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Craig Lyle Thomas papers, 1963-2007 (bulk 1989-2007)

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Thomas, Craig Lyle, 1933-2007
Title
Craig Lyle Thomas papers
Dates
1963-2007 (bulk 1989-2007) (inclusive)
Quantity
273.14 cubic ft. (275 containers) + 202 GB
Collection Number
11679
Summary
The Craig Lyle Thomas papers consist of the political papers of former U. S. Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) created by himself and his staff from 1963 to 2007, with the bulk of the materials from 1989 to 2007. The records include press, personal, political, legislative, and administrative files. Issues covered more extensively include agriculture, public lands and national parks, healthcare, and energy.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions
Access Restrictions

Records created before 1998 are open to the public. Records created in and after 1998 are, without written permission from Susan Thomas, restricted from use for 25 years from the date of their creation.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Craig Lyle Thomas was born February 17, 1933, in Cody, Wyoming. His parents were public-school teachers who operated a dude-ranch business on the edge of Yellowstone National Park during the summers. The family’s interest in tourism later led Thomas to purchase a small hotel in Torrington. He graduated from the University of Wyoming with a degree in animal husbandry. Thereafter, he served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps from 1955-1959, attaining the rank of captain. He served over twelve years as Republican United States Senator from Wyoming. Thomas was considered an expert on agriculture and rural development. He served in key positions in several state agencies, including a long tenure as vice president of the Wyoming Farm Bureau and as general manager of the Wyoming Rural Electrification Administration. He resided in Casper for twenty-eight years. In 1984, he was elected from Casper to the Wyoming House of Representatives, in which he served until 1989.

In 1989, Dick Cheney, who occupied Wyoming’s only seat in the House of Representatives, resigned to become secretary of defense. Thomas became the Republican candidate to succeed Cheney and won the April 1989 special election. He was re-elected in 1990 and 1992, and in 1994 he ran for and won the Senate seat being vacated by fellow conservative Republican Malcolm Wallop. He was re-elected in 2000 and 2006, capturing more than seventy percent of the vote in each election. Thomas served as chairman of the National Parks subcommittee and authored legislation to provide funding and management reforms to protect America’s national parks into the 21st century. He was honored by the National Parks and Conservation Association with its William Penn Mott, Jr., Park Leadership Award, as well as the National Parks Achievement Award. As a senior member of the Senate’s influential Finance Committee, Thomas was involved in issues such as social security, trade, rural health care, and tax reform. Senator Thomas died on June 4, 2007, at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Thomas was married to the former Susan Roberts, whom he met in Casper. He had four children - three sons, Peter, Patrick, and Greg, and one daughter, Alexis.

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Content Description

The Craig Lyle Thomas papers consist of the political papers of former U. S. Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) created by himself and his staff from 1963 to 2007, with the majority of the materials from 1989 to 2007. The papers document Senator Thomas’s political career as a U.S. Representative (1989-1995) and as a U.S. Senator (1995-2007). The bulk of the collection consists of Senator’s legislative files. Issues covered more extensively include agriculture, public lands and national parks, healthcare, and energy. Other documents included in the collection are media files, speeches, photographs, radio and television appearances, journals, appointment books and calendars, committee records, legislative and office correspondence, campaign records, and office administrative records.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Restrictions on Use

Statement on Potentially Harmful Language and Images Found in Collections

The American Heritage Center aspires to approach all areas of our work in ways that are respectful to those who create, use, and are represented in our collections. For a variety of reasons, however, users may encounter offensive or harmful language or images in some of our finding aids, catalogs, and collection materials.

Note that the AHC does not censor or alter contents of the collections as they provide context and evidence of a time, people, place, or event. Therefore, we encourage users to bring questions and concerns about descriptions in our finding aids to our attention via email or anonymous web-form. For more information, read our full statement.

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Craig Lyle Thomas papers are divided into seven series: (1) 1989 Special Election; (2) Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Appointment; (3) Press Relations and Media Activities Records; (4) Personal and Political Papers; (5) Legislative Records and Information; (6) Office Administration Records; and (7) Ephemera.

Related Materials

Related Materials

There are no known other archival collections created by Craig Lyle Thomas as of the dates of processing.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information

This material was received from Susan Thomas in 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2014.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Matthew Francis in January-May 2009 and updated by Roger Simon in November-December 2022.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Agriculture--United States
  • Health services accessibility--United States
  • Legislators--United States
  • Medical care--United States
  • National parks and reserves--United States
  • Politicians--United States
  • Politicians--Wyoming
  • Public lands--United States

Corporate Names

  • United States--Congress--House
  • United States--Congress--Senate
  • Wyoming--Legislature

Geographical Names

  • United States--Politics and government
  • Wyoming--History--1946-
  • Wyoming--Politics and government

Occupations

  • Legislators
  • Politicians

Processed by Matthew Francis and Roger Simon
2009

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

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