By Kylie Hewitt and Sarah Gard
Title: Richard D. and Janet Lee Rees Collection of 1976 Republican National Convention Material, 1976-1981
Predominant Dates:1976
ID: 01/032
Extent: 4.0 Boxes
Arrangement: The collection is separated into two series: 1976 Convention and 1981 Capitol Tour. Documents were organized chronologically within their appropriate series. During processing objects were removed from the papers and housed according to format and size.
Date Acquired: 11/14/2016
The bulk of the Richard D. and Janet Lee Rees Collection consists of objects and documents from the 1976 Republican National Convention held in Kansas City, Missouri. The documents include newsletters, transcriptions, pamphlets, press releases, schedules, and reporter notebooks. Buttons and bumper stickers make up the majority of the memorabilia, however, some ephemera like streamers and balloons are also present in the collection. Most items reflect candidates from the Republican party - Gerald Ford, Bob Dole, Ronald Reagan - although some memorabilia from Democratic nominees Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale is present.
A small portion of the collection includes documents from 1981, when the Reeses traveled to Washington, D.C., and contacted Senator Dole’s office for a tour of the Capitol.
President Gerald Ford and Senator Bob Dole were declared the Republican President and Vice President nominees at the 1976 Republican National Convention, held at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, August 16 - 19. Wanting to see what the convention had been like, Richard and Janet Rees snuck into the arena after it was over but before cleanup had begun. They collected whatever seemed interesting from the floor and wastebaskets, and they kept the documents and memorabilia at their home for decades.
During the summer of 2016, the Kansas City Public Library and the Dole Institute partnered on an exhibit about the 1976 convention, which connected Richard Rees and the Dole Archives. Some items from this collection were displayed during the exhibition. In November 2016, Mr. Rees donated the collection to the Dole Archives in honor of his late wife, Janet.
Repository: Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections
Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions: Copyright restrictions apply in different ways to different kinds of materials. Some of the documents and other historical materials in the Dole Archive are in the public domain and may be reproduced and used in any way. However, there are other materials that carry a copyright interest that must be used according to the provisions of Title 17 of the U.S. Code. The Dole Archive issues a warning concerning copyright restrictions to every researcher who requests copies of documents. Although the copyright law is under constant redefinition in the courts, it is ultimately the responsibility of the researcher to properly use copyrighted materials.
