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Teno Roncalio Papers, 1937-2003

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Roncalio, Teno, 1916-2003
Title
Teno Roncalio Papers
Dates
1937-2003 (inclusive)
1960-1978 (bulk)
Quantity
54.81 cubic ft. (110 boxes)
Collection Number
02160
Summary
Legislative records and press relations/media activities records of this Democratic congressional representative from Wyoming who served five terms in the United States House of Representatives.
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

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.
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Historical Note

Former Democratic congressman Teno Roncalio was born March 23, 1916, in Rock Springs, Wyoming, the eighth of nine children of Italian immigrant parents Frank and Ernesta Roncalio. He attended the University of Wyoming from 1937 to 1939 then left the state to work for U.S. Senator Joseph O’Mahoney in Washington D.C. During that time he began law school at Catholic University of America but interrupted his studies to enlist as a private in the U.S. Army in 1941. By the following year, he was a commissioned infantry officer. He participated in a number of campaigns, earning the Silver Star for gallantry in action during the D-Day invasion of Omaha Beach at Normandy, France.

After World War II, Roncalio returned to Wyoming and graduated from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1947. He practiced law in Cheyenne and served as deputy county and prosecuting attorney for Laramie County from 1950 to 1956. In 1957, he was elected chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Central Committee, serving until 1961 when President John F. Kennedy appointed him to the cabinet-level position of chairman of the International Joint Commission of the United States and Canada. He served in that position until 1964.

Roncalio was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the 89th Congress in 1964. Two years later, he ran for the U.S. Senate but lost to Republican Cliff Hansen. In 1970, Roncalio was elected to the U.S. House again and served in the 92nd, 93rd, 94th, and 95th Congresses, from 1971 until 1978, when he retired and returned to Wyoming to practice law. He served a total of five terms as a U.S. Representative for the State of Wyoming. Later, he participated in Wyoming’s Big Horn adjudication of Indian Water Rights from 1979 to 1982.

While in office, Roncalio was instrumental in blocking Project Wagon Wheel, in which the Atomic Energy Commission planned to detonate nuclear devices underground in southwestern Wyoming to free natural gas from rock formations. He also played a key role in passage of strip-mining reform passed by Congress in 1977.

Roncalio was married to the former Cecelia Waters Domenico and had two sons, Frank and John, and four stepchildren.

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Content Description

The Teno Roncalio Papers contain the legislative records and press relations/media activities records of this five-term Democratic congressman from the State of Wyoming. The collection is arranged into ten series and 16 sub-series.

Series I contains press releases and his “Congressional Reports” newsletter, arranged chronologically. Series II, Newspaper Scrapbooks, contains newspaper clippings about Roncalio and his activities while in office, arranged chronologically. Series III contains Roncalio’s Congressional Record inserts, arranged chronologically. Series IV, Bill Files, is arranged numerically by Congress in four sub-series: the 92nd, 93rd, 94th, and 95th Congresses. Files include bills, correspondence, and other related information.

Series V contains files concerning Project Plowshare, a national program developed to find practical industrial and scientific uses for nuclear explosives such as nuclear stimulation of natural gas. The series is arranged chronologically and is organized into eight sub-series: Atomic Energy Commission; El Paso Natural Gas Company; Joint Committee on Atomic Energy; Miscellaneous; Non-Nuclear Stimulation and Energy sources; Project Plowshare; Project Rio Blanco (Colorado); and Project Wagon Wheel (Wyoming). Roncalio is noted for his role in blocking Project Wagon Wheel, which would have allowed detonation of five 100-kiloton nuclear devices in Sublette County, Wyoming, to free natural gas from tight underground rock formations.

Series VI, Mining, is arranged chronologically and organized into four sub-series: Surface Mining (also known as strip mining); Coal Slurry Pipelines; the Coal Leasing Act; and Oil Shale Development. Roncalio played a key role in passage of strip-mining reform passed by Congress in 1977.

Series VII contains legislative subject files arranged alphabetically by subject. Series VIII contains a small amount of budget files arranged chronologically by fiscal year. Series IX contains files related to Land Use, arranged alphabetically.

The last series, Series X, contains a small amount of documentation related to Roncalio’s service as chairman of the International Joint Commission of the United States and Canada.

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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

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Teno Roncalio Papers, 1937-1978, Collection Number 02160, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Alternative Forms Available

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of select material from this collection are available at http://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu:8180/luna/servlet/uwydbuwy~39~39.

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Administrative Information

Related Materials

A collection of television commercials used during Roncalio’s campaigns for the 1966 U.S. senatorial and the 1970 and 1972 U.S. congressional elections can be found at the University of Oklahoma’s Political Commercial Archive.

Acquisition Information

Teno Roncalio donated his papers to the American Heritage Center in three shipments: 1967, 1979, and 1982. The papers were received in good condition and in good order. Additional material was recieved in Janaury 2025 from Rodger McDaniel.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Patrick Richter and Ronda Frazier in 2004. Links to digitized folders were added by Ben Goldman in September 2010. Collection was updated by Brittany Heye in April 2026.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and Subjects

Subject Terms

  • Coal slurry pipelines--Law and legislation--United States.
  • Land use--Planning--United States.
  • Legislators--United States.
  • Natural gas--Wyoming.
  • Nuclear energy--Government policy--United States.
  • Politicians--United States.
  • Politicians--Wyoming.
  • Project Wagon Wheel.
  • Strip mining--Law and legislation--United States.
  • Underground nuclear explosions--Colorado.
  • Underground nuclear explosions--United States.
  • Underground nuclear explosions--Wyoming.

Corporate Names

  • International Joint Commission.
  • Project Plowshare (U.S.)
  • United States. Congress. House.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Congressional Records.
  • Scrapbooks.

Occupations

  • Legislators.
  • Politicians.

Processed by Patrick Richter and Ronda Frazier
2005

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

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