Yellen (Ben) Papers

Accessions Processed in 1996

YELLOWSHEETS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 1) YELLOWSHEETS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. Arranged in two chronological subseries: A) Yellowsheets and B) Letters to the Editor.

A) Yellowsheets: These newsletters provide an overview of Yellen's ideas and activities. They were distributed by hand in the Imperial Valley and mailed to people throughout the country. Most date from the 1960s, though they continue through the 1980s. Yellen used the yellowsheets to present his views directly to the people of the Imperial Valley and to explain how he thought they were all being exploited by the big growers.

B) Letters to the Editor: As the frequency of yellowsheets declined, Yellen increasingly relied on "Letters to the Editor" to express his views in public. The Imperial Valley Press and the Brawley News published Yellen's letters beginning in 1960 and continued to do so until 1992. The majority of this subseries comprises copies of printed letters; however, originals for which we do not have a printed copy and originals which differ from the printed version are also held.

Yellowsheets

Box 1, Folder 1

undated

Box 1, Folder 2

1959

Box 1, Folder 3

1960

Box 1, Folder 4

1961

Box 1, Folder 5

1962

Box 1, Folder 6

1963

Box 1, Folder 7

1964

Box 1, Folder 8

1965

Box 1, Folder 9

1966

Box 1, Folder 10

1967

Box 1, Folder 11-15

Yellowsheet duplicates undated, 1960-1967

Box 2, Folder 1

1968

Box 2, Folder 2

1969

Box 2, Folder 3

1970

Box 2, Folder 4

1971

Box 2, Folder 5

1972

Box 2, Folder 6

1973

Box 2, Folder 7

1974-1979

Box 2, Folder 8

1980-1989

Box 2, Folder 9

1990-1991

Box 2, Folder 15-18

Yellowsheet duplicates 1968-1990

Letters to the Editor

Box 2, Folder 10

1960-1969

Box 2, Folder 11

1977-1979

Box 2, Folder 12

1980-1985

Box 2, Folder 13

1986-1989

Box 2, Folder 14

1990-1992

FARM WORKERS

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 2) FARM WORKERS: Materials documenting Yellen's initial foray into social and political activism, concerning the plight of Mexican migrant farm laborers. In the late 1950s, Yellen formed the Committee for the Protection of Mexican Workers when he realized that growers deducted medical insurance premiums from the paychecks of braceros, but the workers themselves received inadequate health care and the Continental Life Insurance Company denied them benefits following injury. In addition to the "insurance swindle," Yellen pointed out that growers charged workers exorbitant rates for room and board while providing substandard food. Additionally, the growers restricted the number of hours braceros worked and thereby severely limited the amount of money they earned. Around 1960 Yellen shifted his emphasis away from fighting for the rights of Mexican workers to excluding them in favor of domestic farm workers. Yellen maintained both that growers imported Mexican migrants at the expense of domestic farm workers, and that Imperial Valley's economy suffered because Mexican workers sent their wages home and did not buy goods in local stores.

Arranged in three subseries: A) Correspondence, B) Lawsuits and C) Supporting Materials.

A) Correspondence: Arranged chronologically (1957-1994). Documents both the ill treatment of Mexican workers and Yellen's philosophical shift away from their cause. The letters are mainly outgoing of government agencies and individuals, the Department of Labor, state and national senators, the California Department of Employment, the National Advisory Committee on Farm Labor, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

B) Lawsuits: Arranged chronologically. Documents lawsuit and small claims court appeals filed by workers to gain wages and benefits from the big growers who had cheated them. Yellen initiated, or was in some way involved with, all of these cases. The affidavits and claims contained within these lawsuits provide a glimpse of working conditions for farm workers in the late 1950s.

C) Supporting Materials: Includes financial statements; publications and newsletters by small groups interested in the rights of farm workers, including the National Advisory Committee on Farm Labor and Citizens for Farm Labor; and essays and reports about the conditions of farm work in California, including Grace Weist's dissertation Health Insurance for Braceros: A Study of its Developement and Implementation Under Public Law #78, for which Yellen helped gather data.

Conditions Governing Access

Some files in subseries B) Lawsuits may be restricted.

Correspondence

Box 3, Folder 1

Undated

Box 3, Folder 2

1957

Box 3, Folder 3

1958

Box 3, Folder 4

1959 January-June

Box 3, Folder 5

1959 July-December

Box 3, Folder 6

1960

Box 3, Folder 7

1961

Box 3, Folder 8

1962

Box 4, Folder 1

1963

Box 4, Folder 2

1964

Box 4, Folder 3

1965 January-July

Box 4, Folder 4

1965 August-December

Box 4, Folder 5

1966

Box 4, Folder 6

1967

Box 4, Folder 7

1968

Box 4, Folder 8

1969

Box 4, Folder 9

1970

General note

Includes dispute over the Casa de Amistad medical clinic for domestic migrant workers.

Box 4, Folder 10

1971-1979

Box 4, Folder 11

1980-1989

Box 4, Folder 12

1990-1994

Lawsuits

Box 5, Folder 1

Small claims lawsuits by farm workers for their wages 1958 - 1963

Box 5, Folder 2

Ben Yellen vs. Fernando Cuevas 1953

Box 5, Folder 3

Ben Yellen vs. Elvira Ruiz and Theodore Niewenhous 1958 - 1959

General note

Regarding illegal medical treatment of farm workers.

Box 5, Folder 4

Ben Yellen vs. F. Britton McConnell, Commissioner of Insurance, State of CA 1958 - 1959

General note

Regarding defrauding farm workers of their medical insurance.

