1979 |
| 1 / 15 | Agriculture HB 213, 292, 526
|
1979 |
| 1 / 16 | Alcohol HB 724 and 725
|
1979 |
| 1 / 17 | Budget HJR 3
|
1979 |
| 1 / 18-20 | Education HB 171, 209, 485, 525
|
1979 |
| 2 / 1-2 | Education HB 537, SB 276
|
1979 |
| 2 / 3 | "Education, Native American" HB 219
|
1979 |
| 2 / 4 | "Education, School for Deaf and Blind" HB 425 and 542
|
1979 |
| 2 / 5 | Energy HB 395, 452, SB 514
|
1979 |
| 2 / 6 | Equal Rights Amendment SJR 12
|
1979 |
| 2 / 7 | Gambling HB 852
|
1979 |
| 2 / 8-9 | General |
1978-1982 |
| 2 / 10 | Healthcare SB 247
|
1979 |
| 2 / 11 | Hunting HB 247
|
1979 |
| 2 / 12 | Insurance SB 209
|
1979 |
| 2 / 13 | Labor / Employment HB 177, SB 155
|
1979 |
| 2 / 14 | Law Enforcement HB 568
|
1979 |
| 3 / 1 | Libel HB 355
|
1979 |
| 3 / 2 | Local Government HB 118, 198
|
1979 |
| 3 / 3 | Property Ownership HB 46
|
1979 |
| 3 / 4-9 | Taxation and Revenue HB 125, 150, 427, 430, 730, 753, 873, 891
|
1979 |
| 3 / 10 | Tourism HB 483
|
1979 |
| 3 / 11 | Miscellaneous HB and SB |
1979 |
| 3 / 12 | Multiple HB and SB |
1979 |
Correspondence: Other Topics, 1969-1988Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4 / 1 | Local Government |
1974 |
| 4 / 2 | MT Constitutional Society |
1972-1988 |
| 4 / 3 | Television Career |
1971 |
| 4 / 4 | Unicameral |
1971-1979 |
| 4 / 5 | Water Issues |
1969-1970 |
Organizational Records, 1971-1989Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4 / 6 | Memoranda |
1971-1972 |
| 4 / 7 | Minutes: Legislative Committee |
1972 |
| 4 / 8 | Organization and Procedures |
1971-1972 |
| 4 / 9-10 | Proposals and Resolutions annotated by Reichert
|
1971-1972 |
| 5 / 1-2 | Proposals and Resolutions annotated by Reichert
|
1971-1972 |
| 5 / 3 | Vote Analysis |
1972 |
| 5 / 4 | MT Constitutional Society "contains clippings, meeting minutes, news releases, agendas, and reports"
|
1974-1989 |
Writings, 1971-1973Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 5 / 5 | Con Con notes |
1972 |
| 5 / 6 | Con Con news articles |
1972 |
| 5 / 7 | Unicameralism |
1971-1973 and undated |
News Releases, 1972Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 5 / 8 | Con Con includes editorials
|
1972 |
Printed Materials, 1967-1991Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 5 / 9 | Con Con resources annotated by Reichert
|
1967-1971 |
| 6 / 1 | Con Con resources annotated by Reichert
|
1971-1972 and undated |
| 6 / 2 | Con Con reunion |
1974-1989 and undated |
| 6 / 3 | Con Con: Justices / Judicial |
1972 |
| 6 / 4 | Legislative Issues |
1979-1980 |
| 6 / 5 | Local Government |
1973-1975; 1991 |
| 6 / 6 | Unicameral |
1980-1983 |
| 6 / 7 | Water |
1968-1976 |
Speeches, 1971-1982Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6 / 8 | Con Con by constituents and delegates
|
1971-1972 |
| 6 / 9 | Con Con: Unicameral |
1971-1972 |
| 6 / 10 | MT Constitutional Society reunions |
1982 |
Subject Files, 1965-1990Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6 / 11 | 1990 Con Con includes information about League of Women Voters event
|
1989-1990 |
| 6 / 12 | Citizens Corps |
1972 |
| 6 / 13 | Con Con delegates |
1971 |
| 6 / 14 | Con Con delegate obituaries "Katie Payne, Virginia Blend, and Lucile Speer"
|
1974-1987 |
| 6 / 15 | Con Con: Environment |
1972 |
| 6 / 16 | Executive Reorganization |
circa 1970 |
| 7 / 1 | Legislative Materials |
1979-1981 |
| 7 / 2 | Montana Citizens for Court Improvement |
1971-1972 |
| 7 / 3 | Montana Legislative Council: Con Con Committee |
1979 |
| 7 / 4 | Proposed Constitutional Convention |
1971 |
| 7 / 5 | Ratification |
1972 |
| 7 / 6 | Ratification: Vote Analysis |
1972 |
| 7 / 7 | Referendum 67 |
1970-1971 |
| 7 / 8 | Separation of Powers |
1982 |
| 7 / 9 | Unicameral |
1965-1989 |
| 7 / 10 | Water |
1969-1977 |
Clippings, 1971-1984Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 7 / 11 | Con Con |
1972-1978 |
| 7 / 12 | Con Con |
1971-1972 |
| 8 / 1-4 | Con Con |
1971-1982 |
| 8 / 5 | Con Con: Reunions |
1972-1982 |
| 8 / 6 | Legislative |
1984 |
| 8 / 7 | Unicameral |
1972-1979 |
| 8 / 8 | Water |
1975-1983 |
Miscellany, 1990 and undatedReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 8 / 9 | "Misc. information about ERA, the Con Con, right to know, and Reichert's biography" |
1990 and undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Constitutional conventions--Montana.
- Constitutional history--Montana.
- Government reorganization.
- Legislative bodies.
- Local elections--Montana.
- Local government--Montana.
- Municipal government--Montana.
- Public welfare--Montana.
- Women politicians--Montana--Great Falls.
- Women--Political activity--Montana.
Personal Names
- Cross, Carmen Louise--Political activity.
- Eck, Dorothy, 1924- --Political activity.
- Graybill, Leo--Political activity.
- Reichert, Arlyne--Political activity.
Corporate Names
- Montana--Constitution Convention Commission.
- Montana--Constitution Revision Commission.
- Montana--Constitutional Convention (1889)--History.
- Montana--Constitutional Convention (1971-1972)--Constituent communication.
- Montana--Constitutional Convention (1971-1972)--History.
- Montana--Constitutional Convention (1971-1972)--Legislative Committee.
- Montana--Constitutional Convention (1971-1972).
Geographical Names
- Cascade County (Mont.)
- Great Falls (Mont.)
- Helena (Mont.)
- Montana--Politics and government--20th century.
Finding aid prepared by Hannah Soukup
2020
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
