Carthage Chamber of Commerce Scrapbooks & Archival Material

Donated by Carthage Chamber of Commerce
Accession: 2003 CofC

General Collection Condition: Good to fair primarily due to poor storage conditions prior to donation to the museum (stored in wet basement)

Chamber officials stretch out the Welcome to Carthage banner at its Drake Hotel office location.

Materials in this collection consist of over sixteen original scrapbooks composed of newspaper clippings on non-acid free pulp paper paper. Also found within the gift group, a theatre memorabilia scrapbook, Chamber of Commerce brochures, photographs, newsletters and miscellaneous newspaper tab sections advertising special Chamber sponsored events. Work done was AF photocopying, reading, indexing, cataloging, inter-leafing and AF boxing of each scrapbook.

The Carthage Chamber of Commerce has its foundation in the former "Board of Trade" and the "Commercial Club" organizations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The "Chamber of Commerce" name began use in 1921. The Carthage Chamber of Commerce (hereafter CofC) remains the primary economic development organization in Carthage. Former Executive Secretaries represented in the materials cataloged/indexed through the MHRAB, cycle 3 grant project include: R C Grissom, James Gibbons, Robert Ellis Young and Rachael Thornton. The CofC office was located at the Drake Hotel (Howard & 4th) and Memorial Hall (Garrison & Oak) during the various years represented in the grant processed materials. Not only did the CofC act as a representative between businesses and industries, but it was an active participant in the local educational system as well as tourism development projects, local/region highway improvements, and promoting the agri-business community including the Jasper County Youth Fair or 4-H Fair. In fact, many of the 1947- early 1960s CofC activities found in the scrapbooks, focus on the latter two items. This collection is broken down into six sub-collections as given below.

Chamber of Commerce Newspaper Clipping Scrapbooks 1947-1963
Contents include clippings from Carthage Press and Joplin Globe (some undated) on Chamber activities, board meetings, committee meetings and special community events such as promotions, 4-H Youth Fair and some general Carthage, MO news and non-Chamber activities such as school bond issues, business/industry openings, and regional topics such as highways and tourism.

Missouri Community Betterment Contest Scrapbooks 1964-1977
These scrapbooks were created for the Missouri Community Betterment Commission's annual competition among Missouri cities (through the Economic Development Division of the State of Missouri). As a result of the efforts of local MCB committee, Carthage gained recognition as the state's second 5-Star community within the program. (See MCB report supplied by Missouri State Archives associated with this collection in the Powers Museum Master Finding Aid notebook.)

Photograph of either R. L. Gibson or James Gibbons, Executive Secretary of the Carthage Chamber of Commerce. Please e-mail if you identify which individual this is.

The scrapbooks in this collection seem to replace previous CofC scrapbooks of newspaper clippings documenting CofC activities. The MCB program was directed locally by the CofC (but had a different "board" and committee chairman from the regular Chamber board and committees although there was intermingling); therefore, officers/staff may have felt it was a duplication of efforts to keep two sets of notebooks. While not as extensive as the earlier newspaper clipping scrapbooks, the MCB scrapbooks do document new businesses, exsisting industry expansions, school activities, cultural awarness including the growing focus on the architectural heritage of Carthage (that remains today as the community's primary focus with tourism promotion), and other special Carthage and co operative projects. Unlike the newspaper clipping scrapbooks, MCB scrapbooks do contain photographs and much of the text is hand lettered.

These were the most damaged of the CofC scrapbooks due to mildew damage and all vinyl notebooks were destroyed and some pages had to be copied and destroyed as well. One notebook has been left unprocessed until consultation with Missouri State Archives conservators to see if any portions can be salvaged. This work will be done late spring 2005.

Quasqui-Centennial Celebration Scrapbook 1967
This scrapbook (3 ring-binder) is made of clippings pasted onto ruled notebook paper and documents the 125th Anniversary of the founding of Carthage that was quided by Ed Ulmer, CofC President; Robert Dale, Q-C Chairman; and Mayor Carl Taylor with assistance of the Carthage City Council and Representative Robert Ellis Young, Ruth Kolpin, Chet Wilson, Rachael Thronton, Richard Ferguson, Lt. Col. Edwin Buster and Senator Richard Webster. (See Ref 977.871 QUA in the Powers Museum Reference Library for copy of celebration souvenir history booklet.)

Maple Leaf Festival Scrapbooks 1968-1972
Created like the Quasqui-Centennial scrapbook, this volume documents the Maple Leaf Festival at its start. An outgrowth of the 1967 Quasqui-Centennial celebration, the main feature was the Four State Marching Band Contest & Parade growing to include a ball, follies entertainment, festival booths on the square, car show, queen contest and many other activities. The Festival continues today and is the premier community event for Carthage, MO. Its parade is said to be the largest in the state and has featured various parade marshalls including Marlin Perkins, Janet Kavandi, Foggy River Boys and other local military, polictical and arts figures of note. (See also Powers Museum Reference Library Vertical Files for more information, especially on festivals of the 1980s to current date.)

