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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)Catherine OBrion, Archivist
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
The collection is open for research.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Mary Fessler Papers, Ms2001-012, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Mary Fessler Papers were donated to Special Collections in May 2001 and April 2002.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Mary Fessler Papers was completed in 2003. Additional materials were added in November 2023.
Mary McClintock Ryland Fessler (1912-2000) was active in Montgomery County Democratic Party, local government, and civic organizations from the late 1960s through the 1990s. She was a founding member of the Montgomery County League of Women Voters, organized in 1971, and Secretary of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She was appointed to the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors in 1977 and served from 1977 to 1985.
Fessler was born in Georgetown, Kentucky, on February 6, 1912. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Westhampton College (now the University of Richmond) in 1932. She taught in the North China American School in Tun Chow, China, and several American schools before moving to Blacksburg in 1951. Her husband, Donald R. Fessler, was a sociologist with the Virginia Tech Extension Service.
Sources: Jenn Burleson, "Library Advocate Will be Missed," The Roanoke Times , 9 December 2000, Current, page 1; Obituary, The Roanoke Times , 12 December 2000, page B3.
The Mary Fessler Papers span the years ca. 1940-2001, with the bulk of the material dating from 1968-1984. They are arranged into the following series: Personal Papers, ca. 1940-2001; Montgomery County League of Women Voters, 1948-1980; Montgomery County Democratic Committee, 1967-1993; Ninth-District Democratic Committee, 1979-1981; Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, 1968-1998; and Blacksburg Library Building Committee, 1994-1999.
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors series spans the period 1968-1998 (bulk 1977-1984) and is the largest series in the collection. It is comprised of the following subseries: Minutes, 1977-1984; Correspondence, 1978-1985; Financial Records, 1977-1995; Subject Series, 1968-1998; Annual Reports, 1976-1982; Publications, 1974-1984; Capital Improvements Program Committee, 1978-1987; Montgomery County Community Services Organization, 1974-1979; Montgomery County Planning Commission, 1976-1989; and Montgomery County Public Service Authority, 1969-1973.
Minutes contain Fessler's copies of the official minutes of Board of Supervisor meetings for the period 1977-1984; they also include copies of agendas and official reports submitted to the Board. Correspondence is comprised of letters Fessler received pertaining to county government issues. It is organized into Incoming Correspondence, Inter-office Correspondence, both arranged chronologically; and Correspondence Regarding, arranged alphabetically by subject. Financial Records are comprised of Fessler's copies of budget requests, county revenue projections, and financial reports and analyses. The Capital Improvements Program Committee, Montgomery County Community Services Organization, Montgomery County Planning Commission, and Montgomery County Public Service Authority series are comprised of copies of records of these agencies that were sent to Fessler when she was a member of the Board of Supervisors.
Subject Series, the largest subseries within the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors series, are comprised of materials Fessler collected and filed by subject and document issues of concern to her during her tenure on the Board. They files contain a variety of materials, including copies of county government documents, correspondence with the county government staff, reports, studies, and clippings. Notable subjects include construction of the Roanoke River dam, landfills, and planning for sewage, water, and refuse.
The Montgomery County Democratic Committee series spans the period 1971-1993 and documents the committee's work in support of local, regional, and state Democratic candidates from 1867 to 1971, 1979 to 1981, and in 1993, and Democratic Party conventions. The records are comprised primarily of correspondence, get-out-the-vote materials, and newspaper clippings. Included is a file of correspondence and clippings pertaining to the activities of the state legislature from 1971 to 1974, a file on the re-drawing of magisterial districts in Montgomery County in 1972, and a folder of statistics on the race of registered voters, by precinct, in Montgomery County, 1979 to 1981.
The Ninth-District Democratic Committee series dates from 1977-1981 and is comprised primarily of correspondence from officials of the state Democratic Party and members of the local and regional committees; it also includes ephemera from Democratic campaigns from the period 1980 to 1981. A frequent correspondent is state Democratic Party Chair Richard Davis.
The Montgomery County League of Women Voters series spans the period 1948 to 1980 (bulk 1970-1980). Just one folder, it is comprised primarily of small publications put out by the League of Women Voters in the early 1970s promoting ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
The collection also includes a small series of Personal Papers that span the period ca. 1940-2001. They include a photograph of Fessler, ca. 1940, and a folder of thank-you letters from Virginia Governor Gerald Baliles, Lieutenant Governor Dick Davis, Delegate Rick Boucher, and Attorney General Mary Sue Terry.
The bulk of the collection is arranged, within series, either chronologically or alphabetically by subject, as indicated in the series descriptions.
The guide to the Mary Fessler Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).
The file contains a black-and-white studio photograph, ca. 1940, of Mary Fessler, and two color snapshots, n.d., of monuments to General Richard Montgomery in Quebec.
Letters from state Democratic leaders Delegate Gerald Baliles, Lieutenant Governor Richard J. Davis, and Attorney General Mary Sue Terry. Also included in the folder is a 1970 letter from Floydine Roberts of the Radford Women's Democratic Club.
