Mary Jane Bode Papers An Inventory of the Collection


Collection Summary
	Creator:	Bode, Mary Jane, 1926-1998
	Title:	Mary Jane Bode Papers
	Dates:	1977-1980

	Abstract:	Mary Jane Bode was a journalist, press secretary to Attorney General John Hill, and a Texas State Representative from 1978-1980. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, administrative materials, speeches, and working files relating to Bode’s campaigns in 1977 and 1980 and her time as a State Representative, 1977-1980.
	Identification:	AR.S.012
	Quantity:	3 linear feet (6 boxes)
	Location:	Archives Stacks, Oversize Materials, Outer Vault, qAR
	Language:	English
	Repository:	Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 810 Guadalupe, PO Box 2287, Austin, TX 78768

Biographical Sketch

Mary Jane Bode was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1926. Bode originally started her career as a journalist who focused on political issues and worked as a Capitol correspondent for Long News Service in Austin, Texas. In 1968 she ran for the Texas House of Representatives using the slogan “We Need a Woman in the House,” but lost. She began at this time working as a Press Secretary for Texas Attorney General John Hill until a special election in 1977 left a vacant District 37-B seat in the House of Representatives. Bode ran for the open seat and won by sixty-six votes. In 1978, she ran for re-election and gained another full term until 1980 when she lost when her district changed. While Bode was in office she was dedicated to helping people with disabilities, public employees, and children.

After her time in the Legislature, Bode returned to journalism working in Corpus Christi, Del Rio, and San Antonio. Bode died in 1998 in Illinois.

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Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials from Mary Jane Bode’s election campaigns and time as a Texas State Representative in Austin, Texas. Included are correspondence (letters and telephone), campaign memorabilia, speech materials, working files, administrative materials, and photographs.

The Campaign Materials (1977-1980) series includes pamphlets and election mailers, endorsements, budget materials, speech materials, telephone surveys, and newsletter materials related to Bode’s time campaigning for the Texas House of Representatives Seat. In addition, there is correspondence organized by General, Organizations, Individuals, and Post-Election which contains information about Bode's campaign in 1978 and letters from friends and colleagues about her loss in 1980.

The Legislative Materials (1977-1980) series contains correspondence and telephone, administrative, working and subject files, speeches, publicity, and marketing, and photographs related to Bode’s time as a Texas State House Representative. Included are correspondence materials, both sent and received, along with all information about telephone calls Bode received. There are administrative materials that contain information about budgets, visitor registers, travel vouchers, and Bode’s voting guide. Also there is a scan of a plaque issued to Bode, a print of the Texas State Capitol Dome, and a Certificate of Election to Texas House of Representatives. In addition, there are working and subject files which documenting Bode’s work on different projects such as the Major’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, the Austin Visitors Center, and the Texas Public Employees Association. The collection also contains materials relating to speeches, publicity, and marketing, specifically video cassettes on the Texas Women’s Political Caucus, speech information, and ephemera. Also included are different photographs, specifically a few head shots of Bode and numerous candid photographs of Bode with different individuals during her time as a House Representative, along with color and B&W contact sheets, 71 color negatives, 28 B&W negatives, and 177 color slides.

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Arrangement
	The collection is arranged into two series: Campaign Materials Legislative Materials Correspondence and Telephone Administrative Working and Subject Files Speeches, Publicity, and Marketing Photographs

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open to all users

Advance notice is required for any audiovisual materials that do not have an access copy already created. Turnaround time for requested access copies will be no less than one week and is determined by the number of items requested and their duration.

Use Restrictions

The Austin History Center (AHC) is the owner of the physical materials in the AHC collections and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the AHC before any publication use. The AHC does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.

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Index Terms

	Subjects (Persons)
		Bode, Mary Jane, 1926-1998.
		Hill, John Luke Jr., 1923-2007.
	Subjects (Organizations)
		Austin (Tex.). Austin Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities.
		Austin (Tex). Austin Visitors Center.
		Austin (Tex). Texas House of Representatives.
		Austin (Tex). Texas Public Employees Association.
		Texas. Legislature, House of Representatives.
		Texas Women's Political Caucus.
		Austin Volunteer Center.
	Subjects
		People with disabilities--Employment.
		Women legislators--Texas.
		Elections--Travis County.
		Women--Political activity--Texas.
		Developmentally disabled--Civil rights.
		Women--Texas--Austin.
	Places
		Austin (Tex.).
		Austin (Tex.)--Politics and government.
		Travis County (Tex.).
	Document Types
		Administrative records.
		Black-and-white photographs.
		Black-and-white negatives.
		Color photographs.
		Color negatives.
		Color slides.
		Clippings.
		Correspondence.
		Fliers.
		Financial records.
		Membership lists.
		Memorabilia.
		Project files.
		Scrapbooks.