Some work remains to be done on these books, primarily attaching subject/name indexes, proofing and fine-tuning of event names. One future project that the museum would like to do using a volunteer is make a year summary of the event as seen on page so easy access could be made to the basic key events for both museum and CofC. (Latter does not have information on its festival activities at its disposal.)

Miscellaneous Chamber Scrapbooks & Archival Material
Many of the scrapbook listed above, were filled with loose materials and photographs including full newspaper tab sections of CofC sponsored special events. These materials have been removed, dated and place in archival boxes per year and still need cataloging and, in the case of photographs, identification. This work is on-going currently.

Non-Chamber Scrapbooks & Archival Material
In addition to the categories above, some odds and ends materials were found within the Chamber of Commerce gift lot. It is suspected these materials were presented to former Executive Secretary Rachael Thornton at some point and remained on site after Thornton's retirement. Or, they may have been purchased by someone associated with the CofC when the Beard Family auction was held in the mid-1980s before their property at Central & Meridian was purchased and destroyed.

There is one scrapbook of theatre memorabilia, three circus/tent theatre posters from the early 1940s, and some correspondence/greeting cards sent to the Beard family. The scrapbook appears to contain clippings from c 1910-1939 although it may have been created well after 1910. Much of the info is not from Carthage but there is some Airdome Theatre advertisements and photographs that may have been taken at a local tent theatre performance in the 1920s. (NOTE: Subjects & Names for this notebook are available through Past Perfect Software and have not been included in the general Chamber of Commerce Subject/People index listing presented here. Hundreds of names are given in scrapbook through Billboard clippings so even PP listing is not complete and researchers are urged to view entire reference copy of the scrapbook.)

Please note: Subjects & People given below represent overview for collection. By searching individual scrapbook catalog records, more names/subjects will be found (as well as rules for name inclusion on catalog record). Not every name was recorded that appeared in every scrapbook/clipping article.

Subjects
4-H Clubs
4-H Market Day Event
4-H Youth Fair
A-Bomb
African-Americans in Carthage
Agriculture & Agri-business
Agriculture Committee
Auditing Committee
Back to School Days Event
Bank of Carthage
Battle of Carthage
Battle of Carthage Centennial
Belk-Simpson Department Store
Belle Star Day
Bicentennial
Big Smith
Board of Public Works
Bottle Caps Campaign
Broadview Country Club
Budget Committee
Bus Mail Service
Bus Service
Business & Professional Womens Club
C & W Cafe
Carthage Businesses
Carthage Cablevision
Carthage Chamber of Commerce
Carthage Cubs (KOM Baseball)
Carthage Days Event
Carthage Fire Department
Carthage Floral Study Club
Carthage High School
Carthage High School Addition
Carthage High School Band
Carthage High School Choirs
Carthage Industrial Development Corp
Carthage Industries
Carthage Junior High School
Carthage Junior High School Band
Carthage Marble Corporation
Carthage Police Department
Carthage Press (aka Carthage Evening Press)
Carthage Quasi-Centennial Celebration
Carthage Retail Stores
Carthage Shopping Center
Carthage Sportsmens Protective League
Carthage Spring Opening Event
Carthage Water & Electric Plant
Carver Day
Central National Bank
Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of Commerce Committees
Chamber of Commerce Members
Christmas Lighting Committee
Christmas Parade
Christmas Sales
Civic Center
Civil Defense
Civil War Centennial
Clean Up, Fix Up & Paint Up
Colonial Apartments
Communism
Community Chest
Community Events & Festivals
Conservation Day Event
Council of Social Agencies
Crusade for Freedom
Cultural Actitivities
Daffodil Garden Club
Dairy Industry
Dollar Days Event
Drake Hotel
Education & Schools
Education Committee
Evergreen Garden Club
Extension Clubs
Fairs in Carthage
Farm Tour Event
Farmers Roundup Days Event
Farming
Fashion & Clothing
Fashion Shows
Federal Housing Administration
Fire Prevention Week
Flood Control Committee
Fort Crowder
Four State Marching Band Contest
Friday Night Shopping Study
Future Farmers of America
Garden Clubs
George Washington Carver National Monument
Goodwill Store
Harvest Festival
Highways & Airport Committee
Historical Homes Tour
Housing and Conventions Committee
Housing Shortage
Industrial Committee
Industries
Inter-City Committee
Jamboree Event
Jasper County Courthouse Beautification
Jasper County Courthouse Lighting
Jasper County Courthouse Peace Star
Jasper County Dairy Days
Jasper County Farm Bureau
Jasper County Soils & Crops Conference
Jasper County Youth Fair
Jasper High School Marching Band
Jaycees
Jaycees Wives
Joplin Parkwood High School Marching Band
Junior Chamber of Commerce
Junior Miss Pageant
K D M O
K O M Baseball League
Kellogg Lake
Kiwanis
Korns A Krackin
Leap Year Sale
Leggett & Platt
Legislative Committee
Lincoln Ladies Republican Club
Lions
Little League Baseball
Livestock Shows
Locarni Marble
Lutheran College
Maple Leaf Ball
Maple Leaf Festival
Maple Leaf Festival Band Contest
Maple Leaf Festival Parade
Maple Leaf Festival Queen Contest
Maple Leaf Follies
Maple Leaf Lighting Contest
Marching Mizzou
McCune-Brooks Hospital
Membership Committee
Memorial Hall
Merchants Bargain Festival
Miss Carthage Pageant
Missouri Community Betterment Contest
Missouri Community Betterment News
Missouri Department of Conservation
Missouri Division of Commerce & Industrial Development
Missouri Highway Commission
Missouri Southern College
Missouri Tourism Commission
MO Highway 96
Municipal Park
Myers Municipal Airport
National Association of Marble Dealers
National Association of Marble Producers
National Guard Armory
New Residents Committee
Our Lady of the Ozarks
Ozark Frontier Trail
Ozark Music & Musicians
Ozark Playgrounds Association
Ozark Playgrounds Committee
Ozarks Playground Association
Parades
Planning Committee
Poultry Industry
Poutlry Improvement Day
Price Ceiling Regulations
Program Committee
Program of Work Committee
Public Relations Committee
Publicity Committee
Race Relations
Radio House
Radium School
Ragtime Music
Resolutions Committee
Retailers Committee
Rotary
ROTC
Rural Schools
Saddle Club & Horse Show
School Bond Elections
Small Business Administration
Smith Brothers Manufacturing
Southwest Missouri Agricultural Research Center
Southwest Power Administration
Statistical Survey Committee
Strawberry Production
Street Dances
Talk of the Month Club
Tourism
Traffic Committee
U S Highway 66
U S Highway 71
University of Missouri Bands
Water Resources Committee
Will Rogers Turnpike
Womens Clubs
Womens Committee

