Archives West Finding Aid

The Dwight F. Rettie Papers consist of correspondence, speeches, reports, both subject and general files, and memos which document the span of his professional career in government and private industry. Rettie's work with the National Park Service comprises the largest segment of this voluminous collection. The remainder of the material covers his work with the U.S. Treasury Department, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Interior, Housing and Urban Development, and the National Recreation and Park Association. Material reflecting Rettie's involvement in several community projects is also included.

Rettie's initial job with the federal government was with the Treasury Department in the Bureau of Public Debt. As a management intern with the Fiscal Service, Rettie worked on improving the management within the Bureau. Reflecting this activity are reports and memos concerning inventory control, interview policies, and a copy of the Control Manual for Non-expendable Personal Property, which Rettie helped to develop.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) series documents Rettie's roles of Information Officer and Chief of Public Affairs. Much of the BLM material consists of news releases and speeches, reports on the history of the BLM and its future goals, and notes on the BLM's policy of public access to information. In addition, there are reports and research papers on topics such as public lands, conservation, grazing, and, of special note, letters from Oregon's Governor Mark Hatfield and Senator Wayne Morse about Oregon public lands. Completing the series are numerous memos and news items regarding various BLM activities and issues.

Included in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife series are Rettie's drafts for President Kennedy's message on conservation to Congress. Also present is an article by Rettie in the September, 1963 issue of The Conservationist, assorted issues of Fish and Wildlife Report, news releases, and a variety of material concerning fishery topics.

Department of Interior material covers the position Rettie held with the Job Corps as well as the work he did in the Department of Defense Management School. Reports, memos and drafts for the Job Corps' Anti Poverty Program and for the Corps itself can be found here. Course materials for the Defense Department's management training program Rettie attended are included. A speech by Rettie at the conclusion of this course contains his thoughts on the Planning, Programming and Budgeting System he helped implement within the Department of Interior. The remainder of this series consists of reports and memos concerning this implementation. Of note is a speech on conservation by President Johnson with sections written by Rettie.

Housing and Urban Development material consists of Rettie's speeches, remarks and news releases during his employment as Director of Open Space Land Programs. Many reports and memos concerning open space and urban land use are included here as well as material reflecting his work on historic preservation.

Over eighty speeches by Rettie can be found in the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) series, spanning the years 1971 to 1975. The speeches chronicle his travels across the country and abroad, touting the NRPA and its endeavors. Other NRPA material includes an endorsement by actor Eddie Albert, minutes of NRPA Board of Trustees meetings and administrative files. The administrative files document office proceedings and contain correspondence, memos and letters of thanks to NRPA supporters. They have been maintained in Rettie's original order, which is chronological by year but reverse chronological order within each month.

The National Park Service (NPS) series spans the years 1975 to 1986 and consists of speeches, general office files and subject files. Aside from Rettie's speeches, in chronological order, the series is divided by year into general and subject files. The general files are arranged roughly chronologically month to month. They contain drafts, reports and correspondence, which all serve as a daily log of work done by Rettie and his staff. These files have also, like the NRPA series, been left as received, keeping Rettie's own arrangement intact. As such, they reflect ongoing National Park Service operations even though some material, as presently grouped, may appear out of order. Overall, the files document the development of strategy and policy inside the NPS. NPS subject files, on the other hand, are more topically arranged. They closely correlate with the information found in the general files. Together, both sets of files document Rettie's NPS assignments.

Initially, Rettie was involved with the development of the Urban National Parks, and was eventually named the Representative for Gateway National Recreation Area Planning. In this series, references to Gateway include the park's smaller parcels: Floyd Bennett Field (airport), Jacob Riffs Park (beach), Staten Island, Sandy Hook, and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The Gateway material covers a variety of subjects such as nude bathing, alcohol use, crime, transportation systems, and minority conflicts. Also in the Urban material is information concerning the South Bronx and its revitalization, and the development of open spaces into urban parks.

Reflecting Rettie's role of Deputy Chief of Park Planning and later, of Chief of the Office of Management Policy, the material moves from an urban emphasis to a managerial one. Management efficiency, cost effectiveness, and employee surveys comprise a large part of the NPS subject files. Noteworthy is information in the employee surveys and the report, "Where the Park Service Is Going" which addresses ideas and attitudes of rangers and other employees for future NPS objectives, gathered in a nation-wide survey.

The NPS material includes various memos from NPS directors, especially William Penn Mott, for whom Rettie was an advisor. Also included are directives and policy construction for areas ranging from environmental impacts, construction priorities, and land acquisition to campground fees, visitor centers, and public perception of the Park Service. A cross reference sheet listing the major recurring items found within the general files, as well as a list of subject files, can be found at the end of the inventory.

Additional material in the collection includes Rettie's work for the Arlington County Public Utilities Commission and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA). The Arlington County PUC material details a cable television project and Rettie's involvement with NVRPA concerns that agency's 8,000-acre park system.

Biographical information, family correspondence and mementos complete the collection. One folder of letters of James C. Rettie, whose papers are also held by Special Collections (Ax 626), can be found in this series. Photographs have been separated and transferred to the Photograph Collection.

Series X contains subjects files, NPCA material, and correspondence donated in 2001.

Series XI through XXII contains materials donated in 2008 and processed into the series organization. The materials relating to Rettie's education, to his professional work in the Department of the Interior and for the National Park Service (both officially and as an unofficial "expert in the field"), and as a teacher at Carteret Community College and East Carolina University. Also present in this portion of the collection are materials relating to the research, publication, and marketing of Rettie's book, Our National Park System, as well as copies of Rettie's other published material, including articles, prefaces, an undergraduate and a Master's thesis, and numerous letters to the editor. The Correspondence series contains personal letters and emails to and from various people from 1944 to 2006, as well as a collection of letters from various individuals, institutions and organizations thanking and commending Rettie for services performed in a professional capacity and spanning the course of his professional life. This portion also contains numerous books owned by Rettie, some signed or inscribed by their authors; materials relating to the Carteret Writers organization (of whom Rettie was a member and president) and the Unitarian Coastal Fellowship; a large number of newspaper, magazine, and internet clippings of articles related to the National Park Service and various other subjects; and miscellaneous personal materials relating to Rettie's boats and hobbies.

Series XXIII contains subject files, NPS documents, drafts/manuscripts of writings, publications, and correspondence donated between 2001 and 2006.

Photographs include prints and slides.