Clarence A. Bottolfsen papers, 1858-1964

As is usual with people who are called upon to give many speeches, Governor Bottolfsen used the same stories and quotations over and over again. Among his favorite quotes, especially during the years 1940-1945 was the last stanza of John McCrae's poem "In Flander's Field."

Speeches were given to schools, Chambers of Commerce, and service organizations such as Elks, Lions, Orders of Eastern Star and Masons. He was also called upon to deliver memorial addresses for local men who were killed in the war.

Many of the political speeches are 1944 Senatorial campaign speeches, and include copies of several speeches in favor of Bottolfsen's opponent in that campaign, Glen Taylor. There is also a series of the Governor's "Reports to the People of Idaho" which were broadcast at irregular intervals. (It will be noted that Bottolfsen became confused in his numbering of these talks.)

Similar speeches were often housed in multiple locations. Some speech folders also contain articles or correspondence, which is noted in the finding aid. The original order of the finding aid listed the speeches chronologically, regardless of which folder or box it could be found.

There is one box of correspondence containing both incoming and carbon copies of outgoing letters. In many cases the reply has been stapled to the incoming letter. The letters are concerned with the business of running a newspaper, Bottolfsen's positions as Governor and state senator, his position as parliamentarian for the National Education Association. The only personal letters are copies of letters written between May and June 1963 when Bottolfsen was being treated for emphysema in the Boise Veterans Hospital. Correspondence can also be found throughout other series.

Letters are in chronological order; where more than one letter was written on a single date the letters are arranged alphabetically by correspondent. A card file has been prepared giving addresses of correspondents, dates of all letters, and in some cases the topic discussed. Names of correspondents have been included in the finding aid. Topics include: Idaho. Legislature. House of Representatives. H.B. No. 74. Repealing the Senior Citizens' Grants Act. 1943. 2 p. Idaho State Committee of the Communist Party. "Who is Responsible?" Mimeographed sheet. January 1943. 1 p. Proposed Initiative Petition: Senior Citizens' Grants Act. Nov. 1942. 4 p. Summons. In the District Court of the 3rd Judicial District of the State of Idaho in and for Ada County. Orlando A. Scott (et al.) vs. C.A. Bottolfsen (et al.) A suit to test the constitutionality of H.B. 74.

There is one folder of letters dealing with the Senior Citizens' Grants Act. In November of 1942 the people of Idaho voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill granting senior citizens an income of $40.00 per month, plus limited medical and dental coverage. In January of 1943 the Idaho House, in H.B. 74, voted to repeal this act, the senate confirmed the house action and the bill was sent to Governor Bottolfsen. He reluctantly signed the repeal on February 6, 1943, saying there was just not enough money in the state treasury to finance such a measure.

Craters of the Moon National Monument, located in Southern Idaho, was established as a national monument in May 1929. It comprises 80 square miles of extinct volcano craters and lava rivers, and is so named because the general appearance of the area resembles the surface of the moon as seen through a telescope.

Included in this series are several small tourist information pamphlets describing the lava formations and geological origins of the area and one giving the Indian legend regarding the formation of the craters. The typescripts of several drafts of C.A. Bottolfsen's article "Vulcan's stronghold" are included as well as replies to an invitation to attend the 1961 opening issued by the Arco Chamber of Commerce to various dignitaries.

Newspaper clippings include the following topics: Bottolfsen; Idaho; Americanism, Anti-communist and Politics; and Miscellaneous.