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Association of North Dakota Geographers Records

 Collection
Identifier: Mss 267

Scope and Contents

The Association of North Dakota Geographers Records came to the Institute in the personal papers of Warren Kress, long-time geography professor at NDSU and active in the organization. The records were removed from his papers creating a separate collection. The ANDG records are organized into six series: Constitution and Bylaws, Meeting Minutes, Treasurer’s Reports, Publications, Correspondence, and Subject Files. The Constitution and Bylaws Series consists of formal documents from 1961 and 1967. The document from 1967 includes proposed amendments. The Meeting Minutes Series contains the official minutes of the organization, arranged chronologically. They include both the business and annual meetings minutes of ANDG. The meeting minutes for 1947 to 1970 are in one ledger. Some of the minutes not included in the ledger are in a separate file. These range from the years 1948 through 1972. The Treasurers’ Reports Series is limited to the years of 1965-1968. Treasurer’s reports for other years are part of the documents that make up the meeting minutes. The Publications Series consists mostly of its Bulletin, which includes correspondence from the association’s administration (president, editor, treasurer, and coordinator), and geographical research papers written by the association’s members. They also contain information and advice to teachers regarding geography for students of all ages. The collection is incomplete, but it does include some of the earliest issues of the Bulletin, first published in 1947, and includes at least one volume for most years through 1981. In addition to the Bulletin, there are several issues of its newsletter from 1958 and 19691971. The Correspondence Series includes letters regarding the initial organization of ANDG. The bulk of the correspondence regards the seasonal and annual meetings. This includes memos among the officers while they organized and prepared for meetings and also includes some correspondence regarding previous meetings and related activities. The general correspondence includes a variety of correspondence relating to ANDG. The Subject Files Series includes a Kappa Chapter newsletter which was published by Gamma Theta Upsilon, of Valley City State University, in 1951; a paper about the Kindred Dam Project on the Sheyenne River, membership and mailing lists, and press releases from 1968 regarding announcement of a speakers bureau to promote contact between geographers and schools and an announcement of a speaker, Professor John Fraser Hart, who presented a lecture at the 1968 North Dakota Educational Association meeting.

Dates

  • 1947-1981

Access

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

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection remain with the donor, publisher, author, or author’s heirs.

History

The Association of North Dakota Geographers (ANDG) was officially organized on May 10, 1947 as an affiliate of the National Council of Geography Teachers (NCGT). The NCGT asked Ina C. Robertson, an instructor at Valley City State University, to act as state coordinator. Ms. Robertson is credited as being an instrumental force behind the organization. Membership in ANDG was open to virtually any interested person as long as at least one-third of ANDG members were also members of NCGT. Many of the members were college and high school teachers. The objectives of the organization were listed as:

To be aware of state educational plans and programs  To assist in the improvement of geographical teaching and to promote higher standards of teacher training and certification at both elementary and secondary school levels.

To coordinate the efforts of geography teachers within the various levels of public education  To cooperate with the goals and objectives of the NCGT

To stimulate geographic interests in North Dakota by means of field trips, excursions, and lectures. The ANDG held regular business meetings and bi-annual, or seasonal meetings for the purpose of fulfilling its objectives to promote the teaching of geography. Many of the seasonal meetings included lectures, paper presentations and field trips. Among the publications of ANDG include newsletters, a special publications series, and the Bulletin (1947-1996).

Extent

0.6 Linear Feet (0.6 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Association was organized in 1947 to stimulate interest in geography in North Dakota and improve the teaching of geography.

Provenance

Withdrawn from the Warren Kress Papers, 2001 (Acc. 2660).

Property rights

The Institute for Regional Studies owns the property rights to this collection.
Title
Finding Aid to the Association of North Dakota Geographers Records
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository

Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States