Transcript of Interview with Congressman Lou Frey, Jr.

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Dublin Core

Title

Transcript of Interview with Congressman Lou Frey, Jr.

Alternative Title

Interview with Congressman Frey

Subject

Frey, Lou, 1934-
Congress
Orlando (Fla.)
Airports--Florida
Patrick Air Force Base (Fla.)
McCoy Air Force Base
Cape Canaveral (Fla.)

Description

One page from transcript of meeting with Representative Louis Frey, Jr. (1934-2019). Rep. Frey was one of the people who worked to help the City of Orlando take over the McCoy Air Force Base for civilian use after the base's closure. As a growing tourist destination, Central Florida needed sufficient means for travelers to access the area. Frey served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1969 to 1979. He was on several committees during his time in office, including the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control and the Science and Technology Committee. He was also the chairman of the Young Republicans of Florida. Frey worked with the President Richard M. Nixon's administration in order to encourage favorable conditions for the City of Orlando to gain this airport. When the airport later became an international port of entry, the tourism industry was even further benefited.

Source

Original 1-page typed transcript: Lou Frey Papers, Clippings Binder, Lou Frey Institute of Politics & Government, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.

Date Created

ca. 1982

Contributor

Frey, Lou, Jr.

Is Format Of

Digital reproduction of original 1-page typed transcript.

Is Part Of

Lou Frey Papers, Clippings Binder, Lou Frey Institute of Politics & Government, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.

Format

image/jpg

Extent

124 KB

Medium

1-page typed transcript

Language

eng

Type

Text

Coverage

Orlando Jetport, McCoy Air Force Base, Orlando, Florida
John F. Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, Florida
Patrick Air Force Base, Florida
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Accrual Method

Donation

Mediator

History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Geography Teacher

Rights Holder

Copyright to this resource is held by the Lou Frey Institute of Politics & Government and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.

Curator

Mayer, Erica
Cepero, Laura

Digital Collection

External Reference

"Congressman Lou Frey, Jr. Biography." Lou Frey Institute of Politics & Government. http://loufreyjr.com/.
"FREY, Louis, Jr., (1934 - )." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000381.
Frey, Lou, and Michael T. Hayes. Inside the House: Former Members Reveal How Congress Really Works. Lanham, MD: U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress, 2001.
Shaw, Frederick J. Locating Air Force Base Sites: History's Legacy Washington D.C.: Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, 2004.

Transcript

The other thing was the airport. Most people don't know the story on that . I was called by the Secretary of Defense, who I think was Mel Laird, or maybe it was the Secretary of Air Force, and he said, "Lou I need your recommendation. I've got to close one of two bases in your area. I've to [sic] close McCoy or I've got to close Patrick." At the time, because of the shutdown of Apollo, we had about 25% unemployment at the Cape area, and he said, "I have to do one of the two. What's your recommendation?" I went and did some stuff and some soul searching, and I said, if we can get some things to develop, the only one that makes sense is McCoy because we can stand the impact in Orlando plus we go t a chance to build a real regional airport out of it. So they said they would help and do some things and together with, at that time I guess it was Gurney and Dick Stone and so forth, we really got that done, got the initial funding for the whole airport, and got it through.
It's funny... I don't know if this is the gind of story that you want in... but I'd run, against Him Robinson and beat him. Years later when the big thing in the airport came, it was then 1982 or whenever they rededicated it; Jim was involved in it; I forget who the chairman was' and I wasn't even invited to it. But somehow or other somebody picked up and at least asked me to be in the audience, and Bill Nelson was up there, and so forth, and was given the credit for doing the whole thing, and Bill, bless his heart, said, "Hey wait a minute, I didn't have a thing to do with this. You know, I was just there after this whole thing was done, and the guy sitting in the audience did all of this -- Lou Frey." I must admit that I really thought that was really nice of him -- a really class act for Bill to do that.

Document Item Type Metadata

Original Format

1-page typed transcript

Citation

Erica M., “Transcript of Interview with Congressman Lou Frey, Jr.,” RICHES, accessed October 31, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/3610.

Locations

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