MG-406. THE CASEY FAMILY COLLECTION, 1940-1987.
Though he was born in Jackson Heights, New York, in 1932,
Pennsylvania Governor Robert P. Casey grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts with a B.A. in English in 1953, and received his J.D. in 1956 from the George Washington University Law School. After working for two years as an associate with the law firm of Covington & Burling in Washington D.C., he returned to Scranton where he opened his own law practice. Elected to the Pennsylvania state senate in 1962, he distinguished himself by authoring environmental legislation and was subsequently elected to two terms as Pennsylvania auditor general, 1969-1977. In 1978 he joined to law firm of Dilworth, Paxson, Kalish, & Kaufmann where he quickly became a senior partner and continued to remain active in Scranton civic affairs as well as state and national politics. He was elected governor of Pennsylvania in 1986 and again in 1990. Included in the collection are several newspapers with references to African Americans: The Philadelphia Daily News, Sunday, May 1978, "Blacks Give Nod to Casey," refers to the endorsement of Robert P. Casey by leaders of the African American community and quotes Dr. Leroy Patrick, chairman of the Black Democratic Committee of Pennsylvania, on the political failures of the incumbent; an article from the Philadelphia Daily News, May 1978, displayed a photograph of Joe Frazier with Robert Casey at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner; an article in the Scrantonian, Sunday, May 8, 1940, displayed a photograph of ten city draftees for the military among whom was Willie Williams, an African American player for the Scranton Miners’ baseball team; and an article in the Scrantonian, March 13, 1949, " Dream Games Lineup," that lists several outstanding players from local teams including African American Clarence Floyd who played forward in St. Michaels in the Catholic League.