Chris Ortloff Donates Papers To SUNY Plattsburgh

Calling it a "tip of the iceberg" of the history of the region over the past two decades, former Assemblyman Chris Ortloff has donated his Assembly term papers to Plattsburgh State.

Mr. Ortloff has turned over to the Special Collections Unit of Feinberg Library more than 110 cubic feet of materials documenting the 20 years he represented Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence and Essex counties in the New York State Assembly and in public life.

"The life and the work of an elected official are only partly about politics," he said. "Politics gets you into office and keeps you there. But your life and work are about everything in the community."

There are many files on the major events of the era, including the Akwesasne standoff of 1989-90, Mr. Ortloff's service on the Assembly Indian Affairs subcommittee, sea-lamprey eradication in Lake Champlain, construction of five new prisons, the formation of the Battle of Plattsburgh Association, the growth of the Almanzo Wilder Farm in Burke, the 1998 Ice Storm, and much more.

Debra Kimok, Special Collections librarian at Plattsburgh State, said the acquisition of the papers would be a treasure trove for historians and others.

"Not only is it a rich resource for community researchers and interested parties, but also for our students. I can think of several departments at SUNY Plattsburgh that could make good use of this information," she said.

She pointed out it would take a while to process the papers before making them available for review by the public.

"I estimate that it will take about two years to catalogue the many news releases, legislative memoranda, newsletters, correspondences, letters, reports, studies and publications, photographs, clippings and other archival resources. But, once we have completed that process, the materials will be available to the public," she said.