Box 5, Folder 5

Ben Yellen vs. Constitution Life Insurance Company 1958 - 1959

General note

Prescription forms for patients compiled for medical insurance claims.

Conditions Governing Access

Restrictions apply

Box 5, Folder 6

Ben Yellen vs. Imperial Valley Farmers Association, et al. 1958 - 1959

General note

Regarding medical insurance for farm workers.

Box 5, Folder 7

Ben Yellen vs. Wayne Deming 1958 - 1959

General note

Regarding the defrauding of Fidel Gama Velazquez of medical insurance.

Box 5, Folder 8

Ben Yellen vs. Ken Richardson 1959

General note

Regarding medical insurance for farm workers.

Box 5, Folder 9

Ben Yellen vs. Desert Growers Inc. 1959

General note

Prescription forms for patients compiled for medical insurance claims.

Conditions Governing Access

Restrictions apply

Box 5, Folder 10

Ben Yellen vs. Dwight Wilbur 1959

General note

Regarding the unwillingness of California Medecine to publicize Yellen's work with farm workers and their insurance.

Box 5, Folder 11

Andres Santana Sanchez vs. Adalberto A. Aguirre 1959 - 1960

General note

Regarding wages as a farm worker.

Box 5, Folder 12

Imperial Valley Farmers' Association and R.T. Englund Company dispute 1962 - 1963

General note

Regarding the falsification of farm payroll records.

Box 5, Folder 13

Imperial Valley Farmers' Association and Maggio Green Tops Inc. dispute 1963

General note

Regarding the violation of the Mexican migrant program.

Box 5, Folder 14

Texas State AFL-CIO et al. vs. Robert Kennedy et al. 1962 - 1963

General note

Amicus curiae suit in opposition to Public Law #78 and the importation of Mexican workers.

Box 5, Folder 15

Ben Yellen vs. Casa de Amistad 1970

General note

Dispute over a government sponsored medical clinic for domestic farm workers.

Box 5, Folder 16

Ben Yellen vs. Heber Public Utility District 1985

General note

Regarding the use of taxpayer money to build a plant to make concrete lined steel pipe.

Box 5, Folder 17

Ben Yellen vs. Janet Reno, Attorney General 1993 - 1994

General note

Regarding illegal immigrants.

Supporting materials

Box 5, Folder 18

Farm worker pay stubs

Box 5, Folder 19

Statements by braceros of mistreatment by Imperial Valley farmers 1958 - 1962

Statements by braceros of mistreatment by Imperial Valley farmers

view online item

Box 5, Folder 20

Appeals to retailers on behalf of domestic farm workers 1960

Box 5, Folder 21

Complaints of employment discrimination by domestic farm workers 1962 - 1967

Box 6, Folder 1

Conditions of farm workers and small farmers 1959 - 1977

General note

National Sharecropper's Fund publications.

Box 6, Folder 2

California Annual Farm Labor Report 1963

Box 6, Folder 3

California's Farm Labor Problems 1961 - 1963

General note

Report of the Senate Fact Finding Committee on labor and welfare.

Box 6, Folder 4

Department of Labor News Bulletins 1959 - 1965

Box 6, Folder 5

Essays about farm workers 1963 - 1973

Box 6, Folder 6

Fair and reasonable wage debate 1962 - 1986

Box 6, Folder 7

Farm Labor Magazine 1963 - 1965

Box 6, Folder 8

Final Report of the California Farm Labor Panel to the Secretary of Labor 1965

Box 6, Folder 9

Galarza, Ernesto - essays and statements 1956 - 1960

Box 6, Folder 10

National Advisory Committee on Farm Labor Information letters 1958 - 1965

Box 6, Folder 11

National Advisory Committee on Farm Labor Information booklets 1959-1963

Box 7, Folder 1

National Conference on Poverty in the Southwest 1965

Box 7, Folder 2

Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz - Address before the Town Hall, Los Angeles 1965

Box 7, Folder 3

Farm worker pamphlets 1951 - 1970

Box 7, Folder 4

Government regulations concerning farm workers 1960 - 1965

Box 7, Folder 5

Weist, Grace 1966

General note

Health Insurance for the Bracero: A Study of its Development and Implementation Under Public Law #78.

WATER AND RELATED POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 3) WATER AND RELATED POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. Arranged in seven subseries: A) Correspondence, B) Lawsuits, C) Western Water, D) Electricity, E) Imperial Irrigation District, F) Political Campaigns and G) Imperial County and the City of Brawley.

A) Correspondence: Yellen discusses a variety of interrelated issues in his correspondence from 1959 to 1994, including enforcement of the 160 acres limitation from the residency requirement; the "tax swindle;" the "electricity swindle;" and electoral politics in Brawley. Throughout his activist career, Yellen identified multiple levels on which the large land owners exploited the common people of Imperial Valley. He repeatedly argued that simple enforcement of the 160 acres limitation was insufficient to curtail the power of the big growers. He doggedly maintained and propagated his beliefs through three and a half decades of letter-writing, as evidenced in this collection. He wrote letters to national political figures regularly in attempts to garner their attention to the local situation. He frequently wrote to people who were featured in newspaper articles, as well as the authors of articles he found interesting. Running throughout this correspondence are recurring solicitations to lawyers to work on his various cases, although he was largely unsuccessful and undertook many of his later causes pro per. He also wrote continual solicitations to authors and television programs to visit Imperial Valley and publicize the story. In these letters, and others, he lamented what he saw as the persecution of his right to free speech by local authorities. He maintained extended correspondence with a few private figures including George Ballis, Charles Smith, John Chappell, and his lawyer, Arthur Brunwasser.