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Related Material

Austin Files

Biography - Mary Jane Bode

General Collection

A 328.7640082 JO Jones, Nancy Baker Capitol Women: Texas Female Legislators, 1923-1999. 2000.
A VHS 328.764 GE Getting Where We've Got to Be: Women in the Texas Legislature. 2000. (Video Cassette)

Oral History

Tape 0331. Bode, Mary Jane, State Representative From District 37.B, interviewed by Cooksey, Lynn on 02/24/1980

The University of Mississippi Library has an Oral History by Mary Jane Bode as part of their Southern Women Legislatures Project.

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Separated Material


	Mary Jane Bode's copy of the Constitution of the United States has been separated from the collection and deaccessioned.

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Campaign Materials, 1977-1980
Box	Folder
1	1	Correspondence - general received, 1977-1980
	2	Correspondence - general sent, 1977-1980
	3	Correspondence - organizations, 1979-1980
	4	Correspondence - individuals, 1978, 1980
	5	Correspondence - post-election, 1980
	6	Pamphlets, door hangers, stickers, postcards, fliers, and small signs, undated
	7	Election mailers, undated
	8	Endorsements, 1978
	9	Newspaper advertisements, undated
	10	Mailing and volunteer lists, 1980
	11	Television campaign materials, 1977, 1980
	12-14	Contributions and expenditure statements, 1977-1980
	15	Campaign budget, 1977-1980
	16	Speeches, 1977
	17	Press releases, 1977-1980
	18	Newsletters, 1980
	19	Drafts of newsletters, 1980
Box	Folder
2	1	Speech guidelines for volunteers, 1980
	2	Maps, District 37-B, undated
	3	Telephone survey results, 1980
	4	Telephone survey tally sheets, 1980, April-May
	5	Telephone survey precinct tallies, 1980, April-May
	6	Photographs - ad proofs, undated

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Legislative Materials, 1977-1980

Correspondence and Telephone, 1977-1980

Box

Folder

Correspondence - received, 1977-1980

Correspondence - sent, 1978-1980

Telephone messages, 1979-1980

Long distance calls, 1978

Administrative, 1977-1980

Box

Folder

Christmas card lists, 1978

12-13

Budget status reports, 1977-1980

Project budgets, 1978-1980

"A True Friend" Plaque: Texas Public Employees Association, 1979

Visitors Register, undated

Box

Folder

Travel vouchers filed, 1980

2-3

Travel vouchers paid, 1978-1980

Reports, 1978-1979

5-6

Annotated Voting Guide, undated

7-9

Daily Appointment books, 1978-1980

Location

BoxItem

qAR

10/12

Print of Capitol Dome, undated

10/13

Certificate of Election to Texas House of Representatives, 1978

Box

5-6

Contacts and Constituents card files with notes of opinions on legislative bills, 1978-1980

Working and Subject Files, 1978-1980

Box

Folder

Clippings - Public Employees' Pay, 1978-1980

Oma Claunch, 1978-1980

Box

Folder

Mayors' Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, 1980

Austin Volunteer Center, 1980

Council on State Governments, 1980

List of bills co-sponsored by Mary Jane Bode, undated

Speeches, Publicity, and Marketing, 1973, 1977-1980

Box

Folder

Texas Women's Political Caucus (video cassette), undated

Speech ideas, 1977-1980

Ephemera, undated

Speeches and press releases, 1973, 1977-1980

Speech drafts, 1977-1980

Location

Oversized Volumes

Scrapbook, circa 1977-1980

Photographs, 1977-1980

Box

Folder

#001-055, 1977-1980

#056-085, 1977-1980

#086-109, 1977-1980

#110-137, 1977-1980

Location

ArchivesCollection

Outer Vault

B&W Neg drawer

B&W negatives, (#383-410), 1977-1980

Color Neg drawer

Color negatives (#312-382), 1977-1980

Color Neg drawer

Presentation slides (#138-311), 1977-1980

Autographed John Hill photograph, undated

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