Gwynne P. Smith papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0528

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Gwynne P. Smith papers document the civic activities and legislative career of a woman committed to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life in Delaware. Consisting of 17.5 linear feet, her papers include logs, notes, correspondence, campaign records, voter registration lists, news clippings, state documents, draft legislation, legislative issue files, newsletters, brochures, realia, photographs, audio-visual materials and oversized maps.

The collection is arranged in nine series: I. Daily logs, II. Correspondence, III. Campaing materials, IV. Delaware General Assembly and political files, V. Legislation and issue files, VI. Activism and community involvement, VII. Press clippings, VIII. Memorabilia, and IX. Maps.

Notable records include Smith's "phone logs" of issue notes and calling networks that document both the grass roots organization behind Delaware Citizens for Clean Air and other groups in the early 1970s and her legislative career; the Green Acres Newsletter which also reflect community communication on social as well as civic issues; clipping files from Delaware newspapers; collected reports and other research materials related to clean air, water resources, Delaware's coast, and land use.

A good amount of the material relates to the Bottle Bill, which Mrs. Smith sponsored, and the Coastal Zone Act, which she successfully defended many times. She worked with Russ Peterson on many issues and her files include correspondence with other Delaware politicians and leaders. Her political files include not only her campaign materials, but papers related to Republican Party leadership in the state and elected women officials.

The collection as a whole is significant in documenting the story of a Delaware woman whose participation in suburban life and community organizations sequed into political leadership as she championed environmental stewardship through state legislation. Gwynne Smith's story mirrors the emergence of American women in politics and the growth of the environmental movement in the late 1960s-1970s. The partnership of grass roots environmental groups with state government led to Smith's co-authorship, with other citizen volunteers, Delaware's Environmental Protection Act and the landmark Coastal Zone Act, which served as a model for national environmental legislation.

Dates

Creation: 1958-2002
Creation: Majority of material found within 1968-1990

Creator

Smith, Gwynne P. (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The bulk of the collection is open for research.

Access to Series III, Folders 60 and 65 is restricted. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://library.udel.edu/spec/askspec/ for assistance.

Conditions Governing Use

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec

Biographical / Historical

Gwynne Prosser Smith was born on June 6, 1924, to George and Gertrude Prosser in North Carolina. As a child, her family did a lot of camping, fishing and hiking, and she later worked as a junior counselor for YWCA summer day camps. These experiences in her youth started her life-long passion for the environment. In 1947, she married Dewey H. Smith, Jr, her husband for 63 years. They moved to Chicago, where Dewey Smith attended the University of Chicago, earning a doctorate in organic chemistry, and Gwynne Smith attended Sherwood Music School. In 1950, the Smiths moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where Dewey Smith found work as a research chemist.

After arriving in Delaware, Mrs. Smith began getting involved in her suburban neighborhood and community. In Newark, she helped establish the Brookside Preschool in 1953 and became coordinator of the women’s emergency shelter groups for New Castle County in 1955 while working in Brookside Civil Defense. In 1958, when her family moved to Green Acres, a neighborhood in north Wilmington, she served on the Green Acres Civic Association and Green Acres Garden Club in 1958.

In the 1960s, Mrs. Smith’s environmental activism increased. From 1968-1973, she served on the State Board of the Delaware Federation of Garden Clubs as chair for environmental legislation. In 1969, she organized Delaware Citizens for Clean Air, serving as vice president and membership chair. Also in 1969, Mrs. Smith began a five-year tenure on the environmental committee of the League of Women Voters. She testified at numerous public hearings on clean air, coastal zone, and water resources, and helped consolidate support for the Coastal Zone Act, the Wetlands Act, the Delaware Environmental Protection Act, the Beachland Preservation Act, and other environmental legislation. With Tom Doherty, Mrs. Smith helped write the first piece of legislation in Delaware by citizen volunteers that was enacted into law, the Environmental Protection Act of 1970.

Mrs. Smith first entered politics in 1972, running for New Castle County Council, an election she lost. Two years later, she was elected a state representative to the Delaware General Assembly and served eight consecutive terms until 1990. While in office, Mrs. Smith served on the Governor's Select Committee on Energy Conservation, as chair of the House Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee, as a member of the Joint Sunset Committee (on Agency Review), and as co-chair of the State Advisory Committee on Water Resources Management. As co-chair of the House Ad-hoc Grant-in-Aid Committee, she began a review of the entire legislative grant process. Mrs. Smith worked to verify state land boundaries and got money appropriated for statewide updates of the Delaware Geological Survey topographical maps. She sponsored the Bottle Bill, Drought Emergency Powers, Efficiency Lighting Standards in Public Buildings, Preservation of Natural Areas, and the Delaware Food Bank, Leaking Underground Storage Tank Bill, Natural Areas and Non-Game Check-off Bill, handicapped permits for people 85 or older, and other bills.

Mrs. Smith served on the Sea Grant Board of the College of Marine Affairs at the University of Delaware and frequently lectured at the University on the Coastal Zone Act and other environmental matters. In 1987, she received a grant and served on the Task Force on Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), which produced recommendations for action in Delaware classrooms that were accepted and supported by the State School Board. Her final committee assignments in the House were on Finance and Human Resources.

Mrs. Smith announced her retirement in 1990. After retiring from politics, Mrs. Smith served as legislative liaison on the board of the State Federation of Women's Clubs and, in 1991, served three years as an appointed member of the New Castle County Board of Elections. Mrs. Smith died on December 2, 2010.

A Legacy from Delaware Women. Sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Girl Scout Council and the Women's Center of Delaware Technical and Community College and the University of Delaware. Middle Atlantic Press, 1987.Smith, Gwynne P. “Biography.” January, 2005.

Extent

17.5 linear foot (21 boxes )

3 VHS tape

1 audio cassette

73 oversize removal (Maps)

Additional Description

Abstract

Gwynne P. Smith (1924-2010) was a Republican politician and community activist who served as a state representative in the Delaware General Assembly from 1974 to 1990, representing Delaware’s 10th (1975-1982) and 7th (1983-1990) districts (Green Acres). The Gwynne P. Smith papers document the civic activities and legislative career of a woman committed to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life in Delaware. Consisting of 17.5 linear feet and oversized materials, her papers include logs, notes, correspondence, campaign records, voter registration lists, news clippings, state documents, draft legislation, legislative issue files, newsletters, brochures, realia, photographs, audio-visual materials and oversized maps.

Arrangement

Records in this collection were originally organized into rough topical areas, with little internal arrangement. Materials were processed “in place,” and during processing, all efforts were made to keep like-records together as they were initially received.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Gwynne P. Smith, March 2005

Related Collections in this Repository

MSS 0745, Russell W. Peterson papers

MSS 0798, University of Delaware Library collection of websites related to Delaware environmental policy. This web archive collection contains one or more websites relating to Smith's work.

Items from the collection appeared in the exhibition “Trail to the Voting Booth: An Exploration of Political Ephemera,” lauched online September 2020, University of Delaware – Morris Library. The exhibition can be viewed online at https://exhibitions.lib.udel.edu/trail-to-the-voting-booth.