B) Lawsuits: Legal documents from U.S. vs Imperial Irrigation District, Ben Yellen vs Walter J. Hickel, and smaller related cases including Ben Yellen vs Thomas Story, Ricky Macken, and the City of Brawley. Yellen initiated this legal effort after he was arrested while distributing his pamphlets at the 1984 Cattle Call Parade. This suit marked the culmination of Yellen's struggle with the City of Brawley over his free speech rights to distribute his pamphlets unmolested. Arranged chronologically.

C) Western Water: Reports and writings about western water issues. Much of the material is government documents and reports specifically related to the Reclamation law and its applicability to the Imperial Valley. There is also a collection of documents and pamphlets from different western water projects such as the Palo Verde Irrigation District, the Coachella Valley, the Central Valley Salton Sea, the San Joaquin Valley, the Metropolitan Water District, the Salt River Project and other Arizona projects, and the Colorado River Dam. Yellen amassed notable, although incomplete, runs of Western Water News (1960-1995) and the National Farmers Union Washington Newsletter (1964-1991). Likewise, Yellen saved newsletters and small publications from the California Agrarian Action Project (1980-1984), the California Farm Consumer Reporter (1965-1973), California Homeowner (1963-1971), National Land for People (1976-1985), Sharecropper (1972-1974), and the National Sharecropers' Fund (1971-1984).

D) Electricity: Includes Imperial Irrigation District electricity rate schedules and pamphlets (1962-1989), as well as similar information for the Tennessee Valley Authority (1967-1992).

E) Imperial Irrigation District: Yellen's nemesis in his political activism was the Imperial Irrigation District, which controlled the distribution of water and electricity in Imperial Valley and was in turn controlled by the large growers. This subseries includes IID documents including audit reports (1960-1964), annual reports (1963-1990), maps, the IID publication District News (1960-1974), and publications made by other pro-big farmer groups, including pamphlets specifically attacking Yellen.

F) Political Campaigns: Examples of Yellen's political advertisements, as well as advertisements from other local campaigns, mostly dating from the 1960s.

G) Imperial County and the City of Brawley: Assorted materials, including descriptions of and fiscal data about Imperial County; the minutes of the Brawley Town Council for the years he served as a councilman (1964-1968); and correspondence internal to the city about a variety of matters such as promotions in the police and fire departments, and planning projects.

Correspondence

Box 7, Folder 6

undated

Box 7, Folder 7

1959-1960

Box 7, Folder 8

1961 January - July

Box 7, Folder 9

1961 August - December

Box 8, Folder 1

1962

Box 8, Folder 2

1963 January - July

Box 8, Folder 3

1963 August - December

Box 8, Folder 4

1964 January - May

Box 8, Folder 5

1964 June - December

Box 8, Folder 6

1965 January - September

Box 8, Folder 7

1965 October - December

Box 9, Folder 1

1966 January - April

Box 9, Folder 2

1966 May -December

Box 9, Folder 3

1967 January - July

Box 9, Folder 4

1967 August - December

Box 9, Folder 5

1968 January - July

Box 9, Folder 6

1968 August - December

Box 10, Folder 1

1969 January - April

Box 10, Folder 2

1969 May - December

Box 10, Folder 3

1970

Box 10, Folder 4

1971

Box 10, Folder 5

1972

Box 10, Folder 6

1973-1974

Box 11, Folder 1

1975-1976

Box 11, Folder 2

1977 January - September

Box 11, Folder 3

1977 October - December

Box 11, Folder 4

1978

Box 11, Folder 5

1979 January - May

Box 11, Folder 6

1979 June - December

Box 12, Folder 1

1980 January - June

Box 12, Folder 2

1980 July - December

Box 12, Folder 3

1981-1984

Box 12, Folder 4

1985

Box 12, Folder 5

1986

Box 12, Folder 6

1987

Box 12, Folder 7

1988

Box 12, Folder 8

1989

Box 13, Folder 1

1990

Box 13, Folder 2

1991

Box 13, Folder 3

1992

Box 13, Folder 4

1993

Box 13, Folder 5

1994

Box 13, Folder 6

Yellen's research notes undated

Lawsuits

Box 13, Folder 7

People of the State of California vs. Ben Yellen 1965 - 1966

General note

Regarding his assault on Richard Sharp on November 15, 1965.

Box 13, Folder 8

Ben Yellen vs. Jack Bryant, Lom Tompkins et al. 1960

General note

Suit against Imperial Irrigation District to enforce Reclamation Law.

Box 13, Folder 9

Ben Yellen vs. Orville L. Freeman, Secretary of Agriculture, et al. 1967

Box 13, Folder 10

Betty Girth et al. vs. Raymond L. Thompson, Imperial Irrigation District 1969

General note

Case seeking application of 'one man, one vote' rule in Imperial Valley division boundaries.

