BERNARD A. CASSERLY:

An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscripts Collection

OVERVIEW


	Creator:	Casserly, Bernard A., creator.
	Title:	Bernard A. Casserly papers.
	Dates:	1937-2007.
	Language:	Materials in English.
	Abstract:	Correspondence, articles, speeches, subject files, trip files, a scrapbook, and miscellany of Bernard Casserly, Minnesota-based Roman Catholic journalist, editor and commentator.
	Quantity:	4.1 cubic feet (4 boxes and 1 volume in partial box).
	Location:	See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Bernard A. Casserly joined the Merchant Marine in 1942 after graduating from the University of Minnesota. He worked for the editorial department of the St. Paul Pioneer Press before joining the U.S. Merchant Marine as a public relations officer. In March of 1946, Casserly became the Regional Information Officer of the War Shipping Administration's training organization for the West Coast.

Casserly worked as a reporter for the Minneapolis Star and Minneapolis Tribune newspapers in the late 1940s and into the 1950s, resigning in September 1957 to become editor of the Catholic Bulletin, a weekly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. He retired from that position in August 1982, and subsequently established Bernard Casserly Co., Church Communications Consultants, and developed a weekly column for Catholic diocesan newspapers, targeted at readers aged 65 and older, known as "Love--65." The column was published into the 2000s, and was syndicated through Alt Publishing Co., Green Bay, Wisconsin. By the late 1980s and continuing into the 2000s Casserly also wrote a column on senior citizens' concerns for Columbia, the magazine of the Knights of Columbus. For many years Casserly was a popular interpreter of conservative Roman Catholicism to both Catholic and non-Catholic audiences, and was also known for leadership on ecumenical matters.

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SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The papers document Casserly's World War II and post-war service as a public relations officer for the U.S. Merchant Marine (1942-1947); his years as a staff writer for the Minneapolis Star (1947-1957); his editorship of the Catholic Bulletin; his subsequent career as a syndicated columnist (1982-2004); and his wide circle of friends and acquaintances both within and outside of the Catholic community.

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Casserly, Bernard A. Bernard A Casserly papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 16,298; 16,889

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, July 2014

Catalog ID number: 990073574210104294

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION


Location	Box
153.I.13.8F	1	Personal/biographical file.


		Letters, 1937-1958, 1965-1985. 17 folders.
			Letters from family and friends; the majority were written while Casserly was in service and talk of military as well as personal matters, make occasional references to Casserly's newspaper work, his marriage to Dorothy Townsend (1951), and the birth of their daughter Kathleen (1952).


Location	Box
153.I.13.11B	4	Correspondence, 1981-2007.
			Arranged by surname; includes letters to Casserly from his wide circle of Catholic and lay friends, correspondents, and fellow journalists. Many report on personal and family matters, but many others comment on church issues, public affairs, local politics, and Casserly's writings.
			[0.2 cubic feet empty, letter size]


Location	Box
153.I.13.8F	1	Correspondence, Minneapolis Star, 1947-1957. 2 folders.
			Letters to and from Casserly, primarily regarding his articles, contacts, and other activities as a Minneapolis Star and Minneapolis Tribune reporter, especially concerning education issues, the Minneapolis public schools, and metropolitan affairs.


		Nieman Fellowship application, March 1954.


		Maritime Commission articles, circa 1944.
			Articles by Casserly and others, along with background material, about the U.S. Merchant Marine's World War II activities, especially the rescue of a disabled French destroyer by the American tanker Cedar Mills.


		Articles by Bernard Casserly, undated and 1946-1956. 2 folders.
			Concern maritime war work, war brides, and Minneapolis community affairs.


Location	Box
153.I.13.9B	2	Catholic Bulletin:
			Correspondence, 1961-1965. 7 folders.
			Readership survey, 1979-1980.
			Awards, 1972-1980.
			Valedictory, August 18, 1982.


		Church work, 1949-1957. 4 folders.
			Correspondence, circulars, and pamphlets on the National Newman Club Federation's decent literature campaign (1949-1950) and its project to prepare brochures for college students on basic Catholic doctrine (1950); on activities of the Guild of St. Francis De Sales (Twin Cities Chapter), of which Casserly was president in 1952-1954; and on Casserly's coverage of the International Anglican Congress in Minneapolis (1954) and of the National Catholic Conference on Family Life in (St. Paul, March 1955).


		Marian Movement, 1984-2000.


		Publicly-funded abortions, 1977-1978. 2 folders.
			Includes correspondence, court documents, news articles, letters, memoranda, and related materials pertaining to the public disclosure of the names of doctors providing publicly-funded abortions.


Union files:
	Correspondence and miscellany, 1949-1956. 2 folders.
		Regarding Casserly's participation in the organizational and lobbying activities of the Hennepin County CIO Council as a representative of the Newspaper Guild of the Twin Cities, and as the Guild's president in 1952.
	Newspaper Guild, 1942-1957. 4 folders.
		Includes issues of The Kept Press, the official Gridiron Dinner publication, and a brief biography of Casserly (1952).


		Minneapolis Citizens Committee on Public Education, 1955.
			Includes a history of the 1934 Minneapolis truck drivers strike.


		Trip files:
			Include correspondence, background information, notes, schedules and itineraries, programs, photographs, news articles, and similar material.
			Egypt trip [?], circa 1948. 1 volume.
			Israel trip, February-March 1974.
			White House briefings, October 26, 1979.
			38th Convention of Serra International (Rio de Janeiro), June 1980.
			Oberammergau Passion Play, 1980. 2 folders.
			Middle East trip, November 1982.
			Bishop's Extraordinary Synod, Rome, November 1985. 2 folders.
			Rome, 1986, 1996.
			Pope John Paul II visit to United States, September 1987.


Location	Box
153.I.13.10F	3	Columns and articles:
			"Love--65" column:
				Promotion, 1983-1989.
				Sales, 1983-1986.
				Column, 1995-2001. 3 folders.
			Columbia column:
				"The Time of Our Lives," 1988-February 2004. 7 folders.
					Casserly's column on senior citizens' concerns written for Columbia, the magazine of the Knights of Columbus.
				Letters, 1989-2003. 7 folders.
					Letters to Casserly from readers of his column, with an occasional copy of Casserly's answer.
			William Mitchell College of Law articles, 1983-1984.
				Concerns essays to be written by Casserly on a sexual harassment case at the college.
			Ascension article: Monsignor John Dunphy, circa 1990.
				Notes for and text of Casserly's article on Msgr. Dunphy, long-time pastor of Ascension Church, Minneapolis.


		Speeches, 1950s-2002. 10 folders.


Location
142.C.19.5		Minnesota Merchant Marine--Viking Chapter (Minneapolis) scrapbook, 1942-1946. 1 volume in partial box.

CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:: Catholics -- Minnesota.; Journalists -- Minnesota.; Merchant marine -- United States.; World War, 1939-1945.

Document Types:: Photographs.; Scrapbooks.

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BERNARD A. CASSERLY:

OVERVIEW

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

CATALOG HEADINGS