Clifford W. Trow papers
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of papers of Clifford W. Trow, an Oregon state senator and a professor at Oregon State University. The papers relate to Trow's political career, and include correspondence, reports, legislative text, notes, and clippings about state legislation. A significant amount of the materials relate specifically to education legislation. Other legislative materials in the collection relate to compensation, fire protection, field burning, safety, and changes to open meeting laws. The collection also includes a file of bills that Trow sponsored during the 1989 legislative session. Other materials in the collection include committee records, including records of the Education Committee; notes for speeches by Trow; letters from constituents complaining about the selection of Senator Peg Jolin as chair of the Business, Housing and Consumer Affairs Committee; clippings about Trow and state Representative Tony Van Vliet; a report about Oregon Public Broadcasting; and a small number of photographs of Trow from the 1970s and 1980s.
Dates
- Creation: 1973-1993
Creator
- Trow, Clifford Wayne, 1929- (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Biographical Note
Clifford Wayne Trow was born in 1929 in Topeka, Kansas, and grew up in Salinas, Kansas. He earned an honors degree in history from Kansas Wesleyan University in 1951, and subsequently taught high school social studies in Kansas and then in Boulder, Colorado. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1966. After receiving his doctorate, he moved to Oregon to teach history at Oregon State University in Corvallis.
While in Oregon, Trow became involved in local Democratic politics and worked on the campaigns of U.S. Senator Wayne Morse. In 1970, Trow unsuccessfully ran for the Oregon Senate; he ran again, successfully, in 1974. As a state senator, Trow was a supporter of education and served on the Senate Education Committee for eight legislative sessions, serving as committee chair for five of them. In 1979, the Oregon Education Association recognized him as "Education Senator of the Year." Trow also chaired the Senate Ways and Means Committee in 1993, chaired subcommittees of the Ways and Means Committee from 1985 to 1991, and chaired the Executive Appointment Committee for several sessions. He was elected as President Pro Tempore of the Senate in 1981, and from 1995 to 1998 served as the Senate's Democratic leader. Trow retired from politics in 2003.
Trow married Jo Anne Johnson in 1969. He died in October 2023.
Source: Obituary in the Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon), December 17, 2023, page C8.
Extent
2.05 Cubic Feet (1 record carton, 2 legal document cases)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Papers of Clifford W. Trow (1929-2023), an Oregon state senator and a professor at Oregon State University. The papers relate to Trow's career as a state senator, and include correspondence and records relating to education legislation.
Arrangement
The original order of the materials at the time of donation to the Oregon Historical Society Research Library was retained.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Clifford W. Trow, April 1995 (Lib. Acc. 22294).
Processing Information
Collection was minimally processed in January 2025. Original file folders were retained.
Subject
- Title
- Guide to the Clifford W. Trow papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jeffrey A. Hayes
- Date
- 2025
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240
libreference@ohs.org