Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Rockefeller, Laurance Spelman (1910-2004) and Smith, M. Frederik
- Extent:
- 14.12 Cubic Feet and 9 legal-size document boxes, 24 letter-size document boxes, 1 half-letter-size document box, and 1 tall legal document box (Boxes 1-35).
- Language:
- English .
Background
- Scope and Content:
Fred Smith's interest in conservation, outdoor recreation, and the environment predate his association with Laurance Rockefeller. Yet because of this interest and Mr. Smith's talent in public relations and politics, he often acted as Mr. Rockefeller's representative, and his involvement in numerous commissions, committees, conferences, and organizations is documented throughout these files.
The files also give an overview of the breadth of Laurance Rockefeller's conservation interests, stretching from Vermont in the northeast (Series 7) to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, (Series 10), and continuing west to Hawaii (Series 11).
- Biographical / Historical:
M. Frederik Smith was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on November 24, 1908. He attended the University of Michigan, the College of William and Mary, and the Dayton Art Institute.
Mr. Smith worked in public relations and advertising, served as publicity director for Wendell Willkie's pre-convention presidential campaign in 1940, served as assistant to Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. during World War II, and served as a staff representative of President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the Economic and International Monetary Conference at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944. He was a member of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission (ORRRC) from 1958 to 1962.
As a Senior Vice President of Prudential Insurance Company, Mr. Smith oversaw the building of the company's Northeastern Home Office – the Prudential Center – in Boston. In 1964, he joined Laurance Rockefeller's staff.
At various times, Mr. Smith also was a consultant to the chair of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a member of the Federal Power Commission's Task Force on Environmental Quality, chair of the State Park Commission for the City of New York, chair of the Staff Executive Committee of the Electric Utility Industry Task Force on Environment, and a panelist at the White House Conference on Natural Beauty.
He served several U.S. presidents, including Harry S. Truman, who appointed Mr. Smith chair of the public relations committee of the National Labor Management Conference; Dwight D. Eisenhower, who named him to the Recreation Resources Review Commission; Lyndon B. Johnson, who appointed him to the Citizens Advisory Committee on Outdoor Recreation and Natural Beauty; and Richard M. Nixon, who appointed him consultant to the Committee on Quality of the Environment.
Mr. Smith retired in 1991. He died on March 12, 1997.
- Acquisition information:
- The material in this collection represents several accessions of Fred Smith's files made to the Rockefeller Archive Center. The earliest accession, now Series 1 and 2, is undated and contains material that predates Fred Smith's employment with Laurance Rockefeller. The material in Series 3 through 14 was received in three separate accessions during 1998 and dates from the years of Mr. Smith's tenure as an associate of Mr. Rockefeller.
- Arrangement:
The material in this collection is divided into 14 series: Prudential Insurance Company, Northeastern Home Office; The Vibrane Corporation; Laurance S. Rockefeller – Biography; Laurance S. Rockefeller – Interests and Awards; Fred Smith – Miscellaneous Office Files; United Nations Development Corporation; Vermont Interests; State Park Commission, City of New York; Concessions Reform; Jackson Hole Interests; Hawaiian Civic Projects; Paul Maze Book; Princeton University; and Rockefeller Family. Original folder titles have been primarily maintained.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
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Open for research with select materials restricted as noted. Brittle or damaged items are available at the discretion of RAC. When requesting to view audiovisual material, please refer to the Title and the AV number (example: AV 1916). Researchers are asked to check the "Restrictions" note for each Title. If a Title does not currently have an access copy, please contact a RAC archivist for further instruction.
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
- CONTACT:
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