William Kaino Heikkila papers, 1951-1966 (majority within 1958-1960)
1 Linear Foot (1 record center box)
The records, which measure one linear foot, cover the dates from 1951 to 1966 and are divided into seven series. These are as follows: Correspondence (1952-1966), Publicity and Activities (1958-1961 and undated), Legal Proceedings and Documents (1952-1964 and undated), Legislation (1958-1962 and undated), Personal (1958-1960), Subject Files (1951-1960 and undated), and Miscellaneous (1958-1960 and undated).
The Correspondence series, (1952-1966), is rich in materials relating to both the public (esp. legal) and private sides of William Heikkila's deportation ordeal. It contains letters from Heikkila's attorneys, the general public, friends and family of the Heikkilas, and from William Heikkila himself to his wife, Phyllis, in the midst of his deportation stay in Finland. The letters illustrate both the ongoing struggle for Heikkila's citizenship and freedom, and the extent to which individuals and groups offered their support to his cause.
The Publicity and Activities series, (1958-1961 and undated), is the largest series in the records collection. The materials in this series help to illustrate the great amount of attention his deportation and the following proceedings received in the national, regional, and in particular local media. Included are a variety of materials from the NCCPFB, which played a central role in supporting both Heikkila's case and cause throughout the years. The organizational records of the NCCPFB, also in the Labadie collection, are a similar but somewhat less abundant source of materials of this nature. The bulk of the Publicity and Activities series consists of news clippings from around 1958, which provide a valuable means of understanding the deportation and proceedings from the perspective of the general public, and offers a generally detailed chronological progression of events in the case.
The Legal Proceedings and Documents series, (1952-1964 and undated), includes briefs from Heikkila's citizenship and deportation cases from 1952 to 1959. Also in this series are several items relating to Phyllis Heikkila's legal battle to win William's Social Security Lump Sum Death Benefit.
The next series, Legislation (1958-1962 and undated), contains informational sheets about bills published by the NCCPFB and other regional divisions of the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born (ACPFB). It also contains copies of some bills and notes and publications relating to bills.
The Personal series (1958-1960) includes two groupings of materials: those relating to Heikkila's deportation and related travel (1958), and those relating to his death and funeral (1960).
The Subject Files (1951-1960 and undated) contains two folders. The first concerns William Niukkanen (a.k.a. William Mackie), another Finnish-born man residing in the United States who encountered citizenship battles similar to those of Heikkila, and who was sometimes discussed in relation to Heikkila. The second relates to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), which was intimately involved with the battle against Communism in the 1950s onward which Heikkila found himself inadvertently involved with.
The final series, Miscellaneous (1958-1960 and undated), contains some photographs, some Finnish language materials of undetermined nature, and some general items which do not fall within the series structure but which nonetheless have a place in the records collection.