Larry Allyn Conrad Papers, 1947-1993

Larry Allyn Conrad, civic and political leader, was born in Laconia, Indiana in 1935, to Ruby Rooksby Conrad and Marshall Conrad. He graduated from Ball State University and married Mary Lou Hoover in 1957. He received an LL.B from Indiana University- Indianapolis School of Law in 1961. His political career began in 1962, when he successfully managed Birch Bayh's campaign for the United States Senate. Bayh subsequently hired Conrad first as his legislative assistant and later as Chief Counsel of the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments. Conrad is considered the chief architect of the 25^th Amendment. In 1969 Conrad moved back to Indiana, and campaigned successfully for the office of Secretary of State, a position he held from 1970 to 1978. Conrad campaigned twice, unsuccessfully, in Indiana's gubernatorial race. In 1972, he lost the Democratic nomination in the primary to former governor Matt Welsh. In 1976, he won the nomination but lost the race to Republican incumbent Otis "Doc" Bowen. In 1979 Conrad entered private practice with Raymond Hafsten, specializing in governmental affairs. In 1983 he became Vice-President of Corporate Affairs for Melvin Simon and Associates, Indianapolis based shopping center developers. Conrad promoted Indianapolis tirelessly. He planned the opening ceremonies for the National Sports Festival in 1982, and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Tenth Pan American Games in 1987. In addition, he was involved in a variety of civic and philanthropic endeavors. Conrad left the Simons in 1989 to form a political consulting firm, The Conrad Group. He died in Lyon, France, the following year.

Conrad's papers consist mainly of scrapbooks, political campaign files and memorabilia, business files, files on his civic and philanthropic endeavors, and miscellaneous personal information. Also included are: reel to reel films, audio and video tapes, and limited information from his time spent working for Birch Bayh.

ACCESS

This collection is open to the public without restriction. The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

PREFERRED CITATION

Cite as: Larry Allyn Conrad Papers, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, University Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

ACQUISITION

Presented by Mary Lou Conrad, Indianapolis, Indiana, November 28, 1996.
Processed by Kirsten Meisenheimer, August 1997.

HISTORICAL NOTE

Larry Allyn Conrad (1935-1990), civic and political leader, was born in Laconia, Indiana. Conrad graduated from Ball State University and married Mary Lou Hoover in 1957. He received an LL. B. from the law school at Indiana University- Indianapolis in 1961.

Conrad's political career began when he managed Birch Bayh's successful campaign for the United States Senate in 1962. Bayh subsequently appointed Conrad his legislative assistant and later the Chief Counsel to the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments. Conrad is now considered the chief architect of the 25^th Amendment on presidential disability and succession.

Conrad returned to Indiana in 1969. He campaigned successfully for the office of Secretary of State the following year, a position he held from 1970 to 1978. In 1972, Conrad ran for the Democratic nomination for governor, but lost in the primary to former governor Matthew Welsh.

In 1973, Conrad was the subject of intense scrutiny when the Master Plan, a document apparently written to help him attain the governorship, surfaced. The Master Plan contained offensive comments on most major figures in Indiana's Democratic Party. At the same time, Conrad was accused of using state resources in his political work. He consistently denied any previous knowledge of the Master Plan and any misappropriation of state materials. He reimbursed the state to the tune of seven thousand dollars to prove his good intentions.

Conrad ran for Secretary of State again in 1974. Although many in the Democratic Party felt that the recent scandal would damage the ticket, Conrad was re-elected. In 1976, Conrad made his second attempt for the governorship. He won the primary but lost the battle against Republican incumbent Otis "Doc" Bowen.

In 1979, Conrad entered private practice with Raymond Hafsten, specializing in governmental affairs. In 1983, he joined the firm of Melvin Simon and Associates, an Indianapolis based shopping center developer, as Vice-President of Corporate Affairs. Conrad responded to political and charitable appeals for the Simons, and helped with fundraising and event planning. He was also involved in planning for Circle Centre Mall and White River State Park, both projects of Melvin Simon and Associates. In 1989 Conrad left the Simons to form The Conrad Group, a political consulting group.

Conrad was involved personally as well as professionally in many civic activities and philanthropic endeavors. He played a major role in the promotion and renewal of Indianapolis, and was responsible for planning the opening ceremonies for the 1982 National Sports Festival. In 1987, Conrad was responsible for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Tenth Pan American Games. He died in Lyon, France, in 1990, while attending a conference sponsored by Partners of Livable Places.

REFERENCES

Scheele, Raymond H. Larry Conrad of Indiana: A Biography. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.

RELATED MATERIALS

Bayh, Birch. One Heartbeat Away; Presidential Disability and Succession. Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, 1968. (IUPUI University Library call number: JK609.B39)

(According to Raymond Scheele, Conrad drafted sections of this book and edited the manuscript, which details the story of the 25^th Amendment.)

Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments. Presidential Inability and Vacancies in the Office of Vice President: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments of the Committee on the Judiciary. 88^th Cong., 2^nd Sess., 22-23 January, 24, 25,28 February, 5 March 1964. (Government documents containing the hearing transcripts for the 25^th Amendment.)

Records relating to Conrad's term as Secretary of State can be found at the Indiana State Archives, Commission on Public Records, Room 117, State Library Building, 140 N. Senate Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204, Telephone (317) 232-3660.

Pan American Games Records, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives, University Library, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

Conrad's papers consist mainly of scrapbooks, political campaign files and memorabilia, business files, files on his civic and philanthropic endeavors, and miscellaneous personal information. Also included are reel to reel films, audio and video tapes, and limited information from his time spent working for Birch Bayh.

The majority of the collection is focused on Conrad's activities as a candidate and fund raiser for the Democratic Party, and as a civic and community leader. His scrapbooks and political campaign files focus on his career as an Indiana politician and state official. Papers relating to his civic and philanthropic endeavors show his involvement and commitment to the community. Private business papers reveal his activities in planning fund raisers with Herbert and Diane Meyer Simon, and directing contributions for Melvin Simon and Associates.

There are eight series: Birch Bayh, Political, Business, Civic, Personal, Scrapbooks, Photographs, and Audio.

Birch Bayh files (1962-1973) include speeches, notes, an outline and preface for a proposed book on the 25^th amendment, correspondence, memorabilia, clippings, and the transcript of a 1969 oral history interview with Conrad.

Political campaign files (1969-1978) are arranged into subject files, county files, press releases, and memorabilia. Subject files, arranged alphabetically, generally follow Conrad's original organizational scheme, except that his labor files(Labor Day, Collective Bargaining, OSHA, Machinists, Pensions, and UAW) have been combined into a general Labor file, and loose papers have been interfiled into his system as appropriate. County files are arranged alphabetically, following Conrad's original organizational scheme. Subject and county files contain memos, correspondence, clippings, publicity materials, and press releases. Press releases (1970-1976, bulk 1973 and 1976) are also filed separately, by year and date, and include two volumes of collected press releases from 1976. Memorabilia files include stickers, brochures, fliers, newsletters, buttons, and plans for publicity campaigns.

Business files (1979-1990) are arranged into records from Conrad and Hafsten(1979-1983), Melvin Simon and Associates(1983-1989) and The Conrad Group(1989-1990). The Conrad and Hafsten records contain correspondence, tax returns, plans for political fundraising events, and memos on monies raised for the Carter/Mondale presidential ticket in 1980. The Melvin Simon and Associates records include clippings, articles, correspondence, memos, speeches, speech notes, and papers relating to planning Circle Centre Mall, White River State Park, and political, civic, and charitable events. The Conrad Group's files contain correspondence and organizational documents.

Civic files (1977-1990) are arranged into Indianapolis Press Club files, National Sports Festival files, files on the Tenth Pan American Games, and general files. Indianapolis Press Club files are primarily scripts from the press club's annual Gridiron Dinners, but also include invitations, programs, and news coverage of the event from 1977, 1980, 1982-1983, and 1985-1987. Also included are organizational documents, correspondence, and memos relating to the club. National Sports Festival files contain correspondence, memos, minutes and agendas of the Ceremonies Committee, the plan for the Opening Ceremonies, and publications promoting the festival. Files on the Tenth Pan American Games include correspondence, photocopied material from the organizing committee's controversial visit to Cuba, and miscellaneous plans and materials from the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. General files include correspondence, memos, programs, clippings, and organizational documents from civic and nonprofit groups associated with Conrad.

Personal files (1947-1993) include miscellaneous biographical information, legal documents, plans and scripts for birthday parties held by and for Conrad, personal correspondence(primarily from 1984-1986), photocopied correspondence and clippings(primarily from 1988, but including 1986 and 1987), and eulogies and memorials to Conrad.

Scrapbooks are arranged by date and occasionally by topic. The scrapbooks contain primarily news clippings, some correspondence and mementoes of Conrad's political and public life; however, some do contain news clippings of family activities and information, greeting cards and personal mementoes. Each scrapbook has a slip of paper indicating the years covered. The bulk of the scrapbooks cover the 1970's.

Photographs(1935-1990) include professional, political, and personal photographs of Conrad, family members, business and political associates.

Audio tapes (1962-1975) include Inauguration Ceremonies of Conrad as Secretary of State, the Conrad gubernatorial candidacy announcement and the Birch Bayh candidacy jingle for which Mary Lou Conrad wrote the lyrics.

SERIES LIST