Guide to the Walter Gardner Hall Papers, 1923-1990 MS 280

Biographical Note

Walter Gardner Hall was born in Houston, Texas on May 30, 1907. His parents, Samuel Emery and Emma Belle Gardner Hall, moved from Illinois to the Texas Gulf Coast in 1898. His family farmed and ran a cafe before his father went to work as a mechanic for the Houston Streetcar Company and later the Interurban Company. In about 1913, Hall and his family moved to League City, only to return to Houston in 1915. In 1919 the Halls moved once again to League City and acquired a ten-acre farm, while Samuel Hall continued to work for the Interurban Company.

Hall enrolled in Rice Institute in 1924 as, he once said, "the greenest freshman that ever entered". When reflecting on his life, Hall has always pointed to his experiences at Rice and his association with such professors as Radoslav A. Tsanoff as vital components of whatever political and economic success he might have had in his life. After his graduation in 1928, Hall went to work for the Texas Company as cashier at a clay mine in Fayette County. Two years later, Hall was transferred to Houston. In January of 1931, in the midst of an ever-worsening depression, Hall resigned from the Texas Company because he believed that the company's management had treated unfairly a friend and fellow employee. He accepted the position of cashier of the Citizens State Bank of League City (a job he had earlier refused) and by 1935 had convinced the owners of the bank to move to Dickinson. In 1943, Hall and his wife, Helen Lewis, whom he had married in 1927, bought controlling interest in the Citizens State Bank of Dickinson. Later, as the Halls and their community prospered, they took over the Alvin State Bank, the Leaque City State Bank, and the Webster State Bank. They also invested in real estate, established several insurance agencies, and acquired controlling interest in Sentinel National Life Insurance Company.

Beginning in the late 1930's, Walter Hall took an increasing interest in politics. He supported President Franklin D. Roosevelt fervently at a time when many Texas Democrats were becoming increasingly estranged from the President. In the mid 1940's, Hall emerged as a leader of the Liberal Democrats in Texas. He helped Lyndon B. Johnson win the crucial Senate election of 1948 and later aided in the election of Senator Ralph W. Yarborough. At the historic 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, he was a strong supporter of Hubert Humphrey. Although his candidates often lost closely contested elections, Hall continued to support the Democratic Party, particularly the liberal wing of the party, throughout the 1950's, 60's and 70's. Now in his seventies, Hall remains active in banking and politics.

Scope and Contents

Walter Gardner Hall has been a man of many parts--most of them seemingly incongruous. He has been a successful banker and a champion of the liberal wing of the Texas Democratic Party. He has had important social and business ties with the conservative Houston "establishment" and at the same time has been a close friend of such "anti-establishment" figures as John Henry Faulk. Through the political wars of the 1950's and 1960's, Hall managed to remain on good terms personally and politically with both Lyndon B. Johnson and Ralph W. yarborough, the oft-feuding leaders of the Texas Democrats on a national level. Within the 25 shelf feet of the Hall Papers there is a record of these diverse associations.

Contained within these papers as well is much information on the men and women with whom Hall corresponded. Among the most notable politicians are Lyndon Johnson, Ralph Yarborough, Sam Rayburn, Minnie Fisher Cunningham, Jim Wright, and Hubert Humphrey. Hall often served as an access route from the people of the Gulf Coast to these politicians, and his letters to the lesser-known folk of his area are equally interesting. Walter Hall, though, has been more than a political animal; his papers reflect extremely close ties with his sons and with friends such as J. R. Parten, George "Heap" Alexander, W. A. Cooper, Fagan Dickson, and Ralph Yarborough.

Besides speaking of politics and Hall's feelings for other human beings, these papers say much about Walter Hall himself. Hall is the piece of the puzzle which makes these incongruous parts fit together into an understandable whole. His ability to accept divergent opinion if honestly held and to work within the practical limits of a situation reveal some of the reasons for his political and economic success. At the same time, his political values and his position in the midrange between political officials and the voting public illustrate why the American system of government has worked as well as it has.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions on access to these papers or the accompanying oral interviews.

Conditions Governing Access

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Walter Gardner Hall - Papers must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Walter Gardner Hall - Papers, 1923-1990, MS 280, Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University

Acquisition Information

Through the generosity of Walter G. Hall and Rice alumnus Ellis Rudy ('51), the Hall Papers were acquired and funds provided for their processing.

Note to Researchers

In most cases it should be clear to researchers which portion of the Hall Papers best suits their needs. Those interested in Sam Rayburn, for example, should begin with Series V. In some cases, however, letters or other documents dealt with more than one of the major topics. A letter from Sam Rayburn or about Sam Rayburn often contained information on Lyndon Johnson and the Democratic Party. Whenever possible duplicates of these letters were put under both topics. Obviously only the most important and significant of these letters were duplicated, so researchers should not neglect other applicable sections of the Hall Papers.

Hall's personal correspondence also often contains his or his friends' and families' thoughts on the political situation of the day. If his friends were not major politicians and if the bulk of their letters were not political in nature, these series of letters to and from Walter Hall were placed under Personal Correspondence.

What follows is a guide to the Hall Papers which lists the contents of the papers according to the heading of the files within the boxes.

General note

Portions of this collection are available online at https://scholarship.rice.edu/handle/1911/37266.

Detailed Description of the Collection