Correspondence relating to Hodges's career at Marshall Field & Company (later Fieldcrest Mills), his work with the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA), and family matters. Most letters in this subseries detail routine business matters. The material from Hodges's days at Marshall Fields includes letters about setting up meetings, acknowledgements of letters received, and copies of letters sent.

In 1950, Hodges retired from Marshall Fields and began work with the United States government as the chief of the industry division of the Economic Cooperation Administration in West Germany. In 1951, he worked as a State Department consultant for the International Management Conference, a top-level technical assistance program for European business corporations. While in Germany, Hodges wrote to friends and family back in North Carolina. These letters detailed business plans and descriptions of life in post-World War II Germany. On 18 June 1950, Hodges wrote, "All over the occupied area ... we had single men and in many instances they were living openly or otherwise with German women--whose code of morals is understandably below ours. They are 5 million in the minority and Hitler taught that unwed motherhood was patriotic."

This subseries includes a very small number of family letters. Some of the letters Hodges wrote to his family while at the University of North Carolina, 1915-1919; others he wrote from Camp Grant, Ill., during World War I. In the 1940s and early 1950s, Hodges's children wrote to their father. Nancy Hodges was the most frequent correspondent. In April 1949, Nancy Hodges surprised her parents with the announcement of her marriage. Her father was not happy, "First of all, why hurry about this important matter unless there is something you have not disclosed to us in your letter? ... I see nothing to justify haste except an emotional and physical urge which strong people can control," he wrote to his daughter on 7 April 1949.

Letters dealing chiefly with meetings, acknowledgements of letters received and sent, and some personal correspondence during Hodges's years as lieutenant governor and governor. This subseries begins with the many letters Hodges wrote announcing his candidacy for lieutenant governor. Hodges's campaign involved visiting and speaking in every county in the state, and he wrote many letters of thanks to helpers and supporters all over the state. Despite being an unknown in North Carolina political circles, Hodges was elected and sworn in with Governor William Umstead in January 1953. Governor Umstead died in November 1954, and Luther Hodges succeeded him as governor. Hodges won reelection in 1956. Please note that that this subseries does not contain the official papers of Hodges's tenure in office. There are, however, a few letters dealing with desegregation and the attraction of business to North Carolina.

In addition to material about his term as governor, Hodges received mail from former business associates in New York and Chicago, as well as letters from Rotary members around the world. For more information about Rotary, see also Series 2.2.

Memoranda, travel programs, personal correspondence, and other related material from Hodges's years as Secretary of Commerce. As Secretary of Commerce, Hodges emphasized the need for more foreign travel to the United States and freer trade markets. Much of this subseries consists of correspondence about Hodges's speaking engagements as Secretary of Commerce.

Routine business letters, board of directors' reports, and correspondence about Rotary matters and the Research Triangle Foundation. Following his retirement from the Commerce Department, Hodges returned to North Carolina and worked for the Research Triangle Foundation, as well as serving as president of Rotary International in 1967. Hodges was also named to the boards of directors for several firms, among them Drexel Furniture Company, Founders Life Assurance Company of Carolina, and Servomation Corporation and corresponded with these firms during his years of service.

Arrangement: chronological and by type of invitation and location.

Invitations accepted and declined for various social, political, and business engagements. Invitations range from addressing the graduating class of Leaksville-Spray High School to dinner with President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House.

Condolence letters, sympathy cards, memorial gift acknowledgements, and clippings after the death of Martha B. Hodges on 27 June 1969. The Hodgeses' home in Chapel Hill caught fire the evening of 27 June 1969. Governor Hodges broke his leg jumping out of a second story window. Mrs. Hodges was killed in the fire. This subseries also contains some get-well cards to Hodges, while he recuperated from his injuries.

Arrangement: by type of document.

Condolence letters, sympathy cards, telegrams, gift acknowledgements, and funeral books after the death of Luther Hodges on 6 October 1974. This subseries also contains many Christmas cards expressing sympathy to Louise Hodges, Hodges's second wife.

Arrangement: chronological.

Volumes and folders containing guest lists for various social and official functions during Hodges's tenure as governor and Secretary of Commerce.

Arrangement: by topic.

