Guide to the George Tichenor Files,
1948-1959

George Tichenor III was born in New Orleans, La., on December 17, 1906, to George Humphreys Tichenor, Jr., a doctor and Gertrude Belknap. He was educated at Tulane University in New Orleans. He served as a cub reporter on the Picayune and later became a free lance writer and photographer.

He was the author of two popular novels, Gibson and Manhattan Prodigal. As a free lance writer he contributed travel articles to the New York Times and many other publications. Two of his photographs appeared in the Saturday Evening Post series "Face of America." He used pen names Gilbert Tolman, Ted Gilbert son and George Thompson as well as his own.

He was interested in the cooperative movement in the United States and served as editor of the Co-operator published by the Eastern Cooperation League from 1939-1948. He also edited Co-op Highlights and was active in the co­operative housing movement in New York City. During the second World War, he was a special consultant to the O.P.A. on consumer needs.

He was an accomplished labor Journalist, editing "The Hat Worker" of the United Hat, Cap and Millinery Workers and the "Spotlight" for the United Wire, Metal and Machine Health and Welfare Fund, Local l6l4 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Local 8lO of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The Hat Worker says of him "George Tichenor contributed scores of memorable feature articles to our publication on every phase of union activities, the labor-movement, social issues and topics of general reader interest. In 1951, under his editorship, The Hat Worker was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Eastern Labor Press Conference "for excellency in form and content." In 1953, his story about organizational activities in Medfield, Mass., titled "When the Union Came To Town," received the top award of the International Labor Press Association."

Mr. Tichenor also served on the state executive committee of the Liberal Party of New York State.

Includes routine correspondence, reprints of articles, and newspaper clippings relating to the following issues: consumer and housing cooperatives; the role of labor unions in the cooperative movement; prospective new housing cooperatives to be built in New York City; support of the cooperative movement for the Tennessee Valley Authority; the financial condition of the Cooperator, organ of the Eastern Cooperative League; the economic condition of the hat and cap industry; the problems of small, economically marginal operations in the hat industry; the use of polls for discerning trends in consumer buying habits and public opinion in local elections; the role of labor in politics; the impact of tariffs on foreign imports of hats; the Taft-Hartley Act; support for the Liberal Party in New York; the impact of inflation on the cooperative movement; the American Labor Health Association; competition in the insurance industry; the contributions of Edward A. Filene to the credit union movement; the League of Nations; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; consumer cooperatives; significant innovations in the retail distribution field; costs of medical care; anti-Semitism; and communism.

Also contains numerous reprints, rough drafts, newspaper clippings, and routine correspondence relating to Tichenor's various journalistic efforts.

The collection consists of part of his personal papers. The union publications he edited will be found in the ILR Library and the Cooperator in Mann Library.