Max Dahl Papers
Collection
Identifier: Mss 390
Scope and Contents
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.
Copyrights
Copyrights to this collection is held by the NDSU Archives.
Biography
C. Max Dahl
Max Dahl was born in Minnesota in 1895 to Peter C. Dahl and Martha Marie. His family farmed and operated a dealership selling farm implements and Model T Fords. In the early 1920s, Dahl designed and patented an oiling system for Model T springs which he distributed from Minneapolis. When the model was discontinued, he turned to farming in the Abercrombie area. In 1925, Dahl married Eleanor P. Reed, the daughter of Walter R. Reed, and took a job as an assistant to his father-in-law. In 1931, he began farming a portion of land in Chaffee, ND, formerly of the Amenia and Sharon Land Company and continued farming this land until 1976. Dahl received several farming awards, including North Dakota State University Farmer of the Year and North Dakota Cattlemen’s Association Man of the Year. He died August 20, 1999. Walter Russell Reed
Walter Reed was born in 1871, the son of John H. Reed and the grandson of Eben W. Chaffee. His father was a stockholder in the Amenia and Sharon Land Company and, after his schooling at Oberlin College (1887), Walter became active in the company. He was elected president and general manager in a special meeting following the death of Herbert F. Chaffee aboard the RMS Titanic. In addition to operating his own farm, Walter Reed incorporated the Amenia Elevator Company and the Chaffee-Miller-Reed Land Company in 1902 and served as president of both organizations. He also became president of a grain commissioning firm, the John Miller Company, in Minnesota. His companies operated more than 25 elevators in the state of North Dakota. In 1909, Reed helped to found the Northwest Farm Managers Association with his brother Robert Reed, along side Thomas Cooper, Charles R. Wright, R.C. Doneghue, and John Dalrymple. After the Amenia and Sharon Land Company was dissolved in 1925, Reed continued to operate his share of the partitioned land, some 5,700 acres, in the production of seeds and seed grain in addition to his many other business interests.
Max Dahl was born in Minnesota in 1895 to Peter C. Dahl and Martha Marie. His family farmed and operated a dealership selling farm implements and Model T Fords. In the early 1920s, Dahl designed and patented an oiling system for Model T springs which he distributed from Minneapolis. When the model was discontinued, he turned to farming in the Abercrombie area. In 1925, Dahl married Eleanor P. Reed, the daughter of Walter R. Reed, and took a job as an assistant to his father-in-law. In 1931, he began farming a portion of land in Chaffee, ND, formerly of the Amenia and Sharon Land Company and continued farming this land until 1976. Dahl received several farming awards, including North Dakota State University Farmer of the Year and North Dakota Cattlemen’s Association Man of the Year. He died August 20, 1999. Walter Russell Reed
Walter Reed was born in 1871, the son of John H. Reed and the grandson of Eben W. Chaffee. His father was a stockholder in the Amenia and Sharon Land Company and, after his schooling at Oberlin College (1887), Walter became active in the company. He was elected president and general manager in a special meeting following the death of Herbert F. Chaffee aboard the RMS Titanic. In addition to operating his own farm, Walter Reed incorporated the Amenia Elevator Company and the Chaffee-Miller-Reed Land Company in 1902 and served as president of both organizations. He also became president of a grain commissioning firm, the John Miller Company, in Minnesota. His companies operated more than 25 elevators in the state of North Dakota. In 1909, Reed helped to found the Northwest Farm Managers Association with his brother Robert Reed, along side Thomas Cooper, Charles R. Wright, R.C. Doneghue, and John Dalrymple. After the Amenia and Sharon Land Company was dissolved in 1925, Reed continued to operate his share of the partitioned land, some 5,700 acres, in the production of seeds and seed grain in addition to his many other business interests.
Extent
2.5 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
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.
Provenance
Donated by C. Max Dahl in 1994. (Acc. 2376).
Separation Record
The following item was removed from the Max Dahl Papers and has been sent to the section indicated: Colorlok X-90 Siding Booklet (North Dakota Business Literature Collection MSS 168: File S547)
Property rights
The NDSU Archives owns the property rights to this collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Max Dahl Papers
- Description rules
- Appm
- 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
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu