Clarence Joseph Enzler Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS0265

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The papers contain speeches, statements, testimonies, reports, publications, articles, press releases, interviews, itineraries, and correspondence written on behalf of Secretaries of Agriculture, Under Secretaries of Agriculture, Assistant Secretaries of Agriculture, Deputy Assistant Secretaries of Agriculture, U.S. Presidents, Members of Congress, federal employees (mostly USDA), and private citizens organized into five series:

Series I: Secretaries of Agriculture Series II: Under Secretaries of Agriculture Series III: Assistant Secretaries of Agriculture Series IV: Deputy Assistant Secretaries of Agriculture Series V: Miscellaneous While the bulk of the collection pertains to Secretaries of Agriculture, some well-known figures are represented:

President Harry Truman

President Dwight Eisenhower

President John Kennedy

President Lyndon Johnson

President Richard Nixon

Vice President Hubert Humphrey

Senator Robert Kennedy

Governor Adlai Stevenson

Special Assistant George McGovern

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

Mr. Billy Sol Estes

The arrangement is by hierarchy of position within the USDA and the name of the individual for whom Enzler wrote, then chronologically by year.

Notes:

The term “speeches” is used to describe remarks, addresses, talks, and transcripts. Statements and testimonies tend to be to the U.S. Congress but statements are to the press and non-governmental organizations as well.

While the majority of the material is directly related to the individual in the subseries, there may be some materials mixed in that pertain to Presidents, Congressional staff, USDA staff, and/or private citizens of the time period.

Cross fire notes refers to the notes compiled by Ezra Taft Benson for his book Cross Fire: The Eight Years with Eisenhower which was published in 1962.

Dates

Creation: 1936-1972

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Biographical Sketch

Clarence Joseph Enzler (1910-1976), an accomplished speech-writer and speaker, worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 1937 to 1972, leaving the department briefly from 1943 to 1945 to serve as the feature editor at the National Catholic Welfare Conference News Service. During his USDA career, he worked in the Resettlement Administration, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, the Office of Information, and the Office of the Secretary. He assisted the Secretaries of Agriculture and other top USDA officials in the preparation of speeches, magazine articles, congressional testimonies, annual reports, and other communications. He prepared speeches for eight Secretaries of Agriculture. A prolific author, he published articles in many national magazines, and wrote a spiritual and philosophical book titled My Other Self.

He was a native of Dubuque, Iowa and a graduate of Columbia College (now Loras College). Enzler received a Ph.D. in sociology from Catholic University. Over the first 8 years after college, he held 13 different jobs. Due to a severe stutter, he found speaking extremely difficult. While speaking publicly was a challenge, he recognized his gift for speech writing and went onto a successful 30 year plus career at USDA. Later in life, to overcome his stutter, he joined Toastmasters and went on to win second place in the Toastmasters Worldwide International.

Total Size of Collection

31 letter_document_box

2 legal_document_box

1 half_legal_document_box

16.5 Linear Feet (34 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Content Description

The Clarence Joseph Enzler Papers include speeches and testimonies of former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture, including Henry A. Wallace, Claude R. Wickard, Clinton Anderson, Charles Brannan, Ezra Taft Benson, Orville L. Freeman, and Clifford Hardin. There are also speeches and testimonies of Assistant Secretaries Ervin L. Peterson, J. Earl Coke, John P. Duncan, Jr., George L. Mehren, Trienah Meyers, Joseph M. Robertson, and Under-secretaries Norris Dodd, J. Phil Campbell, and John A. Schnittker. Also included are miscellaneous speeches of U.S. presidents and congressional officials, and press releases.

Bibliography

“‘Doc’ Enzler’s Book Seen as New Classic.” Ag Reporter 11, no. 7 (April 1959): 1 and 8.

“Dr. Clarence J. Enzler, 66, Catholic Deacon, USDA Aide.” Washington Post, November 4, 1976.

“Enzler Retires.” Ag Reporter 24, no. 7 (July 1972).

“Enzler Runner-Up.” Ag Reporter 19, no. 9 (September 1967): 5.

Flory, Robert M. “Enzler Enters Speech Finals.” Ag Reporter 17, no. 11 (November 1965): 1 and 7.