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Guide to the Harold E. Wolfe Papers

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Collection Overview
Date Span: 1929-1970
Creator: Wolfe, Harold E. (1900-1971)
Extent: 2.00 linear feet.
Collection Number: MSC0261
Repository: University of Iowa Special Collections
Summary: Mason City, Iowa, chief of police, chairman of the Iowa Liquor Control Commission, and member of the Iowa House of Representatives. Correspondence, clippings, radio broadcast scripts, photographs, campaign material, and other papers.

Alternate Extent Statement: Photographs: Box 3.

Access: This collection is open for research.

Use: Copyright restrictions may apply; please consult Special Collections staff for further information.

Acquisition: These papers were donated to the University of Iowa Libraries by Mrs. Harold E. Wolfe in 1972.

Preferred Citation: Harold E. Wolfe Papers, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa.

Repository: University of Iowa Special Collections
Address: Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone: 319-335-5921
Curator: Greg Prickman
Email: lib-spec@uiowa.edu
Website: http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc

Harold E. Wolfe was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on January 2, 1900. He attended schools in Cedar Rapids and Mason City before his family moved to Canada. He graduated from high school in Medicine Hat, Canada, before his family returned to Mason City, Iowa. He worked there in the foundry business for a time. In 1920 Wolfe joined the Mason City Police Department. He retired from the force thirty-one years later having spent the previous sixteen years as the chief of police.

Governor William S. Beardsley appointed Wolfe to a six year term on the Iowa Liquor Control Commission in 1951. He acted as chairman of the Commission from 1951 to 1957. Finally, he served as a Republican member of the Iowa House of Representatives from Cerro Gordo County from 1967 to 1970. Mr. Wolfe died on November 29, 1971.

The papers of Harold E. Wolfe consist of manuscripts organized by series relating to his career: 1) Chief of police of Mason City, Iowa (1929-1951); 2) Chairman of the Iowa Liquor Control Commission (1951-1957), and; 3) State legislator (1967-1970). The first grouping is made up primarily of correspondence and newspaper clippings concerning the Mason City police department. The next section, pertaining to his chairmanship of the Iowa Liquor Control Commission, includes documents from the Commission as well as information about the National Alcoholic Beverage Control Associations. Finally, there are two boxes of correspondence, bills, radio broadcast scripts, and campaign documents relating to his legislative career.

The correspondence which is found throughout the papers includes letters from William S. Beardsley, Fred Biermann, Robert K. Goodwin, H.R. Gross, W. Earl Hall, Bourke B. Hickenlooper, J. Edgar Hoover, George Mills, Robert D. Ray, William J. Scherle, and George A. Wilson.

Browse by Series:
Series 1: POLICE CHIEF
Series 2: IOWA LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION
Series 3: STATE LEGISLATOR

  • Series 1: POLICE CHIEF
  • Box 1:
  • Correspondence - 1929-1939
    including letters from Fred Biermann, W. Earl Hall, and John Edgar Hoover
  • Correspondence - 1940-1949
    including letters from George A. Wilson, Bourke B. Hickenlooper, and John Edgar Hoover
  • Correspondence - 1950-1951
  • Correspondence, undated - 1929-1951
  • Police department newspaper clippings - 1929-1951
  • Miscellaneous material pertaining to the Mason City Police Department - 1929-1951
  • Series 2: IOWA LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION
  • Box 2:
  • Correspondence - 1950-1960
    including letters from William S. Beardsley, Robert K. Goodwin, and Fred Biermann
  • Iowa Liquor Control Commission documents - 1951-1957
  • Itinerary slips - 1951-1957
  • National Alcoholic Beverage Control Association - 1951-1957
  • News clippings I - 1951-1957
  • News clippings II - 1951-1957
  • Miscellaneous material from Iowa Liquor Control Commission - 1951-1957
  • Series 3: STATE LEGISLATOR
  • Box 3:
  • Correspondence - 1966-1968
    including letters from Robert D. Ray, H.R. Gross, and William J. Scherle
  • Correspondence - 1969-1970
    including letters from William J. Scherle
  • Radio broadcasts - 1967-1970
  • Legislative stationery - 1967-1970
  • Photographs - 1967-1970
  • Governor's Day Coffee, clippings and correspondence - 1970
  • 63rd General Assembly Senate Bills - 1967-1970
  • 63rd General Assembly House Bills - 1967-1970
  • Miscellaneous legislative material - 1967-1970
  • Box 4:
  • State of Iowa publications concerning the legislature - 1967-1970
  • Clippings - 1967-1970
  • Candidate and election documents - 1967-1970
  • Miscellaneous material - 1967-1970
  • Campaign buttons, name tags, etc. - 1967-1970
  • Letters of condolence, obituaries, and Iowa House Memorial Resolution - 1967-1970
    including letters from George Mills, Robert D. Ray, H.R. Gross, and John Edgar Hoover

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.


Corporate Names:
Iowa Liquor Control Commission

Topics:
Alcohol
Liquor laws

Occupations:
Legislators
Police

Geographic Names:
United States -- Iowa
United States -- Iowa -- Mason City

Genre/Form of Materials:
Clippings (Information artifacts)