Table of Contents
Margaret V. Tedone papers
A Guide to the collection at the Connecticut Historical Society
Collection Overview |
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| Repository: | Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut |
| Creator : | Tedone, Margaret V. |
| Title : | Margaret V. Tedone Papers |
| Dates : | 1948-2012 |
| Extent : | 7.5 linear feet (12 boxes) |
| Location: | Ms 101808 |
| Language: | English |
Biographical Sketch
Margaret Valente Tedone was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Margherita and Nazzareno Valente. A native of Hartford, educated locally, she married Giacomo “Jack” Tedone and was the mother of four sons. At the age of nearly two, one of her twins contracted a serious illness and it was discovered that he had suffered severe brain damage and would be “mentally retarded”. In the process of seeking information and resources for her disabled son, she discovered that there was a lack of community resources. She found the need to be at least two-fold: l) to overcome the misconceptions about the mentally retarded and foster community acceptance, and 2) to stimulate community based education and training programs. (Note: throughout this finding aid, the term “mentally retarded” is used. This was the term used by the papers’ creator and society at the time of the papers’ creation.)
In l95l, as a pioneer in the field, Mrs. Tedone became a founding member of the Hartford Association for Retarded Children, (HARC), later to become the Hartford Association for Retarded Citizens. Devoting much of her lifetime and talents to the handicapped, she became HARC’s first Secretary and then President for two terms.
For HARC, she designed and initiated one of the first organizational information programs in the country which included informational pamphlets, a speaker’s bureau, and a training videotape of a parent’s panel used by teacher-training institutions. She also created and edited the HARC Light, a monthly publication judged nationally to be “best in its field” by the National Association for Retarded Citizens. She had many speaking engagements throughout the northeast and became immersed in a fledgling nationwide movement where parents of mentally retarded individuals worked to provide them previously unavailable services.
HARC realized almost immediately that its goals of education and training of the mentally retarded would only happen through State legislation. It began its successful lobbying efforts, which continue today. Mrs. Tedone subsequently became vice president of the Connecticut Association for Retarded Citizens (CARC), and became a consultant in leadership training for the National Association for Retarded Citizens (NARC), conducting workshops for parents and friends throughout the Northeast.
Mrs. Tedone developed and spearheaded successful legislative efforts in Connecticut which mandated public school classes for education and training of the disabled; upgraded the State’s two largest institutions for the disabled and affected their eventual closing; created the State Department of Mental Retardation; developed group homes and independent living situations; and trained and provided employment for the disabled in the community. Many of the accomplishments of HARC served as models for the country and gained Connecticut a reputation as a national leader in the field.
Mrs. Tedone won national recognition as a volunteer in a field which had been dominated previously by professionals. As a result, in 1976, President Gerald Ford appointed her to the 26-member President’s Committee on Mental Retardation. She was appointed for three consecutive terms to the Governor’s Council on Mental Retardation by Governors Meskill and Grasso.
As her concern for the education of children with special needs broadened to encompass advocacy for the education for all children, she served on the Hartford Board of Education from l965 to l969. Her work lead to Hartford offering one of the first pre-school programs for the disabled. She also became one of the first supporters of new concepts in education.
Tedone was elected to the Hartford Court of Common Council where she served for ten years. In addition to her continuing efforts to increase the education budget, she initiated the formation of the Hartford Commission on the Handicapped and a program for testing Hartford children for lead paint poisoning, known to cause mental disability. She also took an active part in making government buildings accessible to the handicapped. She served on the Planning and Zoning committee, advocated for senior services, and was involved in the building of the Civic Center. She was among the first to register publicly concerns of residents and workmen for the integrity of the Civic Center roof before its collapse.
Professionally she was affiliated with the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges for 15 years as its Director of Public and Legislative Relations and was its Acting President for two years.
She is the recipient of many honors and awards in the fields of education, health, and government. For her service to education, she was awarded the American Italian Award (AMITA) in 1968. This award, one of twelve presented annually in New York City, honored American women of Italian descent who have distinguished themselves in their chosen field.
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Scope and Content
The papers document the work of Margaret Tedone, a tireless advocate for the citizens of Hartford and Connecticut, especially those who face developmental disabilities. Tedone’s work as founder of and advocate for the Hartford Association for Retarded Citizens (HARC) as well as her work with the Connecticut Association for Retarded Citizens (CARC) and the National Association for Retarded Citizens (NARC) are well-represented in the collection. The collection also documents her political activities, namely the Board of Education and Common Council for Hartford, CT where she championed a variety of causes and her employment with the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges.
