Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Jennings, John Kaley, 1883-1972
- Abstract:
- The Jennings mss., 1924-1956, consists of the papers of Indiana WPA administrator John Kaley Jennings, 1883-1972.
- Extent:
- 9 Boxes (5 standard, 4 custom)
- Language:
- Materials are in English .
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Jennings mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
John Kaley Jennings, 1883-1972, was an Indiana WPA administrator. He was born on November 24, 1883 in Rich Hill, Missouri, the son of John and Elizabeth (Kaley) Jennings. His first positions were clerk at the Western Mining Company, Yale, Kansas, 1903; assistant cashier at the Consolidated Coal Company, Staunton, Illinois, 1904; and bookkeeper for the company's Kansas City office, 1906. In 1907, he came to Evansville, Indiana as a bookkeeper with the Crescent Coal Company. His other careers in Evansville include vice-president and sales manager of the Sunny Side Coal Company, 1908, and president of the Independent Hay and Grain Company, 1912. In 1921, Jennings organized Diamond Mills, and in 1927, added Rosedale Theater to his Evansville business interests. In 1927, he went on an extensive tour of Europe to study European municipal governments.
In November, 1931, Jennings organized and became Chairman of the Unemployment Relief Agency, one of the first work relief programs in the nation. From them on he began his long career in the public service. He also was an unsuccessful democratic candidate for Mayor of Evansville against Herbert Males during the height of Klan movement in 1926, and against William H. Dress in 1934. In 1932, he was named Chairman of the Tax Adjustment Board. In July 1935, he was appointed WPA District Director for ten southwestern Indiana counties, and was State Director of the War Manpower Commission from 1937-1946. Other positions held were District Director of the Department of Commerce; State Director of the U.S. Employment Service; Chairman of the Governor's Commission on Unemployment Relief; Chairman of the State Housing Commission; and Director of the Commercial Indemnity Insurance Company, Indianapolis. On May 25, 1909, he married Lillian Helfrich of Evansville and they had two children, William and Mrs. Marie (Jennings) Kollker. He died in 1972.
- Scope and Content:
The papers consist of letters from and to prominent political figures, friends, business letters, speeches, and official documents during his period as a public administrator. The bulk of the material covers his public service period.
Some of the more important subjects include politics in Indiana, 1921-1929; his political campaign as a democratic candidate for Mayor of Evansville, Spring 1934; memos, orders, messages, and other material issued in connection with the Ohio River flood disaster in Evansville, Indiana, January and February 1937; reports of the Indiana National Guard and the assistance they rendered at the time of the flood, 1937; coal dealers' meeting, January 1937; material from his activities as a WPA administrator, 1935-43; Senate investigation findings and evidence of material of the WPA political activities and conditions in Indiana, compiled by Senator Raymond E. Willis, 1939; extensive correspondence on his poker playing and difficulties with the authorities, 1944; tax board investigation of Evansville and Vanderburgh County, 1932; correspondence on Evansville Gridiron Club, 1955-1956; financial statements and reports of 1953, 1954, 1955, when he served as treasurer of the Indiana Democratic State Central Committee.
Among the correspondents in the collection are Paul Mulholland Butler, Samuel Hugh Dillin, Charles Bates Enlow, George Hansen Field, Philip Bracken Fleming, Everett L. Gardner, Robert Clifford Goodwin, Harry Lloyd Hopkins, William Albert Kunkel, Louis Leon Ludlow, Carleton Buel McCulloch, Paul Vories McNutt, Ray John Madden, Henry Wright Marshall, Carl Henry Mullen, Louis Ruthenburg, M. Clifford Townsend, Frederick Van Nuys, F. Harold Van Orman, and Matthew Empson Welsh.
The collection also includes his printed platform as candidate for Mayor; pamphlets and leaflets of interest to him; eight scrapbooks, 1924-1941, on politics, work relief, tax adjustment, and WPA; newspaper clippings about him and the WPA activities, 1925-1963; photographs of Jennings; two photograph albums of WPA projects; and fourteen films dealing with WPA projects, flood, etc.
Note on Indexing Term - "Theater": Of particular interest is a videotape of WPA films which contains some footage of the WPA Federal Theater production of Macbeth directed by Orson Welles.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift: 1963
- Arrangement:
This collection is arranged following original order.
- Physical location:
- Lilly - Stacks; ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility) (Box 8)
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research.
Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Jennings mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
1200 East Seventh StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
(812) 855-2452liblilly@indiana.edu