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R. Frank Atwood Papers, 1958-1988

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Atwood, R. Frank
Title
R. Frank Atwood Papers
Dates
1958-1988 (inclusive)
1961-1977 (bulk)
Quantity
17 Linear Feet.
Collection Number
XOE_CPNWS0031atwood (collection)
Summary
The R. Frank Atwood Papers document the political career of long-term Bellingham attorney and Washington State Senator Roy Franklin Atwood. Records include committee records, legislative information files, campaign material and correspondence reflecting Atwood’s role and interests as a policy-maker in the Washington State Senate, and his involvement in matters such as budget planning, proposals to make Point Roberts an International Park, Higher Education policy and urban development.
Repository
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English.
Sponsor
Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Born in Long Meadows, Massachusetts in 1926, longtime Bellingham attorney and Washington State senator Roy Franklin Atwood, Jr. moved to Ellensburgh, Washington with his mother during the 1930s. He served in the US army during World War II, and later attended Washington State University and the University of Washington Law School. After graduating from law school in 1951, Atwood moved to Bellingham, Washington, where he established his own law firm. In 1955, he married Marie Matson, with whom he had three children.

An active member of the Bellingham community, Atwood served for six years on the City Council. In 1962, spurred by his opposition to taxes affecting public works projects, Atwood ran as Republican candidate for the Washington State Senate. He defeated incumbent candidate Homer Nunamaker to join the Republican minority in the Washington Legislature.

Atwood worked on numerous Senate and advisory bodies, including the Legislative Budget Committee (of which he was vice-president) Judiciary Committee, and the Council Commission on Higher Education. Actively concerned with higher education issues, he supported improved funding and management of State Colleges and also the expansion of graduate programs at Western Washington University in Bellingham. A leading figure among Republicans in the Legislature, he was appointed the Senate’s Minority Whip in 1965 and Minority Floor leader in 1967. In 1970, Atwood became Republican Caucus Chair.

In 1974, following three four-year terms in the Washington State Senate, Atwood retired from full-time politics and returned to his law practice in Bellingham. He remained involved in political and legislative matters, working for the Attorney General’s office in Olympia, and serving as a long-term member of the Washington State Bar Association’s Legislative Committee. Frank Atwood continues to reside in Bellingham, Washington.

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Content Description

The R. Frank Atwood papers document the political career of long-term Bellingham attorney and Washington State Senator Roy Franklin Atwood. Collection materials span the period 1958-1988, with the majority of records dated 1961-1977.

Committee records and Legislative Information files document Atwood’s role and interests as a policy-maker in the Washington State Senate. Records generated by Senate committees bodies including the Legislative Budget Committee, Judiciary Committee and Higher Education Committee contain copies of meeting minutes and agenda, drafts, working papers, reports and correspondence dated 1961 to 1975. Together with files generated by other (non-Senate) Legislative committees, task forces and advisory groups, these materials reflect Atwood’s involvement in matters such as budget planning for state institutions, proposals to make Point Roberts an International Park, Higher Education funding, pension policy and urban development. Transcripts in the Judiciary Committee files document investigations into campaign practices during the 1972 gubernatorial election. Records for the Higher Education Committee and Council on Higher Education reflect Atwood’s role in efforts to improve funding and management of community and state colleges in Washington. These files document his support of expanded graduate programs at Western Washington State College, and attempts to rename several state colleges as state universities. The collection also contains copies of some of the legislative changes and amendments sponsored by Atwood (the majority of these records are dated 1973-1974), and background information files pertaining to the Legislative process.

Campaign and election records document Atwood’s State Senate campaigns between 1962 and 1970. Arranged chronologically, campaign files include correspondence, memos, pamphlets, clippings and ephemera. One folder of material concerns also his unsuccessful 1988 campaign for the Whatcom County Superior Court. The series contains a small amount of information documenting election returns between 1962 and 1972.

Correspondence spans the period 1962-1975 and comprises mail to and from Atwood’s constituents, general political correspondence, subject-related mail and personal and legal correspondence from Atwood’s Bellingham address. Political correspondence includes letters between Atwood and other state legislators regarding the details and passage of legislation, committee appointments, and arrangements for meetings and official engagements.

The collection also contains a small amount of material documenting Atwood’s membership of the Washington State Bar Association’s Legislative Committee. Committee files dated 1967-1972 include minutes, correspondence, and copies of bills and amendments proposed in the Washington State Legislature. An additional folder reflects Atwood’s membership of the Budget Committee of the United Way of Whatcom County.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

R. Frank Atwood Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The R. Frank Atwood Papers are organized in accordance with the following series and subseries arrangement:

  • Series I. Legislative Career, 1958-1977
    • Subseries 1. Senatorial Committees, 1961-1975
    • Sub-series 2: Advisory Committees, Councils & Task Forces 1958-1974
    • Subseries 3. Legislative Information, circa 1961-1977
  • Series II. Campaigns and Elections, 1962-1988
  • Series III. Correspondence, 1962-1975
    • Subseries 1. Constituency Mail, 1965-1975
    • Subseries 2. Political Mail, 1962-1974
    • Subseries 3. Mail By Subject, 1963-1974
    • Subseries 4. Personal and Legal Correspondence, 1965-1967
  • Series IV. Professional and Charitable Associations, 1967-1975
  • Series V. Ephemera, circa 1970s

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

Custodial History

R. Frank Atwood transferred the bulk of his papers to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in December 1976. In March 2004, Atwood donated additional materials, and formally deeded the collection to the Center.

Bibliography

Boswell, Sharon (ed.). R. Frank Atwood: An Oral History. Interviewed and edited by Sharon Boswell. ( Olympia, WA : Washington State Oral History Program, Office of the Secretary of State, 2003).

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

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Subject Terms

  • Budget process--Washington (State)--History--Sources.
  • Education, Higher--Aims and objectives--Washington (State)--History--Sources.
  • Elections--Washington (State)--History--Sources.
  • Law and legislation--Washington (State)--History--Sources.
  • Legislators--Washington (State)--History--Sources.
  • Political ethics--Washington (State)--History--Sources.
  • Regional planning--Washington (State)--Point Roberts--History--Sources.
  • State universities and colleges--Washington (State)--Administration--History--Sources.
  • State universities and colleges--Washington (State)--Funding--History--Sources.

Personal Names

  • Atwood, R. Frank (Roy Franklin), 1926- --Archives. (creator)

Corporate Names

  • Washington (State)--Legislature--Senate.
  • Washington State Bar Association.
  • Western Washington State College--Planning.

Geographical Names

  • Washington (State)--Politics and government--History--Sources.

Finding aid created by Ruth Steele
September 2004

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

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