The Joseph Handlos Papers pertain almost entirely to his interest in the Wisconsin highway program and the U.S. Highway 45 Association. The Papers are arranged by type of document and consist of correspondence, speeches, Association records, and a highway information file.
Comprised almost entirely of incoming letters, most of the correspondence concerns Highway 45. The letters are from members of the Wisconsin Highway Commission and other government agencies, legislators, Michigan Highway Commissioner Charles M. Ziegler, the Wisconsin Citizens Public Expenditure Survey, and other officers of the U.S. Highway 45 Association. Typical subjects include the early location of the highway, plans for additional construction, the erection of signs, and traffic counts. Arrangement is chronological, 1929-1967, 1972. The 1972 letter is from Handlos, written in response to a Historical Society request for biographical information.
Also arranged chronologically are speeches given by Handlos, 1934-1965, n.d. Many of these speeches were given as testimony at Legislative hearings and many were delivered at Highway 45 Association meetings and meetings of other citizen groups. Three common topics are the diversion of highway funds to other uses, the county veto power over state highway construction, and excessive government spending.
The U.S. Highway 45 Association records included in this collection consist of minutes, 1934-1955; membership lists; financial reports, 1935-1961; newsletters; press releases; promotional materials; clippings; and miscellaneous items. Frequently included in the minutes and newsletters are summaries of speeches presented to the Association by Wisconsin government officials.
The final group in the Papers is a collection of a variety of types of documents apparently used by Handlos as information sources on highways. Included is financial data on highway budgets, income sources, and construction, equipment, and administrative costs; analyses and background statements concerning proposed legislative measures; resolutions and brochures from the Wisconsin Good Roads Association; and miscellaneous materials such as speeches and statements by other people, a statement of purpose of the Committee of 66, minutes from a 1963 highway users conference, a series of articles from the Highway Research Council, and various other items.
