Lois Vogel Papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 13

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Lois Vogel Papers consist of material on the 1972 North Dakota Constitutional Convention to which she was a delegate, and constitutional revision in North Dakota in general. The collection has been arranged generally chronologically into four series: Correspondence, Constitutional Revision Symposium, North Dakota Constitutional Convention, and Publicity for Voting on Proposed Constitution Series. The Correspondence Series contains only a few letters, all dealing with the convention. In 1963 and 1964 a Subcommittee on Constitutional Revision of the Legislative Research Committee was formed to study this subject. Mrs. Vogel received copies of their meeting minutes and various drafts as background material and which appear to be quite complete. The Constitutional Revision Symposium Series contains the program, resolution, news release and newspaper clippings of a symposium held at Mary College in Bismarck for the newly elected delegates. The major series in the papers is Mrs. Vogel's Constitutional Convention material. From its organizational session (April 6-8, 1971) are included various Select Committee reports and its journal. Other materials include the meeting minutes of the Substantive Committee Chairmen, Vice Chairmen and officers schedules of the Special Hearing Committees meetings and the minutes for them. These hearings were held throughout the state in order to obtain the views and recommendations of the general public. The North Dakota Constitutional Convention, 1971 – 1972 Series has been organized into three subseries. The Committee Files Sub-Series is the various documents of the six substantive committees which did their basic research in the period between the organizational and plenary sessions. These include the Committee on Education, Resources and Public Lands, Committee on Executive Functions, Committee on Finance and Taxation, Committee on Judicial Functions, and the Committee on Preamble, Bill of Rights and Suffrage. The documents for each committee consist of meeting minutes, final report, memoranda prepared by the staff of the Constitutional Convention, and a one-issue newsletter. The records of the Committee on Executive Functions are the most complete since Mrs. Vogel was a member. They include, in addition to the above categories, committee and delegate proposals, individual suggestions, written testimony of several witnesses and status of action proposed reports. Upon completion of all the committees' initial work, an Interim Report was issued. The Procedural Committees Files Sub-Series material includes files on the Employment, Rules, and Style and Drafting committees. The most extensive is from the Rules Committee which includes various proposals, drafts, changes, and the final rules adopted.

The Subject Files Sub-Series includes a diverse collection of documents related to the constitutional convention including the calendar, journal (with indices), committee, delegate and alternate proposals, and a copy of the proposed constitution. Other related items include its newsletter, press releases, newspaper clippings, publications, personal research material and speeches by Mrs. Vogel, and miscellaneous items such as the seating arrangement brochure, financial statement, and a list of legislative duties in the 1972 constitution. The Publicity for Voting on Proposed Constitution Series consists of various publications used by Mrs. Vogel, with a complete list in the shelf list. The final section consists of publicity items on the proposed constitution. It includes several League of Women Voters publications, opposition pamphlets, and an outline for delegate speeches on the proposed constitution.

Dates

1964-1972.

Creator

Vogel, Lois, 1914- (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection are not held by the Institute for Regional Studies.

Biography

Lois Fluetsch was born August 8, 1914 at Jamestown, N.D. She attended school and graduated from Jamestown College. From 1935 to 1937 Miss Fluetsch was a stenographer at the Seed Loan Office in St. Paul, Minnesota and from 1937 to 1939 at the United States State Department in Washington, D.C. She married Mart R. Vogel in 1939. They returned to Fargo where Mr. Vogel became an Assistant U.S. District Attorney and later a partner with Thorp Wattam, a law firm. They have three children. Mrs. Vogel became interested in constitutional reform and became involved in the League of Women Voters of North Dakota's program. She was the head of its Constitutional Research and Investigation Committee which conducted a state study program on constitutional revision in North Dakota. With the citizens of North Dakota authorizing a constitutional convention in 1970, Mrs. Vogel ran and was elected as a delegate from the 21st District in November 1970. At the Convention's organizational session in April 1971, Mrs. Vogel was elected Convention secretary. She was also a member of the Committee on Executive Functions, one of six substantive committees which met prior to and during the Convention. Currently Mrs. Vogel resides in Fargo, N.D.

Extent

2.5 Linear Feet (2.5 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Stenographer who became interested in the North Dakota Constitution and later attended the Constitution Convention held in 1972 as a delegate.

Provenance

Donated by Lois Vogel, 1972 & 2007 (Acc. 1885)

Separation Record

The following non-manuscript items have been removed from the Lois Vogel Papers and sent to the section indicated. Books (Library book collection, consult the library catalog for call number and location)

Organization and Administration of the State Government of North Dakota, by Public Administration Service, 1942. 2 vols