Scope and Content Note
The papers of Richard Lee Strout (1898-1990) span the years 1900-1991, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950 to 1980. The papers are organized in the following series: Family Papers , Professional File , and Speeches and Writings File .
The Family Papers series includes correspondence among family members, chiefly Strout's letters to his parents. Two diaries record his trips to England, Ireland, and Scotland in the early 1920s. The notebooks contain expense records and miscellaneous memoranda. Strout's involvement with church, school, and military activities is well documented.
The Professional File series contains awards, correspondence, notes, and printed matter regarding Strout's career as a journalist. A section pertaining to his association with the Christian Science Monitor includes correspondence with heads of the paper's Washington bureau, Saville R. Davis and William H. Stringer. General correspondence contains responses to Strout's columns and letters with colleagues, chiefly James MacGregor Burns and E. B. White. The notebooks list the fees Strout received for his articles.
The Speeches and Writings File contains Strout's research material as well as texts of his speeches and writings. The research material includes newspaper clippings, printed matter, and notes. Of particular interest are Strout's notes on special occasions such as Franklin D. Roosevelt's last press conference. Along with the texts of Strout's speeches are related notes and printed matter. His writings include articles, autobiographical stories, poems, short stories, and papers written for school.