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Lou Frey first donated materials to the University of Central Florida Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives in 2002 and added further items in 2005 and 2006.
Materials in ring binders were removed and placed in folders. Where dividers existed, they were replaced with acid free paper and labelled in the same manner. Where the creator had made notes on dividers or folders, those notes were retained. Binders of special interest were photographed and the images placed with the relevant materials. Surveys were removed from their bindings. A fax that was barely legible was retyped onto acid-free paper. Duplicates were returned to the donor. Rusted paper clips were removed. Minor repairs were carried out to some documents using paper mending tape. Photographs dispersed throughout the collection without context were grouped together; those that readily fell into subject areas were filed in the appropriate series. News clippings were removed from envelopes and foldered by the dates on the envelopes, which were not always accurate. Clippings dispersed through the collection were photocopied onto acid-free paper. Correspondence concerning several elections had been mixed together and given an index; the letters were divided among the relevant elections and the index removed. Some obsolete media have been reformatted onto CDs and DVDs; other obsolete media remains in the collection.
The entire collection is open for research except for Mr. Frey's diaries which are closed until August 31, 2006.
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder
Lou Frey edited a book by former members of Congress entitled
Audio cassette tapes of
Lou Frey Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
Lou Frey was born in Rutherford, New Jersey in 1934. After he graduated from Colgate University in 1955 with honors in English, he served in the US Navy in Airborne Early Warning Squadron 14 in the Pacific until 1958 and continued to serve in the US Naval Reserve. He married Marcia Turner in 1956; they eventually had five children. After receiving his law degree from Michigan Law School in 1961, Frey moved to Central Florida. He served as Assistant County Solicitor until 1963, and from 1966-1967 he was General Counsel to the Florida State Turnpike Authority.
Frey's political life began when he joined the
Lou Frey did not run for re-election in 1978; instead, he decided to
run for Governor of Florida. Although he did not win the primary election, he
ran again for Governor in 1986 and for senator in 1980. Frey continued to
support the Republican Party; he chaired the committee to elect
In business, Frey cofounded
These papers are arranged in three series by chronological period.
Series I: Pre-Congress and Personal, 1947-1976 mainly documents Lou Frey's political activities before he entered Congress. These materials show Frey's activities in the Republican Party in the years before his election to Congress, and the 1968 election itself is well documented here. A few materials show a little about his family especially his parents. Some photographs show his wife and children.
Series II: Congress, 1966-1999 shows Frey's work in Congress and the elections in which he was involved. Frey fought and won four congressional elections and then ran for Governor of Florida while he was in Congress. Congressman Frey successfully passed a bill legislating standards for mobile home construction; his work is documented in the subject files subseries. Subject files also highlight his committee work, elections and the Watergate scandal. When Frey was named by
Series III: Post Congress, 1971-2005 chronicles Lou Frey's activities
since he left Congress. These are an eclectic mix of materials that include
such topics as: a celebration honoring Frey's 25 years of public service, his
support of his Alma Mater, information on various aspects of Congress, and the
These materials show the activities of the Republican party in Central Florida in the 1960s; one oversize piece is a party newsletter. The 1968 election is well documented with papers and news clippings. The family correspondence includes letters written after Frey entered Congress. Finally, some news clippings show his interest in local politics.
Series II documents Lou Frey's activities during his congressional years. The materials are arranged in subseries by type of file beginning with subject files, followed by alphabetical files, then correspondence and finally document type files.
Subject files include documentation on a biography that was not published. A substantial amount of material concerns the work of the committees on which Frey served. Memorabilia and photographs relating to space exploration are held in the Space and Astronautics Committee files. Congressional Accomplishments files explain the progress of the bills that Frey introduced, specific issues that he worked on and issues of interest to particular counties.
