Howard L. Brown Papers, 1890-1986

Manuscript Collection No. 784

• Biographical Sketch
• Scope and Content
• Container List

Biographical Sketch

Howard L. Brown was born February 14, 1904, in Bloomfield Nebraska. Howard left Nebraska at an early age due to his mother’s untimely death and subsequent placement in an orphanage. Eager to make his way in the world, Brown set off for Wyoming. En route to his destination, he was detoured and found himself in Osawatomie, Kansas. Taking a liking to the community, Mr. Brown decided to stay in Osawatomie and call it home. During those early years he took on many jobs, working as a short-order cook and car salesman to name a few. Later, Mr. Brown became employed with the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company. He working his way through the ranks, becoming a brakeman and conductor.

Working in various capacities for the railroad, Mr. Brown had an acquired knowledge of railroad operations and personnel at the local level. His membership and involvement with the Brotherhood of Railroad Conductors and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen on the regional and national levels enhanced his own understanding of labor-management relations in the following areas: contract negotiations, labor legislation, federal mandates, and strike histories. His service and representation on various committees and councils within the Brotherhood organizations provided Mr. Brown with the opportunity to acquire key documents and textual records. After his retirement, Mr. Brown became active in matters concerning railroad retirement, blocking the development of a coal slurry pipeline in Kansas. He also served on the Kansas Advisory Council on Aging, addressing issues relating to senior citizens.

The overall size and worth of this collection is reflected by the collector’s dedication and commitment toward preserving railroad and labor history. Mr. Brown went to extraordinary lengths in acquiring these documents and organizational records. For this reason the Brown Collection represents a major resource. This collection will provide special insights and information to the people of Kansas for many years to come.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of seven major subgroups. There are many smaller subgroups within the collection consisting of numerous topics. The collection is housed in twenty-six boxes with around 15 cubic feet of materials. The collection is divided into the following areas:

The Brotherhood of Railroad Conductors and Brakemen Local #137

Records in this group range from 1890 through 1969. Included are: financial records, minutes of meetings, attendance records, books on insurance and death benefits, constitutional oaths, seniority listings, union dues records, and reinstatement requests.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Local #65

Records in this subgroup range from 1890 through 1969. Included are: financial records, treasurer’s semi-annual reports, dues statements, arbitration reports and proceedings, minutes of meetings, attendance records, a guest register, insurance and death benefit records, a history file, and other pertinent materials.

Railroad History Kept by H. L. Brown Subgroup

Records in this group include: newspaper files consisting of railroad histories, articles on
Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri; articles on union activities and strikes; railroad histories of landmarks from Osawatomie, Kansas, and derailments. Also included are: histories of short lines in Kansas and throughout the Middle West, listings of abandoned railroad lines, information and history of Amtrak, legislative efforts to block the formation and construction of a coal slurry pipeline through Kansas in 1981.

Missouri Pacific Railroad

This is a small unit consisting of correspondence between the two unions and the company. Other information included in this section include, a small history file on the Missouri Pacific railroad written by Howard L. Brown, a pamphlet file containing information about the railroad, time reports for daily runs of trains through Osawatomie, payroll information and other business materials.

Union and Personnel Records Kept by Howard L. Brown

This subgroup includes: letters received, letters sent, personal payroll information including pay stubs, 2704 time keeping reports, private records compiled by Mr. Brown on each member in locals #65 & 137, consisting of names, Social Security numbers, years of service, anniversary dates, and death information in some cases. These records are an excellent source for genealogical materials for family who had relatives working for the Missouri Pacific railroad.

Because of the classified nature of these materials certain restrictions apply toward use and accessing. Social Security Numbers of Living Persons Cannot Be Released Under federal law, 5 U. S. C. 552a.

Strike and Arbitration Records

This subgroup consists of the following materials: information on the 1922 national railroad strike; strike report on the 1948 Morrell strike in Topeka, Kansas; statements and
records from the 1949 Missouri Pacific strike; arbitration and adjustment reports dating from the 1950s and 1960s.

Kansas Advisory Council on Aging Subgroup

Records in this group reflect Howard Brown’s involvement as a committee member from 1984 through 1986.

The Span of the H. L. Brown Collection

In the later years of his life, Howard Brown did extensive lobbing for both railroad and union causes. He actively participated in focus and retired railroad groups. This is reflected in the body of materials within the collection. Mr. Brown engaged himself deeply with the affairs of Brotherhood lodges #137 and #65. The materials within the collection span eight decades. However, the bulk of the collection comes from the 1950s and 1960s. There are many gaps in the earlier years especially concerning certain records. Nevertheless, meeting minutes and certain records run fairly consistently throughout the collection. The later records in the collection also reflect the consolidation and mergers of the unions in 1969. At this juncture the unions were combined into the United Transportation Union, keeping their original banners but centralized under one umbrella.

The collection is arranged into subgroups according to the functional similarity of the papers. The original box numbers have been retained. To accommodate the subgroup arrangement many boxes will proceed in a non-sequential order.

Howard L. Brown Manuscript Collection

Brotherhood of Railroad Conductors and Brakemen Subgroup