Summary Information
Frank R. Neu Papers
1946-1972
U.S. Mss 163AF
1.2 c.f. (3 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of a public relations director for the American Dairy Association, consisting of biographical material, speeches, publications issued by the ADA, and articles for non-ADA publications.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0163af ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Frank R. Neu, journalist, editor and public relations director, was born December 20, 1920, at Fort Dodge, Iowa. After education in schools in Fort Snelling and St. Paul, Minnesota, Neu received a B.A. degree in sociology from the University of Chicago in 1941.
As a result of an interest in newspaper journalism that dated from his high school years, Neu began his career shortly after graduation from college; during the early 1940's he was on the staff of the Monroe County Democrat and the Sparta Herald, both in Sparta, Wisconsin. In 1945 Neu published a magazine, Country Correspondent, (later known as the Country Newsletter). The following year he became associate editor of the Courier Wedge of Durand, Wisconsin.
In 1947 Neu purchased the Glenwood City (Wisc.) Tribune. During the five years that he edited this paper, Neu became one of Wisconsin's best known rural journalists. He was particularly well known for his column “Dairy Report” and for a booklet published in 1952 entitled Co-operatives: Agriculture's Best Bet.
Because of his support of the dairy industry, in 1952 the Wisconsin division of the American Dairy Association (ADA) hired Neu as director of public relations. In 1953 he accepted a similar position in the ADA's national office in Chicago, a post which he continued to hold until his death in 1968.
Scope and Content Note
The Frank R. Neu Papers, 1946-1972 (primarily 1954-1968), is a small collection comprised of biographical information and materials relating to his newspaper career and association with the ADA as public relations director.
The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL, 1920-1972, consists of one folder which includes miscellaneous clippings and publicity materials relating to various aspects of Neu's career. It also contains a biographical sketch and index (calendar) prepared by J. Carroll Bateman prior to the donation of the papers to the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Unfortunately, the collection affords only sketchy documentation of Neu's career as a country newspaperman. Among the NEWSPAPER MATERIAL is one issue of Country Correspondent (January, 1946), a magazine concerned with improving the quality of rural journalism. The collection also includes the original (1952) edition and a revised version (1953) of Co-operatives: Agriculture's Best Bet, together with several editorials and comments about the publication.
The AMERICAN DAIRY ASSOCIATION MATERIAL, 1954-1968, divides into five categories: speeches, external articles and manuscripts, ADA publications, in-house material, and reference material. The speeches, 1959-1968, were presented to various national dairy and public relations and advertising audiences including several chapters of the Public Relations Society of America. The researcher will find that the August 4, 1966 speech which appeared in Bateman's index is missing from the collection.
The file of external articles and manuscripts which deals entirely with the concerns of the dairy industry, consists of materials prepared for non-ADA publications. The authorship is not explicitly stated in all cases, but Bateman's index suggests that all articles and manuscripts in the file were written or at least edited by Neu. Of special interest is a series of manuscripts written for Hoard's Dairyman.
Material Neu wrote and/or edited for ADA publications make up the bulk of the collection. These include Dairy Promotion Topics, a quarterly report; PR Tips for Dairymen, a monthly newsletter, and For Your Information, a weekly mimeographed bulletin. Also included are Dairy Digest, a monthly bulletin later entitled Dairy Newsletter and Dairy Promotion Reporter. The Moo News, published monthly for employees of the ADA and state affiliates, and The Dairy Reporter, a quarterly, were partially written by Neu. The collection also includes several informational advertisements and a file of occasional publications which Neu helped to prepare.
The in-house material contains inter-office memoranda and a membership communications manual. The reference material consists of a preliminary report on the American dairy farmer and the ADA compiled by the department of rural sociology at the University of Missouri.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Mrs. Frank Neu, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, May 1, 1972. Accession Number: MCHC72-040
Processed by M. Goodnetter and Carolyn J. Mattern, May 1977.
Contents List
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Biographical Material, 1920-1972
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Newspaper Career Material
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Country Correspondent, 1946
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Co-operatives: Agriculture's Best Bet, 1952, 1953
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American Dairy Association Material
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Box
1
Folder
3-6
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Speeches, 1959-1968
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Box
1
Folder
7
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External Articles and Manuscripts, 1954-1965
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ADA Publications,
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Dairy Promotion Topics,
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Box
1
Folder
8
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1958-1961
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Box
2
Folder
1
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1962-1967
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Box
2
Folder
2
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PR Tips for Dairymen, 1962-1967
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Box
2
Folder
3
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For Your Information, 1961-1966
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Dairy Digest, 1958
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Dairy Newsletter, 1958
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Dairy Promotion Reporter, 1958
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Box
2
Folder
5
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The Moo News, 1958-1960
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Box
2
Folder
6
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Dairy Reporter, 1961-1962
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Box
2
Folder
7
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Advertisements, circa 1960
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Box
2
Folder
8-9
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Miscellany
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Box
2
Folder
10-11
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In-house Material,
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Box
3
Folder
1
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Reference Material, 1964
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