The Coakley papers are a small collection of constituent correspondence dating from the 1935, 1937, and 1939 legislative sessions. The papers are filed chronologically by year and alphabetically by name thereunder. In addition, there is a folder of campaign material from Coakley's 1938 reelection campaign and a folder of congratulatory letters pertaining to his appointment as Heil's top aide in 1940. The majority of the correspondence comes from Rock County businessmen and industrialists, with opposition to tax increases and union organizing legislation being the most frequent topic. Prominent correspondents include Governor Philip La Follette and George Parker, but there are very few letters from other politicians or members of the Legislature.
Because the collection consisted of a large quantity of deteriorating, high-acid paper, the entire collection was microfilmed and the originals destroyed.
The Julius Heil Papers held by the Historical Society contain further references to Coakley's tenure as the governor's private secretary, as well as a number of the speeches which he wrote and delivered in behalf of Heil.