Newspaper clippings on Blacksburg issues. Includes a fund-raising letter from "Concerned Citizens for Nellie's Cave Community."
This small series is comprised primarily of publications put out by the League of Women Voters in the early 1970s promoting ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
This series is comprised primarily of correspondence and newspaper clippings, but also includes speeches and writings, campaign literature, and campaign ephemera.
Includes an organizational charts, by-laws, and fund-raising information.
This subseries is comprised of newspaper clippings, correspondence, speeches and writings, and campaign literature.
This subseries is comprised of clippings, Democratic party publicity and convention literature, correspondence, notes, and delegate lists.
This subseries is comprised of a file of newspaper clippings about State Senator Madison Marye from 1974; and two files of documents pertaining to redistricting in Montgomery County, 1979-1981, including statistics on race and registered voters in Montgomery County in 1981. Also included are campaign posters for Dick Davis, Chuck Robb, Gerald Baliles, Andy Miller, and Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale.
This series is comprised of records of correspondence, financial records, by-laws, clippings, and campaign ephemera for Democratic candidates for statewide office in the early 1980s.
Copies of meeting minutes, agendas, and reports.
Includes a letter from Trans-Virginia Public Service Corporation in support of a proposed coal pipeline through Montgomery County and a letter pertaining to strained relations between the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library Board.
Memoranda from County Administrator Allan Williams to the Board of Supervisors pertaining to legal and personnel policy issues.
This subseries is comprised primarily of memos from the County Administrator's office to members of the Board pertaining to proposed actions of the Board.
Alphabetically by subject of the correspondence.
This file includes information pertaining to Block Grant applications, potential annexation by the Town of Christiansburg, Economic Development Commission Progress Reports, town representation on the School Board, and tensions between school administrators and the School Board.
This file also contains correspondence pertaining to other subjects, such as dog-leash laws and the construction of a new fire substation on Price's Fork Road.
This subseries is comprised mostly of annual financial reports and audits; it also includes budget requests for fiscal year 1977-1978.
This subseries is comprised of subject files Fessler kept on issues pertaining to issues before the Montgomery County board of Supervisors. The files may contain clippings, documents, studies and reports, and correspondence.
"Comparison of Services Provided to the New River Valley by Roanoke Municipal Airport, Virginia Tech Airport, and the New River Valley Airport"
Proposed budget for fiscal year 1983 and 1984; a map of the Land Use Plan adopted by the Blacksburg Town Council on February 26, 1985; and a map, "Geology of the Blacksburg Quadrangle," created by M.J. Bartholomew and W.D. Lowry in 1979.
Includes a report, "The Fiscal Impact of City Status for the Town of Blacksburg," prepared for County of Montgomery, Virginia, an analysis of the report, and clippings.
Summary of reports.
Promotional publications published by the Montgomery County Economic Development Commission.
Report compiled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Insurance Administration.
Materials pertaining to a proposed development; include five blue-lines of site-development plans.
This subseries is comprised primarily of materials documenting construction of the Mid-County Landfill; it includes a document prepared by Olver Incorporated, Consulting Engineers and Environmental Laboratories, "Operation and Development Manual for the Mid-County Landfill, Part III, Montgomery County, Virginia." Also included is a blue-line map, n.d., showing the proposed site for the landfill.
This subject series is comprised of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water supply and flood management studies and a feasibility reports, handwritten notes, clippings, correspondence, and papers documenting the Upper Basin Public Assistance Committee.
Draft discussion paper produced by the State Water Control Board in response to passage of Senate Joint Resolution 161.
Progress report on the proposed revision of the ordinance.
Study by Anderson & Associations, Inc., Consulting Engineers.
Budget Packet.
Annual reports for Montgomery County Information and Referral Service, 1976-1977; the New River Valley Alcohol Safety Action Program, 1978-1979; and the Montgomery County Planning Commission, 1982.
Book of writings by elementary school children, with a letter of appreciation addressed to Mary Fessler.
Recommendations to the Planning Commission, project request forms, and proposed capital improvement programs for fiscal years 1982-1983 and 1986-1987.
By-laws, membership directory, minutes, reports, grant applications and correspondence, and audit.
Records documenting the work of the Montgomery County Planning Commission. Records are comprised of correspondence, reports, studies, budget requests, a 1976 draft of a proposed comprehensive plan, and a 1978 Planning Department evaluation of office space in the county. Also included is a map, "Environmental and Cultural Features of Montgomery County," prepared for the Commission in 1982.
This subseries documents Fessler's work, in her capacity as a member of the Board of Supervisors, managing the activities of the Montgomery County Public Service Authority, which was created by the Board in the early 1970s to manage public utilities in the county. Records include background information on the organization of the Public Service Authority, correspondence, meeting minutes, agendas, financial statements, subject files. Also included is an oversize publication, "Recommended Service Areas," 1975, prepared for the Board of Supervisors. It includes several maps showing existing and planned development and the demand it would create for expanded water and sewer lines.
Minutes, correspondence, and clippings.