Names
Anderson, Mills
Baird, Ralph
Barksdale, William
Beimdiek, Stephen (1972)
Boatright, Leland
Brinkman, Mrs Herman
Carter, Ray
Carter, W E
Conner, Marty
Dale, Eliel L
Dale, Robert
Esterly, Robert
Evans, Ted (1968)
Fadler, Barbara
Ferguson, Richard
Fisher, William
Flanigan, John
Ford, R D
Frieze, Arkley W
Fulford, Elliott
Gibbons, James C (Jimmie)
Griffith, Harel (1960)
Griggs, J C
Haizlip, Mary Jane
Hall, Durward (MO Congressman)
Hallum, Byron
Hearnes, Warren (MO Governor)
Henson, Efton M
Hill, Helen
Hoskins, Gary (1976)
Johnson, Charles
Joyce, Glenn
Knell, Emma
Knell, Robert
Kolpin, George
Kolpin, Ruth
Laughlin, William
Lewis, Franklin
Locarni, Ida Ruth
Locarni, Kay
Locarni, Richard (1971)
Long, Clyde
Lyon, Harlan
MacMorran, Carol
Mayes, Roy (jr)
McCune, H H
McPheeters, James
Mitchell, John
Morrow, W T
Mote, J Homer
Nelson, Ralph
Newton, I D (Jack)
Oexman, Emil
Orem, Dean
Pence, Wendell &
Perry, Jerry (1979)
Phelps, Carolyn
Phelps, George
Phelps, John O (Pat) (1970)
Phillips, Clyde (1978)
Platt, C D
Platt, Ida Ruth
Putnam, William (jr)
Putnam, William (sr)
Ralston, Oren
Rogers, Harry O
Sapp, Virgil
Schlecht, Walter P
Schrantz, Ward
Sheldon, John
Smallwood, James
Spradling, Harry
Spradling, James
Stanfield, Robert
Starr, Belle
Sutherland, Lawrence
Taylor, Carl (Mayor)
Thornton, Rachael
Turner, Larry
Ulmer, Edwin
Walbridge, Larry
Walbridge, Mel (1974)
Webster, Richard (St Senator)
Wickstrom, Dale (1974-1975)
Williams, John (1977)
Wilson, Chet (1980)
Woodward, Heber
Woody, John C
Woody, Merlene
Wooldridge, Don
Young, Robert Ellis (St Representative)


Years in ( ) = Year of Chamber Presidency
Years in [ ] = Year of Missouri Community Betterment Chairmanship

Prior appointment necessary for use of all archival collections. This material is not available for walk-in, on-demand use. Consultation by phone or email prior to your visit, will result in a more successful research visit and allow museum staff to prepare materials and also a work space for your use on site.