Peter C. Dahl Series
Series
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
The Max Dahl Papers chronicle the business pursuits of both C. Max Dahl and Walter Reed, particularly where the two intersect. Dahl worked for his Father-in-law, Reed, and much of the business correspondence they exchanged is contained within these papers. The collection has been arranged into four series; the Max Dahl Series, the Peter C. Dahl Series, the Walter R. Reed Series, and the Ledger Series. The two larger series of Max Dahl and Walter Reed are further broken down into subseries.
The Max Dahl Series is divided into the Correspondence Subseries and the Subject Files Subseries. The Correspondence Subseries contains files of Max Dahl’s business correspondence, including letters received and carbon copies of letters sent by Dahl. These are arranged chronologically by year.
The Subject Files Subseries contains two bound volumes of business records, the first detailing harvest records and the second recording seed orders sent to various purchasers. Also included in this subseries are the following business records: One folder containing bills of lading, which provides information on freight transport with the Great Northern Railway Company, particularly for shipment to Land-O-Lakes Creameries. The Business Transaction Receipts file, which contains information from seed pricing to payroll and includes some receipts for purchase reimbursement, equipment acquisition, plowing services, and other needs. The Seed Certification file, which contains tags from tested seed and a brochure on the process of seed certification in the state of North Dakota. The Seed Sales and Transport records, which include documentation of grade, weight, and dockage, field inspection forms, and elevator receipts. An Equipment and Fuel Receipts file, which holds receipts for purchases from Standard Oil in addition to a few lumber orders and farm equipment.
The Personal and Medical receipts file contains hospital bills and payment receipts for services such as penicillin administration in addition to assorted small hardware store and grocery purchases.
The Extension Bulletins File holds a printed bulletin from North Dakota State University on North Dakota Hog Production and the printed proceedings from the Third Coordinated Beef Improvement Conference at Texas A&M University, both from 1965.
The remaining items in the Subject Files Subseries fall somewhat outside the scope of the collection but were accessioned with the rest of the material, though they may have slipped in unnoticed. The first is a program from a Boy Scouts of America promotion ceremony, featuring several Dahl children. It contains both a printed program of the ceremony and several hand drawings of Boy Scout insignia. The second is an undated and unsigned letter, handwritten in Norwegian without any context as to its arrival in this collection.
Peter C. Dahl (1867-1936) Series Father to C Max Dahl, the Peter C. Dahl series contains Peter Dahl’s correspondence regarding his proposed farm legislation, including responses from the offices of Agriculture Secretary Jardine, and the White House. This series also contains a draft of his original proposal, all from 1929.
The Walter Reed Series is broken down into four major subseries, reflecting his original record keeping system, as received by the archives. The first subseries contains all of Reed’s correspondence files, which he organized alphabetically by last name of the correspondent and then in reverse chronological order within each alphabetizied folder.
The Farm Managers Association subseries contains some records of the organization, assorted correspondence, meeting minutes, farm tour plans, and manuscripts relating to farm issues. The Northwest Farm Managers Association was organized in 1909 to help solve problems confronting agriculture and Reed served as founding member and later president of the group.
The North Dakota Taxpayers Association Subseries contains correspondence between members of the Cass County branch of the organization and published booklets by the larger state association. The non-political group was formed to help solve N.D. tax problems in 1931. The association worked to insure economical administration of government and school affairs. Records of the Association can be found in the NDSU Archives.
The Northwest Grain Association Subseries contains planning documents, correspondence, and officer records for this organization. The association was one of the regional part owners of the Farmers National Grain Corporation and provided cooperative elevator service in addition to financing and marketing. In November 1934, Walter Reed was elected to the Board of Directors of the Northwest Grain Association in absentia. This correspondence details his involvement as a member of the board.
The Ledger Series contains one bound ledger of farm records, including maps and tenant identification as well as production records for divided land sections under cultivation.
Dates
- 1927-1977
Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the NDSU Archives.
Extent
From the Collection: 2.5 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Repository Details
Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository
Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu