The Terry Musser papers relate entirely to Musser's service with the Wisconsin State Assembly. The papers are divided into six series, BILL FILES, SUBJECT FILES, CONSTITUENT SERVICES, PRESS AND PUBLICITY FILES, ELECTRONIC SUBJECT FILES, and DIGITAL IMAGES. With the exception of a few documents in the CONSTITUENT SERVICES and PRESS AND PUBLICITY series there are little or no papers from Musser's first term in office (1984-1986). Though Musser served on at least 19 committees (with at least six as chair or vice chairperson) in his 24 years as a member of the State Assembly, very few are actually represented in the collection. The vast majority of the papers relate to veterans affairs which was an issue of great personal interest to Musser.
The BILL FILES series consist of files relating to various Assembly Bills (AB), Senate Bills (SB) and Assembly Resolutions (AR) and Assembly Joint Resolutions (AJR). In addition to copies of the bills themselves, the files also contain notes, committee reports, and correspondence relating to each bill. Included in this series are files relating to the Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse (CHR) and Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB). The files are arranged by legislative session. Within the Legislative Session the files are arranged first alphabetically (Assembly Bills would proceed Senate Bills) and then numerically (Assembly bill 1 would proceed Assembly bill 2). Bill files are also identified by the bill number.
The CONSITUTENT SERIVCES series documents Musser's role in representing the interests and concerns of constituents and providing assistance to individuals with various problems. A Congressional Medal of Honor application for World War II veteran Garlin Connor, thank you letters to Musser, and applications for citations and congratulations are also found in this series. The thank you letters file includes letters from Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, Governor Tommy Thompson, and President George H. Bush. The series is arranged alphabetically.
The PRESS AND PUBLICITY series documents Musser's stance on legislation, as defined for the general public and constituents through various press materials, primarily newspaper clippings and speech files. Newspaper articles were a means for Musser to provide information regarding recently passed bills or state reports and how they affected constituents in his district. The bulk of the newspaper clippings date from the mid to late 1990s, although one file does contain photocopies of several articles from the 1960s detailing Musser's service in Vietnam. Another file contains an undated informational/biographical flier that was probably created for Musser’s first campaign for office in 1984. Other files in this series focus on Musser's speeches.
The SUBJECT FILES series is arranged alphabetically and consists of material relating to state legislation and miscellaneous subjects important to Musser. Significant portions of the series relate to veterans affairs but other key subjects relate to matters relevant to Musser's Assembly district, most notably Jackson County Correctional Facility and Fort McCoy. There are also several files regarding equitable child support, an issue that Musser supported through the cosponsoring of several bills in the 1990s. Files relating to Indian affairs also can be found in this series, including Indian gaming and tribal law enforcement.
The ELECTRONIC SUBJECT FILES series is a listing of files on two compact discs. The CDs contain approximately 2,616 files and date from 1991 to 2008. A cursory comparison between the electronic files and the paper files indicate that there is some overlap between the two. However it also appears that the electronic files provide a more complete set of records than the paper files. For example the CDs contain nearly every press release issued from Musser's office since 1991. The paper files contain press releases but they are scattered throughout the collection and do not appear complete. The electronic records also contain extensive constituent correspondence including casework files documenting Musser's attempts to assist constituents with various problems, and correspondence between Musser and individuals and Musser and agencies. The listing of these files is comprised of the main file headings and in some cases are listed two levels deep. It should be noted that each main file heading contains a number of loose files stored outside of any folder arrangement. For example the 2007-2008 heading on Disc 1 contains multiple loose files not associated with any other file groupings. The ELECTRONIC SUBJECT FILES series also contains a number of digital photographs of Representative Musser in various official scenes. These images are discussed in more detail in the DIGITAL IMAGES series. The ELECTRONIC SUBJECT FILES series has not been processed. For access to this portion of the collection please consult archives staff.
The DIGITAL IMAGES provide an illustration of Musser's activities in office. Images show Musser with constituents, at social gatherings, informal images of Musser in his office, images of Musser testifying before unnamed Wisconsin legislative committees, speaking as a committee member, and speaking on the floor of the assembly. The DIGITAL IMAGES series is currently not processed. For access to this portion of the collection please consult archives staff.