United States vs. Imperial Irrigation District

Box 13, Folder 11

United States vs. Imperial Irrigation District, 1967-1974

Box 14, Folder 1

Requests to enter the suit 1967

Box 14, Folder 2

Affidavits in support of motion 1971

Box 14, Folder 3

Imperial Irrigation District et al. vs. Ben Yellen et al. 1975 - 1979

Box 14, Folder 4

Imperial Irrigation District et al. vs. Ben Yellen et al. 1979

Ben Yellen et al. vs. Walter J. Hickel, Secretary of the Department of Interior

Box 14, Folder 5

1970 - 1972

Box 14, Folder 6

1973

Box 14, Folder 7

United States vs. Tulare Lake Canal Company, Brief of Ben Yellen and others 1974

Box 14, Folder 8

Ben Yellen vs. Calderon, Jaham, and Osborn, et al. 1986

General note

Regarding improper accounting practices in IID annual reports.

Box 14, Folder 9

Ben Yellen et al. vs. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of CA 1972

General note

Appeal of Ben Yellen et al vs. Walter J. Hickel.

Box 14, Folder 10

Ben Yellen et al. vs. Rogers C. B. Morton, Secretary of the Interior, et al. 1972

Box 14, Folder 11

Jack Bryan et al. vs. Ben Yellen et al. 1980

General note

Countersuit opinion.

Box 14, Folder 12

Benjamin L. Yellen vs. E.O. Steimle, et al. 1967

General note

Suit for civil rights damages against the Brawley Elementary School District.

Box 15, Folder 1

City of Brawley vs. Benjamin Louis Yellen 1966 - 1969

General note

Regarding non-payment of his business license tax.

Box 15, Folder 2

Charles Warren vs. Ben Yellen 1963 - 1964

General note

Regarding defamation of character in one of Yellen's newsletters.

Box 15, Folder 3

People of the State of California vs. Benjamin Louis Yellen 1960

General note

Regarding a disturbance at a bus station.

Yellen vs. Story, Macken, and the City of Brawley

Box 15, Folder 6

1986

Box 15, Folder 7

1987

Box 15, Folder 8

1988

Box 15, Folder 5

Depositions of Yellen and Macken, 1985

Box 15, Folder 4

Lawsuit regarding his arrest for distributing pamphlets on November 10, 1984

Western Water

Box 15, Folder 9

Department of Interior 1923 - 1970

General note

Correspondence regarding Reclamation Law.

Box 15, Folder 10

All-American Canal Contract, amendments and supplements 1932

Box 15, Folder 11

Landownership, operating tenure, and non-resident landlords 1942

Box 15, Folder 12

Pamphlets advocating enforcement of the Reclamation Law 1947 - 1987

Box 16, Folder 1

Landowners and acres owned in Imperial Valley 1969 - 1977

Box 16, Folder 2

Applicability of the excess land laws to Imperial Irrigation District 1962 - 1964

Box 16, Folder 3

Interior Solicitor's Decision that IID lands are subject to the Reclamation Law 1964

Box 16, Folder 4

Congress should reevaluate the 160-acre limitation on land 1972

General note

Bureau of Reclamation report.

Box 16, Folder 5

Department of Agriculture reports on the application of the Reclamation Law, 1978

Box 16, Folder 6

Interim Report, acreage limitation, Department of Interior 1980

Box 16, Folder 7

Water conservation opportunities. Imperial Irrigation District 1984

Reclamation repayments and payout schedules

Box 17, Folder 1

1902 - 1957

Box 17, Folder 2

1965

Box 17, Folder 3-5

Power and Land in California, The Ralph Nader Task Force - Volume 1 1971

Box 17, Folder 6

Power and Land in California, The Ralph Nader Task Force - Volume 2 1971

Box 18, Folder 1

Power and Land in California, The Ralph Nader Task Force - Volume 2 1971

Box 18, Folder 2

Testimony of various people about the Reclamation Law 1948 - 1978

Box 18, Folder 3

Articles by Paul Taylor on Reclamation law 1950 - 1973

Box 18, Folder 4

Paul Taylor's testimony before various government agencies 1961 - 1974

Box 18, Folder 5

Articles about California water and agriculture 1956 - 1985

Box 18, Folder 6

Adams, Peter 1971

General note

The Politics and Economics of the Acreage Limitations of the Federal Reclamation Project.

Box 18, Folder 7

Barnett, Paul, Imperial Valley: The Land of Sun and Subsidies 1978

Box 18, Folder 8

Smith, Charles - Anti-Monopoly Water Law Bibliography 1966

Palo Verde Irrigation District

Box 19, Folder 1

Annual report 1957

Oversize FB-016, Folder 1

Map showing district irrigation system and proposed adjacent development 1967 January 1

Coachella Valley

Box 19, Folder 2

Pamphlets 1964 - 1977

Oversize MC-053, Folder 02

Coachella Valley County Water District boundary map 1965

Box 19, Folder 3

Orange County, California groundwater 1966 - 1967

Box 19, Folder 4

Salton Sea pamphlets 1977 - 1990

Box 19, Folder 5

San Luis Unit, Central Valley Project 1962

Box 19, Folder 6

Central Valley Project, Special Task Force Report 1978

Box 19, Folder 7

San Joaquin Valley, California undated

General note

Lawsuit to enforce Reclamation Law.

Box 19, Folder 8

Projections of California Agriculture to 1980 and 2000 1970

Box 19, Folder 9

Thirty-five chart examples of questionable land transactions 1975

Box 19, Folder 10

Metropolitan Water District and the Imperial Irrigation District 1970 - 1985

Box 20, Folder 1

Salt River Project, Phoenix AZ 1966

Box 20, Folder 2

Arizona Water Projects 1964 - 1974

Box 20, Folder 3

Boulder Canyon Project 1932

General note

Contract between the United States and the Imperial Irrigation District.