Series I consists of the awards and biographical information on Margaret Tedone as well as her husband, Jack Tedone.
Series II contains information on the various mental retardation organizations with which Tedone worked. These include Hartford Association for Retarded Citizens (HARC), Connecticut Association for Retarded Citizens (CARC), and National Association for Retarded Citizens (NARC). This series also contains information from other organizations which served the mentally retarded including the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation and various other state and national organizations.
Series III contains papers on Tedone’s political and work life. These are arranged by the political body she served or the organization for which she worked. Correspondence, programs, reports, and press releases and clippings constitute the bulk of this series.
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Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three series and within the series material is arranged by subject and chronologically within each subject. Undated materials remain with the topically arranged materials and are filed at the end of the dated items.
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Restrictions
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions on access to the collection.
Use Restrictions
Use of the material requires compliance with the Connecticut Historical Society's Research Center regulations.
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Subject Headings
Family Names
Corporate Names
Subjects
Geographic Names
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Item, Collection Title, Collection number (Box #, Folder #). Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut.
Processing Details
Collection was processed by VivianLea Solek in 2013.
EAD Finding Aid created March 2014.
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Contents:
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Return to the Table of Contents I. Biographical, 1956-2012 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Biographical information 1977-ca. 1983 17 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Oral history interviews, Tedone, Margaret,4 DVDs, 2003 Oct 17 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Awards, Amita Award, Correspondence and Program, 1968, 1973 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Awards, Margaret Tedone, 1956-2012 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Awards and caricature, Jack Tedone, 1980-1989, undated | |||||||||
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Return to the Table of Contents II. Mental Retardation Organizations, 1948-2011 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 6 | History of Greater Hartford Association for Retarded Citizens (HARC) 1956-1975 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | HARC Governance, Bylaws, 1961, undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | HARC Governance, Policy of Operation, 1960 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | HARC Governance, Board Handbook, 1956 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | HARC Governance, board and membership committeeminutes, 1951-1967 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | HARC Governance, committees, various, minutes, 1956-1964 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | HARC Governance, financial statements and budgets, 1961-967 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | HARC Governance, reports, 1956-1967 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | HARC Governance, Executive Director, undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | HARC Correspondence, 1952-1958 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | HARC Correspondence, 1961-1964 | |||||||||
| 2 | 2 | HARC Correspondence and blank stationery, 1965-1969, undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 3 | HARC Fundraising, annual auction ad journal, 2001-2011 | |||||||||
| 2 | 4 | HARC Fundraising, campaigns, 1953-1962, undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 5 | HARC Fundraising, campaigns, 1960-1961 | |||||||||
| 2 | 6 | HARC Fundraising, campaigns, 1962 | |||||||||
| 2 | 7 | HARC Fundraising, campaigns, 1963-1964 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 12 | 8 | HARC Fundraising, donation placard/coin container holder "Give Thanks by Giving to Help Retarded Children," undated | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 8 | HARC Public relations, correspondence, 1963-1965 | |||||||||
| 2 | 9 | HARC Public relations, press releases, 1956, 1958 | |||||||||
| 2 | 10 | HARC Public relations, press releases, 1963 | |||||||||
