Rolla Clymer Collection

Biographical sketch: Journalist, newspaper editor. Of Kansas; Santa Fe, N.M.

Abstract: Correspondence, business, and personal financial records. There are also speeches, poetry, newspaper clippings, photographs, reports, and other items related to R.A. Clymer's business and personal activities. Of greatest value are the items related to the newspaper publishing business, ca. 1916-ca. 1973. Clymer corresponded with Kansas editors, Republican Party leaders, and women Kansas journalists. The collection holds information on El Dorado, Butler County, and the College of Emporia (Kan.). Later correspondence covers Flint Hills conservation, and the establishment of a Kansas natural prairie park. The poetry and speeches also relate to the Flint Hills.

Biog. Sketch (Full): Rolla Anderson Clymer was born at Alton, Kansas, on July 23, 1888. His earliest days were spent in various Kansas and midwestern towns where his father held pastorates. Much of his adolescence was passed in Quenemo, Kansas, where he graduated from high school in 1905. Clymer then attended the College of Emporia in Kansas, and graduated with his bachelor of arts degree in 1909. Later he completed some post-graduate work at the University of Kansas in Lawrence and was an alumnus of the William Allen White School of Journalism. Clymer’s earliest newspaper training began as a college student in 1907, under the expert tutelage of William Allen White. First as a part-time reporter, and later as city editor, Clymer worked on White’s Emporia Gazette from 1907 until 1914. As one of White’s “boys”, the two men remained lifelong friends.

From 1914 to 1918 Clymer was editor and manager of the Olathe, Kansas, Register. In 1915 he married Elizabeth Hoisington of Newton, Kansas. The Clymer’s had two children, David Hoisington Clymer who followed his father as a Kansas newspaperman, and Catherine Clymer who worked in a California media advertising agency. In 1918 Rolla Clymer moved his young family to El Dorado, Kansas, where he became editor and manager of the El Dorado Republican. Except for a six month hiatus in 1937 as editor and manager of the Santa Fe New Mexican in that city, Clymer served the remainder of his professional career in El Dorado.

In 1919 Clymer oversaw the merger of the Republican and the Walnut Valley Times into the El Dorado Times. After several years of sharing publication responsibilities with former editor, J. B. Adams, of the Walnut Valley Times, Clymer became sole editor and general manager for the Times Publishing Company. He also later became owner of this same company. Clymer was widely respected as a writer and editorialist and his work was often reprinted by other editors throughout the state and nation. He became quite active and influential in Republican Party politics in Kansas: most notably as part of Alfred M. Landon’s staff during the 1936 presidential campaign. Although his closest associates often spoke of him as a viable candidate for governor of Kansas, Clymer never chose to run for any political office. He served as public relations director of the Kansas State Republican Committee in 1930 and 1934 and as the first secretary/director of the Kansas Industrial Development Commission from 1939 until 1942. In addition, Clymer was quite active in various regional and statewide editorial, business, and civic positions.

In his later years Clymer devoted much of his time to efforts to preserve the Kansas Flint Hills region which he dearly loved. In addition to newspaper editorials, he wrote and published numerous widely circulated articles and poems about the Flint Hills. Perhaps his best known tribute was his poem “Majesty of the Hills,” which helped earn him the designation as Poet Laureate of the Flint Hills. Clymer’s journalistic, political, and civic contributions were widely and often recognized. In addition to numerous community awards, in 1957 he received the annual William Allen White Foundation Award for Journalistic Merit. He was chosen “Kansan of the Year” in 1960 by the Kansas Native Sons and Daughters. In 1970 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Kansas State Teacher’s College of Emporia, now Emporia State University. Rolla Clymer died on June 4, 1977, having been the editor of the El Dorado Times for fifty-nine years.

Scope and content:

Materials within this collection consist primarily of correspondence, business and personal financial records, speeches, poetry, newspaper clippings, photographs, and reports and other items relating to the various committees, organizations, and meetings in which Rolla Clymer was involved. The collection has been divided into series according to the type of material, and then filed chronologically within each series.