Box 20, Folder 4

Colorado River Dam and irrigation pamphlets and essays 1966 - 1993

Box 20, Folder 5

Yuma Irrigation Project map 1949

Box 20, Folder 6

Waterlog: Newsletter of the Working Alliance to Equalize Rates 1979 - 1984

Western Water News

Box 20, Folder 7

1960 - 1969

Box 20, Folder 8

1970 - 1979

Box 20, Folder 9

1980 - 1995

National Farmers Union Washington Newsletter

Box 20, Folder 10

1964 - 1969

Box 20, Folder 11

1970 - 1979

Box 21, Folder 1

1980 - 1985

Box 21, Folder 2

1990 - 1991

Box 21, Folder 3

California Agrarian Action Project 1980 - 1984

Box 21, Folder 4

California Farm Consumer Reporter 1965 - 1973

Box 21, Folder 5

California Home Owner 1963 - 1971

National Land for People

Box 21, Folder 6

Annuals 1976 - 1983

Box 21, Folder 7

Bulletins 1976 - 1985

Box 21, Folder 8

Sharecropper, Washington News Reports 1972 - 1974

Box 21, Folder 9

Rural Advance National Sharecroppers Fund 1971 - 1984

Box 21, Folder 10

Subsidies 1963 - 1984

Box 22, Folder 1

Tax Assessment and Equalization 1958 - 1966

Box 22, Folder 2

Ben Yellen vs. Equalization Board of Imperial County. Petition regarding real property assessments 1964

Oversize FB-016, Folder 2

Valuations and tax rates tables and assessor's map for Imperial County 1964-1970

Box 22, Folder 3

Financing California's Public Schools by property tax equalizatization, 1964

Electricity

Box 22, Folder 4

Imperial Irrigation Dsitrict Power Department Cost Allocation and Rate Study. Report to Board of Directors 1978

Box 22, Folder 5

Imperial Irrigation District electricity rate schedules 1962 - 1981

Box 22, Folder 6

Imperial Irrigation District electricity pamphlets 1963 - 1989

Oversize MC-053, Folder 03

Power facilities maps 1966, 1972

Box 22, Folder 7

Tennessee Valley Authority pamphlets 1963 - 1973

Box 22, Folder 8

Tennessee Valley Authority electricity sales statistics 1967 - 1992

Box 22, Folder 9

Murray, Keith, The Power Without 1964

Imperial Irrigation District

Box 22, Folder 10

Information on Imperial Valley Acreage Limitation Problem undated

Oversize MC-053, Folder 02

Maps 1959-1980

Box 22, Folder 11

Board of Directors, minutes and reports 1961 - 1980

Audit Reports

Box 22, Folder 12

1960

Box 23, Folder 1

1961

Box 23, Folder 2

1963

Box 23, Folder 3

1964

Box 23, Folder 4

Consolidated Balance Sheet 1977

Box 23, Folder 5

Annual inventory of crops receiving water 1974 - 1989

Annual Reports

Box 23, Folder 6

1963 - 1969

Box 23, Folder 7

1970-1979

Box 23, Folder 8

1980 - 1990

Box 23, Folder 9

Agriculture Reports 1962 - 1980

Box 23, Folder 10

Pamphlets 1962 - 1980

Oversize MC-053, Folder 01

Tract index map 1964

Oversize FB-016, Folder 3

Water Transportation: Hoover Dam to User 1958

General

Diagram illustrating the delivery of water from the Hoover Dam to an irrigated field in Imperial County.

Box 24, Folder 1

Miscellaneous materials undated

Box 24, Folder 2

Articles of Incorporation 1955

Box 24, Folder 3

Imperial Resources Associates 1965 - 1977

General note

This group was organized to fight the effort against the enforcement of the Reclamation Law limits.

Box 24, Folder 4

Call for Fairness Newsletter 1977 - 1979

General note

Newsletter of groups opposing Yellen's efforts to enforce the Reclamation Law.

Box 24, Folder 5

Pamphlets and an essay attacking Yellen and defending the interests of big farms 1962 - 1977

District News - Imperial Irrigation District publication

Box 24, Folder 6

1960 - 1965

Box 24, Folder 7

1966 - 1974

Political Campaigns

Box 24, Folder 8

Yellen's campaign statements 1964 - 1968

Box 24, Folder 9

Yellen's statements of qualifications 1970 - 1972

Box 24, Folder 10

Yellen's political advertisements and newsletters 1980 - 1993

Oversize MC-053, Folder 04

Political posters 1982 June

Oversize FB-016, Folder 4

Grower's Soliloquy undated

Box 24, Folder 11

Advertisements for local candidates 1963 - 1990

Box 24, Folder 12

Statements by Imperial Valley candidates 1966 - 1978

Box 24, Folder 13

Miscellaneous materials 1960 - 1970

Box 24, Folder 14

Pamphlet 1950

General

Yellen used this pamphlet to defend his right to distribute his newsletters in automobiles.

