George F. Smith Papers

The George F. Smith Papers primarily dates from the 1930-1934 period when Smith was most active as the Reno Postmaster. The bulk of the papers consists of correspondence to and from Smith between 1930 and 1934. Smith's involvement in local politics is clearly revealed in a series of letters and reports he exchanged with Nevada's Senator Oddie and Representative in Congress Samuel S. Arentz, and to a lesser degree with fellow postmasters in California. In these letters and reports Smith gives frank assessments and advice on the local political situation in Reno and Nevada; he also advises Oddie on postal matters, as Oddie served as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads.

Smith also served as a conduit of information on the politics of the post office to other postmasters in Nevada and California, and to members of the executive committee of the National Association of Postmasters of the United States. Such exchanges reveal the great extent to which postmaster positions at that time were subject to the political winds of war: appointments were made on the basis of a candidate's political affiliations, and conversely, lost when Oddie (as chair of the Senate Committee) lost his bid for reelection in November, 1932. Oddie's influence in gaining benefits for Reno is clearly demonstrated in letters regarding the construction of a new Federal building in Reno. Prior to that time, no city of Reno's size had received a federal appropriation for building construction exceeding $80,000; Oddie ensured that Reno received a half million dollars for a structure designed by Frederick deLongchamps and completed in mid 1934.

The postal correspondence is complimented by a small folder of official reports and letters to the central Post Office administration in Washington D.C. The reports detail expenditures, the movement of the mails, and the number of local employees and their functions. There is also information on the campaign to increase postmaster salaries, an effort spearheaded by Senator Oddie.

Other materials in the collection include printed versions of bills and hearings instigated by Oddie or Nevada Senator Key Pittman; personal legal documents of Smith ranging from land transfers to court room testimony witnessed by Smith; and a training manual for the Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 565th Army Air Force, Reno (1944).