Manuscripts Collection
Carol Connolly (née McLellan), a lifelong resident of St. Paul, Minnesota, was born in 1934. Connolly's first career was raising seven children born to her and husband John S. Connolly. Although active as a volunteer in many organizations during her twenty-one years of marriage, it was after divorcing in 1979 that Connolly's public life took on a higher profile. Throughout the years since then, Connolly has been variously known as a political candidate, activist, journalist, poet, and playwright.
An active DFL member, Connolly first became politically involved through the peace movement of the 1960s and the various campaign activities of her husband, who later became a Ramsey County District Court judge. In 1968 she volunteered for the Eugene McCarthy presidential campaign and they became close friends. While a 1980 bid for a seat on the St. Paul City Council was unsuccessful, Connolly remained politically involved over the years through fund raising for the campaigns for many other, mainly female, candidates.
Women's rights emerged as the focus of her civic and political activities, which included serving as co-chair of the Minnesota Women's Political Caucus and coordinating the Wonder Woman Foundation, a New York City-based organization which recognized and rewarded women over forty for heroic accomplishments, as well as work with numerous other feminist and women-centered organizations in the Twin Cities area. In 1977 Connolly was appointed to the St. Paul Human Rights Commission, where she served for nine years, five of them as chair. As the first woman ever appointed to the commission, she worked to bring women's causes to the forefront. Motivated by a desire to make sure that women would have a presence in the new industry, Connolly sought and received an appointment from the governor to the Minnesota Racing Commission when it was formed in 1983 and served as chair of the commission's affirmative action committee.
In addition to her civic and political activities, Connolly gained attention and
acclaim for her literary accomplishments. She began writing poetry in 1976 by
accident, when the fiction class she wanted to take was full. She signed up for a
poetry class instead and published her first collection,
Materials date from 1927 to 2010, but primarily cover the period from the late 1970s to 2008. The collection is organized into series representing Connolly's activities in the St. Paul Human Rights Commission, her own and other political campaigns, women's organizations, other organizations, and her literary career, as well as personal papers.
These records are divided into the following eight sections:
Connolly's publications of poetry are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society's print collection.
A videotaped 1993 interview with Carol Connolly for the PBS television show
Records of the Minnesota Women's Political Caucus, 1971-1985, of which Connolly served as chair, are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.
Records of the Minnesota Racing Commission, many of which were collected and donated by commission member Connolly, are separately cataloged in the Minnesota State Archives.
Accession numbers: 12,841; 13,044; 13,295; 13,371; 13,554; 13,681; 14,221; 14,975; 15,058; 15,287; 15,657; 15,930; 16,063; 16,179; 16,536; 16,568
Processed by: Lara D. Friedman, June 1997.
Additions by: Lara D. Friedman, August 2002; Rich Arpi, December 2005; Meagan Kellom and Alex Kent, January 2011; Meagan Kellom, June 2011.
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project
grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Catalog ID number: 1729441
Connolly's nine years of service on the St. Paul Human Rights Commission (1977-1986) are represented by a series of files including minutes, memoranda, reports, and other related papers arranged chronologically. In addition to these general files, there are files documenting the commission's work on the issues of affirmative action, gay and lesbian rights, and discrimination against families with children in rental housing. Also of interest are materials relating to the commission's study of the St. Paul Human Rights Department, which was undertaken on the heels of a 1984 controversy surrounding criticisms directed at the state human rights department.
Minutes, agendas, memoranda, correspondence, and related papers.
Political papers in the collection consist of two major groups of material: files documenting Connolly's 1980 St. Paul City Council campaign, and her fund raising and support for other political candidates. The latter are organized alphabetically by candidate name.
Also includes items from R.T. Rybak.
Includes mailings and pamphlets from DFL candidates Bob Long, Jerry Blakely, Jan Benanav, and Randy Kelly.
Materials documenting Connolly's involvement in women's organizations and activities consist primarily of records from two groups. The Wonder Woman Foundation was a short-lived organization (1981-1986) founded by Warner Communications, Inc. and DC Comics, Inc. to honor heroic women over forty years of age. Connolly worked as a consultant to the foundation and coordinated its annual awards ceremony. Files include correspondence, publicity materials, awards programs, program scripts, and biographies of nominees. The materials focus primarily on the tasks of raising awareness of the foundation and its awards as well as fund raising.
The other major group of files in this series document Connolly's involvement in the Minnesota Women's Political Caucus, which she served as chair. These files include minutes, agendas, memoranda, correspondence, publicity, and other materials related to the organization's work of supporting female candidates for political office. Materials are mainly from the state-level branch of the organization but also include some items from the national and county organizations.
Also extensively documented is the Women's Consortium, an association of feminist individuals and organizations devoted primarily to influencing legislation affecting women.
The collection documents many other organizations and activities in which
Connolly was involved. Files on artists and artistic groups include diverse
materials such as programs and publicity for events around the Twin Cities,
correspondence from a local book club, as well as a Guthrie Theatre script
for
Includes financial records, graphic designs, and general files of the restaurant owned and operated by Connolly's daughter Shelagh.
A complete run of the gossip column, "Connections," written by Connolly for
the
Includes pictures, programs and news clippings.
Includes invitations and guest lists.
Includes
Personal papers in the collection include correspondence, invitations, financial papers, notebooks, and newspaper clippings documenting Connolly's activities, travels, family and social life, and wide acquaintance. A series of files containing correspondence, legal documents, and financial records provide extensive documentation of Connolly's divorce from John S. Connolly in the late 1970s. Transcripts of depositions given by Connolly and her husband in preparation for the divorce trial provide a detailed picture of the family's financial and other issues that arose during the divorce process. The personal papers also include a series of notebooks used by Connolly to plan her activities, jot down thoughts, and draft correspondence. Researchers should note that much of the material in these notebooks is written in shorthand.
Includes news clippings, pictures, programs, and greeting cards, as well as correspondence with other family members after Senator McCarthy's death.
[0.2 cubic feet empty, letter]
James A. Larson was Connolly's maternal grandfather and served in the Minnesota House of Representatives and as Assistant Secretary of State. Mary McLellan Mund was Connolly's aunt on her father's side. Russell was Mary's son and Clayton was her son-in-law.
Includes biographical data.
Clayton Brubaker was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, April 9, 1915, to Clayton A. and Agnes (Swanson) Brubaker. He was married to Margaret Mund. On October 23, 1942, he was inducted into the U.S. Army at Fort Snelling and served with the 307th General Hospital unit in the Asiatic-Pacific theatre. He was discharged February 3, 1946. He died in St. Paul, June 19, 1999.
Includes identity cards, clippings, published orders, and memorabilia.
Principally letters to his wife Marge Mund Brubaker, written from Fort Lewis (Washington), Fort Benning (Georgia), and while at sea in the Pacific theatre and in Japan.
Includes memorabilia, photographs, various commendations and identity cards.
Depicts officers, nurses, and enlisted personnel of the 307th General Hospital, Fort Benning, Georgia.
Russell Edward Mund was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, February 16, 1917, to Otto C. Mund and Mary L. (McLellan) Mund. He served with the 85th and 103rd infantry divisions and the 278th Engineers battalion between 1941 and 1946. He died February 4, 1986, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Principally to his sister Marge Mund Brubaker from Camp Wolters (Texas), Fort Sam Houston (Texas), Camp Shelby (Mississippi), Camp Claiborne (Louisiana), Camp Howze (Texas), and in Germany.