Imperial County and the City of Brawley

Box 24, Folder 15

Imperial County undated

Box 24, Folder 16

Imperial Valley Farmers' Association Annual Report 1960

Box 24, Folder 17

Imperial County Farm Bureau membership list 1961 - 1962

Box 24, Folder 18

Agriculture 1965 - 1985

Box 24, Folder 19

Imperial Valley Weather Summary 1965 - 1989

Box 25, Folder 1

Agricultural Reports 1964 - 1990

Box 25, Folder 2

Crops Guidelines to Production Costs and Practices 1982 - 1983

Box 25, Folder 3

Imperial County tourist guide 1960 - 1970

Box 25, Folder 4

Economic Opportunity Commission 1968

Box 25, Folder 5

City of Imperial Directory - Clubs, Organizations, and Offices 1972

Box 25, Folder 6

Schools - financial and statistical report 1961 - 1962

Box 25, Folder 7

Analysis of economic potential 1962

Box 25, Folder 8

Preliminary budget 1961 - 1962

Box 25, Folder 9

Final budget and final report 1961 - 1962

Box 26, Folder 1

Proposed budget 1964 - 1965

Box 26, Folder 2

Local government budgets 1965 - 1966

Final budget and financial statement

Box 26, Folder 3

1964 - 1966

Box 26, Folder 4

1965 - 1967

Box 26, Folder 5

1966 - 1968

Box 27, Folder 1

1968 - 1970

Box 27, Folder 2

Welfare Department annual report 1968 - 1970

Box 27, Folder 3

Elections and reapportionment - Brawley meeting 1963

Box 27, Folder 4

Tax payer's compaints about Brawley schools 1962

Box 27, Folder 5

Schools 1967 - 1968

Oversize MC-053, Folder 05

Town and county maps 1943 - 1965

Brawley City Council

Box 27, Folder 6-7

Agendas and minutes 1960-1964 September

Box 28, Folder 1-5

Agendas and minutes 1964 October-1966

Box 29, Folder 1-3

Agendas and minutes 1967-1968

Box 29, Folder 4

Report upon examination of accounts 1963 - 1967

Box 29, Folder 5

Statement of receipts 1964 - 1968

Box 29, Folder 6

Statement of receipts and expenditures 1964 - 1967

Box 29, Folder 7

City Treasurer's monthly reports 1964 - 1968

Box 30, Folder 1

Salaries and retirement plans 1964 - 1967

Box 30, Folder 8-10

Correspondence, reports and agreements undated, 1964-1965

Box 31, Folder 1-3

Correspondence, reports and agreements 1966-1968

Box 30, Folder 2

Monthly report of Brawley police department 1965 - 1968

Box 30, Folder 3

Official statement inviting bids on $215,00 bonds 1964

Box 30, Folder 4

City report on water system 1962

Box 30, Folder 5

Brawley city master plan 1966

Box 30, Folder 6

Brawley re-use valuation and financial feasibility analysis of downtown 1966

Box 30, Folder 7

Brawley Plaza East development project report 1967

Box 31, Folder 4

Municipal payment to Imperial Irrigation District for water 1973

Box 31, Folder 5

City business licenses 1984

Box 31, Folder 6

Cattle Call 1987

Box 31, Folder 7

Yellen's certificate of election as Brawley City Councilman 1964

Box 31, Folder 8

Plaque commemorating Yellen's term on the Brawley City Council 1964 - 1968

MEDICAL ISSUES

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 4: MEDICAL ISSUES. Arranged in two subseries: A) Correspondence and B) Medical Malpractice Suit.

A) Correspondence: Beginning in the 1940s, Yellen wrote numerous letters to medical journals and other doctors explaining and advocating his habit of compounding prescriptions, that is, writing complex prescriptions patients or pharmacists would put together as substitutes for more expensive packaged brand name drugs. In fact, his first crusade was against the pharmaceutical manufacturers who charged high prices for drugs he compounded cheaply. Within this subseries are letters reflecting the day-to-day nature of his medical practice, as well as his relationship with other physicians in the area. Arranged chronologically.

B) Medical Malpractice Suit: In December of 1981, Yellen's insistence on compounding drugs got him into trouble when a two-year old boy died in his care. This subseries includes correspondence and materials relating to Travis Kavanaugh vs Ben Yellen, and Yellen's subsequent countersuits. Legal documents relating to these proceedings are included.

Conditions Governing Access

Some files in subseries B) Medical Malpractice Suit are restricted.

Correspondence

Box 31, Folder 9

Yellen, Ben, "A Doctor Addresses His Colleagues" 1948

General note

NARD Journal articles written by Yellen about compounding prescriptions.

Box 31, Folder 10

Undated

Box 31, Folder 11

1948, January - July

Box 31, Folder 12

1948, August - December

Box 31, Folder 13

1949

Box 32, Folder 1

1950-1955

Box 32, Folder 2

1956-1959

Box 32, Folder 3

1960-1969

Box 32, Folder 4

1970-1973

Box 32, Folder 5

1974-1975

Box 32, Folder 6

1976-1979

Box 32, Folder 7

1980-1981

Box 32, Folder 8

1982-1983

Box 32, Folder 9

1984

Box 32, Folder 10

1985

Box 33, Folder 1

1986

Box 33, Folder 2

1987

Box 33, Folder 3

1988-1991

Medical Malpractice Suit

Correspondence

Box 33, Folder 4

undated

Box 33, Folder 5

1982

Box 33, Folder 6

1983 January - September

Box 33, Folder 7

1983 October - December

Box 33, Folder 8

1984

Box 33, Folder 9

1985

Box 33, Folder 10

1986

Box 34, Folder 1

1987

Box 34, Folder 2

1988

Box 34, Folder 3

1989-1992

Box 34, Folder 4

Yellen's expulsion from the Imperial Valley Medical Society 1959

Travis Kavanaugh et al. vs. Benjamin Yellen, et al

Box 34, Folder 5

1982 - 1983

Box 34, Folder 6

Investigation documents 1982-1983

General note

Includes hospital records and coroner's report.

