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Emerson H. Smith Parent-Teacher Association Records

 Collection
Identifier: Mss 268-Mss 1571

Scope and Contents

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.

Dates

  • 1922-1957

Creator

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

The Institute does hold the copyright.

History

Mrs. J. G. Moore, the wife of the superintendent of Fargo schools, organized the Parent-Teacher’s Club of the Central School in May of 1922. The first president was Mrs. Harry Alsop. In November of that year the club voted to join the National Parent-Teachers Association. In the fall of 1930, the Central Elementary school was moved into a new building, the Emerson H. Smith Elementary School. The Central Parent-Teachers Association (P.T.A.) also moved into the new building and the association’s name was changed to the Emerson H. Smith Parent-Teacher Association. The first president was Mrs. George M. Black. Membership in the P.T.A. was open to anyone who was interested in the organization, but most members were teachers at Emerson school or parents of the Emerson school children. The P.T.A. was involved in a variety of programs such as fundraisers for items needed by the school, items for needy families, and community programs such as paper drives and working with the Red Cross. Working as family advocates, the P.T.A. involved themselves in both local and national political issues. The organization issued statements regarding the issues they supported and were active in. Some issues that they involved themselves in included prohibition, children’s welfare, children’s hygiene, movie censorship, and promoting literacy. In 1957 the use of Emerson School as an elementary school was discontinued. The elementary pupils were transferred to Jefferson and Hawthorne elementary schools and Central High later used the building as part of the high school. As Emerson H. Smith was no longer an elementary school, the P.T.A. was disbanded.

Extent

1.6 Linear Feet (1.6 linear feet.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This quite complete set of records documents the activities of the P.T.A. and school, for an elementary school on the south side of Fargo, N.D.

Provenance

Accessioned as part of the Fargo Public School District records, 2002 (Acc. 2670).

Separation Record

Photographs (Institute Photo 51.204)

There are five photographs for the Emerson Smith P.T.A. records. These are all photographs of various children’s activities.

Property rights

The Institute for Regional Studies owns the property rights to this collection.

Subjects

Related Names

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Finding Aid to the Emerson H. Smith Parent-Teacher Association Records
Description rules
Appm
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository

https://library.ndsu.edu/ndsuarchives/collections/institute-regional-studies-archive-collection
Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States

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