Election files encompass a significant quantity of materials including correspondence, news clippings, a scrapbook, assessments of opponents, opinion polls, campaign materials, video and audio cassette tapes and memorabilia. Earlier materials that were presumably used in research for particular campaign issues appear in these files. Opinion polls that do not relate to a specific election are held in the Document Type subseries. Correspondence files regarding the 1974 election contain other correspondence on a variety of political matters. Several files and a news videotape document Frey's organization of President Ford's 1976 election campaign in Florida.
The General Services Administration file refers to the construction of the federal office building in Orlando. Files on judges and presidential commissions mostly consist of suggestions and recommendations for appointments. The Salary increase file documents Frey's disagreement with a congressional salary increase, which resulted in his returning money to the treasury. Although most of the Watergate materials are government publications, some of which are annotated, the files include statements from Frey, transcripts of the tapes and a photograph of Frey listening to the tapes.
Alphabetical files are subject driven but form a separate subseries as they were created and filed separately from the other subject files; they have been kept in the original rough alphabetical order. A DVD has been added to this series, which follows a group of Lou frey's interns to show how they spend
Correspondence files designated as personal by the creator and provided with an index include many political topics. "Dura" letters are standard responses to comments or questions from constituents. They are arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by topic; sometimes they have an incomplete index at the beginning of the year. Most files of "nice" letters have indexes at the beginning of a run, otherwise they are arranged chronologically. General correspondence files include letters that may fall into other categories, but they have indexes so have been kept together. Those without indexes have been arranged chronologically.
Document type files begin with bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions and simple resolutions filed in chronological order. These files often have other materials concerning the bill filed with them and have periodic indexes that cover several months but are often incomplete. Voting Records comprise three types of records: those prepared by Congress, those prepared by the congressman's office and those produced by lobbyists. The records follow each other and are arranged chronologically within each run. The briefing book explains the issues before Congress in 1978. News Releases sometimes have supporting documentation with them and include both radio broadcasts and articles; some have incomplete indexes and some are numbered. Statements and the Congressional Record both document Lou Frey's statements to Congress. Generally, these papers are arranged chronologically with undated materials at the end as are Frey's speeches and the newsletters that he sent to his constituents.
Biographies highlight Frey's achievements while in Congress. News clippings are arranged in rough chronological order with partially dated clippings at the beginning of the appropriate folder; some clippings are contained in a scrapbook. Some of the articles are written about Frey, and others are subject based. The photographs show Frey with Presidents, participating in sports, and at events. One DVD shows Lou Frey at the FTU Commencement in 1973 with President Nixon, and an oversize photograph shows the members of the 1972 Congress. Some photographs are in albums that sometimes record particular events such as Frey acting as the reviewing officer at the Naval Training Center. Memorabilia include licence plates, a crest, awards from the treasury and plaques presented by various organizations.
Series III holds materials that document Lou Frey's activities since he left Congress. These records are arranged in two subseries by type of file. Subject files are arranged alphabetically; document type files are arranged by relative importance with photographs finishing the series. Frey travelled extensively with the Association of Former Members of Congress and these files are held here; a separate subject file holds information about trips he undertook for other reasons. The book draft is Frey's own draft of a book that was ultimately revised and became the collaborative effort that was published under the auspices of the Association of Former Members of Congress. Members of the Association report their activities to Congress annually, and the report is recorded on video cassette tapes or DVDs.
A large group of files provides information on the Florida Energy Commission and the Milliennial Housing Commission. Election files include the races that Frey ran, the races that he considered but decided not to run, the Dole campaign and a miscellaneous group of materials concerning other elections and inaugural celebrations. Video cassette tapes and audio versions of election advertisements are also included in this subseries. Frey's plan for the I4 corridor is held in this subseries. The document type files are largely self-explanatory, but it should be noted that "Washington Briefings" were documents prepared by Frey to explain what was happening in government. Correspondence files include correspondence and news clippings exhanged with UCF professors on the subject of desegregation of Orange County Public Schools. His articles are written regularly for his