Conditions Governing Access

Restrictions apply

Box 34, Folder 7

1984

Box 34, Folder 8

1986-1988

Board of Medical Quality Assurance accusation against Yellen

Box 35, Folder 1-8

Transcript - Volume 1-9 1983

Legal documents

Box 36, Folder 1

1983

Box 36, Folder 2

1983 - 1985

Box 36, Folder 3

1987

General note

Petition for the reinstatement of his revoked certificate to practice medicine.

Box 36, Folder 4

Ben Yellen vs. American Medical Association 1988 - 1989

Box 36, Folder 5

Ben Yellen vs. Robert Thompson 1985 - 1986

General note

Charges Thompson with stealing his patients, outgrowth of the malpractice suit.

Box 36, Folder 6

Ben Yellen vs. Dan Latendresse 1985 - 1987

General note

Charges Latendresse as an employee of the Borad of Medical Quality Assurance with conspiring to defraud Yellen of his medical license.

Box 36, Folder 7

State Education Department of New York disciplinary proceeding against Yellen 1988 - 1989

General note

Revoking and reinstating his license to practice medicine in New York.

Box 36, Folder 8

Ben Yellen vs. Pioneers Memorial Hospital et al. 1988 - 1989

General note

Countersuit to his malpractice suit.

Box 36, Folder 9

Ben Yellen vs. Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals, et al. 1989 - 1990

General note

Charges fraudulent advertising, supression of free speech and free press regarding his malpractice case.

BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 5) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL: Contains select documents, such as a copy of Yellen's birth certificate, photographs, a folder of personal correspondence, and a collection of secondary articles about him including a transcript of his appearance on the television show 60 Minutes in 1973.

Box 37, Folder 1

Transcripts - 60 Minutes featuring Ben Yellen and "Western Water" the McNeil/Lehrer Report

General note

Volume V, Number 7. January 14, 1973, and January 3, 1978

Box 37, Folder 2

Biographical and educational data 1935 - 1985

Box 37, Folder 3

Birth certificate, passport, international drivers license, etc

Box 37, Folder 4

Magazine articles about Yellen 1964 - 1990

Box 37, Folder 5

Personal correspondence 1950 - 1993

Box 37, Folder 6

Photographs

Box 37, Folder 7

Yellen Family genealogy

Accession Processed in 2006

YELLOWSHEETS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 6) YELLOWSHEETS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: A small sampling of the pamphlets and letters Yellen produced for public consumption. They are particularly notable for the attacks Yellen undertook against prominent politicians and residents of Imperial Valley. Arranged chronologically.

Box 38, Folder 1

Yellowsheets 1962 - 1990

Box 38, Folder 2

Voice of the People and Speak Out 1977 - 1990

FARMWORKERS

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 7) FARMWORKERS: Primarily Yellen's correspondence on behalf of braceros in Imperial Valley, as well as a few medical records. Arranged in alphabetical order.

Conditions Governing Access

Some files in this series are restricted.

Box 38, Folder 3

Correspondence 1959 - 1974

Box 38, Folder 4

Correspondence 1953 - 1963

Conditions Governing Access note

Restrictions apply

Box 38, Folder 5

Medical records - A 1958

Conditions Governing Access note

Restrictions apply

Box 38, Folder 6

Medical records - L 1955

Conditions Governing Access note

Restrictions apply

Box 38, Folder 7

Medical records - M 1962

Conditions Governing Access note

Restrictions apply

Box 38, Folder 8

Medical records - Q 1963

Conditions Governing Access note

Restrictions apply

Box 38, Folder 9

Receipts and notes regarding lawsuits on behalf of braceros 1958

Box 38, Folder 10

Society for the Alleviation of Poverty - Founding and correspondence 1973 - 1976

WATER AND RELATED POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 8) WATER AND RELATED POLITICAL ACTIVITIES: Includes samples of Yellen's correspondence, in addition to receipts. The receipts provide a hint at the amount of money Yellen spent on such things as paper for printing yellowsheets, and radio and newspaper advertising during his campaigns for political office. Arranged in alphabetical order.

Box 38, Folder 11-15

Correspondence 1960-1994

Box 39, Folder 1

Political slide show

Box 39, Folder 2

Receipts and notes for elections 1960 - 1982

Box 39, Folder 3

Receipts for miscellaneous legal cases 1958 - 1988

Box 39, Folder 4

Receipts for newspaper advertising 1960 - 1984

Box 39, Folder 5

Receipts for occupational license 1965 - 1979

Box 39, Folder 6

Receipts for paper for yellowsheets 1959 - 1964

Box 39, Folder 7

Receipts for radio advertising 1958 - 1982

MEDICAL ISSUES

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 9) MEDICAL ISSUES: The most extensive portion of the accession, with most documents relating to Yellen's 1981 medical malpractice suit. Arranged in four subseries.

A) General Medical Correspondence: Letters pertain mostly to Yellen's practice of compounding prescriptions.

B) Malpractice - Annabelle Hillock's Notes: Hillock was a friend of Yellen, and assisted him in his pro per actions to defend himself against the accusation of malpractice and subsequently to regain his license.

C) Malpractice - Lawyer's files

D) Malpractice - Legal Documents

Conditions Governing Access

Some files in this series are restricted.