| 2 | 11 | HARC Public relations, press releases, 1964 | |||||||||
| 2 | 12 | HARC Public relations, press releases, 1966, 1972-1973 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | HARC Public relations, press releases, second pages, undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 2 | HARC Public relations, clippings, 1954-1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 3 | HARC Public relations, clippings, 1960-1963 | |||||||||
| 3 | 4 | HARC Public relations, clippings, 1964-1977, 1986, 2007 | |||||||||
| 3 | 5 | HARC Public relations, clippings, undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 6 | HARC Public relations, newsletter, drafts, 1962 | |||||||||
| 3 | 7 | HARC Public relations, newsletter, 1951-1962 | |||||||||
| 3 | 8 | HARC Public relations, newsletter, 1962-1978, undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 9 | HARC Public relations, publications and posters, 1953, 1967, undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 10 | HARC Public relations, publicity committee, miscellaneous, 1954-1971, undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 11 | HARC Public relations, miscellaneous notes, ca. 1951-1964 | |||||||||
| 3 | 12 | HARC Programs, 1954-1971, undated | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | HARC Programs, Boy Scout troop 1957 | |||||||||
| 4 | 2 | HARC Programs, teacher’s scholarship, 1963-1965 | |||||||||
| 4 | 3 | Connecticut Association for Retarded Citizens (CARC)Governance, committees, memos, reports and lists, 1956-1967, undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 4 | CARC Governance, correspondence and lobbying, 1957 | |||||||||
| 4 | 5 | CARC Governance, financial statements and budgets, 1961-1965, | |||||||||
| 4 | 6 | CARC Governance, minutes and bylaws, 1957-1967, undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 7 | CARC Programs, Camp Harkness, 1962-1964 | |||||||||
| 4 | 8 | CARC Programs, Leadership training, CARC and NARC, 1963-1964 | |||||||||
| 4 | 9 | CARC Programs, state convention, 1957, 1963, 1970, undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 10 | CARC Publications, 1952, 1963 | |||||||||
| 4 | 11 | CARC Publications, newsletter, 1962-1966, 1975 | |||||||||
| 4 | 12 | National Association for Retarded Citizens (NARC) programs, national conventions and conferences, 1954, 1963-1966 | |||||||||
| 4 | 13 | NARC Programs, national convention, programs, reports, etc., 1956 (1 of 2) | |||||||||
| 4 | 14 | NARC Programs, national convention, materials from, 1956 (2 of 2) | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 5 | 1 | NARC Public relations, advertisements, radio (sound disk), 1958 | |||||||||
| 5 | 2 | NARC Publications, ca. 1951-1966, undated | |||||||||
| 5 | 3 | NARC Publications, newsletter, 1956-1966 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 12 | 9 | NARC Publications, newspaper, 1957-1964 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 5 | 4 | NARC Public relations, advertisements, radio (record), undated | |||||||||
| 5 | 5 | NARC Public relations, manuals, 1954, 1963, undated | |||||||||
| 5 | 6 | Governance, Connecticut community organizations, 1955-1971, undated | |||||||||
| 5 | 7 | Publications, Connecticut, State of, 1951-1980, undated | |||||||||
| 5 | 8 | Publications, Hartford, CT, organizations, 1951-1961 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 6 | 1 | Publications, national and state organizations (not Connecticut), 1948-1964 | |||||||||
| 6 | 2 | Publications, national and state organizations (not Connecticut), 1968-1978, undated | |||||||||
| 6 | 3 | Publications, President’s committee on Mental Retardation, 1977-1990 | |||||||||
| 6 | 4 | Publications, “White House Conference on Handicapped Individuals,” vol. 2, final report,Part C, 1977 | |||||||||
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Return to the Table of Contents III. Political and Work Life, 1952-1990 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 6 | 5 | Hartford Board of Education clippings, 1966-1971, undated | |||||||||
| 6 | 6 | Hartford Board of Education Correspondence, memos, minutes, etc. 1965-1971, undated | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 7 | 1 | Hartford Board of Education Reports and Resources, 1965-1966 | |||||||||
| 7 | 2 | Parents Teachers Association (PTA), membership,memos and correspondence, 1968-1969 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 12 | 4 | Hartford Board of Education Campaigns, poster, ca. 1965-ca. 1968 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 7 | 3 | Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges correspondence and legislation, ca. 1966-1971, undated | |||||||||
| 7 | 4 | Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges clippings, 1973-1982, undated | |||||||||
