Correspondence and memos, 1930-1947

File — Box: 1, Folder: 15

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: The Emerson H. Smith Parent-Teacher Association Records are organized into five series: Charter Certificate, Meeting Minutes, Treasurer’s Reports, Subject Files, and Scrapbooks. The Charter Certificate and Constitution Series consists of the original document from the North Dakota Congress of Parents and Teachers recognizing the Emerson H. Smith P.T.A. It also contains the 1922 constitution for the Parent-Teacher’s Club of the Central School. The Meeting Minutes Series consist of ledgers and loose documents. This is an incomplete series that contains minutes from 1922 to 1944 and 1950 to 1957. The minutes include information such as membership lists, financial information (usually pertaining to fundraising activities), and social activities the P.T.A. participated in. The Treasurer’s Reports Series consists of two ledgers containing the complete treasurer’s reports from 1933 to 1957. Membership lists are also included in the ledgers. The Subject Files Series includes a variety of documents pertaining to the P.T.A., its members, and their activities. This includes a few documents related to the P.T.A.’s involvement in the Boy Scouts and the Campfire Girls; a finance report for one of the carnival fundraisers; a variety of certificates awarded to the P.T.A.; correspondence and memos regarding general activities of the P.T.A.; invitations to parents regarding various meetings and activities sponsored by the P.T.A.; a membership list; newspaper clippings related to members of the P.T.A. and students from Emerson H. Smith elementary school; organizational brochures from the national P.T.A.; a memo promoting a paper drive during World War II; and some annual program booklets that list the scheduled activities and events of the P.T.A. for various school years. The Scrapbooks Series consists of several scrapbooks created and maintained by the P.T.A.’s official historian for the purposes of tracking publicity. Information found in the scrapbooks includes photographs, yearly programs listing scheduled activities, certificates, newspaper clippings, and correspondence and memos. The 1956-1957 scrapbook contains a copy of the P.T.A.’s by-laws. The books were intended for display at regional and national P.T.A. meetings and the local associations often competed with each other for scrapbook awards. The series includes scrapbooks for the years 1932-1937, 1946-1947, and 1952-1957. It is important to note that the scrapbooks are at varying degrees of completeness; some books contain relatively little information while other books are full.