Dental records, typed reminiscences about Hodges's childhood, and recollections of his gubernatorial experiences. The childhood recollections (incomplete) were dictated to Pete Ivey on 9 September 1967. Ivey apparently posed questions about Hodges's youth and early adulthood. The questions are not included, but can be inferred from Hodges's answers. Hodges recounted his work in the mill, his days at the University of North Carolina, and life with his father and stepmother. The 92-page typed manuscript about Hodges's tenure as governor of North Carolina is undated. Hodges began his recollection with the death of Governor William Umstead and discussed a variety of topics from desegregation and state government reorganizations to the attraction of industry to North Carolina.

Arrangement: roughly chronological and by topic.

Correspondence, meeting minutes, convention brochures, newsletters, and clippings relating to Hodges's work with Rotary International. Note that the original filing pattern used by Hodges and his staff has, for the most part, been followed. The subseries is organized around three time periods, 1926-1967; 1967-1968; and 1968-1973.

From 1926 to 1967, Hodges was involved in Rotary International primarily on the local level. He founded the Leaksville Rotary club in 1923. He then served as a district governor of North Carolina and as the president of the New York City Club. He was chairman of the 1948 convention and was a Rotary consultant and observer at the United Nations in San Francisco and the Security Council in New York. The documents from this time period are chiefly letters, U.N. pamphlets and brochures, and Rotary newsletters.

On 1 July 1967, Luther Hodges was installed as president of Rotary International. Folders 1344-1470 contain most of the material about Hodges's presidency. These items include correspondence, travel brochures, newsletters, copies of Rotarian, and other documents. While head of Rotary International, Hodges stressed making "Rotary Membership Effective" through local and international work. Hodges visited many countries, such as Sierra Leone and Bahrain, that had never been visited by a Rotary International president. He also developed the "Rotary Volunteers Abroad" program. This plan, based on the International Executives Service Corps (see folder 1409), functioned as a kind of Peace Corps for retired Rotarians. Under Rotary Volunteers Abroad, retired members gave their time and talent to underdeveloped nations.

After his presidency, Hodges continued to be an active Rotarian. He served as trustee and chairman to the Rotary Foundation. Much of the material from 1968 to 1973 deals with the Foundation. There are many stock reports, minutes of Board of Trustees meetings, and correspondence about Rotary politics.

Despite the very turbulent time period this subseries embraces, Hodges and his fellow Rotary members stressed the harmony between nations and between races. Many of folders dating from the mid-1940s celebrate the United Nations and its mission. There are copies of the United Nations Charter, correspondence with the American Association for the United Nations, and flyers about various U.N. activities. Hodges and his fellow Rotarians believed that through service and friendship many of the goals of the United Nations could be carried out on the local level.

Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained. Note also that there is some correspondence with Rotary members in Series 1.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, meeting minutes of the Research Triangle Foundation, weekly status reports, clippings, and industry brochures for Research Triangle Park.

Arrangement: by company.

Correspondence, printed materials, reports, financial statements, legal documents, and other related materials connected to companies owned by Hodges and those for which he served on the boards of directors. Hodges had interests in three Virginia businesses--Clark Oil Company, Danville Lumber and Manufacturing Company and Wayside Company, a restaurant and motor inn enterprise. Hodges also owned Howard Johnson's franchises in Danville, Va., and in Durham, Fayetteville, and Research Triangle Park, N.C.

From 1966 to 1971, Hodges served on various boards of directors, among them American Thread Co., Business Development Corporation of North Carolina, Gulf & Western Industries, Inc., and William Bros., Inc.

Arrangement: roughly by topic.

Letters, travel reports, brochures, and other items from Hodges's tours to various countries and his chairmanship of Financial Consultants International, Ltd. (FCI) and Industries of the United States Fund, Ltd. (IUSF). Most of his efforts seem to have been directed towards establishing favorable contacts with local government officials, particularly in the Middle East. Hodges also endeavored to initiate local business contacts to develop fund offices engaged in the direct selling of tax protected mutual funds. There are several folders of material related to Hodges's board membership. There is a useful organizational chart and an Investment Flow Schematic in folder 1691 that explains the nature of funds ownership.

Arrangement: by topic.

