Clifford W. Trow papers, 1973-1993
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Trow, Clifford Wayne, 1929-
- Title
- Clifford W. Trow papers
- Dates
- 1973-1993 (inclusive)19731993
- Quantity
- 2.05 cubic feet, (1 record carton, 2 legal document cases)
- Collection Number
- Coll 1063
- Summary
- Papers of Clifford W. Trow (1929-2023), an Oregon state senator and a professor at Oregon State University. The papers relate to Trow's career as a state senator, and include correspondence and records relating to education legislation.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical Note
Clifford Wayne Trow was born in 1929 in Topeka, Kansas, and grew up in Salinas, Kansas. He earned an honors degree in history from Kansas Wesleyan University in 1951, and subsequently taught high school social studies in Kansas and then in Boulder, Colorado. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1966. After receiving his doctorate, he moved to Oregon to teach history at Oregon State University in Corvallis.
While in Oregon, Trow became involved in local Democratic politics and worked on the campaigns of U.S. Senator Wayne Morse. In 1970, Trow unsuccessfully ran for the Oregon Senate; he ran again, successfully, in 1974. As a state senator, Trow was a supporter of education and served on the Senate Education Committee for eight legislative sessions, serving as committee chair for five of them. In 1979, the Oregon Education Association recognized him as "Education Senator of the Year." Trow also chaired the Senate Ways and Means Committee in 1993, chaired subcommittees of the Ways and Means Committee from 1985 to 1991, and chaired the Executive Appointment Committee for several sessions. He was elected as President Pro Tempore of the Senate in 1981, and from 1995 to 1998 served as the Senate's Democratic leader. Trow retired from politics in 2003.
Trow married Jo Anne Johnson in 1969. He died in October 2023.
Source: Obituary in the Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon), December 17, 2023, page C8.
Content Description
This collection consists of papers of Clifford W. Trow, an Oregon state senator and a professor at Oregon State University. The papers relate to Trow's political career, and include correspondence, reports, legislative text, notes, and clippings about state legislation. A significant amount of the materials relate specifically to education legislation. Other legislative materials in the collection relate to compensation, fire protection, field burning, safety, and changes to open meeting laws. The collection also includes a file of bills that Trow sponsored during the 1989 legislative session. Other materials in the collection include committee records, including records of the Education Committee; notes for speeches by Trow; letters from constituents complaining about the selection of Senator Peg Jolin as chair of the Business, Housing and Consumer Affairs Committee; clippings about Trow and state Representative Tony Van Vliet; a report about Oregon Public Broadcasting; and a small number of photographs of Trow from the 1970s and 1980s.
Use of the Collection
Preferred Citation
Clifford W. Trow papers, Coll 1063, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Administrative Information
Arrangement
The original order of the materials at the time of donation to the Oregon Historical Society Research Library was retained.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Clifford W. Trow, April 1995 (Lib. Acc. 22294).
Processing Note
Collection was minimally processed in January 2025. Original file folders were retained.
Related Materials
Other materials at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library relating to Trow include a vertical file, Biography - Trow, W. (Cliff); and a sound recording, Excerpts from the Ways and Means Education Subcommittee Hearing on state funding for the Oregon Historical Society, SR 0316.
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Educational law and legislation--Oregon--20th century
- Legislation--Oregon
- Legislators--Oregon
Personal Names
- Trow, Clifford Wayne, 1929---Correspondence
Corporate Names
- Oregon. Legislative Assembly. Senate--Records and correspondence
Form or Genre Terms
- correspondence
- legislative records
- reports
