Richard F. Schneller collection
Scope and Content
The collection includes legislation material, speeches, correspondence, press releases, information pertaining to the Governor's Building Construction Advisory Committee, campaign material, news clippings, scrapbooks, and political cartoons.
Dates
- Creation: 1824-1996
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1974-1988
Language of Materials
The records are in English.
Restrictions on Access
These records are stored at an off-site facility and therefore may not be available on a same-day basis.
See the Rules and Procedures for Researchers Using Archival Records and Secured Collections policy.
Restrictions on Use
See the Reproduction and Publications of State Library Collections policy.
Biographical Note
Senator Richard F. Schneller, Democrat from Essex, Connecticut served in the State Senate representing the 20th District from 1975-1984. He was Senate Majority Leader from 1981-1984. Schneller was born in Essex on March 21, 1922. He attended Mount Hermon School and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree from Yale University in 1943. Schneller then served in the Navy during World War II as a Lieutenant and was President of the Verplex Company from 1952-1972, which specialized in residential lighting manufacturing.
While in the State Senate, Schneller served on many committees including the State Urban and Development Committee as chairman (1975-1976), the Education Committee (1977-1978) and the Appropriations Committee (1979-1980). At the local level, Schneller served on the Essex Democratic Town Committee as chairman (1971-1978), the Essex Board of Finance, and the Regional District #4 Board of Education. He also served as trustee of the University of Connecticut (1958-1965), the Connecticut Conservation Association, Middlesex Memorial Hospital, the University of Connecticut Foundation, the Goodspeed Opera House, and the Mount Saint John School for Boys.
In 1984, Presidential candidate Walter Mondale called on Schneller to aid in his campaign in Connecticut. When Governor William O'Neill ran again for governor in 1986 he made a similar request to his good friend, after Schneller had retired from the Senate. Schneller was asked to chair the Governor's Building Construction Advisory Committee in 1987 whose primary focus was to evaluate building codes in Connecticut as a result of the L'Amibiance Plaza disaster in April of that year.
Extent
16 cubic feet
Abstract
Richard F. Schneller was a State Senator for the 20th District from 1975-1984. He worked on the 1986 O'Neill gubernatorial campaign as well as the 1984 Mondale presidential campaign and was the chairperson of the Governor's Building Construction Advisory Committee from 1987-1988.
Arrangement
Series 1. Legislation (1975-1985) contains both major state and personal legislation. This includes actual bills as well as background material.
Series 2. Speeches (1974-1985) contains speeches given by Schneller as well as a few speeches by others.
Series 3. Correspondence (1975-1985) contains both professional and personal correspondence including letters to and from other state legislators, governors and U.S. Congressmen.
Series 4. Press Releases (1974-1984) contains press material from Schneller's office detailing his professional life.
Series 5. Governor's Building Construction Advisory Committee (1970-1988) contains information on building and construction in Connecticut. A majority of the material relates to the L'Ambiance Plaza disaster of 1987. This includes news clippings, reports, Public Acts, notes, meeting material, correspondence and published material.
Series 6. Tax Commission (1981-1983, 1991) contains a small amount of material related to the commission of which Schneller was chairman.
Series 7. Campaigns (1981-1987) contains material related to both the 1984 Mondale presidential campaign and the 1986 O'Neill gubernatorial campaign including press releases, election results, issues, correspondence and financial material.
Series 8. News Clippings (1971-1983) contains 18 volumes of news clippings arranged in photo albums.
Series 9. Scrapbooks (1974-1996) is a collection of 9 scrapbooks arranged by Schneller's late wife Nancy which include photographs, news clippings, correspondence and ephemera.
Series 10. Political Cartoons (1979-1983) contains framed cartoons by Edmund S. Valtman (1914-2005) in which Schneller is featured.
Series 11. Published Material (1824-1933) contains material related to the General Assembly and Connecticut in general.
Provenance
Richard F. Schneller assembled this collection himself with the help of his late wife Nance, who died in 2002. The Connecticut State Library acquired it from him on July 18, 2006.
Genre / Form
- Bills (legislative records)
- Books
- Broadsides
- Clippings
- Correspondence
- Election returns
- Notes
- Pamphlets
- Political cartoons
- Press releases
- Reports
- Scrapbooks
- Speeches
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Schneller (Richard F.) Collection
- Subtitle
- Inventory
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Chad H. Watkins.
- Date
- 2007
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Connecticut State Library Repository