The most significant value of the Clymer collection is its information about the business, editorial, and social aspects of newspaper publishing in Kansas from the late 1910s until 1970s. Clymer regularly corresponded with numerous well-known Kansas editors; particularly those whose newspapers supported the Republican party. Perhaps most noteworthy of these would be Frederick W. Brinkerhoff, Arthur Capper, Oscar Stauffer, and William Allen White. Related information about newspaper publishing is included in the series of financial records which are mostly from the 1940s and 1950s. These records consist of account ledgers and account receipts which are arranged alphabetically by the name of the account. Another interesting facet of the Clymer collection is the interconnection it shows between newspapermen and politicians in twentieth century Kansas. Also significant is Clymer’s correspondence with various women involved in Kansas journalism and newspaper publishing. Included among these women are Ruth Garver Gagliardo, Zula Bennington Greene, Jennie Small Owen, and Bertha Shore.

The correspondence, which begins in 1909 and ends in early 1977, just prior to Clymer’s death, comprises the bulk of the collection. With few exceptions, the correspondence provides a continuous and very complete view of Rolla Clymer’s activities. Included is correspondence which he received as well as copies of nearly all letters he sent. Information about other members of the Clymer family is quite sparse. One exception to this is a series of letters and monthly reports from David Clymer to his father regarding the purchase and operation of various Kansas newspapers in which the elder Clymer had both a personal and financial interest.

In addition to its information about Kansas journalism, the Clymer correspondence reveals much about the workings of the Republican Party in Kansas in the 20th century. This information is most significant for the 1930s and is highlighted by Clymer’s involvement in Alfred M. Landon’s 1936 U. S. Presidential campaign. Throughout his life, however, Clymer regularly corresponded with various local and state politicians. Some of the more frequent and significant correspondents include Alfred M. Landon, Ben S. Paulen, Harry J. Allen, and Clyde M. Reed. Also included is Clymer’s correspondence and reports relating to his service as Public Relations Director of the Kansas State Republican Committee in 1930 and 1934 and as the first secretary/director of the Kansas Industrial Development Commission from 1939 to 1942. Additional political information can be found in the series of newspaper clippings.

The correspondence also includes information about Butler county and El Dorado, Kansas. Clymer’s involvement in local affairs and organizations such as the Kafir Corn Carnival and the Rotary Club is well documented. Of particular note is Clymer’s leadership during the 1950s when south-central Kansas faced a severe drouth and water shortage. Another aspect of Clymer’s involvement in local affairs was his promotion of and investment in oil and gas production in Butler county. Additional information about El Dorado and Butler county can be found in the series of newspaper clippings.

Much of the earliest correspondence in the Clymer collection pertains to information about the College of Emporia for the period Clymer was a student there. Scattered throughout the remainder of the correspondence is information about Emporia athletics and alumni activities and letters with former classmates. Also included in the collection are related photographs, Emporia College memorabilia, and a series of the Emporia student newspaper entitled College Life.

A substantial portion of the correspondence from the 1960s and 1970s pertains to conservation, the Kansas Flint Hills, and efforts to establish a Kansas Natural Prairie Park. The correspondence becomes less focused upon politics and the El Dorado Times, and tends to be more personal in nature. The series of poetry and speeches also relate most closely to the subject of the Flint Hills.

Contents: Correspondence, 1909-1977 (boxes 1-49) -- Funeral services (box 49) -- School reports, 1896-1913 (box 49) -- Speeches, 1909-1975 (box 50) -- William Allen White correspondence, 1925-1943 (box 50) -- Misc. William Allen White material (box 50) -- William Allen White Foundation, 1956-1968 (box 50) -- Correspondence re: Clymer's receipt of W. A. White award, 1957 (box 50) -- Account ledgers (box 51) -- Account sheets (box 51).

Other Finding Aid/Index: Complete finding aid can be found at the Kansas Historical Society and on its website, http://www.kshs.org/p/rolla-clymer-collection/14009

Use and reproduction: Information on literary rights available from the Kansas Historical Society (Topeka)

Action note: Collection arranged and described by Randy Roberts, Lela Barnes intern, 1983.