Use Restrictions

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Virginia Lampe papers, C0158, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Virginia Lampe in March 1984.

Processing Information

Processed by Special Collections Research Center staff. EAD markup completed by Eron Ackerman and Jordan Patty in April 2009. Reprocessing completed by Christopher Babbitt in September 2019. Finding aid updated by Christopher Babbitt in September 2019 and Amanda Menjivar in June 2023.

Biographical Information

Virginia Lampe actively served on several local hospital and mental health boards in Virginia, including the Community Mental Health and "Mental Retardation" Services Boards. She also served on regional planning committees in several counties, including Lenowisco, Cumberland Plateau, Mount Rogers, and New River Valley, as an advocate of mental health and developmental disabilities services for children.

Lammpe also worked as the campaign chairwoman for Joel T. Broyhill, who served Northern Virginia's 10th Congressional District from 1953-1974. Lampe started on the campaign in 1962, and worked on it until Broyhill's defeat in the landslide midterm election of 1974. Lampe's husband, Henry, was also involved in area politics, including serving in the Virginia General Assembly.

Scope and Content

Content Warning: This collection contains outdated and offensive language to describe individuals with developmental disabilities.

This collection contains materials pertaining to Virginia Lampe's career as a community activist and advocate of mental health and "mental retardation" services, as well as relating to her time Congressman Joel Broyhill's campaign as chairwoman. The materials include task-force reports and meeting minutes for the numerous mental health and regional planning boards on which she served. The collection also inludes Broyhill campaign-related items. The creators of papers in Series 1 used language to describe those living with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities that is considered outdated and offensive. This language is retained in folder titles in quotation marks to preserve the context in which materials were created.

The collection is separated into two series:

Series 1: Mental Health Work (1960s-1980): This series contains Lampe's work in the mental health field. She worked for nearly two decades to help better the lives of the mentally ill and developmentally disabled. Contents include letters to state officials, budget proposals for "training centers", location planning, meeting minutes, and materials from the many mental health boards/planning committees she served on.

Series 2: Broyhill Campaign Materials (1962-1974): This series contains Lampe's work as chairwoman and co-chairwoman on Congressman Broyhill's campaign. Contents include correspondence with Broyhill, campaign officials, and other elected officials, campaign fundraising, advertising, public relations, and Broyhill/Lampe in the news. Box 11 in the series contains Broyhill campaign memorabilia such as posters and Christmas cards.

Arrangement

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center also holds other collections related to Virginia Lampe, such as the Henry O. Lampe papers and the Joel T. Broyhill papers. Emilie F. Miller was also a Virginia woman involved in area politics and mental health, whose work can be found in the Emilie F. Miller papers.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Broyhill, Joel T. (Joel Thomas), 1919-2006
• Lampe, Henry O.
• Mental health services -- United States
• Northern Virginia
• People with mental disabilities -- Services for -- United States
• Political campaigns -- Virginia