| 7 | 5 | Hartford Court of Common Council correspondence, agenda items, minutes and reports, 1969-1971 | |||||||||
| 7 | 6 | Hartford Court of Common Council correspondence, agenda items, minutes and reports, 1974-1975, [ca. 1975] | |||||||||
| 7 | 7 | Hartford Court of Common Council correspondence, agenda items, minutes and reports, 1976-1978 | |||||||||
| 7 | 8 | Hartford Charter revision, reports, notes, clippings and correspondence, 1972-1976, undated | |||||||||
| 7 | 9 | City/Suburb project brochure, 1979 | |||||||||
| 7 | 10 | Civic center governance, 1974-1975, undated | |||||||||
| 7 | 11 | Commission for the Handicapped, 1975-1978 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 8 | 1 | Community renewal team, 1966-1969, undated | |||||||||
| 8 | 2 | Development downtown Hartford, 1971-1976,1984-2000 | |||||||||
| 8 | 3 | Dog Pound, 1976-1980, undated (1 of 2) | |||||||||
| 8 | 4 | Dog Pound, 1976-1980, undated (2 of 2) | |||||||||
| 8 | 5 | Hartford Civic Center Coliseum, clippings, 1978-1979 | |||||||||
| 8 | 6 | Health and social services, Connecticut and Hartford, 1969-1989, undated | |||||||||
| 8 | 7 | Health plan, 1968-1976,, undated | |||||||||
| 8 | 8 | Model cities program, reports and correspondence, 1969-1971 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 9 | 1 | Off-track betting, correspondence, press release, and clippings, 1974-1975 | |||||||||
| 9 | 2 | Police Athletic League (PAL) Ball, correspondence and program, 1970 Feb-Nov, undated | |||||||||
| 9 | 3 | Press releases, 1969, 1976, undated | |||||||||
| 9 | 4 | Regional Advisory committee of the Capitol Region, 1969 | |||||||||
| 9 | 5 | Science fair , 1970-1971 | |||||||||
| 9 | 6 | Zoo, Sherwood Park, correspondence and clippings, 1974-1978, undated | |||||||||
| 9 | 7 | Reports, “1970-1971 Hartford Youth Resource Book", [1971] | |||||||||
| 9 | 8 | Reports, “City Manager’s Annual Report, FY Ending March 31, 1970, Hartford,” 1969-1970 | |||||||||
| 9 | 9 | Reports, “City of Hartford Annual Report, 1970-1971,” 1971 Jun 14 | |||||||||
| 9 | 10 | Reports, “Community News Briefs,” 1978 Mar/Apr | |||||||||
| 9 | 11 | Reports, “Financial Report for the FY ending March 31, 1971, City of Hartford, CT,” 1971 Jun | |||||||||
| 9 | 12 | Reports, “For Hartford’s Aging: A Proposal for Opportunity and Service,” 1970 Jun | |||||||||
| 9 | 13 | Reports, “Handbook for Councilmen in Council-Manager Cities,” 1964 | |||||||||
| 9 | 14 | Reports, “Hartford ’74: A Proposal for the Planning of a Comprehensive Educational System for an Urban School System,” 1968 | |||||||||
| 9 | 15 | Reports, “Highlights of a Regional Utilities Study,” 1969 Jun | |||||||||
| 9 | 16 | Reports, “Influence of a Regional Economy on Hartford’s Population,” 1977 Jan | |||||||||
| 9 | 17 | Reports, "Report of a Committee to Investigate the Coliseum Roof Failure", 1978 Jul 13 | |||||||||
| 9 | 18 | Reports, “Report on General Assistance Expenditures In Hartford since 1967 under Democratic Administrations", 1975 Oct | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 10 | 1 | Reports, "Report to City of Hartford on Regional Incinerator Facilities", 1971 May 17 | |||||||||
| 10 | 2 | Reports, “Report to Town of West Hartford on Additional Incinerator Facilities,” 1970 Dec 16 | |||||||||
| 10 | 3 | Reports, “Strengthening Local Government: A Report on…Community Development Action Plan (CDAP) Program” 1971 Jan 1 | |||||||||
| 10 | 4 | Reports, “Working Draft: Hartford Management Report,” 1980 Jun 22 | |||||||||
| 10 | 6 | Campaigns, notes, ca. 1969-1977 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| Box 12 | 1-3 | Campaigns, bumper sticker, "Mayor Margaret!", Undated | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 10 | 5 | Campaigns, poster, ca.1968-ca.1978 | |||||||||
| 10 | 6 | Campaigns, flyer, proof, 1969 Oct 16 | |||||||||
| 10 | 7 | Re-election, not standing for, 1979 | |||||||||
| 10 | 8 | Public relations, clippings, 1959-1969 | |||||||||
| 10 | 9 | Public relations, clippings, 1970-1979 | |||||||||
| 10 | 10 | Public relations, clippings, 1980-1989, undated | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 11 | 1 | Correspondence, 1957, 1969, 1970-1978, 1985-1994, undated | |||||||||
| 11 | 2 | Hartford Republican Committee, invitations, correspondence, and election flyers, 1984-1990, undated | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 12 | 7 | Hartford Republican Committee, correspondence and photo, President George H.W. Bush, 1992 Jun | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| Box 11 | 3 | Speeches, various, 1952, ca. 1963 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 11 | 4 | Miscellaneous, air raid instructions, 1955 | |||||||||