Letters, draft reports, and meeting minutes relating to Hodges's 1965-1967 chairing of a committee organized to examine the University of North Carolina's Board of Trustees. The Commission on the Study of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina was formed by Governor Dan Moore to reform the Board. In 1965, the Board of Trustees had 100 members and was considered too large to make decisions efficiently.

Arrangement: by topic.

Correspondence, pamphlets, articles, clippings, and programs on a variety of topics dating from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. These files range from reports about school integration in North Carolina to letters about Hodges's second marriage. Note that the original filing system used by Hodges and his staff has, for the most part, been retained, as have many original file folder titles.

Arrangement: by title of book.

Drafts, proofs, correspondence, and sound recordings of A Businessman in the Statehouse and The Business Conscience. This subseries also contains a softbound copy of A Governor Sees the Soviet.

Hodges wrote A Businessman in the Statehouse, a memoir about his years as governor. He used his trip reports to the Soviet Union as the basis for A Governor Sees the Soviet. The Business Conscience was drawn from anecdotes about Hodges's experiences in politics and business. Hodges dictated these reminiscences to his secretaries. Included are sound recordings of his dictation (playback equipment not available). James Cormier, possibly a staff member at the Department of Commerce, edited the transcriptions.

Arrangement: chronological.

Bound volumes and loose copies of speeches, notes, and outlines of speeches, and reference materials for speeches. As a business executive, a member of Rotary International, and a political figure, Hodges gave many speeches throughout his life. His earliest speeches were about work and Rotary. The subseries contains chiefly notes or outlines of these early speeches. The topics covered were usually related to the textile business. However, on 14 February 1950, Hodges gave a speech entitled "I believe in the United Nations," in which he extolled the United Nations for being an organization that believed in and worked for peace.

As lieutenant governor and governor of North Carolina, Hodges focused in his addresses, both inside and outside the state's borders, on strengthening North Carolina. He spoke to political groups, civic associations, educational organizations, and businesses. Also included are a few speeches on other topics, such as desegregation, mental health, and prison reform. The vast majority of Hodges's talks, however, were about business in North Carolina. He even managed to work the spirit of boosterism into an address given to the Men's Fellowship group of Pritchard Memorial Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C. Hodges's ideas about faith in God also included a pitch for Research Triangle Park, "[a] more recent example of faith in the future of North Carolina and its great potentialities in research can be found in the formation of Research Triangle Committee, Inc." (18 November 1957, folder 2068). Note that Hodges's campaign speeches are filed in Series 3, Political Files.

Hodges's speeches as Secretary of Commerce dealt with the importance of export trading, travel in the United States, and strengthening industry in the United States. During the campaign years of 1960 and 1964, Hodges gave a few political speeches. These addresses usually portrayed the Republican candidates as being bad for business. Hodges was particularly harsh to Barry Goldwater in 1964. Senator Goldwater had previously spoken out in favor of civil rights and desegregation, but apparently changed his tune to woo Southern voters. Hodges viewed this tactic as hypocritical, "[o]ne wonders even more which side the Senator is on now. He tells us Southerners he is against civil rights legislation. But his Republican Committee ... printed a pamphlet recently ... quoting Barry Goldwater: 'I believe completely in vigorous enforcement of the Civil Rights Bill, for I believe in majority rule'" (19 October 1964, folder 2087).

Unless otherwise noted all the bound volumes of speeches have unnumbered pages.

Arrangement: chronological.

Reports from Hodges to friends and family about his various travels, itineraries, and correspondence surrounding numerous trips. Hodges began detailed trip reports in 1944, while at Marshall Field & Company The first trip reports documented what he found at many department stores through out the United States that carried Marshall Field's products. Hodges continued to record personal and professional visits throughout his life. These trip reports contain Hodges's opinions on the countries and cities he visited, descriptions of local customs and landmarks, and histories about the area visited. Hodges traveled extensively throughout the world, including Antarcticirca His trip reports from a governors' junket to the Soviet Union, 24 June-19 July 1959, were printed into a booklet called A Governor Sees the Soviet.

While in foreign countries, Hodges would try many of the local foods and would always insist on visiting a local food market to see what the local populations ate. His reports described Europe rebuilding after World War II, many African nations after their independence, and Asian and South American countries beginning their economic development.