Correspondence

Box 39, Folder 8

1964 - 1989

Box 39, Folder 9

1963 - 1967

Conditions Governing Access note

Restrictions apply

Box 39, Folder 10

1969 - 1970

Conditions Governing Access note

Restrictions apply

Box 39, Folder 11

1957 - 1965

Conditions Governing Access note

Restrictions apply

Box 39, Folder 12

Pioneers Memorial Hospital by-laws and regulations 1961

Box 39, Folder 13

Malpractice correspondence and notes undated

Conditions Governing Access

Restrictions apply

General

Patient prescriptions removed and placed in restricted file.

Malpractice - Annabelle Hillock's notes

Box 39, Folder 14

Annabelle Hillock to Board of Medical Quality Assurance regarding accusation against Yellen 1983

Conditions Governing Access

Restrictions apply

Box 40, Folder 1

Dr. Fred Greensite's testimony

Box 40, Folder 2

Dr. Powers' testimony

Box 40, Folder 3

Dr. Roger Williams' testimony 1983

Box 40, Folder 4

Lab flow sheets 1981

Conditions Governing Access

Restrictions apply

Box 40, Folder 5-7

Medical records 1981 - 1982

Conditions Governing Access

Restrictions apply

Box 40, Folder 8

Miscellaneous 1982 - 1983

Box 41, Folder 1-3

Miscellaneous 1982 - 1983

General note

Continuation.

Conditions Governing Access

Restrictions apply

Box 41, Folder 4

Tests performed on Winston Kavanaugh 1981

Conditions Governing Access

Restrictions apply

Malpractice - Lawyer's files

Box 41, Folder 5

Board of Medical Quality Assurance accusation against Yellen 1982 - 1983

Box 41, Folder 6-8

Travis Kavanaugh vs. Yellen 1986

Yellen vs. Board of Medical Quality Assurance

Box 41, Folder 9

Appeal 1985 - 1986

Box 42, Folder 1

Compendium of court record

Box 42, Folder 2-4

Pleadings #1 1984

Box 42, Folder 5

Pleadings #2 1984

Conditions Governing Access

Restrictions apply

General

Patient prescriptions have been pulled from this file and restricted.

Malpractice - Legal documents

Box 42, Folder 6

Board of Medical Quality Assurance accusation against Yellen 1982

Box 42, Folder 7

Petition for reinstatement of medical certificate 1986

Box 42, Folder 8

Yellen vs. American Medical Association 1988 - 1989

Box 42, Folder 9

Yellen vs. Board of Medical Quality Assurance 1985

Conditions Governing Access

Restrictions apply

General

Patient prescriptions.

Box 43, Folder 1

Yellen vs. Board of Medical Quality Assurance 1985

Box 43, Folder 2

Yellen vs. Board of Medical Quality Assurance 1988

Box 43, Folder 3

Yellen vs. Dan Latendresse et al. 1985

Box 43, Folder 4

Yellen vs. George and Buch et al. 1986

Box 43, Folder 5

Yellen vs. Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals 1989

BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 10) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS: Includes a variety of materials including personal correspondence, documentation of Yellen's death, as well as an extensive collection of photographs, mostly taken early in Yellen's life. Contains ephemera such as matchbook covers with Yellen's picture on them, rubber stamps with much-used slogans, and Yellen's physician's diary from the 1950s. Arranged in alphabetical order.

Conditions Governing Access

Some files in this series are restricted.

Box 43, Folder 6

Callanan Correspondence 1978 - 1979

Conditions Governing Access note

Restrictions apply

Box 43, Folder 7

Callanan, unfinished thesis

Conditions Governing Access note

Restrictions apply

Box 43, Folder 8

Case Reports: Pneumopericardium, The Medical Bulletin of the Veteran's Administration 1939

Box 43, Folder 9

Death certificate 1994

Box 43, Folder 10

Egan, Shoshana and Robert correspondence 1971 - 1993

Box 43, Folder 11

Matchbooks

Box 43, Folder 12

Memorial book 1994

Box 43, Folder 13

Personal correspondence and certificates 1980 -1989

Personal correspondence

Box 43, Folder 14

1941 - 1969

Box 43, Folder 15

1970 - 1979

Box 44, Folder 1

1960 - 1985

Conditions Governing Access note

Restrictions apply

Box 44, Folder 2

Photographs of Yellen

Box 44, Folder 3

Photographs 1947 - 1990

Box 44, Folder 4

Physician's diary 1953

Box 44, Folder 5

Rubber stamps

Box 44, Folder 6

Slides 1954 - 1976

NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 11) NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS: Newspaper articles about Yellen collected between 1958 and 1994. The clippings provide a narrative to Yellen's life, documenting his public trials and triumphs. The clippings are a good place to begin to get a sense of the chronology of Yellen's life and his public impact.

Box 45, Folder 1

1958-1959

Box 45, Folder 2

1960-1965

Box 45, Folder 3

1966-1969

Box 45, Folder 4

1970-1979

Box 45, Folder 5

1980-1994

SOUND RECORDINGS

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 12) SOUND RECORDINGS: Includes audiotapes of a few of Yellen's public appearances, the most notable of which is his 60 Minutes appearance in 1973. These materials in are chronological order, as their titles are sometimes unclear.

Conditions Governing Access

Original recordings are restricted. Patrons may request user copies be produced.

Box 46, Folder 1

Brawley City Council - Minutes 1965

Brawley City Council meeting

view online item

Box 46, Folder 2

NBC News interview 1972

NBC News story on Imperial Valley water laws, featuring Ben Yellen

view online item

Box 46, Folder 3

60 Minutes news story on Ben Yellen and Imperial Valley (fragment) 1973